Three Charred Communion Loaves, Two Stamped With Crosses, Found on a Church Staircase in Novgorod, Russia

Archaeologists report three small charred loaves of church bread from the Church of the Dormition at the Marketplace in Veliky Novgorod, Russia. The authors identify them as prosphora, the bread used in Eastern Christian communion. Two of the loaves still carry the stamp of an eight-pointed cross inside a round medallion. The study by Ivan Antipov and Anastasia Trushnikova appears in the journal Old Rus’: The Questions of Middle Ages (2026, vol. 3).

Where the loaves lay

A team from St. Petersburg State University excavated the church from 2021 to 2023. The loaves lay on the lower steps of a spiral staircase in the northwestern corner of the original building, which the report dates to 1135 to 1144. The finds came from a closed fire deposit of the late 14th century. Arkeonews, which summarized the study, reports bronze lamp fragments, a book clasp, coins, grain, nutshells and beeswax traces in the same staircase.

Three small loaves

According to Arkeonews, each loaf measures about 4.5 centimeters across and no more than 1.7 centimeters high, and weighs between 3.64 and 6.77 grams. The interiors are porous. One loaf keeps a nearly circular shape and a clear cross in a round medallion. A second, more deformed loaf carries a similar design, and the third is more damaged. The cross has plant-like extensions, which Russian scholars call a flowering cross. The authors suggest the design reflects a local Novgorod tradition of decorating liturgical bread.

Dating the fire

The journal page dates the deposit to the late 14th century. Arkeonews adds that two medieval coins in different fire layers, construction evidence and chronicles suggest the lower layer may match a fire recorded in 1385, and that another fire probably followed in 1399. Researchers say the earlier blaze may have preserved the loaves. The exact year is not settled in the sources checked here, so this post does not give a specific age.

Comparing the stamps

Per Arkeonews, the team compared the loaves with twelve known wooden bread stamps from earlier Novgorod excavations. Seven of them show variations of the flowering cross. The stamps come in circular, square and rectangular formats, which suggests Novgorod bakers used several bread formats. The team also believes the staircase area may have served partly as a storage room or sacristy, and presents that as a belief, not a confirmed conclusion.

Sources: Antipov and Trushnikova, Old Rus’: The Questions of Middle Ages 3 (105), 2026, pp. 123 to 141, DOI 10.25986/IRI.2026.105.3.011; Arkeonews, 15 October 2026. Image credit: Antipov and Trushnikova (2026), Fig. 2.