Archaeologists discover oldest cemetery in Belarus

Archaeologists and scientists of the Institute of History have found the oldest cemetery in Belarus, reports the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus. It is 11 thousand years old. It is located in the Krupki district of the Minsk region. With the help of DNA tests it was possible to establish with certainty that our ancestors buried their relatives on the island on Lake Syalyava from the Mesolithic period to the early Middle Ages. In the Mesolithic and then in the Neolithic period it was inhabited by people, it was a peninsula, and only in the 20th century it became an island, which played into the hands of scientists, writes Sputnik. The found burials can be a source of valuable DNA material, or they can provide an understanding of the height and build of our ancestors.

Research on the island has been going on for several decades. The tomb was found about two decades ago, but only now has it been possible to determine its age.

A total of eight burials of varying degrees of preservation, from the Mesolithic to the early Middle Ages, were discovered during the study of the settlement. Three of them have been dated as part of a scientific project to study ancient human DNA: one dates back to the early Iron Age, another to the late Neolithic and another to the Kunda culture. The latter is the oldest (9th millennium BC). There are no earlier human remains in Belarus, scientists say.