5 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Women buried with thick twisted bronze neck rings and buckets on their feet found in Ukraine

Archaeologists discovered the remains of men buried with weapons such as axes, spearheads, and swords, and women buried with thick twisted bronze neck rings in an 11th-century cemetery near the village of Ostriv, south of Kiev, Ukraine.

Researchers Vsevolod Ivakin and Vyacheslav Baranov presented their study of the remains at the Archaeological Institute of America, which was held Jan. 4-7 in Chicago, according to Live Science.

In 2017, the Ukrainian Institute of Archaeology conducted an expedition that discovered the Ostriv graveyard. Between 2017 and 2022, excavations uncovered 107 inhumation burials from the late 10th and 11th centuries. The graves’ uniqueness was quickly apparent. Unlike the unusual funerary practices of the Kyivan Rus during this period, the graves were facing south and west rather than north.

The deceased were laid in supine position (on their backs), with outstretched limbs. In most of the graves, there were remnants of wooden coffins. The remains of funerary food offerings (chicken bones and eggshells) were discovered in the graves and in wooden buckets at the feet of some of the deceased. Some people were buried with extremely valuable items, including slate spindle whorls, jewelry such as bronze neck rings and bracelets, pennanular brooches, cast bronze belt rings, cowrie shell bead necklaces, and weapons such as battle axes, knives, and spearheads.

The skeleton of a woman who was buried with elaborate neck rings as well as rings around her arms. Image credit: Vyacheslav Baranov
The skeleton of a woman who was buried with elaborate neck rings as well as rings around her arms. Image credit: Vyacheslav Baranov

Though the comparison was not exact, the orientation and funerary furnishings bore a strong resemblance to the practices of tribes in the Western Baltic. Most remarkably, none of the Ostriv graves were cremation burials; the Western Baltic peoples generally burned their dead. Furthermore, Baltic funeral customs do not generally involve buckets.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



 Archaeologists hypothesize that these key differences may be attributed to restrictions placed on traditional funerary practices by the Christian dukes of Kyiv, primarily Volodymyr the Great (r. 980-1015) and Yaroslav the Wise (r. 1019-1054), and by the process of Christianization of the Baltic settlers of the region during the 11th century. A stone altar found in the cemetery could have been used for Christian or pagan rituals, or a mixture of the two.

Research continued at the site until 2022 but the excavation has been paused due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Cover Photo: Vyacheslav Baranov

Related Articles

Relief masks discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Kastabala

7 January 2022

7 January 2022

In the ancient city of Kastabala (Castabala), which dates back to 500 BC, located in Turkey’s southern province of Osmaniye,...

Winter Solstice Solar Alignment in Kastas Monument: Alexander the Great’s Tribute to Hephaestion

27 May 2025

27 May 2025

A revolutionary study combining archaeology and solar modeling has revealed that the Kastas Monument—the largest funerary structure of ancient Greece—was...

Thor’s hammer amulet discovered in Sweden

23 October 2022

23 October 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed the Thor’s Hammer amulet, which they call “one of its kind” in Ysby in southwestern Sweden’s Halland...

A Roman statue unearthed on the site of St Polyeuctus’ church, which once Constantinople’s largest church

5 April 2023

5 April 2023

At Saraçhane Archaeology Park, where the Church of St. Polyeuctus is situated, excavation work by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) teams...

Archaeologists unearth the long-lost homestead of King Pompey in Lynn

3 July 2024

3 July 2024

Archaeologists from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and a historian from Northeastern University believe they might have found the...

Egyptian mission discovered five ancient water wells in North Sinai

1 March 2022

1 March 2022

A team of Egyptian archeologists working in the Tell El Kedwa discovered five ancient wells which are believed to be...

Remarkably Preserved Bronze Age Urns, Thousands of Years Old, Unearthed in Germany

13 May 2025

13 May 2025

What appeared to be an ordinary stretch of County Road 17 between the towns of Moisburg and Immenbeck has turned...

The 5,000-Year-Old Beaded Burials that Reveal Women’s Power in Copper Age Iberia: Over 270,000 Beads

6 February 2025

6 February 2025

Archaeologists investigating the Montelirio tholos burial site in southwestern Spain, dating back approximately 5,000 years, have uncovered that the women...

Archaeologists uncover Europe’s oldest lakeside stilt village behind a fortress of defensive spikes

11 August 2023

11 August 2023

Under the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the “Pearl of the Balkans” Scientists have uncovered what may be one of...

The discovery that surprised archaeologists; a Rare glass cup adorning the table of rich Romans in Crimea

2 April 2022

2 April 2022

A discovery made in Frontovoye-3 necropolis in Crimea shows that during the Roman Empire there were more centers of glass...

Well-preserved Ming Dynasty tomb unearthed in China’s Shanxi Province

17 March 2024

17 March 2024

Archaeologists from the Shanxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology have unearthed a well-preserved tomb from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)...

Ukrainian Soldiers Uncover 6th–5th Century BC Burial Site During Fortification Works

1 April 2025

1 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, soldiers from the 123rd Territorial Defence Brigade have uncovered an ancient burial site dating back...

An artificial intelligence “Ithaca” that will improve our understanding of ancient history

11 March 2022

11 March 2022

A deep neural network trained to restore ancient Greek texts can do so with 72% accuracy when used by historians,...

Shocking Images Appeared As The Waters Recede

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

As the dams recede, the remains of the flooded settlements come to light. This time Kayseri witnessed these images that...

Europe’s Oldest Blue Pigment Found in Stone Age Paint Box

30 September 2025

30 September 2025

Archaeologists in Germany have uncovered the earliest evidence of blue pigment ever used in Europe, rewriting our understanding of Stone...