Ground burials in the territory of the Volga-Don interfluve in the early Middle Ages

The article is devoted to the burial monuments in the territory of the Volga-Don interfluve in the early Middle Ages. This region was under the political control of Khazar Khaganate from the middle of the 7th century to the second half of the 10th century and people, who lived there, had different social, religious and ethnic features. The discussion about the boundaries extension of the sites of Saltovo-Mayaki culture and, consequently, about Khazar Khaganate has been recently resumed among the scientists. This problem has a particular importance for the territory of the Volga-Don interfluves, as it was the private domain of the Khazar tsar according to the written sources. The main aim of this article is review of burials, which are distinguished among other burial monuments by the lack of the ground mound above the buried. There are eleven known places where ground burials were found. As a result of analysis, it was possible to find out that each of the objects was presented by a small number of burials...