Энколпион с композицией «Распятие. Пророк Илия» из Довмонтова города Пскова
The Enkolpion with Composition “Crucifixion. The Prophet Eliya” from Dovmont's City in Pskov

Summary/Abstract: The article is a publication of an enkolpion which was found by V. D. Beletski during the excavation of Dovmont's City in Pskov in 1966. The cross is kept at the Department of Russian culture in the State Hermitage. The cross was found in a child’s grave from the burial ground found on the territory of Dovmont's City. The grave was situated near temples no. 2 and 3 which were built in the second half of the 14th century. In the researcher’s opinion, the burial ground functioned from the end of the 14th century till the middle of the 16th century. Most burials there might have been caused by an epidemic or a pestilence in 1465—1466. On the obverse of the enkolpion, there are relief images of the crucifixion in the centre and paired images of saints on medallions. On the reverse side, there are paired images of saints on medallions and of Prophet Eliya in the centre (9.5 × 6.8 × 1.0 cm). This type of enkolpion is widely represented on the monuments which date back to the 15th century and the first half of the 16th century. However, the specimen from Pskov is one of the best due to its clear images and legible signs. It makes possible to identify saints’ images on the medallions and specify their iconographic features. The examined cross can be dated by the end of the 14th century the earliest (the supposed time of the burial ground formation) or rather within the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries (by analogy).

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