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Geological excavations. Archaeological excavations in Sahara

The ancient mounds of the north-east of the Moscow region near Aniskin, Oseev, Obukhovo, Vorya-Bogorodsky can tell us not only about the ancient history of these places, but also remind us of the first steps in the formation of archeology as a scientific historical discipline in Russia. Who took the lead in discovering these silent monuments of the past, who was the first to dare to disturb the ashes of ancient burials with his shovel and pickaxe, when the first excavations were carried out - has long been and firmly forgotten in these places...

Meanwhile, the name of this person is quite well known. He was a Russian zoologist, anthropologist, historian of zoology, one of the founders of Russian anthropology, Anatoly Petrovich Bogdanov (1834-1896) - a man of rare and interesting destiny...

At the beginning of October 1834, a foundling was found in the gatehouse of the church in the village of Bogoroditskoye, Voronezh province. The owner of the neighboring estate, E.F. Tatarinova took him into her house. Tatarinova’s mother, Princess G.N., took a great part in the fate of the child, who received the surname Bogdanov from “given by God.” Keykuatova. After Tatarinova’s death, the adopted son turned out to be a serf of her heirs, but the adoptive grandmother soon managed to take him into her home. Enrolling a serf in a provincial gymnasium was unthinkable, but the unexpected petition of Archbishop Anthony of Voronezh and Zadonsk helped. Having successfully graduated from high school, Anatoly Bogdanov entered the natural sciences department of the Physics and Mathematics Department of Moscow University in 1851 and in 1855 graduated from the course with the title of candidate. The talent of the student, who was still considered a serf, was noticed by teachers, and his work “On the signs of identifying sedimentary rock formations” was awarded a silver medal and was recommended for publication.

Anatoly Bogdanov at the age of 13 (1847). From here.

The foster grandmother continued to help her foster child. With 15,000 rubles given by her, he bought a house in Moscow, on Spasopeskovsky Lane.

A.P.'s family home Bogdanova - Moscow, Spasopeskovsky Lane, 4. From here.

At her expense, after completing the course, he went on a scientific trip to Germany, Belgium and France, where the young scientist became acquainted with the latest achievements of Western European science. In 1858, under the leadership of his scientific supervisor, Karl Frantsevich Roulier (1814-1858), A.P. Bogdanov joined the committee for the preparation of the Acclimatization Exhibition, the holding of which predetermined the opening of the Moscow Zoological Garden.

Karl Frantsevich Roulier (1814-1858).

But even here the scientist was in trouble. The defense of his master's thesis "On the color of bird feathers" in 1858 almost ended in failure, but thanks to the help of K.F. Roulier, A.P. Bogdanov still managed to soon take a position as a teacher at Moscow University. At the age of 23 he became an adjunct, at the age of 29 (1863) - an extraordinary professor and head of the Zoological Museum.

Anatoly Petrovich Bogdanov at the age of 29 years (1863).

During these years, he buried his grandmother, finally revealing the secret of his origins. His mother turned out to be none other than this same “grandmother,” and his father was the aforementioned Archbishop Anthony.

In 1863, on the initiative of A.P. Bogdanov, the Society of Natural History Lovers was founded at Moscow University, which entered into competition with the authoritative Society of Natural Scientists, founded in 1805. While “testers” accepted only specialists, “amateurs” accepted everyone.
The authority of the scientist in the scientific community was quite low. Most colleagues considered A.P. Bogdanov is a clever and unprincipled careerist.

Token "Society of Natural History Lovers at Moscow University".

In 1864, the Society of Amateurs created a department of anthropology and ethnography, which was absent in the Society of Testers. In the same 1864 A.P. Bogdanov became interested in a new field for himself - anthropology. In the Podolsk district of the Moscow province, human skulls were found extracted from ancient mounds, two of which were personally given to A.A. Bogdanov. Gatsuk.

The next step was to organize excavations. To analyze their results A.P. Bogdanov involved: botanist Nikolai Nikolaevich Kaufman (1834-1870), who analyzed the remains of the tree, assistant of the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy P.A. Grigoriev (d. 1891) - for the chemical analysis of metal objects, the analysis of leather and fabrics was undertaken by Professor Modest Yakovlevich Kittary (1825-1880), the mineralogical characteristics of beads and stones were entrusted to Professor Ivan Bogdanovich Auerbach (1815-1867).

From here.

Excavations began in 1864 in Kolomensky district. They were led by a doctor from Kolomna, Alexander Mikhailovich Anastasyev (d. 1877), and Bogdanov’s close associates, Alexey Pavlovich Fedchenko (1844-1873) and Nikolai Grigorievich Kertselli (1822-1882), took part.

Lithograph depicting objects and human remains from the mounds of the Moscow province (summer 1865). From here.

Excavations began widely the following year, 1865, when A.P. personally Bogdanov and his collaborators examined 129 mounds in nine districts of the Moscow province (only two districts were not covered - Klinsky and Dmitrovsky). The largest number of mounds were excavated in Bogorodsky district - 43 [Bogdanov A.P. Materials for the anthropology of the Kurgan period in the Moscow province. 1867, p.12]. In the vicinity of the city, Setun, excavations were carried out by Bogdanov himself with the participation of A.P. Fedchenko. A young biologist, Nikolai Karlovich Zenger (d. 1877), worked in Cherkizovo. Personally A.P. Bogdanov led excavations northeast of Moscow, in the villages of Bogorodsky district: Aniskin, Oseev and Vorya-Bogorodsky, (now Shchelkovsky district), Obukhov and the churchyard of Peter and Paul (now Noginsky district), and also visited excavations in Mozhaisk ( Vlasyevo), Vereisky (village Krymskoye, Ruzsky district), Zvenigorodsky (Yabedino, Istra district) and Podolsky (Dubrovichi, Dobryatino, Zabolotye and Pokrov) districts.

Open sheet issued by A.P. Bogdanov to carry out excavations in the Moscow province (1866). From here.

The study of skulls from the indicated burials of A.P. Bogdanov devoted two works: “The Kurgan tribe of the Moscow province” and the monograph “Materials for the anthropology of the Kurgan period in the Moscow province.” For the latter in 1867 A.P. Bogdanov was awarded a doctorate without defending a dissertation.

In "Materials" A.P. Bogdanov noted: “The Bogorodsk mounds had the peculiarity that many of them, after pouring an arshin and a half of land above the deceased, were covered with large stones and then covered with earth again” [Bogdanov A.P. Materials for the anthropology of the Kurgan period in the Moscow province. 1867, p.14].
In Bogorodsky district, excavations were directly carried out by Nikolai Fedorovich Petrovsky , N.I. Kulakovsky and M.G. Vinogradov. The excavations were assisted by the former district police officer N.P. Bogdanov and staff caretaker V.M. Mikhailov. The “Materials” provides a brief description of the four burial mound groups examined:
"Obukhov Kurgans lie near the village of Obukhovaya, next to the Tyulyaev factory, near Shelovka and 10 versts from Bogorodsk. Most of the mounds had already been demolished by the owners of the area, and the last remaining ones, apparently, had already been demolished from above, since the skeletons lay covered with a very small layer of earth.
Petro-Pavlovsk mounds lie near Obukhovskiye, on the Shelovka River and on the estate of V.G. Vysotsky. With special gratitude I remember the enlightened assistance that the venerable and deeply respected rector of the local church, Tikhon Matveevich Kolychev, provided me in this area. The mounds lie on a fairly elevated area near the river, in a fairly large group.
Aniskinsky mounds are located near the village of Aniskin along the Ostromyn road, 30 versts from Moscow (along the Klyazma River).
Oseevskie mounds lie on the same river, between the villages of Oseevo and the village of Lukino, on the land of Count Lansky, who allowed the excavation" [Bogdanov A.P. Materials for the anthropology of the Kurgan period in the Moscow province. 1867, p. 124].

Vyatichi decorations from the burial mounds of Aniskin, Merenia and Puzikov.

The following is a description of the Oseevsky mounds: “The mounds are located in two groups: one on the steepest bank; the other further from the shore, in the field. The near group. Kurg.1. The circumference is 15 fathoms. Depth to bones 2 arsh. 5 vershk. the skeleton lies 1/2 arsh above the mainland. Head to the right side, feet to SE; legs bent, arms along. Around the mound there are pits from the southeast. from. Kurg.2. Circumference 8 fathoms. Depth to bones 2 arsh. 10 vershoks. On the north side of the mound there is a small hole. the skeleton lies on the mainland, with its feet to the SE. head to the side (left), arms along the body. Found on the skeleton were the remains of a headdress with hair and rings. Kurg. 3(distant group) Circumference 12 fathoms. Depth to bone 3 1/2 arsh. The frame is on the mainland, head to the right, feet to SE, arms along the body. There is a pit on the north side of the mound. Coal was found in small quantities in all previous mounds. Kurg. 4. Circumference 11 fathoms. Depth to bone 2 1/2 arshins. The backbone is slightly higher than the mainland, in the NO-SE direction. Right hand on the chest, left along the body. On the right hand is a bracelet. In addition, earrings, beads, remnants of hair. Kurg. 5. circumference 12 fathoms. Depth 3 1/4 arch. Dimples on the E.S. and S. of the mound. The skeleton is above the mainland in the NO-SE direction. lined with birch bark. Kurg. 6. Circumference 15 fathoms. Depth to bone 3 3/4 arch. Pit near the mound on the E. and W. Skeleton on the mainland in the direction O-E; arms along the body. Items: rings, beads and bracelet. Kurg. 7. Circumference 13 fathoms. Depth 3 arshins 2 vershok. Dimples near the mound on the S.S. and W. Kostyak in the direction NO-SE; covered with birch bark; arms along the body. Found: hair, rings, the remains of a headdress, the remains of cloth at the feet. Kurg. 8. Circumference 8 fathoms. The backbone is higher than the mainland; direction NO-SE, arms along the body. Among the things: earrings, part of a headdress. Kurg. 9. circumference 17 fathoms; depth 1 1/4 arch. The skeleton is 1/2 arshin higher than the mainland. Hands along the body, face to the side; direction NO-SE. To the left of the feet is a broken pot. Kurg.10. Circumference 19 fathoms. Depth 5 arshins. Backbone on the mainland, direction NO-SE. Lined with birch bark; arms along the body" [Bogdanov A.P. Materials for the anthropology of the Kurgan period in the Moscow province. 1867, p. 134].

Nikolai Fedorovich Petrovsky (1837-1908).

The reason why the remains in some burials lay above the mainland was explained by A.P. To Bogdanov, local hired excavators: “The workers who were excavating these mounds explained this exception very plausibly: such dead people, in their opinion, were buried in the winter, when clearing the site was difficult, which was confirmed by the position of the feet to the winter east” [Materials for anthropology of the Kurgan period in the Moscow province. P. 9-10].

During the expedition of the following 1866, another 60 mounds were excavated in the same areas.

Open sheet issued by A.P. Bogdanov to carry out excavations of mounds and ethnographic research in the Moscow, Tver, Vladimir, Ryazan, Tula, Smolensk, Kostroma, Kaluga and Yaroslavl provinces (1866).From here.

The results of the research of 1864-1866 were reflected in the exposition of the Ethnographic Exhibition, opened in the Moscow Manege in 1867 and which was very popular among Muscovites.

From here.

Hundreds of finds made by the expedition in the Moscow province were presented here.

Ethnographic exhibition. Photo of the exhibition. From here.
Download the album of the Ethnographic Exhibition of 1867.

Later, on the basis of this exhibition, the Ethnographic (Dashkovsky) Museum arose, which existed until 1941 (merged with the Museum of Ethnography of the Peoples of the USSR).

Medal A.P. Bogdanov. OLE at Moscow University (04/05/1867).

In 1872, the next exhibition took place - the Polytechnic, dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Peter I, and housed in 62 pavilions built in the Alexander Garden and along the Kremlin wall along the banks of the Moscow River. Soon its organizers turned to the emperor with a petition to open a historical museum in Moscow and transfer the exhibited materials there. Permission was obtained and a government subsidy was allocated.

Token from the Polytechnic Exhibition of 1872

From here.

Historical department of the Polytechnic Exhibition of 1872. From here.

Anthropological department. Polytechnic exhibition of 1872. From here.

In 1879, an Anthropological Exhibition took place in the arena, in which materials from the Moscow region occupied a prominent place. In addition to items from the excavated mounds, visitors were shown life-size models of these burial structures based on excavations near Setun and the village of Pokrov near Podolsk.

Lithograph depicting the mounds of the village of Pokrova, Podolsk district. Moscow province

The materials of this exhibition formed the basis of the Anthropological Museum in the old building of Moscow University.

Passage to the Anthropological Department of the Anthropological Exhibition in Moscow in 1879. From here.

Ticket of the Chairman of the Committee of the Anthropological Exhibition in Moscow - A.P. Bogdanov (04/03/1879).

Government subsidies for the opening of these three exhibitions of A.P. Bogdanov did not have to attract capital from private patrons. Assistant Trustee of the Moscow Educational District V.A. allocated 10,000 rubles for the ethnographic exhibition. Dashkov, for the Polytechnic - 20,000 rubles were given by the railway magnate P.I. Gubonin. The anthropological exhibition was “unlucky” in this sense. Previously from the merchants F.A. Tereshchenko and L.S. Polyakov was donated 60,000 rubles. This money was soon spent on trips to collect exhibits and their acquisition, but the entrance fee did not cover the costs, and a large debt fell directly on A.P. Bogdanov, who paid it from his personal funds until the end of his days. After the Anthropological Exhibition, Bogdanov no longer worked on enterprises of this kind and devoted his organizational talent to the Moscow Zoological Garden, to whose management he returned in the 1880s.

Anatoly Petrovich Bogdanov in his office. From here.

By the end of his life, the tireless researcher and talented organizer became a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences and received the rank of Privy Councilor. Anatoly Petrovich died in 1896 and was buried in the cemetery of the Novodevichy Convent.

A.P. Bogdanov in his office (1895).

According to A.A. Formozova: “The merits of Bogdanov’s works are indisputable, but for archeology their significance turned out to be much less than one might expect. The excavation process, the burials themselves, the objects found in them remained undescribed. Collections from different places were not put in order in time and were not properly inventoried, gradually became mixed up, lost their labels and turned into a pile of uncertified items. It is now impossible to understand where, from which burial mound group and from which grave these or those items come"...

When using the material, a link to trojza.blogspot.com is required.

Photographic materials from the site were used in preparing the text. arran.ru and work by A.A. Formozov "Pathfinders of the Moscow Land", M., 1988.

A. WEKSLER, General Director of the Center for Archaeological Research of the Main Directorate for the Protection of Monuments of Moscow, professor.

On March 14, 2004, the Moscow Manezh, an invaluable monument of world architecture, burned down. Fires have occurred frequently in the history of Moscow. And the building of the Manege (exertsirhaus) appeared on the fire that formed during the War of 1812. Moscow then burned almost completely. But by the fifth anniversary of the victory over Napoleon’s army, most of the buildings had been rebuilt. The arena was erected very quickly, in just six months - they were in a hurry for the parade of troops in the presence of Emperor Alexander I. Over two thousand soldiers (an entire infantry regiment) paraded in front of the Russian emperor, who was saluted by Europe shortly before. But despite the haste, they erected a masterpiece. The design of the building was developed by General Engineer August Bettencourt; construction was supervised by engineers A. L. Carbonnier and A. Ya. Kashperov. The huge internal space - 166.1 by 44.7 m - did not have a single supporting column. To cover the building, a unique unsupported structure made of wooden trusses, which has no analogues in world practice, was created. The fame of the Manege spread throughout Europe, foreign engineers came to get acquainted with the ceiling system. The project for the exterior design of the building was created by the famous architect O. I. Bove. The arcades of window openings, separated by Tuscan columns, made the building elegant and austere. In addition to military shows, the Manege hosted exhibitions, charity evenings, and celebrations. The grandiose concert held in this building in 1867 entered the history of Moscow culture. The orchestra was conducted by Hector Berlioz and Nikolai Rubinstein, and 12 thousand spectators came to the concert. In 1872, the Polytechnic Exhibition was held in Manege. Many striking events have been preserved in the track record of the building, which gave its name to the central square of the capital. After 1917, the architectural monument was turned into a government garage. Forty years have passed, and the Manege - the Central Exhibition Hall - was returned to Muscovites. Now it's burned out. We are assured that the Manege will soon be revived. It’s too early to talk about this: there is scaffolding on Manezhnaya Square. And with the help of archaeologists we can look into the past of this space, called the Manege.

Science and life // Illustrations

In the spring and summer of 2004, around the clock - at night under spotlights - specialists and workers from the Center for Archaeological Research of the Main Directorate for the Protection of Monuments of Moscow (CAI) carried out excavations in the Moscow Manege related to the restoration of this outstanding architectural and historical monument after a fire. Before starting, preliminary archaeological design was carried out: archival documents, historical plans, drilling data, etc. were studied. Currently, a situation has developed in the capital that is favorable for the development of archeology. The Moscow Government, Moskomarkhitektura, and the Department of Urban Development Policy, City Development and Reconstruction consider preliminary archaeological research to be as necessary a part of the construction “production cycle” as geological or restoration work.

It was impossible to explore the entire site inside the walls of the Manege at once, because under the building there are a metro security zone, heating mains, and communications, as well as basements and deep technical rooms preserved from the times when government garages were located here. All these underground structures significantly disturbed the cultural layer, and in the project for organizing archaeological work, the “cleanest” areas, in our opinion, were initially identified. It was here that ten excavations measuring 8x8 m were laid, inscribed in a single geodetic system of 2x2 m squares. The dimensions of the excavations were determined by the length of the steel beams. They were welded to fasten the sides of pits, the walls of which were then lined with boards. The pressure of man-made soil in the center of Moscow is extremely high, and archaeological excavations were developed in compliance with underground mining technology, as well as safety regulations.

Excavations located linearly, at small intervals, made it possible to obtain graphic sections of the horizon of the cultural layer and identify archaeological stratigraphy - a system of strata. The upper horizon under the thick concrete slab consisted of sediments from the 18th - early 19th centuries, with an average thickness of three meters. When excavating ancient Russian cities, the top layer is often removed without any inspection, using mechanisms. Meanwhile, the Moscow experience of extensive research not only of the lower ancient layers, but also of the entire thickness of the strata, including the building tiers of the 18th - early 20th centuries, is interesting. Materials from the post-medieval period have become a familiar area of research for archaeologists in Western Europe and America, but Russian scientists have almost no such experience. There is no doubt that the so-called late monuments are also very important for the history of the city, for urban ethnography, and in a practical sense - as objects of museum display. Therefore, the development of the upper layers under the concrete slab of the Manege was carried out with all possible care. Architectural details and building materials found during excavations are related to the history of the building’s construction and will undoubtedly be important for its subsequent restoration. In the thickness of broken brick, lime, construction waste with inclusions of coal and ash, there were also household items, dishes, fragments of glass damask, clay smoking pipes, smooth stove tiles with hand-made plot and ornamental paintings.

Digging the soil manually and using metal detectors made it possible to discover many interesting everyday items, including numerous coins minted under Peter the Great and his successors right up to Alexander I. A unique gold two-ruble coin appeared as a result of the monetary reform of Peter the Great's time. It was minted in 1720 at the Kadashevsky Mint in Zamoskvorechye. On the obverse of the coin is a bust-length image of Emperor Peter I in a laurel wreath and armor, over which is worn a cloak, fastened on the right shoulder with a buckle. On the emperor's chest is a palm branch. The words of the circular inscription on the front side: "TSR PETER ALEZSHVICH. VR (ALL RUSSIA) Autocrat" are separated by dots. On the reverse side is a full-length image of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, who embraces with his left hand a vertical oblique cross located behind the figure of the saint. Circular inscription on the reverse side: "COIN. NOVA. PRICE. TWO RUBLES 17-20." The date numbers are separated by a saint figure. Such coins have not been encountered before during excavations either in Moscow or in other Russian cities. The “two-rublevik” did not take root in Moscow - in Rus' they traditionally honored the Trinity, and that’s where three kopecks and three rubles came from.

The 18th century horizon shows ruins of brick, white stone, and powerful wooden structures from the large merchant houses that stood here. What these houses looked like can be judged from the engraving by Gerard Delabarte “Skating from the Ice Mountains on the Neglinnaya River” (1790s), which depicts the trading house of the eminent merchant Mikhail Gusyatnikov. Trading establishments, shops and taverns then stood along the entire shore. Their material traces were discovered by archaeologists in the strata of the upper horizon of the cultural layer.

In the horizon of the second half of the 16th-17th centuries, the thickness of which ranged from 1.5 to 2 m, the Tver Road paved with wood was revealed. It ran from the Kremlin outlet tower of Kutafya towards Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, then walked along Mokhovaya and, turning towards Tverskaya, went up the mountain. The pavements consisted of round logs and blocks with a diameter of 20-30 cm, laid on longitudinal powerful logs. Archaeologists were able to trace three or four tiers of this road paving, made at different times, from Tsar Ivan the Terrible to Alexei Mikhailovich. Numerous iron shoe shoes, a fair amount of lost coins (copper pulas and silver kopecks), and Western European and Russian trade seals were found near the pavements. A variety of household equipment was also found in this horizon: wrought iron products, knives, scissors, torch lights, horse bits, and clamps. In the cellars, large thick-walled vessels for storing grain, the so-called “korchagi,” have been preserved.

In the residential log houses, spots of baked clay from the stoves were clearly visible, and there were relief tiles: red (without glazing), mural (green), “tseninny” (polychrome). Of particular interest are the open ovens made of clay and mud brick that stood in the courtyards of the archers who lived here: in the summer, food was cooked in the air.

Finds of weapons and items of military equipment were repeatedly noted in this horizon: iron arrowheads, lead bullets, scraps of chain mail armor, which is quite natural, since since the time of Ivan the Terrible, in the area of the future Manege and Manezhnaya Square, the settlement of the Stremyanny Streltsy Regiment of the sovereign's personal guard was located. It was these archers, who stood at the “stirrup” of the king, who amazed foreigners with their high training, shooting and artillery skills. They enjoyed the special patronage of the sovereign and therefore were located in close proximity to the Kremlin.

At the base of the Slobodskaya building horizon near Manezh, deposits of clean, “sterile” sand were revealed, which covered the coal layers. Chronicles of that time note a great fire in 1493, then, according to the decree of Grand Duke Ivan III, all courtyards, shops and churches on the banks of the Neglinnaya River were demolished, and a space of 109 fathoms (more than 200 m) from the Kremlin wall was ordered not to be built up for the purpose of defense and fire protection. Ancient plans here show an undeveloped “wall”, and some time gap is noted in the deposits of the cultural layer.

Under the horizon, without structures or finds, deep log cellars of the 14th-15th centuries, traces of the development of the Zaneglimenya settlement of the Grand Duke's time, were revealed. A variety of household utensils, jewelry, and craft tools were found here. The structures of this horizon are dated not only by stratigraphy and ceramic assemblages, but also by coins. Among the rarest numismatic finds is one of the first Russian coins: a silver denga, minted at the end of the 14th - very beginning of the 15th century by Prince Vladimir Andreevich the Brave, hero of the Battle of Kulikovo. Simultaneously with Dmitry Donskoy, who minted coins in Moscow, he began minting in his domain in Serpukhov. Along with this domestic unique item, a Western European “artig”, a coin of the Livonian Order of the Crusaders, minted in Reval (Tallinn), was discovered. In Novgorod the Great, before the appearance of its own “denga” around 1410, Western European coins were in circulation and were called “artugs”. One can, perhaps, assume that the coin came to Moscow not with the crusader knight, but with the Novgorod guest-merchant, especially since the Volotsk road, which went to Novgorod through Volok on Lama, began here. In many decades of archaeological research, this is the first time such a coin has been found in Moscow.

And finally, a special place among the finds of the archaeological complex of this era is occupied by a steel sword discovered in a mainland pit under a layer of coal along with ceramics from the end of the 14th century. Presumably, the sword was hidden on a burnt-out feudal estate during a surprise attack on Moscow by Khan Tokhtamysh in 1382. The chronicle describes the “Devastation of Tokhtamyshevo” as follows: “... and from here there was fire, and from here the sword, Ovii, fled from the fire, dying with the sword, and the friends fled from the sword, burning with fire.” The 94 cm long sword that was in the fire has a perfectly preserved blade and hilt, topped with a metal cone. Similar swords are known to researchers from numerous illustrations in the Nikon Chronicle, but only parts of these military weapons were rarely found on the territory of Moscow. The sword was the characteristic weapon of a feudal horseman, referred to in ancient Russian documents as a “sword-bearer” or “swordsman”. The owner of the sword found by archaeologists could be a warrior of the Grand Duke, who, after one of the most tragic events in the history of Moscow in the 14th century, was never able to return for his weapon.

When studying the lowest horizon of strata under Manege, at a depth of 6-7 meters, finds from the early period of the city’s history were noted. Fragments of glass bracelets, slate whorls, and rough, so-called “gray” ceramics found in continental depressions date back to the 12th-13th centuries. At this time, here, in Zarechye, one of the earliest Moscow suburbs was located.

An unexpected surprise for researchers was the discovery of more than four dozen burials on the mainland. The grave goods contain jewelry typical of the Eastern Slavs: ring-shaped rings that hung in garlands at the temples, complex wire bracelets and lattice rings on the hands, similar to finds in the Vyatichi burial mounds; in the chest area of one of the women there was a silver twisted hryvnia. It is curious that copper tweezers were also placed in the same burial, which Slavic women used for cosmetic purposes even then. By the way, the shape of tweezers is almost no different from modern ones. The necropolis, discovered at the base of the strata, is the oldest known outside the Kremlin. But if there was a cemetery here, it means that there was also a temple nearby, the existence of which no written information has been preserved. Let us recall how the Laurentian Chronicle, in its story about the invasion of the Baty Horde on Moscow in 1238, sadly noted that “...the city and the holy churches were betrayed by fire, and the monasteries and villages were burned.” We can only hope that one of these temples, which stood before Batu’s invasion in Zaneglimenye, will be discovered over time.

Construction work is now in full swing at the Manege, and archaeologists are in the midst of scientific research into the collection, which contains more than 4,000 valuable finds. Their painstaking restoration is carried out in the laboratories of some scientific institutions. Scientists from the Institutes of Archeology and Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences provided serious support to urban archaeologists in excavations at Manege. Comprehensive natural science research at archaeological excavations was carried out by the famous soil scientist and paleogeographer Professor A.L. Aleksandrovsky. The scientist identified a number of important points characterizing the natural environment in which Muscovites lived during the Middle Ages. Now we know how the historical landscape of the studied territory took shape.

The first signs of human development of the floodplain terrace of the Neglinnaya River are represented by the arable horizon. Its remains were found in a number of places on the slope of the terrace. It was the Vyatichi Slavs, farmers, contemporaries of Yuri Dolgoruky, who initially plowed the land and grazed herds on the banks of the Neglinnaya. Here, as already noted, one of the first Moscow churchyards was built. According to archaeological and geomorphological studies, the burial ground was located on the surface of the terrace and on the upper parts of its eastern and northeastern slopes. For analysis - chemical, radiocarbon, dendrological - a collection of samples and specimens has been collected. We hope that the research results will provide valuable information in addition to the research of archaeologists.

Thus, already the first results of chemical analyzes showed a high concentration of certain elements, indicating the presence of metallurgical production in the study area, as well as the use of various substances by Muscovites in everyday life. In some of the analyzed skeletons, increased concentrations of a number of toxic elements were revealed, this indicates the connections of the area’s residents with production, and also allows us to draw a conclusion about the effect of these substances on the health and behavioral reactions of ancient Muscovites. Using the methods of natural sciences, preliminary information was obtained on the composition and dating of tree species from which pavements were laid, houses and outbuildings were built.

After the completion of the excavations, the collection of finds was presented in the White Chambers, an exhibition hall of the Main Directorate for the Protection of Monuments of Moscow, popular among Muscovites. In the future, it is planned to create a permanent archaeological exhibition in the spacious underground of the Manege.

Russian archaeologists have unearthed many amazing finds that help to better understand the history of the country and humanity. We remember the 7 biggest sensations of Russian archeology.

Princess Ukok

An amazing discovery by archaeologists in the Altai Mountains, on the Ukok plateau, which thundered not only throughout Russia, but became famous throughout the world. In 1993, Novosibirsk archaeologists found the burial of a woman there, dating back to the 5th-3rd centuries BC. Due to the climate of this place, as well as the depth of the burial, the grave was covered with ice, which means it was preserved from decomposition.
For several days, trying not to damage the burial, archaeologists melted the ice. Six horses with saddles and harnesses, a larch block with bronze nails were found in the burial chamber. The mummy of a young girl (she was about 25 years old at the time of death) was well preserved. She wore a wig and a silk shirt, a woolen skirt, felt socks and a fur coat. Scientists argue whether she was a noble person or whether she belonged to the middle layer of Pazyryk society.
The indigenous Altai people believe that the floods and earthquakes on their land are connected with the fact that the “princess” was moved to the museum, and demand that she be returned to the Ukok plateau. In the meantime, the amazing exhibit can be seen in the Gorno-Altaisk Museum, where an extension and a sarcophagus were specially created for it, maintaining temperature and humidity conditions.

Birch bark letters

It took a long time to get to this discovery: it was known from chronicles that in Rus' they wrote on birch bark; archaeologists sometimes found tools with which they wrote, but assumed that they were hairpins or nails. They were looking for birch bark documents near Novgorod, but the Great Patriotic War began, and the search stopped. Only in 1951, at the Nerevsky excavation site, “Birch bark letter No. 1” was finally discovered. To date, more than a thousand birch bark letters and even one birch bark icon have been found. Residents of Novgorod find them when laying communications, and a fragment of “Certificate No. 612” was found by a native of Novgorod, Chelnokov, in his own flower pot when transplanting flowers!
Now letters are known from various places in Russia, as well as Belarus and Ukraine. These are official documents, lists, educational exercises, drawings, personal notes containing a wide variety of vocabulary - from love to obscenity.

Scythian gold

On the vast territory between the Danube and Don there are many mounds. They remained here from the Scythian tribe, and each mound is “gold-bearing”, because only the Scythians put so much gold in the burial places of both the nobility and ordinary people. For the Scythians, gold was a symbol of life after death, and therefore it was placed in all mounds and in a variety of forms. Raids on Scythian mounds began in the Middle Ages, but even now archaeologists are finding treasures in them. In one of the mounds they found the burial of a female warrior with weapons and gold beads, in another - a bronze panel depicting the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons, in the third - a diadem made of sheet gold... The collections of the Hermitage and other famous museums are filled with hundreds of kilograms of Scythian gold jewelry.

Unknown type of person

On March 24, 2010, the journal Nature published a sensational article about the “Denisovo man,” whose remains were found in the Denisova Cave, located in the valley of the Anui River in Altai. The bone of the last phalanx of a child's finger, three huge molars belonging to a young man, and a phalanx of a toe were found in the cave. The researchers conducted a DNA analysis and found that the bone remains date back to 40 thousand years ago. Moreover, “Denisovan man” turned out to be an extinct type of person, whose genome is significantly different from ours. The evolutionary divergence of such a person and a Neanderthal occurred about 640 thousand years ago. Later these people became extinct or partially mixed with Homo sapiens. In the cave itself, archaeologists uncovered 22 layers corresponding to different cultural eras. Now any tourist can get into this cave.

White Sea labyrinths

There are labyrinths in all parts of the world among peoples at different stages of development. In Russia, the most famous labyrinths are located near the White Sea: there are about forty of them there, more than thirty of them are on the Solovetsky Islands of the Arkhangelsk region. All northern labyrinths are made of medium-sized stones, have an oval shape in plan, and inside there are intricate passages leading to the center. Until now, no one knows the exact purpose of labyrinths, especially since there is more than one type of them. But most often archaeologists associate them with the cult of the dead and funeral rites. This theory is supported by the fact that on the large Zayatsky Island, under the stone heaps of the labyrinth, archaeologists discovered burnt human bones and stone tools. There is an assumption that the ancient people who lived by the sea believed that the soul of a deceased person was transported across the water to another island, and it should not return back. The labyrinth served this purpose: the soul “wandered” in it and returned back to the kingdom of the dead. Perhaps labyrinths were also used in initiation rites. Unfortunately, the study of labyrinths is difficult, because by excavating the labyrinth, the archaeologist destroys the monument itself.

An archaeological expedition is not only an option for a budget trip, but also a great opportunity to learn more about history, see firsthand how archaeological research is carried out, and meet interesting people.

You don’t have to be a professional archaeologist or historian to do this. It’s enough just to have the desire to work in the field for several weeks, live in a tent (or maybe not in a tent, but in a completely comfortable home) and soak in the romance of the expedition. The fact is that archaeological excavations always require working hands - the same hands that will dig the ground and clean artifacts. Often schoolchildren, students, etc. are invited for these purposes. The costs of food and accommodation for participants are usually covered by the organizers. You will only need to pay for travel. Moreover, many expeditions are even willing to pay for the work - not much, but enough to cover the costs of travel, souvenirs and beer and ice cream. Although some people manage to earn quite good money during the season, it’s all a matter of qualifications and work experience. In addition, such expeditions usually organize various lectures, excursions, and trips for their participants. So you can not only work in the fresh air, but also see a lot of interesting things, as well as change your field of activity.

How to find a suitable expedition for yourself? Very simple. It is enough to enter the words “work on an archaeological expedition” or something similar in any search engine, and you will receive an impressive list of archaeological exchanges, websites and expedition blogs. For those who are friends with the VKontakte service, you can look for archaeological groups - there are many of them, and links to other groups are usually indicated there. Well, then it’s a matter of choice. I’ll say right away: there are not just many offers, but a lot.

Here is a list of some sites and groups that will help you in your search:

VKontakte groups:

Archeology Foundation

(You may know other sites or groups. Write to me and I will put them on this list).

I'll tell you about my experience. At some point, I realized that I was tired of being an “armchair scientist”; I needed real practice, I needed to understand how archaeological material is generally mined and processed. There weren’t any particular ideas; a friend who worked at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences was not eager to help, and then I turned to the Internet. Within a few minutes I was entering contact information about myself in one of the exchanges. A day later, an invitation came to excavations in the Rostov region. You could go digging on or on. All I was required to do was purchase a ticket to my destination and back. All other expenses were covered by the organizers. In addition, the program included various educational trips and excursions around the Rostov region: to Novocherkassk, Rostov-on-Don, Belaya Kalitva, as well as recreation on the river and other delights of field life.

We worked from 6 to 8 hours a day, depending on the weather and the pace of work. There were 10-minute breaks every hour and one half-hour break in the middle. The rest of the time was at our disposal. In addition, during work we constantly talked and played some games. I remember once we were faced with an incredibly difficult area: the stone was small and constantly crumbled, cleaning was difficult. The head of the expedition “threw” about 8 people into this square. We honestly tried to work, but the work was difficult. And it’s not clear for what reason, a conversation started among us about God. As you know, this is where the hottest debates arise. It seems that our screams were heard on the Don. But imagine our surprise when an hour and a half later the boss came up and announced that we had done the job brilliantly!

That year I worked on the expedition all summer. It was not only a luxurious holiday, but also a very educational trip. During the excursions we were told and shown much more than ordinary tourists. We then traveled around a significant part of the Rostov region. In addition, it’s one thing when you study history from textbooks, and quite another when you clear the skeletons, foundations of houses with your own hands, see how mounds were built and much, much more.

Two years later I went on an expedition to the ancient capital of Rus'. It was there that Rurik first came to reign. This time I no longer had to look for where to go - invitations began to come on their own, I just had to choose. A completely different style of work, a different material with which we had to work - if in the Rostov region there was stone, then here it was wood. The work was led by Professor Kirpichnikov from St. Petersburg, one of the leading specialists in this region. Again there were various lectures and trips. Well, of course.

It is difficult to convey the feeling when a piece of shard or bone, beads or bead appears from the ground. Sometimes more significant finds were found. Contrary to popular belief, gold-silver-diamonds come across very rarely, it is truly luck. But during excavations you are overcome with excitement, you rejoice at every little discovery. And there is also a very strange feeling when you touch those things that belonged to people who lived a long time ago, when you touch their culture and way of life. And you begin to understand life and history a little better, and look at what is happening a little differently.

So a trip to an archaeological excavation is not only a wonderful vacation, not only learning new things, but also comprehending oneself.

Archaeologist's Day is celebrated in Russia on August 15. Despite the unofficial status of the holiday, representatives of this fascinating profession celebrate it throughout the country. A RIAMO correspondent chose the 10 most interesting antiquities discovered by archaeologists in the capital and learned about the peculiarities of excavations in Moscow.

Rescue Archeology

The high density of buildings and the intensity of land exploitation make excavations in many places of the metropolis a difficult task.

“In Moscow, it is often not the archaeologist who chooses the site for excavations. The plan for archaeological work is closely connected with the city development plan and the implementation of economic work,” explains Leonid Kondrashev, deputy head of the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage, chief archaeologist of the capital.

Conventionally, archeology can be divided into two areas: academic and preservation (rescue). Academic archeology is a science in its classical sense, when full-scale excavations are carried out at a selected site for the subsequent study of the material sources of information found.

As for preserved archaeology, in this case excavations are organized before construction and earthworks are carried out, in order to save historical evidence hidden in the depths. According to Kondrashev, it is precisely preserved archeology that allows Moscow archaeologists today to form a picture of the historical life of the city.

“At the same time, it is very important to plan archaeological activities in advance. To do this, already at the stage of issuing permits, regulatory authorities determine the type of work for the developer: will it be ordinary construction or construction with mandatory preliminary archaeological surveys,” notes the chief archaeologist.

And yet, despite all the difficulties of excavations in a big city, Moscow archaeologists have many victories in the search for relics.

“Archaeology is a science that allows us to impartially formulate a historical picture of events. For this task, any, even the most ordinary shard or fragment can be no less valuable than sensational finds of treasures and treasures,” sums up the chief archaeologist of Moscow.

Treasure under the Rossiya Hotel

During the construction of the Rossiya Hotel, the largest excavations were carried out in the ancient Moscow district of Zaryadye. The research, covering an area of 2,300 square meters, discovered many material monuments from the history of Moscow. A real sensation was the treasure discovered in 1967 during the construction of the northern ramp of the Rossiya Hotel. The builders found a clay jug with silver ingots with hallmarks from the 14th - early 15th centuries.

Artifacts of Manezhnaya Square

Treasure of Gostiny Dvor

The sensational treasure was found in 1996 at Stary Gostiny Dvor. The treasures included 16 exquisite silver vessels, 335 Western European coins and about 95.5 thousand Russian coins that circulated during the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible and Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. According to archaeologists, the number of coins in the treasure was three times higher than the largest treasures in the capital previously found in the entire history of archeology in Moscow.

Mammoth skeleton in the Moscow region

Not only mammoth bones, but also entire skeletons have been repeatedly found on the territory of Moscow and the Moscow region. Back in the 18th century, near the village of Troitse-Lykovo, not far from Serebryany Bor and the modern Moscow district of Strogino, an almost complete skeleton of an ancient animal was found. The skeleton, kept in the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, was assembled by the famous biologist Ivan Pavlov from bones found on Kaluga Square in Moscow. And in 2000, another skeleton was discovered in the Istra district of the Moscow region. Such finds allow scientists to judge the changes in climate and landscape that occurred in the Moscow region during that period.

Great Kremlin treasure

In 1988, during construction and earthworks at the Spassky Gate, a large treasure trove of jewelry was found. The find consisted of 300 items - various jewelry and silver bars. The items have been dated to the 12th and 13th centuries. The diverse composition, as well as the presence of jewelry made not only by Old Russian, but also by Scandinavian and Eastern masters, made it possible to evaluate the role of Rus' in trade and political life of that time. Historians associate the burial of the treasure with Batu Khan’s campaign against Moscow in 1238.

Oprichnina Palace of Ivan the Terrible

For a long time, historians could not determine the location of the “oprichnina” palace, where Ivan IV moved after the introduction of the oprichnina. The building itself burned down, and all that was known until recently was that the courtyard area was covered with a layer of snow-white river sand. The secret of the palace was revealed during the construction of the metro. When laying a tunnel between Timur Frunze Street and Okhotny Ryad, archaeologist A.V. Artsikhovsky discovered a layer of light sand mentioned by the tsar’s contemporaries.

Treasure of the Dyakovsky settlement

Back in the 19th century, on the territory of the Dyakova settlement, where today the Kolomenskoye museum-reserve is located, a treasure trove of jewelry and household items dating back to the 5th-6th centuries was discovered. Arrowheads made of iron and bones, iron knives and sickles, art objects in the form of figurines of women and animals, as well as many bronze jewelry were found here. The find made a significant contribution to the formation of the historiography of Moscow. The so-called Dyakovo culture existed in the territory of what is now Moscow and nearby regions for a long period of time, from approximately the 7th century BC to the 5th-6th centuries AD.

Skhodnensky skull

The fossilized skull was found by accident in 1939, during construction on the banks of the Skhodnya River. The contribution of this, at first glance, ordinary find to archeology, and indeed to all world science, is difficult to overestimate. According to scientists, its geological age is 10-16 thousand years and falls at the end of the Great Glaciation. The skull became one of the oldest reliable remains of a person in the transition period from Neanderthal to modern type. Soviet archaeologist Otto Bader, who studied the skull for many years, made significant contributions to many areas of natural science and history.

Ipatiev coin hoard

In 1970, a treasure with Spanish silver was found in Ipatievsky Lane during construction and earthworks. In total, about 3.4 thousand coins were discovered with a total weight of 74 kilograms. Coins dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries were minted in Spanish mints, as well as in Mexico, Colombia and Bolivia. It is interesting that at the end of the 19th century this Moscow lane was already included in the reports of treasure hunters. Here in 1895 a treasure was found with silver coins from the time of Ivan the Terrible, as well as weapons of that time.

An ancient man's site

In the area of the village of Shchukino (modern Khimki river port), the same archaeologist Bader discovered the oldest human settlement within the modern city, dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. As research has shown, there was a settlement of fishermen and hunters on the banks of the Moscow River. The first settlers had the skill of making fire, making clay vessels, stone and bone tools for labor and hunting.

Anna Semenova

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