The Reconstruction of the Burial Pit Form and the Position of the Buried in the Primary Grave of the Maykop Kurgan (1897)

The computer simulation of the deformation of the Maykop kurgan primary burial pit (1897 excavations) dating from ca. 3520-3350 BC and the analyzed context of N. I. Veselovsky's field reports make it possible to reconstruct the initial form of the pit as well as the position of the buried individuals. Presumably, at first the burial pit had a rectangular form with posts installed at the rounded corners, vertical walls planked over with boards or reinforced with logs and a wooden frame placed along the perimeter of the cobbled bottom. A clay (?) partition divided the pit into three chambers. Most likely, three buried individuals were lying in contracted position on the right side, with their heads pointing south-south-west, with their arms bent and their hands placed in front of the faces. This «figured» outline of the burial pit in the Maykop kurgan should not be considered an exception; rather, it is a particular case of natural deformation of hollows in the earth, including funerary pits. Underestimation of this phenomenon in field practice can lead to erroneous cultural and historical reconstructions.