The Cemetery at Fort Umrevinsky, in the Upper Ob Basin

The Cemetery at Fort Umrevinsky, in the Upper Ob Basin

DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2018.46.2.123-130

S.V. Gorokhov and A.P. Borodovsky
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

After Fort (Ostrog) Umrevinsky lost its defensive and administrative function, a cemetery emerged in its place. Excavations were carried out near the northern, western, and southern palisade and in the center of the fort. Eightythree burials located mainly in the southwestern and central parts of the cemetery were excavated. Among them were three ritual graves of newborns—one under the southwestern corner tower on the river bank, and two others under a structure in the center of the fort. We have also excavated a collective burial of nine individuals—males and females of various ages. Based on several criteria, this grave is similar to those at Fort Albazin, where victims of the siege were buried. Similar circumstances may have been involved at Umrevinsky. In the central part of the fort, a grave of a highranking uniformed teenager was found. Based on the totality of traits, two large, spatially separated groups of burials are described, and their chronological sequence is assessed. Graves of the first group date to 1740–1790; those of the second, to the early 1800s. Planigraphic analysis suggests that the structure in the center of the fort could have been the church of the Three Holy Hierarchs, known from written sources. The reasons why the cemetery was founded in the fort courtyard are discussed. The location of the place where the founders and pioneers are buried remains an open issue.

Keywords: Fort Umrevinsky, ritual graves, Three Holy Hierarchs church