Eleventh graders from the Kultuk school №7 during excavations in on the shore of Lake Baikal found a miraculous amulet, which is more than 400 years old.
The guys, together with the head of the local museum of local lore, conducted a study and found out that their find - a bronze medallion (serpentine) is one of the most mysterious objects of Orthodox Christianity. True, where he came from in Kultuk, no one knows for sure.
“The medallion is a bronze disc with a diameter of 6.7 centimeters,” said Sergei Snopkov, head of the school local history group. - On the front and back there are images and letters protruding from the surface of the disc. The medallion is in places covered with a thin film of copper oxides, has traces of mechanical damage, in the upper part of the medallion there are traces of saw cut. On the obverse there is a half-length image of the Mother of God with the baby Jesus in her arms (Our Lady of Vladimir) and the text along the contour of the medallion. On the reverse side, there is also text along the contour of the disc, and in the center there is an image resembling a human head, around which snakes wriggle.
From the literature on the history of Christianity in Russia, the schoolchildren managed to find out that the medallion found in Kultuk is Serpentine - the Russian name for an amulet with a Christian image on one side and an ancient pagan one on the other. The image on one side of the protective amulet symbolizes the demonic principle, and on the other - a Christian saint who triumphs over evil.
Thanks to the help of specialists from Irkutsk, the children even managed to read the text of the inscriptions on the medallion. It is composed of Greek and Old Church Slavonic letters. The text on the front side is translated as: “Mother of God, watch over and help him who has you. Amen ", on the reverse side -" Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts. Fulfill the sky."
All serpentines - amulets symbolized the victory over all evil
“The appearance of a coil in Kultuk is a mystery,” says Sergei Snopkov. - Perhaps it belonged to one of the first settlers - people from the Russian North (for example, Arkhangelsk), perhaps - to an Old Believer priest buried in a cemetery in the village. In any case, this amulet was made in the 17-18 century.
Now the medallion will be kept in the school museum of local lore, and, hopefully novice archaeologists, will bring good luck to everyone and protect from evil.
Promotional video: