247. The Kosanove Grave Field as a Monument of the Chernyakhiv Culture

Archival Number: NA IA NANU, f. 16, spr. 247
Author: Viktor Petrov
Original Title: Kosanove. 1962
Language of the Document: russian
Date of the Document: 1960s
Reproduction Method: manuscript
Number of Pages: 84
External Design: blue ink
Material: Paper
Description: Labeled as “Kosaniv 1962,” it includes descriptions of the burials investigated that year. The description is likely a field report, intermediate to the final report and publication, as it retains the nomenclature of coordinates from the excavations (square, distance from the walls, and depth). It also provides a description of the burial structure and accompanying inventory.

After the description of the burials, which exclusively pertain to cremation, the text discusses the stratigraphy of the burials at the site, addressing two horizons (depths) for cremations and inhumations. These observations led to the conclusion of a “cult ratio” between them and chronological differences, conclusions that N.M. Kravchenko likely utilized in her work. The sequence of layer deposits indicates a chronological order—“stratigraphic overlaps”—which became widely used in archaeology thereafter.

Next is the analysis of the relationship between cremations and inhumations: a hypothetical conclusion about two waves of the establishment of different rites (earliest cremations, followed by dual rituals, and then cremations again); and the possibility for family members to choose between different rites—cremation or inhumation.

The following pages contain notes on “two-tier” burials at Chernyakhiv grave fields, first noted by S.S. Hamchenko at the burial ground in Maslovo. The Kosaniv site in 1962 revealed areas with only one tier—either cremation or inhumation. Based on the research from 1961 and 1962, V.P. Petrov believed it was possible to discuss the planigraphy of the burial ground and its boundaries (noting the absence of burials in two squares!). There are also records of production sites between the settlement and the grave field, using Kosaniv and Budesh as examples.

In his notes, V.P. Petrov asserts that there are almost no differences in the accompanying inventory of cremations and inhumations. However, the presence of a large number of T-shaped vessels in the cremation horizon (which are almost unknown in inhumations) may indicate chronological differences or a specific purpose for three-handed vessels in the ritual (“purification”) or their use as urns, as noted by N.M. Kravchenko, according to V.P. Petrov.

(by Oleh Petrauskas)