Denis Pezhemsky, senior researcher at the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Moscow State University, and Natalya Leibova, senior researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, arrived in Blagoveshchensk to unravel the mystery of the sacred . cemetery found last year on the territory of the Jewish Autonomous Region.
CSIN Amur Region
In Blagoveshchensk they hope that Moscow anthropologists will help identify the people who were buried at the sacred site.
As RIA Birobidzhan reports with reference to data from the Center for the Preservation of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Amur Region, scientists in the capital have already begun to study the remains discovered last summer during field work in the Smidovichi district in the Partizanskoye Territory. -3.Monument to the Cemetery.
The monument itself was discovered in spring 2022 largely by accident. In this area it was planned to implement a project to build a reserve line of the oil pipeline, which was supposed to run along the bank of the Tunguska River. But in anticipation of construction, archaeologists examined the site as a preventive measure. Their task was to look for signs of possible archaeological heritage sites. Since they were found, the construction project was suspended for archaeological field work.
Excavations began in the spring of 2023, and in just a couple of months, archaeologists discovered more than 850 different artifacts, as well as 134 funerary structures. In Blagoveshchensk they hope that Moscow anthropologists will help identify the people who were buried at the sacred site.
In particular, the analysis is intended to help determine the sex and age of these people, their population affiliation. The analysis of the skeletal remains will also allow us to determine what diseases they suffered and what injuries they suffered.
Furthermore, the study of the remains aims to help clarify the dating of the burials themselves. It was previously established that the cemetery dates back to the 10th-11th centuries AD, but then a version appeared that “rejuvenated” it to the 13th century. Thus, a chronological gap of 400 years has appeared, which must be reduced at least significantly.
“It was noted that its organizers probably attributed a sacred and very important meaning to the cemetery,” the news agency also writes. “All the burials are arranged in clear rows. The tombs are oriented strictly “northeast-southwest”. This with the sunrise in these places, that is, the person was buried as if he were facing the sun.”
One of the graves, judging by the description, turned out to be collective; the remains of three people were found in it: two adults and a child. It could have been a family funeral. Funerary offerings were also found in the tombs. Among those artifacts are arrowheads, ceramic vessel fragments, an ax and a belt.
15 graves were dug near the burials, which probably also had a sacred meaning. Remains of vessels with food were discovered here. This indicates the celebration of “funeral parties”, a kind of wake.
It is reported that in total about 200 vessels were found on the territory of the cemetery, including those decorated with unique designs reminiscent of cards, numerous jewelry: jade and bronze pendants and earrings.
