Gliadenovo Kostishche

a sacrificial site from the fourth century B.C. to the late first century A.D., near the site of an ancient fortified town near the village of Gliadenovo, Perm’ Oblast. Excavated by N. N. Novokreshchennykh in 1896, Gliadenovo Kostishche is a hill of ashes with many small bones and skulls of sacrificed animals. Many votive objects, primarily of copper, have been recovered, including figures of horsemen, people, birds, wild animals, and bees, as well as arrowheads, beads, and small earthenware cups. It is possible that the sacrificial site celebrated in local legend and the Life of Bishop Trifon of Viatka, where a great fir was the chief deity to which sacrifices were brought, was in fact located here. The sanctuary was destroyed in the 16th century.