(also, depending on locality, kurgan, tumulus, cairn, burial mound), a mound over an ancient grave; sometimes, earth-covered ruins of various burial structures (made of wood, stone, or earth).
The first barrows appeared in the late Neolithic period and in the Aeneolithic period (fourth and third millennia B.C.) in the Caspian and Black Sea steppes (barrows of the Old Pit culture), in Ciscaucasia (barrows of the Maikop culture), and in Transcaucasia (seeKURA-ARAKS AENEOLITHIC). In the second half of the third millennium B.C., barrows became widespread in Asia Minor, the Balkans, and Central Europe. They later became prevalent on all the continents (except Australia). In eastern and northern Europe and in Central Asia, they were constructed until the late Middle Ages.
Barrows are generally hemispherical, although some have an oval or rectangular foundation. The sizes vary: from barrows measuring 0.3–0.6 m high and 3–4 m in diameter to those measuring more than 20 m high and 100 m in diameter. The long barrows have the shape of elongated mounds, which increased in height as more members of a tribal group were buried.
The barrows were heaped over graves dug in the ground, as well as over burials made on the surface of the earth. The graves beneath the mounds have various arrangements: vaults, catacombs, timber frames. Apart from the graves, there are often additional structures beneath the mounds, for example, small enclosures made of rocks, and stone, brick, or pisé walls and arches. Where cremation was practiced, the dead were cremated either at the site of the mound or elsewhere and the remains then buried beneath the barrow. Barrows heaped over large clan cemeteries are known, with the graves arranged in concentric circles, rows, and other formations. In addition to the principal interments, entrance-way burials, which were made later, are encountered in the mounds. Sometimes, each succeeding burial was accompanied by the addition of more earth, thus increasing the height of the barrow.
The remains of funerary feasts are often found in the mounds: coals from fire, animal bones, dishes, and the like. Almost always, various utensils, food, and weapons were placed in the grave. Among some people, the horses, slaves, and wives of the deceased were buried either in the grave or in special chambers beneath the mound. There are individual barrows, but more often they are grouped together, sometimes as many as 3,000 mounds (for example, the Gnezdovo burial mounds).
With the development of property stratification, the differences between rich and poor burials became more pronounced. The barrows of the tribal chiefs of the middle and end of the first millennium B.C. in the steppes of the European USSR (among the Scythians and Maeotae), in southern Siberia, and in Mongolia are particularly distinguished by their wealth and size.
The custom of burial in barrows (kurgans) ceased among the urban population in Rus’ with the introduction of Christianity. The rural population, however, continued to bury its dead according to the old, heathen rite until the 14th century.
A. L. MONGAIT