UNVEILING THE “CHERNAYA MOGILA” (“BLACK MOUND”) COMPLEX: PAST DEVELOPMENTS ANDNEW FINDS
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-12-15

It would not be an overstatement that the burial mound “Chernaya Mogila” (Black mound) situated in modern-day Chernigov is the most famous 10th c. Old Rus’ pagan barrow. Prof. Samokvasov D.Ya. excavated the 10 m high mound in 1872-1873. The complex consisting of rich burial goods was first exhibited at the University of Warsaw where the archaeologist held office. This was the beginning of the collection’s journey. In 1874 the finds were exhibited during the 3rd Russian Archaeological Congress in Kiev. The artifacts from the elite burial were then included in the Russian Empire’s exposition during the World’s Fair in Paris in 1878. Finally, in 1892 Samokvasov donated his collection to the Historical museum in Moscow. Thenceforth the burial goods from the mound “Chernaya Mogila” became the trademark of the museum’s medieval collection and have never since left its permanent exposition.

Surprisingly enough the complex’s uniqueness and fame led to it remaining virtually untouched by scholars. Over the years comprehensive studies regarded only certain artifacts, such as the silver-adorned rhytons, the idol (a figurine of Thor), the cross-inlaid spearhead, while the whole complex was thoroughly examined only twice: the first time by Samokvasov himself while a second scientific publication occurred in 1949. The latest research of the “Chernaya Mogila” collection using modern scientific methods began in 2017 with the support of the Russian Science Foundation (project 17-18-01399). X-ray tomography of the artifacts revealed that the barbaric restoration of the mid-20th c. tampered with the initial shape of the finds: fragments of different artifacts were assembled and pasted together thus fabricating altered imaginary objects. This paper aims to present the unexpected results of the latest investigations on these artifacts, which put the history, structure, and dating of the “Chernaya Mogila” collection into a completely new perspective.


Author(s): Murasheva, Veronika - Zozulia, Sergey - Shevtsov, Alexey (State Historical Museum, Moscow) - Yatsishina, Ekaterina (National Research Center «Kurchatov Institute») - Kashkarov, Pavel (National Research Center «Kurchatov Institute»; Moscow Institute of physics and technology) - Tereschenko, Elena (National Research Center «Kurchatov Institute»; FSRC «Crystallography and Photonics» RAS) - Loboda, Anastasiya (National Research Center «Kurchatov Institute»)