Volyn archaeologists study “Merchant’s Treasure” discovered in Volodymyr

This was reported on Facebook by Viktor Baiuk, head of the Volyn archaeological expedition of the State Enterprise “Scientific and Research Center ”Archaeological Service of Ukraine," according to Ukrinform.

According to Baiuk, the treasure was found during large-scale archaeological research conducted in 2025 in the historic Apostolshchyna tract within the territory of Prince Vladimir's Okolnoe City in Volhynia.

In addition to a wide variety of archaeological finds, an extraordinary treasure was discovered in the cache of archaeological site No. CLXXXVII (187). The “merchant's treasure” includes 573 intact Old Russian glass bracelets, a massive cross-encolpion (a vestment worn by high-ranking priests), 9 bronze and 8 marble small pectoral crosses, 18 rhombic buckles decorated with pseudo-grain, 5 silver temple rings, a lead plate in the form of a stylized falcon trident, a shield-shaped silver ring, a bronze bracelet, seals with a solar sign in a circle of the “Dorohhochin type,” and a number of other items and their fragments," the report said.

The archaeologist emphasized that the discovery of such a large number of intact glass bracelets is unprecedented in the history of archaeological research in the territory of the Kyiv-Rus' state. The complex from Volodymyr includes 573 intact bracelets, divided into 109 types, differing in shape (twisted, smooth, trapezoidal), color (green, blue, purple, yellow, golden in various shades), and diameter (from 4.0 to 5.9 cm). There are series of identical items ranging from 5 to 31 pieces, with individual items found in single samples or in quantities of 2 to 5.

This refers only to bracelets found intact. The reconstruction of a large number of fragments found here should significantly supplement the collection.

"The owner of such wealth must have been a merchant who deliberately brought the items to the market in Vladimir or fled with his goods to Volhynia from the war. As for the circumstances of the hiding place, it is quite obvious that it was left during the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Batu Khan on the center of the Volhynian principality - Prince Vladimir at the end of winter 1241. These events are described in the Halician-Volhynian Chronicle: “And he (Batu) came to Vladimir, and took him with a spear, and struck him down without mercy, as well as the city of Halych, and many other cities, which are countless,” the scientist noted.

He emphasized that the results of the research are of exceptional scientific and social significance. This is the first time such a large collection of bracelets has been found. Although these women's jewelry items were common in the urban material culture of the pre-Mongol period, they were found intact only in isolated cases. For the first time, researchers can analyze this category of finds comprehensively, based on a broad source base of the discovered treasure.

After scientific processing, the materials from these works will be transferred to the Volodymyr Historical Museum named after Omelyan Dvernitsky for the creation of an exhibition, as were all previous finds from the princely capital. Further exhibition in national museums is also quite likely, Baiuk noted.

The research work, as a necessary and legally defined stage prior to the development of archaeologically valuable territories, was carried out by the Volyn Archaeological Expedition of the State Enterprise “Scientific Research Center ”Archaeological Protection Service of Ukraine" of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in cooperation with the Volyn National University named after Lesia Ukrainka, the Administration of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve in Lutsk, the Administration of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve “Ancient Volodymyr,” and the All-Ukrainian Association of Archaeologists, commissioned by Volodymyr City LLC.

As reported by Ukrinform, valuable finds related to the Scythian and Sarmatian periods, as well as other historical periods, were discovered this year by scientists from the Bilsk Historical and Cultural Reserve in Poltava region.

Photo: Viktor Baiuk, Facebook