CERAMIC AND OTHER VESSELS IN FUNERARY PRACTICES IN LATE MEDIEVAL CRIMEA

Abstract

This article considers Christian funerary practices in late medieval Crimea. Special attention is paid to ceramic and glass vessels as important elements of grave goods. The functions they held in burial practices continue to give rise to discussion and conflicting interpretations. The authors comprehensively analyze late medieval graves in Crimea that contain ceramic wares in light of their larger cultural and geographic background. A typology for the vessels used in burials is proposed here. Based on written sources, liturgical and canon law in particular, and archaeological evidence, the authors critically analyze different interpretations of the functions of ceramic and glass vessels in Crimean burial customs and connect these functions to a wider context of funeral practices in Eastern and Western Christendom. The placement of vessels in graves is here interpreted as a reflection of the Eastern Christian rite of pouring oil over the deceased, which had roots in Antiquity. The end of this custom in Crimea is associated with phased changes in local Christian society in the 15th c.