Pages: 113-121

Weapon finds are not typical for Novgorod Land burials of the 8th — 10th centuries. A new funeral rite is formed with the adoption of Christianity. It has a number of specific features — the erection of the burial mounds, the costume and the buried headdress. Arms objects, mainly a spear and axes of various types, appear in the male burials of the 11th—13th centuries that can be connected with distribution of new belief. The concentration of burials with weapons in the border areas marks the western and north-western borders of Novgorod Land and their defense systems. The gradual disappearance of such burials begins in the second half of the 12th century. It is associated with the evangelization of the population, changes in land relations and in the military organization of Novgorod.

Keywords: Novgorod Land, medieval archaeology, christianization, burial customs, funeral rite, weapons

Information about author:

Vladislav Sobolev (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Saint Petersburg State University. Universitetskaya Emb., 7/9, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]