Archaeologists investigated 90 Muroma burials in Vachsky District.

      16 August 2025 13:40

      [193]

      Culture and Leisure

      A joint archaeological expedition of the Nizhny Novgorod Museum-Reserve and the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) has completed the 2025 field season studying a Muroma tribe burial ground in Vachsky District. It turned out to be the most productive season in four years of studying the site. This was reported by the Ministry of Culture of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

      Over a month of work, the excavation area more than doubled and reached 2,500 square meters. This season documented 61 new burials, including male, female and child burials, and for the first time — horse burials. The total number of burials studied at the site reached 90.

      According to Yuri Filippov, General Director of the Nizhny Novgorod Museum-Reserve, the expansion of the research area made it possible not only to protect the burials from looters but also to obtain an integral picture of the development of the burial complex from the 8th to the 11th centuries.

      The expedition has been working at the site for the fourth year. The research team includes not only archaeologists but also specialists in textiles, leather, and metal, as well as anthropologists, palaeozoologists, palynologists and conservators. Thanks to their efforts, artifacts are promptly conserved and sent for further study in the laboratory.

      Key outcomes of the field season included refining the time frame of the cemetery’s use — now spanning from the mid-8th to the 11th century — and identifying three successive phases of burial. Of particular interest were the burials of the second half of the 11th century, in which the assemblage of grave goods is closer to ancient Rus' culture than to Finno-Ugric traditions. This discovery raises new questions about the nature of interaction between the local population and incoming groups.

      So far archaeologists have investigated the earliest burials, dated to the 8th–9th centuries, located near the steep bank of the Oka.

      Among the key finds are two female burials with casting equipment. They contain ceramic vessels for molten metal, molds for casting beads and a complex costume with bronze ornaments. These burials are being studied for the first time and will become central exhibits of a future museum exhibition.

      Horse burials were discovered at the site for the first time. Four were studied in total. The horses were bridled; bits, stirrups and harness elements were found nearby.

      In the 10th–11th century burials changes in costume composition were recorded: traditional Muroma ornaments disappear and elements of ancient Rus' culture appear. This testifies to the gradual incorporation of the local population into the sphere of influence of Ancient Rus'.

      Male burials were accompanied by weapons — knives, axes, arrowheads and spear points. Also found were Arabic dirhams, Western European denarii, glass beads, slate spindle whorls and pottery, indicating the Muroma’s active participation in international trade.

      All finds will be added to the museum’s collections after restoration. In November 2025 an exhibition will open in the Nikolskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, where artifacts found during the expedition will be presented. Reconstructions of costumes made on the basis of the excavation materials will occupy a central place.

      The Zvyaginsky Second burial ground remains an important source of knowledge about contacts between the Muroma and the ancient Rus' population and the expansion of the borders of the Ancient Rus' state. Research at the site will continue in the summer of 2026.

      Earlier we reported on how the archaeological excavations of the Muroma burial in Vachsky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Region are progressing. It was also reported that ancient Mari burials were found in the Nizhny Novgorod forests.

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