Preliminary identification of a series of finds from the excavation site on the territory of the town of the first Kostroma Kremlin

Abstract

In 2022, a series of finds characterising the early history of the city of Kostroma was revealed on the territory of the town of the first Kostroma Kremlin, in close proximity to the Volga River, where the groundwater level is particularly high (the so-called wet cultural layer). The excavation site identified the location of the wooden Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with side chapels, which had first been mentioned in the Scribe’s Book of 1629, as well as the stockade separating the church territory with the necropolis from the Assumption Lane. The stockade, made of stakes dug in close to each other, was revealed literally two meters from the church, and immediately behind it is the wooden pavement of the pre-regular Assumption Lane. A medieval necropolis has been identified between the stockade and the church, on the church territory. Later, in 1783, a stone church of the same name was erected on the site of the wooden church. It is noteworthy that some finds also give an idea of how the funeral rites changed with the adoption of Christianity among the local population.