Archaeologists Discovered 2 Unusual Graves With Skeletons and Deadly Weapons Inside
Two graves in a dense burial ground discovered in 1851 northeast of Moscow held rather peculiar inclusions along with their deceased residents.
Inside each of the graves, which held the remains of adult males, was a battle ax placed close to the right shin bone of the deceased.
The axes were not the only artifact left in the graves, which were also filled with items a bit more fitting of a tax collector.
The correlation between ancient Russian tax collectors and the possession of a battle ax isn’t fully known, but thanks to a recent excavation project in a burial ground northeast of Moscow, we have that connection.
While this may not be true of every Russian tax collector, at least two Russian taxmen were also Russian... axemen.
According to a translated statement from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the State Historical Museum, the continued excavation of the seven-acre medieval Gnezdilov burial ground, originally found in 1851 near the town of Suzdal, offered up the chance to look at 50 previously undisturbed burial sites.
It was graves No. 59 and No. 49 that presented the most intriguing personal affects to be buried with and a combination one doesn’t see often (if ever): battle axes and artifacts associated with tax collecting.
The style of axe found—it features a chased hammer on the butt end and a semicircular notch at the base—was most common in the 11th century, which is the era the burials date back to, but was seen into the early 12th century. Past examples of these axes came decorated with silver inlays.
In grave No. 59, the excavation team discovered the skeletal remains of a 35-to-40-year-old male. He had with him a belt buckle shaped like the stringed musical instrument the lyre, a knife, a broken ceramic vessel, and the metal battle ax. The ax was located near his right shin bone.
Then, in grave No. 49, the contents were nearly identical. This grave, belonging to a man roughly 10 years younger, also contained a lyre-shaped buckle, a knife, the battle ax in the same location near the right shin bone, and a mix of equestrian equipment that included stirrups and a saddle buckle.
The connection between the two medieval human skeletons with matching battle axes may come thanks to their profession. The deceased were almost assuredly high-status individuals, largely based on the equestrian equipment and other artifacts, and the discovery of scales and weights that were also found in the graves give experts reason to believe the long-deceased men were tax collectors. The evidence is enough to “convincingly interpret” the finds as an indication that the burial remains belong to men who regularly performed some sort of fiscal function, most likely the weighing of coins collected as taxes.
The experts believe that further analyzation of the artifacts should better date the burials found in graves No. 59 and No. 49. Elsewhere in the cemetery, the team found melted fragments of jewelry, likely from the 10th century, indicating at least one portion of the area features cremation burials. That practice appeared to end by the 11th century thanks to the artifacts found near the battle axes.
The equestrian equipment represents a rare find in burials. Over the 170-year history of studying burials in northeast Russia, only 15 unburied burials included stirrups, with two of those instances in Gnezdilov, indicating a life spent with horses was rarified air. The battle axes are also an unusual discovery, although not as rare. A total of 14 battle axes have so far been found from that era in northeast Russia, and Gnezdilov offers up the largest array of the weapon.
The potential high-status tax collectors probably not only fancied, but could also afford a life full of horses and weapons. The experts also believe Suzdal could have been a center of the military elite and a key location for forming the military culture of northeastern Russia. Whether associated with the military or not, we know that these two tax collectors had plenty of protection when out collecting taxes with their axes.
You Might Also Like
