Funeral masks of the Plesinsky burial ground in the Perm region

Identificator

EDN: JVIXNG ; УДК: 903.2: 903.5(470.53)

Authors

Krylasova Natalia Borisovna, Doctor of Historical Sciences, chief researcher of the Institute of Humanitarian Research, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Russia, Yekaterinburg; professor, Perm State Humanitarian and Pedagogical University. Russia, Perm. ORCID: 0000‑0003‑2032‑8292. E‑mail: n.krylasova@mail.ru

Journal

HERALD OF HUMANITARIAN EDUCATION №1 (41), 2026

Section

ARCHEOLOGY

Pages

122-137

Abstract

A series of silver burial masks are kept in the Komi‑Permyak Museum of Local History named after P. I. Subbotin‑Permyak among the materials from the excavations of the Plesinsky burial ground in the Gainsky municipal district of the Perm region. The burial ground was excavated in 1960–1961 under the direction of V. A. Oborin and was not studied any more, and, despite the unique materials, was not published separately. The use of silver masks is typical for the burial grounds of the Lomovatovskaya archaeological culture of the 7th–11th centuries, where they were sewn on cloth covers that covered the faces of the deceased in special cases. The collection of the Plesinsky burial ground includes both masks in the form of eye and scapular covers from the earliest burials of the 8th – first half of the 9th centuries, and mask‑faces of the 10th century. Of greatest interest are the mask‑faces, which attract attention with their miniature size and ease of manufacture, which distinguishes them from other known masks. As in other sites, masks were used in the burials of male warriors with a set of weapons and in rich female burials. The burial ground was the first to note a differentiation in the size of masks depending on the sex of the buried – the smallest masks come from female burials. Based on the analysis of the masks, it has been suggested that in the area where the Plesinsky burial ground was located, there was obviously a shortage of silver plates and there were no professional jewelers. The masks were made from scraps of plates and obsolete objects using the simplest technological methods. Presumably, they could have been made by local blacksmiths.

Keywords

archeology medieval era Perm region Lomovatovskaya culture Plesinsky burial ground silver masks

Recieved

08.07.2025

Published

03.06.2026

References

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