Russian archaeologists are examining one of the most unusual ancient Russian artifacts - the sarcophagus, which is located under the floor of the Assumption Cathedral in Rostov the Great. About the mysteries of a strange tomb.
Unusual location
As is sometimes the case in archeology, the find did not immediately attract the attention of scientists. In 1994, specialists from the State Hermitage discovered a sarcophagus under the floor of the church. It would seem that nothing special: a stone coffin with a lid broken into pieces.
Having examined the sarcophagus, experts hastened to "preserve" it with brickwork, laying a wooden floor on top. For some unknown reason, they did not attach importance to the fact that an empty stone coffin itself in the historical layer of the 13th century, and even in the main church of the spiritual center of North-Eastern Russia - this is very unusual
Sarcophagus of the XIII century in the northern apse of the Rostov Assumption Cathedral / IA RAS.
Only a quarter of a century later, the study of the discovered object began. And even then, practically by coincidence: specialists from the Institute of Archeology (IA) of the Russian Academy of Sciences examined the heating main on Rostov's Cathedral Square in order to conduct heat under the floor of the Assumption Cathedral, an architectural monument. The fact is that in winter its walls are covered with frost, which melts in spring and washes away the unique temple painting. At this time it is very cold in the cathedral - the feet are cold even in very warm shoes. And in summer there is no more than seven degrees here.
It is the work on the heating system, as noted by the rector of the Assumption Cathedral, Archpriest Roman Krupnov, that will allow for a full restoration of the temple and the artifacts stored in it. The same sarcophagus, for example. Now an "archaeological window" has been installed above it, which, however, is covered with ice in winter due to the cold.
Promotional video:
Painting of the Assumption Cathedral in Rostov the Great / RIA Novosti / Anton Skripunov.
The ornament gave a hint
“This sarcophagus puzzles scientists. The point is that it is empty, and we do not know for whom it was prepared. There is no information about the seizure of the remains in the history of the cathedral in the documented time, and there are no traces indicating that a burial was ever made in the sarcophagus. An empty coffin in a church is in any case a mystery that can lead to all sorts of conspiracy theories,”says Andrey Leontyev, a leading researcher at the IA RAS.
Indeed, too little information about the tomb and the historical context give rise to many versions. However, researchers tend to strictly cut off fables from more or less truthful assumptions.
Leonid Belyaev, Head of the Department of Archeology of Moscow Russia, IA RAS, draws attention to the fact that the tomb and the lid to it have the same ornament along the edge. “This is a unique case,” the scientist emphasizes.
Ornament on the sarcophagus of the XIII century in the northern apse of the Rostov Assumption Cathedral / IA RAS.
The type of ornament itself - concentric circles inscribed in rectangles - is associated with the ancient European tradition of burying saints, which, in turn, goes back to the pagan custom of decorating the sarcophagus with three wreaths. That is, it is likely that a saint was lying in the Rostov sarcophagus. But who? Another mystery.
Coffin or reliquary
The tomb is located in the northern part of the cathedral, where scientists have found traces of the temple masonry of the 13th century. The Assumption Cathedral acquired its current appearance in 1512, and before that, three different churches stood in its place at one time or another. The first one was built "from an oak tree" in 991, when Prince Vladimir personally baptized Rostovites.
Monument at the site of the baptism of the inhabitants of Rostov by Prince Vladimir in 991 / RIA Novosti / Anton Skripunov.
“He did this only in Kiev and Rostov. Why he decided to come here is unclear. Perhaps because his children ruled here - Boris, and then Yaroslav. Or maybe he was going to Novgorod, but did not get there,”says the rector of the cathedral.
However, Rostov truly became Christian only thanks to the Rostov Bishop Leonty, who was later canonized. The circumstances of his death in 1073 are shrouded in mystery: some sources say that he died peacefully, others that he died at the hands of pagans.
In 1160 the wooden church burned down. By order of Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky, the construction of a stone church began. When the builders dug a ditch under the foundation, then, according to the chronicles, in the southern part of the burnt building they found the relics of St. Leonty and his successor at the Rostov see, St. Isaiah.
Saint Leonty baptizes children. The hallmark of the icon Leonty Rostovsky with a life in 24 hallmarks. Around 1677.
True, a strange thing happened to the church built by Andrei Bogolyubsky: in 1204, as the chronicler testifies, "the cathedral church in Rostov fell." Earthquake? Fire? Calculation errors during construction? It is not known for certain - except that the destruction happened very quickly.
By the middle of the XIII century, a new building was being erected; it was this century that scientists date the mysterious sarcophagus. When the cover was made to it is also a mystery. Maybe it was meant just for the saints?
“This is unlikely to be cancer for relics. The tomb is too large in size (180 centimeters long), and the depth of the inside (28 centimeters) is not as small as it seems. That is, a person will fit perfectly,”says Leonid Belyaev.
Two saints
The history of the remains of Saints Leonty and Isaiah has been studied in some detail. The relics of the first were kept for a long time in a 120-kilogram golden shrine.
“There was no such thing in Russia anymore. True, in 1609 the Poles broke into the cathedral. Both soldiers and civilians prayed here - among them was Metropolitan Filaret, the father of Tsar Mikhail Romanov and the future Patriarch of Moscow. The Poles whipped everyone in the church (and Filaret was taken prisoner. - Ed.). The chronicler noted that “the blood in the cathedral was ankle-deep”. And as a trophy, they took a golden shrine with them,”says Archpriest Roman Krupnov.
In 1612, after the liberation of Rostov, local residents decided to brick up the relics of St. Leonty in the floor. It was them - in contrast to the remains of St. Isaiah - that saved them in the 1920s, when the Bolsheviks opened the sarcophagi with the relics of the saints, fighting against the "church dope".
Assumption Cathedral and belfry of the Rostov Kremlin / RIA Novosti / V. Robinov.
There is another argument in favor of the fact that the mysterious empty sarcophagus could not belong to these saints: in ancient Russian churches, the relics of saints were placed to the right of the altar, in the southern part of the temple. According to the historian Alexander Melnik, this tradition is associated with the veneration of the passion-bearer princes Boris and Gleb.
“According to sources that arose no later than the beginning of the 12th century, the reliquaries with the relics of these saints were brought into a certain 'cage' - apparently a specially built structure for them - and placed 'on the gum land' (of the temple). Consequently, at that time they put some special meaning into the fact that the shrines of the saints were located exactly “on the right hand”, that is, on the right side of the building's interior,”the historian writes.
An empty sarcophagus is installed on the left side of the Assumption Cathedral.
Transfer of the relics of Boris and Gleb.
The mystery of the exhumation
However, among the heap of versions, archaeologists still have two main ones. In 1278 a big scandal broke out in Rostov. The local bishop Ignatius ordered the body of Rostov prince Gleb Vasilkovich to be removed from the coffin in the cathedral and buried "in the ground." Perhaps it turned out that he had sinned in some way during his lifetime.
However, although the bodies of the prince's relatives are also buried in the cathedral and no one touched them, this version has one big drawback.
Appointment of Ignatius as Bishop of Rostov.
According to Andrei Leontyev, when considering this version, one must remember that in the 1920s the Bolsheviks kept a careful record of all the relics in the church.
“Judging by the descriptions, the relics of Saint Ignatius were bones mixed with earth. There is nothing strange in this if the remains were transferred, but this means that they were transferred not from the sarcophagus, but from some kind of wooden coffin, and it has long been decayed. And this must be taken into account when discussing whether this sarcophagus belonged to Ignatius,”the researcher says.
In addition, traces of organic matter on the tomb have not yet been found. Here, serious research is just ahead.
But Father Roman believes that this is still the tomb of St. Ignatius. True, his body was never put there.
“All Lives say that he was not buried - the only saint in Russia. His month could not be brought to the Assumption Cathedral - the people kept walking and walking,”says the priest. In the end, the body of the saint was immediately placed in a shrine.
However, scientists have not found any convincing confirmation of this version. However, the study of the mystery of the "Rostov sarcophagus" continues - perhaps a sensation awaits us.
Anton Skripunov