Pikshik sanctuary - an ancient burial ground located in the Krasnoarmeysky district of Chuvashia.
One of the most studied and famous monuments of the Abashev cultural and historical community. V. F. Smolin, following the results of exploration work by a detachment of the Middle Volga expedition of the GAIMK (1926), indicated that in the vicinity of the villages of Pikshik and Poboi (now the village of Khurynlykh) there are 5 mounds with a diameter of 8.5–11.8 m and a height of 0.5–0.86 m.
In 1957–1958, he worked at P. K. M. conducted a detachment of the Chuvash archaeological expedition under the leadership of N. Ya. Merpert. He managed to mark 27 clearly defined mounds-mounds 0.5 km to the NE from the village of Pikshik; 18 of them were located in the forest, 3 - to the north. edge of the forest, 6 - in the field in the east. edges. The embankments are round in plan, as well as oval and elongated (diameter from 6 to 25 m, height from 0.15 to 1 m). In 1957, 7 burial mounds with 14 burials were studied. In 1958, 7 more mounds were excavated in the forest with 17 burials. The mounds, the layer of buried soil and the surface of the mainland of most of the mounds were noticeably destroyed by the root system.
Excavation of P. K.m. 1957-1958 showed that the process of creating the Abashev burial structures was rather complicated. Important details of the ceremony were found out - from the construction of the grave pit to the nature of the embankment and the procedure for its creation. It has been established that flattened, strongly diffuse mounds covered the remains of rather complex and large wooden structures (fences, palisades, pillars, etc.) that surrounded the graves. He buried each one. on the site, the main structure had its own layout (rectangles, circles, ovals, etc.), different from the structures on the ancient sites. The fences consisted of vertically driven pointed stakes (average thickness 9–10 cm). Traces of large pillars found in burials, N. Ya. Merpert considers the remains of wooden idols.
His research significantly expanded the concept of altars and the role of fire in the Abashev burial rite. Abundant traces of ash and charcoal were noted in the fill (filling) of many burials, as well as at the level of the buried soil and in pits in the mainland. Of interest is the fire pit system noted in mound 14, which was first clearly seen in the Abashevo mounds. The grave was surrounded not only by a double wooden fence, but also by systematic fireplaces. The rest of the fireplaces are associated with repeated funeral feasts. The design of the grave pits and the wooden structures in them were made in 2 versions: a quadrangle of stakes with a slightly larger perimeter than the pit itself; wooden a camera inserted inside the pit. In some cases, the bones are completely or partially decayed,but individual spots of bone humus made it possible to judge the position of the buried. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the position was recorded on the back, with sharply bent legs, from the southeast. orientation of the head, which is typical for the Abashevites.