Druzhinina I.A., Druzhinina O.A., Golyeva A.A., Chkhaidze V.N. Application of Microbiomorphic and Total Phosphorus Analyses to the Archaeological Study of the Sredny Zelenchuk Temple, Nizhny Arkhyz Hillfort
Inga A. Druzhinina, Candidate of Sciences (History), Senior Researcher, Centre for Byzantine and Caucasian Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Rozhdestvenka St, 12, 107031 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Olga A. Druzhinina, Candidate of Sciences (Geography), Leading Researcher, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Geoarchaeology and Palaeoecology, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Rozhdestvenka St, 12, 107031 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Alexandra A. Golyeva, Doctor of Sciences (Geography), Chief Researcher, Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetnyy Lane, 29/s.4, 119017 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Victor N. Chkhaidze, Candidate of Sciences (History), Head of the Centre for Byzantine and Caucasian Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Rozhdestvenka St, 12, 107031 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Abstract. The article presents the results of the first geoarchaeological study of the materials of Christian burials identified in the interior of the Middle Zelenchuk temple of the 10th century in the Nizhne-Arkhyz ancient settlement (Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia). The results of microbiomorphic (phytolith) and total phosphorus content analyses allowed us to reveal previously unknown features of the funeral rites of the multicultural and multi-ethnic Christian population of one of the largest cities of the North Caucasus in the Middle Ages. The differences in funerary practices between the 11th and 13th centuries became evident when studying even a small group of funerary complexes in which people of the same social group – representatives of the social elite of Western Alania – were buried. The geoarchaeological study showed an abundance of plant and animal organic matter in the burials. The complex analysis of archaeological materials and data obtained during the microbiomorphic study allowed us to conclude that members of the urban Christian community had several burial traditions: in stone boxes (tombs), in wooden frames, and a mixed ritual when a wooden structure was placed in a stone box. The presence of wooden bark particles in the burials seems to be related not so much to the material from which the burial structures were made as to the presence in the graves of bark or bast objects (bast caskets or boxes, birch bark amulets, toys, etc.). The tradition known from pagan Alanian burials of placing the head of the deceased on a “stone cushion” (more typical for male burials) was preserved in early Christian burials. In one of the four women’s graves studied, the analysis showed the presence of a “hay pillow.” Probably, before the burial, a ritual of washing the deceased was performed, as evidenced by the presence of diatoms and sponge spicules in the samples.
Key words: microbiomorphs, phytoliths, total phosphorus, Alania, Northern Caucasus, Early Christianity.
Citation. Druzhinina I.A., Druzhinina O.A., Golyeva A.A., Chkhaidze V.N., 2024. Kompleksnoe izuchenie pogrebeniy iz Srednego Zelenchukskogo hrama na gorodishche Nizhniy Arhyz: rezul’taty analiza mikrobiomorfnykh spektrov i valovogo fosfora [Application of Microbiomorphic and Total Phosphorus Analyses to the Archaeological Study of the Sredny Zelenchuk Temple, Nizhny Arkhyz Hillfort]. Nizhnevolzhskiy Arkheologicheskiy Vestnik [The Lower Volga Archaeological Bulletin], vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 157-173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/nav.jvolsu.2024.1.8
Application of Microbiomorphic and Total Phosphorus Analyses to the Archaeological Study of the Sredny Zelenchuk Temple, Nizhny Arkhyz Hillfort by Druzhinina I.A., Druzhinina O.A., Golyeva A.A., Chkhaidze V.N. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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