Статтю присвячено публікації поховального
комплексу, дослідженого авторами біля Софійського собору в Києві у 2021 р. На основі знахідок з комплексу, його характеру і стратиграфічних особливостей розкопане підкурганне поховання датоване
часом близько 970—1000 років.
In 2021, as part of the «Great Restoration» state program,
the cobblestones around St. Sophia’s Cathedral
in Kyiv were replaced. During these works, the archaeological
exploration was carried out with the participation
of authors, as a result of which the ancient burial
was discovered and investigated.
The dimensions of the burial pit were about 3 × (1—
1.2) m. It had a depth of 1.6 m, and its bottom situated
at a depth of 2.4 m from the modern surface.
The remains of a rectangular wooden funeral construction
were found below, assembled from boards
and fastened with more than two dozen iron nails.
Its overall dimensions are (2.2—2.7) × (0.6—0.64) m
and a height of 0.5-0.55 m.
The remains of two transverse wooden supports
were recorded under the funeral construction. They
had a triangular cross-section and lay edge down. Each
of them was 0.7 m long and 0.15 m wide.
The skeleton was lying on its back, oriented with
its head on northwest. His bones, except for the skull,
were preserved in a satisfactory condition.
The billon jewelry such as the wire rings near the
head and a ring on the little finger of the right hand,
were found in the burial. The iron a knife with a wooden
handle was located near the right knee. Also the
two hemispherical bone buttons with carved decoration
were discovered on the legs below the pelvic bones.
Difference between ornaments, the technique of their
execution, sizes and profiles of buttons found nearby
Sophia Cathedral testifies to the fact that each of them
made by various craftsmen.
The buttons of a similar shape and ornament there
are known from mounds in Chernihiv (Ukraine), Gniozdovo
(Russia) and Nishapur (Iran).
A segment of the barrow with a width of 1.25 m and
a depth of 0.75 m was recorded a few meters from the
burial trench. This made it possible to determine
the approximate diameter of the mound above the
burial like 5.5-6 m.
Traces of the development of urban development of
the beginning of the 11th century are recorded on the
site of the mound. The next stage was in the 20s and
30s of the 11th century, when the St. Sophia Cathedral
was built, one of the apses of which was covered part of
the territory of the mound. At the same time, one of the
apses of the cathedral was covered part of the territory
of the mound.
Considering the historical context of the development
of the ancient Kyiv mound necropolis, the mound
discovered in 2021 near the northeastern corner of St.
Sophia Cathedral can be dated to the second half of
the 10th — beginning of 11th century, and most likely
between 970 and 1000.
