A few days ago, archaeological excavations began on the territory of the village of Volniy (Uspensky District, Krasnodar Territory), which are being conducted by teachers and students of the Armavir State Pedagogical University (ASPU) and researchers of the Center for Archaeological Research (a specialized structural unit of the university). The Armavir local branch of the Russian Geographical Society (RGO) went to the scene to see everything on the spot with its own eyes and to find out the details about the excavation of one of the burial mounds in the area. This mound is one of those that we used to call Scythian or Sarmatian. But, as it turned out, he is much older … The candidate of historical sciences, the head of the department of general national history, tells us more about his story today.holder of an open sheet for the right to conduct excavations on this mound Igor Ivanovich Basov.
What was found in the first days of work?
- There are still few finds here. And they were made on the third day of excavations. We found a catacomb - a tomb with a certain burial rite, which has a complex structure. It has an entrance, there is a burial chamber, made in the form of a cave, in which the body of the deceased and some kind of funeral food was placed. Then they covered all this, and poured a mound on top.
We found such a central burial. It contained the skeleton of a teenager, judging by its small size - about 150 centimeters. The decayed bones crumbled to dust when they were removed, only the teeth were preserved. From the inventory at the entrance to the cell there was a bowl, and at the head of the deceased was a jug.
These scarce materials allow us to conclude that, most likely, this burial dates back to about 4 thousand years. This is the Bronze Age, so the grave appeared long before the Scythians. Then there were still tribes who, due to their lack of writing, belong to the catacomb culture - they are identified by a similar funeral rite.
When the central grave was found, we, of course, organized round-the-clock security. But, I want to note that the inhabitants of Volny -
citizens are vigilant. As soon as we started excavations, they immediately signaled to the head of the territory that someone was undermining the historical site, which is under state protection. Thanks to them for such a conscious position!
Why did you choose this particular mound?
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- Firstly, it is located close to Armavir, that is, it is possible to carry out the work on our own: we also take care of the safety of students, as it should be, and save on costs, because financing is carried out from the internal budget of the university. This mound is large, the volume of work is also considerable.
Secondly, this mound has already been destroyed for many decades: one side of it crumbled from natural impact; there were also old undermining, which were already done by people themselves, taking natural building materials for household needs. Because of this, there was a possibility that the mound would be destroyed in the near future.
Thirdly, the excavation of this mound, which we will carry out to the end, will allow the administration of the Volnensky rural settlement to exclude it and the adjacent territory from the list of lands on which no economic activity can be carried out.
And why are such “ridges” made on this mound with a bulldozer?
- These are the edges, which just make it possible to see a cut when they are cleaned, allowing you to determine where the mainland was, and where the soil was poured in layers by people. This confirms the artificial origin of the mound, even if nothing is found in it.
Is it possible to find historical finds in each mound?
- Unfortunately no. The mound can be completely empty. These are the so-called cenotaphs - gravestones in a place that does not contain the remains of the deceased, a kind of symbolic grave. A noble person could die on a long campaign, or his body fell to the enemies, or did not survive at all -
There are several reasons, and then, as a sign of respect, a funeral rite was performed, but already without a burial object.
Where will the finds from the Volnensky mound be kept?
- In the Armavir Museum of Local Lore. A few words about what was found during archaeological research on the Volnensk land. That big mound, which is located at the entrance to Volnoe from Armavir, was excavated before the revolution by Professor Veselovsky. It contains gold jewelry and weapons that are kept in the Hermitage. Then the method of these works was somewhat different: they chose the central burial, the rest was left. And if you continue to dig it, you can most likely find additional burials. But as long as this mound is not threatened by natural disasters, as long as it does not interfere with people, they will not touch it.
How many mounds are there in our region?
- There are a lot of such places in the Uspensky district. For several years, work has been underway to register them as monuments of history and culture. According to the register, there are about three hundred kurgans, fortified settlements, settlements and so on. Only a year of work shows that we find one new mound for one recorded mound. Funding for this work was carried out from the federal budget, while it was suspended due to the difficult financial situation. But we will definitely continue to register, because it is very important to preserve historical values at the state level, and for people - the historical memory of the distant past. Such accounting allows for legally competently organizing work with land in rural settlements. After all, a cultural monument is state property, and a new status can be assigned to this site only after the completion of archaeological excavations.
- Simultaneously with the excavations, a two-week archaeological practice is taking place for first-year students of the Faculty of History of the Pedagogical University, which is carried out thanks to the rector of the university Ambartsum Robertovich Galustov.
Good luck to your expedition, Igor Ivanovich, and thank you very much for the story
Member of the Russian Geographical Society (RGO) of the city of Armavir, Sergey Frolov