Языческие святилища на Старорязанском городище
Pagan Sanctuaries on Old Ryazan Hillfort

Summary/Abstract: The article describes pagan objects of Ryazan Finns found on the ancient fortified settlement of Old Ryazan. The first of them is located on the Northern Cape of the settlement and represents the remains of a circular sanctuary with a repeatedly used central sacrificial pit, several altars and pillar pits. The dating of the sanctuary is narrowed to 8th—10th centuries. The article also publishes new materials obtained during the study of the neighboring site — the Northern fortified settlement, where the remains of a burial ground with cremations in urns were found under ancient Russian layers. It has been established that the burial ground is culturally and chronologically linked to the sanctuary on the Northern Cape. Thus, a new type of late I millennium AD Middle Oka archeological sites has been identified. Previously, ritual structures were known only on burial grounds, but the complex of the sanctuary and the burial ground located nearby is revealed for the first time. Also, the nearby object of the first half of the 12th century — the altar next to the foundation of the Old Russian Spassky Cathedral, studied at the end of the 19th century, is re-examined. The authors examined finds from the altar, including the image of an anthropomorphic idol. The current selection of its analogues is given, its connection with the steppe zone antiquities of the 8th—10th centuries is established. The comparison of the data allows the authors to hypothesize about the possible origin of the idol from the sanctuary on the Northern Cape.

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