In Karelia opened a medieval burial ground of the XIII century

The Center for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of Karelia reported on an important archaeological discovery in the Muezersky district: a monument “Rugozero Tomb” dating back to the XIII century was discovered. The initial discovery belongs to a local resident of the village of Rugozero, who came across fragments of medieval weapons in the forest. Among the finds were an iron sword, arrowheads and spearheads, an axe, a knife, and three objects made of bronze - a needle, presumably a belt buckle and part of some product. These findings served as the basis for further research of the territory.

In the process of fieldwork, headed by Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexei Tarasov, senior researcher of the Institute of Language, Literature and History of the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and head of the Sector of Archaeology, four more artifacts of the XIII century were found. Of particular interest is the folding razor, which made it possible to more accurately determine the time frame of the complex. According to the Novgorod scale, such razors are dated no earlier than 1238, which makes the XIII century the most likely period of the existence of the burial ground.

All the artifacts found were located in the top layer of soil. However, no signs of a burial pit or remains were found. However, the composition of the items found is very characteristic of funerary equipment. These features allow us to correlate the studied object with the funerary monuments of the Middle Ages found in the North-Western Ladoga region and on the Karelian Isthmus, which are associated with the ancient Karelians (Korel tribe). For this people there was also a typical superficial occurrence of funerary equipment and bone remains.

By order of the Department for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of the Republic of Karelia dated 20.10.2026 No. 210 / UOCN-P "Rugozero Tomb" officially recognized as an identified object of cultural heritage and entered in the relevant republican register.