Zozulya S.S.

Key words: “druzhina” necropolises, Viking time antiquities, burial rite, emergence of the Old Russian state.
The dates of the “druzhina” necropolises which go back to the time of emergence of the Old Russian state have long been the focus of attention for scholars in this country and abroad. The cemetery at Timeryovo has also been an object of interest. One of the most vivid burials at the site is chamber grave 348, which yielded rich grave goods, clearly Scandinavian in appearance. The article attempts to date the burial on the basis of analyzing the archive materials, the grave goods and the funeral rite, and suggests a new date: 990–1010 AD.
Even though many assertions in the article may appear disputable, we are of the opinion that the most probable date of the burial is the turn of the 10th and 11th cc. Thus, chamber burial 348 may be one of the most recent “classical” chamber burials.