Morminte de monahi cu „pietre” de căpătâi, descoperite la Mănăstirea Căpriana
Monks’ graves with head support stones, discovered at Căpriana Monastery

Summary/Abstract: Archaeological research at the Căpriana Monastery has revealed five 19th-century graves of monks with stones placed under their heads, on which their names and years of death were carved. “Pillows” of stone (or brick) under the heads of deceased monks have been found in monastery cemeteries dating from the early Middle Ages to the modern era. Similar finds have been recorded in other monasteries in the Republic of Moldova, as well as in Romania, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, etc. The burial rite with stone “pillows” is interpreted as an expression of the rigidity of the monastic bed and the asceticism of monastic life. On the other hand, this funerary custom has a much deeper meaning, connected with the visions of the Patriarch Jacob, who, according to the Old Testament, laid his head to sleep on a stone, which later became the altar pillar, and this place became the Heavenly Gate and the House of the Lord. Thus, the custom of burying monks with a stone under their heads, widely documented by archaeologists, correlates perfectly with the biblical and historical texts that have defined the norms of monastic asceticism for centuries.

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