6 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

In Medieval burial ground, a rare embroidered Deisis depicting Jesus Christ was discovered

Russian archaeologists have uncovered a rare embroidered Deisis depicting Jesus Christ in a medieval burial ground.

46 graves have been dug up during excavations; one of them contained a woman who was buried with an embroidered Deisis depicting Jesus Christ and John the Baptist and was between the ages of 16 and 25.

The discovery was made during the construction of the Moscow-Kazan highway, where archaeologists found an 8.6-acre medieval settlement and an associated Christian cemetery.

The iconography of Jesus Christ known as Deesis, which can be translated from Greek as “prayer” or “intercession,” is one of the most potent and prevalent images in Orthodox religious art.

The composition of the Deisis unites the three most important figures of Christianity. A tripartite icon of the Eastern Orthodox Church showing Christ usually enthroned between the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist.

Photo: Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Photo: Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The fabric is 12.1 cm long by 5.5 cm wide and is composed of two parts joined by a vertical seam made of a woven gold ribbon with a braided pattern. The fabric’s lining did not survive, but a microscopic examination revealed birch bark remnants and needle punctures along the lower and upper edges.

In the center of the fabric is a frontal image of Jesus Christ making a blessing gesture, and to the right of him is John the Baptist praying. A second figure, probably Mary, was once on the left, but it has since disappeared, according to the inspection.

The archaeologists believe the embroidered fabric was once a dark silk samite headdress. Similar examples include the embroidered crosses and faces of saints discovered in the Karoshsky burial ground in the Yaroslavl region, as well as the Ivorovsky necropolis near Staritsa that features an image of Michael the Archangel wielding a spear.

Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Related Articles

Archaeologists discover medieval a tableman gaming piece in Bedfordshire, England

26 April 2023

26 April 2023

Archaeologists in Bedfordshire, England, have made an intriguing discovery: a tableman gaming piece was discovered at a medieval site. Cotswold...

A Circular Structure Linked to the Cult of Kukulcán Discovered in Mexico

2 November 2023

2 November 2023

A team of researchers with the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has unearthed the remains of a...

The Oldest Evidence of Stone Blade Production in Southern Arabia: 80,000-Year-Old Stone Blades Discovered

21 February 2025

21 February 2025

An international team of researchers led by Knut Bretzke of Friedrich Schiller University Jena uncovered 80,000-year-old stone blades at the...

Over 20 terracotta warriors have been discovered in the Terracotta Army pit in China

24 January 2022

24 January 2022

More than 20 Terracotta Warriors were unearthed from the Terracotta Army pit in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province, according to...

A submerged stone bridge constructed 5600 years ago shed light on the human colonization of the western Mediterranean

31 August 2024

31 August 2024

An interdisciplinary research team, led by University of South Florida (USF) geology Professor Bogdan Onac, has examined an ancient submerged...

The Mountain of Shemharus, King of the Ginn: Toubkal

14 August 2022

14 August 2022

Towering over the Atlas Mountains, Mount Toubkal is the highest peak in Morocco. Toubkal, the highest mountain in all of...

An unexpected shipwreck was unearthed at the Tallinn construction site

18 April 2022

18 April 2022

During the construction of the office building on Lootsi Street in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea, a shipwreck...

In Turkey’s Gedikkaya Cave, a stone figurine was discovered inside a 16,500-year-old votive pit

17 December 2022

17 December 2022

A stone figurine was discovered in a 16500-year-old votive pit belonging to the Epi-paleolithic period, the transition phase from the...

Knights-era painting found behind bricked-up arch at Museum of Archaeology in Malta

30 November 2021

30 November 2021

A newly found Knights-era painting hidden behind a bricked-up arch at the Museum of Archaeology might give insight into the...

New Museum being Built for the Stolen Goddess Cybele in Western Turkey

12 June 2021

12 June 2021

A marble statue of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele, which was returned to its native home of Turkey’s Afyonkarahisar will...

Neanderthals too may have Developed a System of Numerical Notation

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

People developed numbers tens of thousands of years ago, according to archeological findings. Scholars are now investigating the first comprehensive...

Traces of fossilized crabs in the Zagros Mountains, Iran which may hint at a hotbed of biodiversity dating from 15 million years

18 April 2022

18 April 2022

A group of paleontologists from the  University of Tehran has discovered traces of fossilized crabs in the Iranian which may...

Archaeologists Unearthed a Rare Hoard of Hasmonean Coins in Jordan Valley

31 December 2024

31 December 2024

A team of archaeologists from the University of Haifa discovered a rare hoard of approximately 160 coins during an excavation...

Works on Brussels metro line uncovered remains of the second city wall

18 April 2023

18 April 2023

Construction work on the new metro line 3 in Brussels, the Belgian capital, has revealed part of the second rampart...

Getting to Know Matar Kubilea

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hittite state’s, With its collapse in 1200-1190 BC, Anatolia entered a period of drift from holistic to dispersal. (The Hittite...