LiveScience: Battle axes unearthed in a cemetery in Russia may have belonged to 11th-century taxmen

Archaeologists uncovered the twin burials while doing fieldwork in Russia, and the grave goods suggest the deceased may have been tax collectors.

While excavating a vast cemetery in Russia, archaeologists unearthed two medieval human skeletons buried with battle axes and equestrian equipment.

Since 2020, researchers have been conducting fieldwork at the 7-acre (3 hectares) medieval site, known as the Gnezdilovo burial ground, which was originally discovered in 1851 in the town of Suzdal, located northeast of Moscow. During the latest excavations, archaeologists surveyed roughly 50 “undisturbed burials” scattered throughout the cemetery, according to a translated statement from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The cemetery has been a hotbed for archaeological discoveries, including “prestigious jewelry, coins and weapons.”

Sounds like a cool dig.

Read the whole thing at LiveScience.com