Historians have restored an ancient cross at a children's burial site in Kherson

In the Kherson region, researchers have completed the restoration of an ancient cross standing over a group children’s burial site dating from the late 18th to early 19th centuries. During the restoration work, historians managed to find the craftsman’s “signature” with the date the monument was made and to decipher the epitaph, which is almost entirely preserved.

This was reported by local historian Oleksiy Patalah. 

He explained that he carried out the work together with Oleksandr Mohyla and Alsold Sitayev. The researchers fully excavated the cross, filled in the pit, placed a stone “cushion,” secured the cross, and re-embedded it at its original height.

Oleksiy Patalakh noted that the epitaph at the base of the monument has been preserved almost entirely (with the exception of the arms, which were lost during the Soviet era). The researchers also managed to find the craftsman’s signature along with the date the cross was made.

The local historian explained that, based on the parish registers of the Assumption and Transfiguration Churches in Kherson from 1790 to 1807, it was determined that Black Sea Cossacks were among the godparents of these children. This led to the assumption that the merchant Stefan Guba, the father of the buried children, was of Zaporozhian origin. 

The graves of the children of Kherson merchant Stefan Guba represent a unique historical discovery, uncovered in October 2026 at the Old City (All Saints) Cemetery in Kherson. The ancient stone cross is over two centuries old. The monument is a work of lapidary art, adorned with exquisite carvings of Golgotha. 

Buried beneath the cross are young children who died between 1794 and 1806: Artemiy (3 years old), Kateryna (7 years old), Hryhoriy (5 years old), Yevheniya (age unknown), and Polikarp (7 years old). 

Юлія Калабайда