Jaroslavl

Jaroslavl is on the Upper Volga and was founded in the early 11th century by Jaroslavl the Wise.

It was one of several settlements which grew up along the Volga in the later 9th-early 11th centuries.

Several hundred burial mounds were created around these settlements.

The largest group of burial mounds around Jaroslavl are found near the modern village of Timerjovo, close to a settlement site extending over 5 hectares. The occupants had been crafts people and traders, as well as warriors.

Some of the mounds contained unusual amulets, including “clay paws” similar to one from the Åland islands which are situated in the heart of Scandinavia, midway between Stockholm and Helsinki. These may be the graves of Scandinavians who had moved there.