СЕМАНТИКА ЗОБРАЖЕНЬ НА ФУНЕРАЛЬНОМУ ПОСУДІ З РОВАНЦІВСЬКОГО МОГИЛЬНИКА КІНЦЯ ДОБИ БРОНЗИ

The study of the semantics of images on archaeological artifacts is a matter of great interest, because the content of ornamental compositions, ideograms, symbolic signs can be interpreted in the context of the sphere of contemporary religious doctrines. This also applies to the ornamentation of ceramic ware found in burials. During the research of bi-ritual cemetery of Ulvivets-Rovantsi cultural group in Rovantsi (Volhyn region), dated back to the second half of IX–VIII centuries B.C., cinerary vase-urn with the remains of cremation was found. The vessel is decorated by images of four «trees» that stand on a wavy line and have raised branches and round tops. One of them differs by presence of broken branches.

Comparative analysis of archaeological materials with using of ethnographic and folklore sources and examples from mythology allows us to explain the semantics of these symbolic signs, which form a holistic ideogram with figurative and symbolic meaning. It is confirmed that such an ideogram, which also occurs in the burial vessels of Corded Ware culture, Komarivska, Bilozerska, Pomeranian and especially Vysotska and Lusatian cultures, can be considered a universal sign system aimed at the figurative expression of one of the oldest religious doctrines.

Image of a tree on a funerary vessel can be associated with image of the «world tree (tree of life)», a universal mythological archetype, a symbolic embodiment of the idea of rebirth, although it can also be a «tree of death» or a «tree of the underworld». It is also noted that it is possible to anthropomorphically interpret the image of a tree as a symbol of souls of the dead who stand on the banks of the river – boundaries of the worlds or float by the «river of death» to the afterlife, as evidenced by the image of water (river) under the tree. It is claimed that the images on the cinerary urn from Rovantsi represent magical signs-symbols used by ancient people, applied to the burial vessels to ensure «transition» of the dead to the afterlife and subsequent revival, possibly an encoded story about dead whose remains were buried in this vessel. After all, at the base of such beliefs is the ancient cult of ancestors known in wide areas in many cultures, which belong to different historical periods and ethnic groups.