Ancient artifacts: UNN students examine the burial items of the Muroma tribe

From June 29 to July 12, first-year history students from the UNN Institute of International Relations and World History (IIRWH) took part in archaeological research of the Zvyagino-2 burial ground of the Finno-Ugric Muroma tribe in the Vacha district of the Nizhny Novgorod region.

This burial ground, dated to the late 8th - early 11th centuries, has been studied since 2022 by researchers from the Nizhny Novgorod State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve and the Volga Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Under the experts’ supervision, the IIRWH students learned archaeological research methods: they laid out archaeological grids, familiarised themselves with levelling, photographic documentation, and drafting processes, excavated the cultural layer from the turf down to the subsoil using hand tools, participated in burial analysis, identified and processed bulk material and individual artifacts, and maintained field records.

The students were particularly impressed by the funeral items discovered, such as pendants shaped like waterfowl claws attached to jingling decorations, bracelets, neck-rings and headbands, some of which the students sketched. During their fieldwork, the IIRWH students also attended a series of lectures on the history of Muroma archaeological research, as well as the economic, social, and religious life of this people.

"Archaeological excavations, life in the field conditions, the challenges of nature and cozy evenings by the campfire gave the first-year students unforgettable emotions and valuable experience for their future research,"  says Elena Ivanova, the archaeological practice curator from IIRWH and assistant professor at the Department of Ancient World and Medieval History.