In 1959, in a small resort town on the Romanian Black Sea coast, builders unexpectedly stumbled upon a Hellenistic necropolis. The eight-meter mound, under which a burial sarcophagus was found, stood out especially. It was he who gave the scientists the biggest surprise!
It is well known in Romania that the modern town of Mangalia on the Black Sea coast is located on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Callatis. It was founded under the Macedonian king Amyntas I (VI century BC) or under Amyntas III (IV century BC) by immigrants from Heraclea Pontic, located on the northern coast of Turkey (the modern settlement of Eregli). However, most historians claim that the foundation date of the city is still the 6th century BC.
An unexpected find
The archaeological study of Callatis and the surrounding area began at the end of the 19th century and was actively continued from the middle of the 20th century. During this time, discoveries were made here that made it possible to more deeply comprehend the results of the Greek colonization of the Black Sea basin. But a special place is occupied by a unique find discovered during the excavation of a mound in the center of Mangalia. The history of its discovery and further fate resemble a real archaeological detective story.
When workers found a man-made stone circle at the construction site of the summer theater and stadium, archaeologists began to study it. They found a rectangular pit with a sarcophagus made of large stone blocks. On it lay fragments of a gilded bronze wreath and the remains of an eggshell.
In an unlooted sarcophagus there was a human skeleton, whose skull was adorned with a similar gilded wreath, and a papyrus scroll rolled up in a tube lay at the right hand. When touched, it instantly crumbled to pieces. The archaeologists immediately left the crypt and carefully closed the entrance with boards, stones and earth. It was clear that a unique burial was discovered: in the days of Antiquity, wreaths of various plants were awarded to military leaders, emperors, winners of sports games and outstanding poets.
This mound was such a unique complex that, on the initiative of the Romanian Academy of Sciences, it was decided to construct in its place the building of the Callatis Museum of Archeology. The discovery of the papyrus was the biggest surprise for archaeologists, so it was decided to do everything possible to save it. Scientists-archaeologists turned to their colleagues from the Soviet Union with a request for help. The chief restorer of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Mikhail Alexandrovsky, immediately flew to Romania. According to the participants in the events, he received a passport and visa within one day. They also claim that they even sent a special plane for him, but today this is difficult to confirm.
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The missing manuscript
Arriving in Mangalia, Aleksandrovsky immediately went to the excavations and, squatting, worked in a narrow sarcophagus for four hours. Having finished the conservation of the papyrus fragments, he offered to hand them over to his Romanian colleagues. However, they responded by asking him to take the papyrus to the USSR for further restoration. Apparently, Romanian archaeologists did not really believe in the salvation of the papyrus and did not think about it for a long time.
At the same time, it is difficult to overestimate the find of this written source. Suffice it to say that it was the first and at that time the only such artifact found in Europe for the entire XX century. Except for a tiny piece of papyrus found in 1962 during excavations in Greece, no discoveries equal to Mangal has been made in Europe to this day.
Therefore, it is not surprising that in 2001 the Romanian archaeologist-expert Ion Pislaru began his own investigation. In Romania and in other countries, there was even an opinion that the unique papyrus disappeared without a trace in Moscow. And this already threatened with certain political costs.
Pyslaru began his search for papyrus by working in libraries and archives. For about three years he wrote letters to various authorities, studied books and the press of the middle of the last century, and kept in touch with his Russian colleagues. As a result of painstaking work, he was able to establish for sure that the papyrus from Mangalia was restored in Moscow, preserved, but never read. The task arose to find and return a unique find to Mangalia.
Pyslaru visited Moscow several times, where he visited the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow State University, Moscow State Regional University (MGOU), the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. At the same time, he reviewed many newspapers in the Lenin Library, where he found a publication from 1962. It reported that Mikhail Alexandrovsky had completed the difficult work of restoring the papyrus. From other notes it became clear that the papyrus was kept in the Grabar Restoration Center, and Ion Pyslaru went to its director Alexander Lesovoy. However, a year ago, a major fire broke out on Radio Street in Moscow, where the Restoration Center is located, and there was practically no chance of a successful search. But luck and professionalism of the Moscow restorers played a role.
Two weeks after visiting the Restoration Center in Mangalia, we received a short message from Lesovoy: "Everything you were looking for is with us." To the question: "What does it mean - everything ?!" a laconic answer was received: "Everything!" It turned out that not only the papyrus was found in the Restoration Center, but all the documents associated with it. Moreover, the Russian side did not put forward any demands and was ready to donate a unique source.
This was done on July 10, 2001, when all the papyrus fragments were presented to the Romanian delegation in Moscow. In August 2001, at a ceremony, the unique find was handed over to the Museum of Archeology in Mangalia. It is significant that this event was attended by the Consul General of Russia in Constanta, the Mayor of Mangalia and a group of Russian students from MGOU. The return of the papyrus to its historical homeland has become an event of national importance in Romania.
Question by question
Russian restorers managed to establish that the ancient Greek text on the fragments of papyrus was made with waterproof ink. However, it is not yet possible to read the entry - only individual letters and their fragments are visible. Researchers believe that if, as a result of working with the latest computer programs to combine pieces of text, they can make out at least a few words, then this will already be fantastic success. There are various hypotheses regarding the content of the manuscript.
For example, there is a version that the so-called Orphic texts are written on the papyrus, in which Orpheus appeals to the gods of Olympus, begging to return his beloved Eurydice.
Attempts to establish who exactly was buried in ancient Callatis will certainly be made.
The names of at least four great citizens of Callatis have survived to our time. Among them are the outstanding historian and geographer Demetrius Callatian, the writer Satyr Peripatetic, the scholar and grammarist Herakpid Lemb, and the writer Istros from Callatis. Of course, other outstanding people lived here, but history has preserved only these names. It is possible that one of them was buried in the tomb.
Currently, residents and guests of Mangalia can see a unique papyrus in the exposition of the Callatis Museum of Archeology. The manuscript consists of 154 fragments of various sizes. Despite their unsightly appearance, they are of great scientific value, since they allow at least partially restore the unique written source of Antiquity.
In the happy ending of this story, the luck and professionalism of Romanian archaeologists and the skill of Russian restorers were intertwined. Thanks to their enthusiasm and perseverance, the papyrus was saved from inevitable death, and now it has taken its rightful place in the cultural heritage of the country. Of course, the main merit in the return of the priceless rarity belongs to Ion Pyslar and Alexander Lesovoy. Without their persistent and scrupulous work, as well as the goodwill of the Moscow keepers of the manuscript, such a happy ending was hardly possible.
Evgeny YAROVOY