Archeological sensation: Grave of Vseslav the Sorcerer’s son found in Polatsk

The press service of Polatsk State University has reported a sensation. The grave of famous Vseslav the Sorcerer’s son Svatoslav-Georgi (1050s–1130s) has probably been found. The grave was situated in a small underground temple built near the walls of the Transfiguration Church (architectural monument of the 12th century). “There are no analogues in the Eastern Slavic territory”, the press service notes.

The underground temple is the lower tier of a building that was separate from the church. They were built of the same bricks. There is a deep niche meant for remains. It is small: about 140 cm long and 50 cm wide. That is why researchers have concluded that the niche was meant for remains and not for a body (it was a reburial).  Fragments of a small stone icon of St. George were also found there. The person the temple was built for could have the same name and was probably honoured by Mother Superior Euphrosyne of Polotsk (1104-1167) – a canonized Belarusian enlightener.

Vseslav the Sorcerer’s (1029-1101) youngest son Svatoslav-Georgi was Euphrosyne's father. He was a Vitsebsk prince in the first decades of the 12th century.  Kiev princes banished him to Byzantium together with the other Vseslav’s ancestors in 1129 and he died there. Euphrosyne could organize the reburial of her father in Polatsk, researchers think.

If the version is true, the grave of one of Polatsk princes has been found. This is a real sensation. The niche in the underground temple was covered with bricks later on. At the moment it is not clear whether the remains are still there.