Archaeologists will soon come close to the "key" of the legend about the underground passage between the island and Vyborg.
The Vyborg castle, like a house with secret labyrinths, is gradually sharing its secrets. Archaeologists will soon come close to the "key" of the legend of the underground passage between the island and the city.
They found a place that could be the beginning of the journey. Descent into darkness, seven meters down: a gloomy room with smoky vaults can be called a sensational discovery by archaeologists. In the southern rampart of the Vyborg castle, a "secret house" was found, built by the Swedish governors in the 16th century.
The historian, scientific secretary of the Vyborg Museum-Reserve Alexey Melnov said that this house was like a spare, hidden in the thickness of the rampart. According to him, in the 16th century, most of the tower was located in the thickness of the earth - it was hidden from prying eyes.
The upper room was dug out for several days, but at least one more floor remained, completely filled up. Stone steps extend below.
Archaeologists have run up against a stone wall of granite blocks, perhaps further down there is an underground passage from the castle island to the city of Vyborg itself. A couple of meters left to the water, the stones are all damp.
Vyborg Castle is the only medieval castle in Russia; it was founded by the Crusaders in the 13th century. It stands on an island, and according to legend, there was once a secret passage in case of a siege - right under the water. Probably, it was he who was discovered. During the clearing, medieval artifacts were found - fragments of ceramic Dutch smoking pipes.
The most amazing find was made in the dungeon - an ancient brick with an extremely strange geometric pattern.
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An image of the same game was found on a Spanish manuscript of the 13th century. The Mill was very popular not only in Europe, but also in Russia. However, we have never been able to find a field for medieval "tic-tac-toe", carved on a brick.
All archaeological finds found on the island will be exhibited here after the completion of a large-scale reconstruction of the castle. And the "secret house" itself, hidden from human eyes for several centuries, will become a unique museum object.
Pavel Kutarenko
