The cemetery in Szczyty-Dzięciołowo, Bielsk Podlaski district, as an example of grave form diversity in the middle Bug river basin in the 11th-13th centuries

Abstract

The Early Medieval burial ground in Szczyty-Dzieciolowo is one of the few cemeteries with graves surrounded by kerbstones located on the Bielsk Plain, in the basin of the Narew River’s tributaries – the Orlanka and Łoknica Rivers. In 2015, two graves were excavated at the cemetery: a pit grave with an inhumation burial and a setting of kerbstones and a barrow, where an inhumation burial was discovered as well. This has resulted in yet another confirmation of the differentiation of the funeral rite, which was characteristic for the whole Middle Bug River basin in the 11th-13th centuries. Flat graves with inhumation burials from this period are considered to be a feature of the West Slavic rite, while barrow burials are typical for the majority of East Slavic peoples. This text is an attempt to discuss the issue of grave form diversity in the Mazovian-Rus’ borderland region in the younger phase of the Early Middle Ages on the example of the aforementioned cemetery.