The History of the Transfiguration (Abalak) Churchyard in the 17th Century

The archaeological research of the Transfiguration churchyard (the area of the Abalak Monastery of the Holy Sign) which was widely conducted in 2007 to 2010 allowed examining certain issues related to the history of the churchyard in more detail. The first generalizing work by P. Danilov covered a number of various aspects and became of great significance. Nevertheless, some aspects were pushed into the background, mainly due to the versatile nature of the work. The aim of this article is to shed some light onto certain aspects of the earlier history of the Transfiguration churchyard before the fire (early to late 17th century), taking into account the unpublished data and re-evaluated excavation records. Its relevance is based on the scarcity of written records of the mentioned period and the fact that they only describe the history of the Transfiguration churchyard in general, whereas archaeological data clarify certain moments of its history. Unfortunately, all the research combined since the beginning of excavation did not amount to much (approximately 220 sq.m), thus all available data were taken into consideration. The research conducted in 2010 is especially significant. The occupation layer next to the western monastery wall was examined through two exploratory shafts. The local area of the digging site totaled up to 18 sq.m. The exploratory shaft next to the Cathedral of the Holy Sign included a small pit and an earlier pit with a rod post from the cemetery fence, which dates back to an earlier period. The burials located to the east from the fence and dating back to the early 17th - late 18th centuries were explored. The other exploratory shaft, located 32 m south from the first one, offers a similar picture. The burials found through the second exploratory shaft date back to the same period. The finding of a female's burial under the northern monastery wall, which demonstrates the direction the cemetery developed in, was also examined. Overall, the data obtained due to the excavation in 2010 allowed creating a working hypothesis concerning the purpose of the small pit in the first exploratory shaft (a place of worship) and providing further proof of the location of some churchyard boundaries: the northern one (a female's burial) and the western one (the wooden fence remnants). The findings of posts in the upper horizons of the second exploratory shaft confirm that the boundaries of the cemetery (and later the monastery) did not undergo significant changes until the early 19th century. They were altered in the early 19th century with the construction of a stone fence approximately 3.5-4.5 m to the west from the former wooden fence.

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