Nikolay A. Makarov*, Irina E. Zaytseva**, Olga V. Zelentsova***, Maria P. Milovanova****, and Vladimir A. Shevchenko*****

Institute of Archaeology RAS, Moscow, Russia

*E-mail: nmakarov10@yandex.ru
**E-mail: izaitseva@yandex.ru
***E-mail: olgazelentsova2010@yandex.ru
****E-mail: mashamil84@mail.ru
*****E-mail: shevchenkov.a@yandex.ru

Keywords: North-Eastern Rus, Suzdal Opolye, medieval funerary sites, cremations, Volga Finns, Meryans.

This article presents the first results of studying the medieval Shelebovo burial ground, a site featuring a distinctive assemblage of artefacts of the Volga-Finnish type. What makes this necropolis unique is its unusual burial rite with scattered surface cremations and the presence of “weapon assemblage” – weapons and military equipment buried in the ground. The Shelebovo cemetery can be considered a burial ground of the recorded Meryans from the 8th–10th centuries AD characterizing their burial traditions in the period preceding the Slavic setting.

DOI: 10.7868/S3034577426020062