Burial complexes of the Spitsbergen pomors

Over twenty burial sites are known at the Spitsbergen, both cemeteries and single graves, usually situated close to the stations. The burials are divided into three groups. In the first one the dead were deposited in pits in supine position, head pointing W, the pits often covered with stones and surmounted with cross. Another group includes secondary burials, mostly of skulls, also with cross on the top. To the third group we preliminary attest the remains of hunters with indications of violent death discovered in dwellings or close to them. According to forensic expertise, some skulls show the signs of fatal traumas dealt with sharp objects. The archaeological data correspond to those of written sources containing information on criminal conflicts, especially dramatic in the first third of the XIX c., when the archipelago was actively explored by the Norsemen.