Unravelling historical genetics

Joint work by scientists from Belarus and Russia has lifted the veil on the secrets of medieval Polotsk

The cradle of Belarusian statehood, the source of our spiritual strength — all of this is about Polotsk, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, which still holds many secrets. Recently, scientists from Belarus and Russia have come closer to unravelling one of them. Specifically, they have established the relationships between the Polotsk women whose remains were found in sarcophagi in the Saviour Transfiguration Church, and possibly even their relationship to Saint Euphrosyne.

Saviour Transfiguration Church of St. Euphrosyne Convent in Polotsk is a unique architectural monument of 12th century      belta

In all its glory

We meet Olga Yemelyanchik, Candidate of Biological Sciences and Associate Professor of History and Tourism Department at Polotsk State University. She has been living in Polotsk for almost 30 years and has been involved in anthropology for just as long. One of the largest osteostorage facilities in Belarus is located at Polotsk State University — Olga Antonovna [Yemelyanchik] intrigued from the doorstep, “Human remains dating from the 11th to the 18th centuries are stored in the ancient basement of the former Polotsk Collegium. Today, the unique collection numbers about 500 skeletons.” 
However, one of the most significant finds made in Polotsk is not there. The remains of previously unknown nuns, who, according to scientists, may be related to Saint Euphrosyne, have been reburied with all honours on the territory of the Saviour-Euphrosyne Convent. Joint research by scientists from Belarus and Russia helped to tip the scales in favour of this hypothesis.
A co-operation agreement between Polotsk State University and N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnography and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences was concluded in 2020. A year later, an international laboratory for anthropological research began operating at the Polotsk university. “Thanks to this, we have the opportunity to use the most modern scientific methods,” said Olga Yemelyanchik. “For example, we can now use isotopic, and if necessary, genetic analysis, transferring the material to our Russian colleagues — to the laboratory of historical genetics.

The latter method has recently allowed us to recreate — for the first time in Belarusian history — not only the faces of people who lived centuries ago, but also their pigmentation, including hair colour and eye colour.”

A portrait gallery, including that of ancient Polotsk residents, can be seen in the Population of Ancient Rus. Album in Faces book, published in Moscow in 2024. Anthropologist Olga Yemelyanchik is one of its co-authors.

Kin blood

We leaf through the rarest album, each page being like a voice through the ages. We reach the Principality of Polotsk, which was once part of Ancient Rus. Olga Yemelyanchik has recounted that a whole detective story is connected with these female portraits, “We managed to unravel it together with the Russians. During archaeological research on the territory of our monastery, a large number of human skeletal remains were discovered near the walls of the Transfiguration Church. Archaeologists also found a sarcophagus with many bones, including several female skulls. Their morphology indicated that those women were not quite like the population buried near the walls of the church in the 17th-18th centuries. But then is it possible to date the skulls to the 12th century? If so, they could have belonged to representatives of the Rogvolodovichi-Rurikovichi dynasty... That is, kin to venerable Euphrosyne.”
The problem was that the remains had been redeposited, meaning they had been removed from their original burial site. Radiocarbon dating yielded inconclusive results. Yet the scientists were incredibly lucky! In 2020, during excavations on the temple grounds, a sealed 12th-century sarcophagus was discovered, containing an undisturbed female skeleton. This find became the thread that led to the unidentified female skulls.

At the request of colleagues from Polotsk, scientists from the Institute of Ethnography and Anthropology in Moscow conducted genetic analysis. Its conclusions are sensational! It turned out that the women were closely related, literally at the level of ‘daughter — mother — sister’. As Yemelyanchik noted, considering the specifics of the temple, it is highly likely that they were relatives of Saint Euphrosyne.

There are several clues to this. They are also present in the hagiography of the saint herself, which recounts that her blood and cousin sisters, and nieces, followed Euphrosyne into monasticism. Russian scientists from the laboratory of anthropological reconstruction of the Institute of Ethnography and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences performed photogrammetry of the skulls, based on which faces were reconstructed, and genetic analysis ‘suggested’ the colour of eyes and hair. All four women were blue-eyed blondes. Most likely, this is how the Scandinavian roots of the representatives of the glorious princely family of Rogvolodovichi manifested themselves, concluded Olga Yemelyanchik.

Energy of artefacts

“My specialisation is computer physics. In the laboratory, I am responsible for working with 3D scanners and printers,” remarked Konstantin Saikovsky, a laboratory assistant and second-year university student. “Recently, I helped scan bone remains that were submitted for digitisation. I did not even imagine how much powerful energy emanates from such artefacts!”
Previously, reconstructions had to be done manually; modern technologies have now significantly eased the task for scientists. On a 3D scanner, you can see the human skull of a resident of Polotsk who lived many centuries ago. Computer modelling offers a chance to roughly understand what he looked like.
The initial experiments in 3D scanning of bone remains began in the university’s laboratory for computer modelling and rapid prototyping in 2023. Aleksei Burachenok, Vice-Rector for Infrastructure at Polotsk State University, clarified, “We are now trying to streamline this fascinating work. The Polotsk area is a Klondike of Belarusian history, so I am sure there are many more amazing discoveries ahead.” 

Aleksei Burachenok          Anton Stepanishchev

Uniqueness and relevance

Intriguingly, the scanners from Polotsk State University are suitable not only for laboratory but also for field conditions. Aleksei Burachenok opens a black case, inside which is equipment that allows for the creation of 3D models of architectural structures, bas-reliefs, statues, and much more. A benefit of this scanner is that it immediately captures texture, that is, colour and surface pattern of the object. It also peeps into the most inaccessible areas. As an example, it was used during excavations when surveying the basement of the Saviour Transfiguration Church. One of the laboratory’s most interesting projects is the reconstruction of a glazed tile stove from the former Polotsk Jesuit Collegium. The glazed tile (a burnt, painted clay tile), printed on a 3D printer, became the first ‘brick’ for the reconstructed stove as a work of art in real scale.

TO THE POINT

All material collected on the ancient population of the Polotsk region is being studied comprehensively. Anthropologist Olga Yemelyanchik is assisted in this by her student, Daria Kaminskaya, a lecturer of the History and Socio-Humanitarian Sciences Department at Polotsk State University. Incidentally, Daria is the only paleopathologist in the whole of Belarus — a specialist who studies the manifestations of injuries and diseases of ancient people.
Daria Kaminskaya has introduced us to the osteobiography of one of Polotsk inhabitants from the 11th-13th centuries. His portrait also appears in the Population of Ancient Rus. Album in Faces book. The fate of this man, aged 20-30, was remarkable, as pointed out by Daria Sergeyevna, “He had a healed fracture of the nasal bridge sustained during his lifetime, a healed fracture of the skull vault, presumably from a battle-flail — a medieval bludgeon-like weapon consisting of a stick with a heavy object suspended on a chain. Most likely, we have before us an active participant in street brawls. In addition, there are markers of prolonged physiological stress on the skeleton. Possibly, the man suffered starvation or a serious illness in childhood, but managed to survive.”

By Anna Naumova