Syrovatko A.S.
Key words: burials with cinerations, Great Migration period, “Dark Ages”, Vikings’ epoch.

The article summarizes an archaeological material, which were received as a result of the last years’ excavations on the sites, essentially new for Moscow region, barrows with cremations. At present eight points of barrows with cremations have been discovered in the middle river Oka: Staraya Ryazan, two barrows Schurovo, two barrows Sokolov ashram, barrows Luzhki E and Luzhki 11, and one burial in Serpukhov. These barrows are dated back to different times – from the 5th century AD (the Sokolov ashram 1), 6th–7th centuries (the Schurovo burial, Staraya Ryazan), 9th–10th centuries (the Schurovo – phreatic, the Luzhki E, the Sokolov ashram 2). The exact date of the barrow Luzhki 11 is not identified but can be put in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The Serpukhovo burial is not dated. The most part of the burials has been made according to the cremation right on the side with the remains’ spreading on the ancient daily surface. For some of them the existence of some kind of vessel from organic materials can be suggested. The burials in urns are rare: there are two proven cases in burials Schurovo and Luzhki E, although near bones’ lenses the vessel-ancillas are often found. Specific mortuary constructions – “the mortuary houses” (the Schurovo barrow cemetery, five objects) and original cremations on the specific wooden covering (two constructions, the Luzhki E barrow) – are quite rare. The cremations both with burnt things and without them and also some amount of burnt things without bones are also known on all barrows. The finds do not have any cultural identification and are typical for whole Eastern Europe in the Migration Period and the Vikings’ epoch. The author leaves the question, whether there is a succession between these two sites and also to the Early Iron Age cultures, open. However, during the second half of the 1st millennium AD this unusual mortuary right existed exactly on this part of the river Oka bed, whereas, nothing similar was found on the neighboring territories.