Medieval Christian funeral sites on the territory of Halych-Volynian lands: archaeological research after 1939
Authors: Lutsyk Iryna 
Published: September 2023

Propose continuation of the article published in the previous issue, devoted to archaeological studies of medieval Christian burial sites on the territory of the Halych-Volynian lands, conducted before 1939. Due to the fact that the indicated areas were at different times under the authority of different states, where archaeological studies of burial sites took place, accumulation of materials and their publication, etc. were conducted, several periods of research were distinguished. It is noted that changes on the political map of the world took place once again with the beginning of the Second World War and were associated with the formation of a new Polish-Soviet border in 1939, and later in 1945, as a result of which the former Halych-Volynian lands became part of Poland and the Ukrainian SSR. The last exchange of territories was observed in 1951. It was these boundaries of the Polish-Ukrainian border that were approved with the declaration of Ukraine’s independence in 1991, and they remain unchanged to present.
In this regard, the studies conducted in Ukraine and Poland are separately characterized. At the same time, two periods are distinguished within the first period: 1939–1991 (Soviet) and 1991–present (Ukrainian). Research on the territory of Poland is outlined in the period from 1939 to the present.
It was established that the researches that took place as part of the Ukrainian SSR (third period) continued the tradition of studying medieval temple architecture, as well as the burials located in the complex, however, a significant number of necropolises were discovered accidentally. It was observed that the information about them is quite generalized, and this is connected both with the tasks that scientists set before themselves, and with the state of the research methodology at that time. Significant progress in the development of the latter has been observed only since the 1970s, however, despite the individual cases of involving anthropologists in the process of studying burial monuments, this practice was more the exception than the rule. However, during this time, a significant source base was accumulated, which, in combination with the materials of previous studies, made it possible to carry out the first general studies devoted to the burials of the IX–XIII centuries. It was established that some of the materials were exported from Ukraine.
It is noted that with the declaration of Ukraine’s independence, a new period (fourth) began in the study of the researched issues, in the end, as well as the scientific tradition in general. Only Ukrainian scientists obtained the right to conduct archaeological research, and excavation materials stopped being exported to the Union republics. During this period, a further progression of excavation techniques and fixation of the discovered sites was noted. It has been observed that anthropologists are increasingly involved in research; there is a rethinking of approaches to the study of burials in general; more and more general works devoted to this issue appear, and the sights themselves are increasingly becoming the object of research.
It has been established that excavations carried out on the territory of Poland, which in the post-war period was included in the list of countries of the social camp and remained a satellite of the USSR until 1989, are marked by an in-depth study of the ethnogenesis of the Slavs and monuments of the princely era on the Polish-Rus border. This caused concern among Polish scientists about a possible border change in favour of the USSR in the future. Then and in the following decades, a number of burial sites were opened. The qualitative methodical level and the selection of anthropological material for analysis since at least the 50s of the 20th century have been identified as a feature of the conducted research. It is emphasized that during the last decade, professional analysis of the previously accumulated material, its verification, generalization and publication has been carried out, and in addition, a number of new monuments have been opened. It is noted that in conditions of sufficient funding, the study of burial monuments takes place on the basis of interdisciplinarity.
Key words: history of research, archaeology, burials, Christianity, the Middle Ages, Rus’