During security excavations in the construction area of the highway, archaeologists found a treasure from the time of Boris Godunov.
This treasure, recently discovered in the Moscow region, amazed even experienced specialists. In a clay pot buried in the ground 400 years ago, archaeologists have found 623 silver coins - one of the largest treasures of the 16th - early 17th centuries found in rural settlements in the Moscow region.
It all began three years ago, in 2015, when, during the state historical and cultural examination of the land plot on the left root bank of the Klyazma River, on the watershed plateau between its tributaries, the Shernaya and the nameless, an expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences near the modern village of Bolshiye Dvory Pavlovo- In the Posad district of the Moscow region, a settlement was discovered that existed here from the 12th to the 18th centuries.
The excavations took place quite recently, in July 2018, when it became known about the imminent start of construction of the M7 highway (Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan). Rescue archaeological excavations have been unfolded on the 8-hectare settlement.
This settlement was "alive" until the 19th century. and left behind many traces. For example, several residential buildings and a stone-lined glacier dating from the 16th - early 17th centuries. During the excavations, archaeologists found many interesting things, including a buried treasure of silver coins in the courtyard, kept in a ceramic vessel - a black-polished egg-capsule.
Individual coins from the found treasure.
Keeping money in an earthen vessel was the most reliable way to preserve your valuables at a time when all village buildings and the vast majority of city buildings were wooden and lit with torches.
This practice was so widespread that potters already in the 15th century. began to produce special vessels for storing money. They were called egg-pods and had a wide body and a very narrow neck. If a vessel of this shape, filled with coins, falls on its side, or if it is turned over, only a small part of the money will fall out of it, the rest of the coins, grouped together, will get stuck in a narrow neck. In addition, the neck could be easily closed with some kind of cork - wood, wax or cloth. They hid vessels with coins underground in residential and outbuildings, in courtyards, in noticeable corners of gardens and vegetable gardens.
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The reverse side of the coins from the hoard.
It is precisely such a capsule that archaeologists have discovered at the settlement "Bolshie Dvory 2". The treasure consisted of silver coins of the era of Ivan IV and Boris Godunov. Almost 98% of these coins belong to the reign of Boris, who ruled in 1598-1605. Almost all the coins are new and have not been in circulation. Apparently, the treasure was collected over a short period, possibly simultaneously. Apparently, the treasure was formed at the very beginning of the 17th century, shortly before the Time of Troubles (possibly in 1601–1603).
In addition to penny coins made of high-grade silver, a copper cross was also placed in the vessel, which, apparently, was supposed to protect the treasure, amounting to 6 rubles 23 kopecks. I must say that in those days it was a lot of money, they could build a house or buy a workhorse and a cow in addition.
The amount of the treasure found on the Klyazma is two to three times the size of the usual "peasant" treasures of the 16th - early 17th centuries, which usually include from 100 to 300 silver kopecks.
Selected coins from the hoard.
The uniqueness of the Bolshedvorsky hoard lies not only in its large size and rare composition, but also in its integrity. It was found in the process of archaeological excavations, not a single coin has been lost, since the egg-capsule was discovered in situ, that is, where the owner buried it 400 years ago.
The owners of treasures of this size or slightly larger were often servants, for example, poor nobles who received salaries for military service. However, during the excavation of the settlement, archaeologists did not reveal any weapons or any expensive items that indicate the high status of the owner.
Most likely, the funds found were family savings that belonged to a wealthy peasant who profitably sold the accumulated grain. During the reign of Boris Godunov, in 1602-1603, after two years of crop failure, the price of bread in Moscow increased more than 20 times. Apparently, the owner of the treasure managed to take advantage of this jump in prices.
However, the money savings remained unclaimed, the owner did not return for them. This can be explained by many reasons, but during periods of epidemics, wars and other shocks and disasters experienced by society and the state, the number of treasures left by the owners increased sharply. And at the beginning of the XVII century. The biggest disaster for the country was, of course, the Troubles, which brought the Russian statehood itself to the brink of survival.
A. V. Engovatova