Where written history is silent, the voice of material history sounds. And sometimes it is much more convincing than all written sources put together. Russian archaeologists, celebrating their holiday on August 15, have made a significant contribution to the study of tangible traces of the past.
The deeds of days gone by
Tsar Peter Alekseevich introduced many innovations in Russia. Among others, the fashion for the collection of various rarities and antiquities. Already in 1715, the founder of the industrial dynasty, Akinfiy Demidov, presented to Empress Catherine I "rich golden Siberian things." A couple of years later, the governor of Siberia, Prince Gagarin, fulfilling a personal order of the tsar, collected and sent to St. Petersburg the luggage found in the "lands of the ancient". All these ancient items were extracted from the bowels of the earth by treasure hunters, but at the same time scientific archaeological excavations began. Pastor Wilhelm Tolle, a great enthusiast of searching for traces of the past, explored the surroundings of Staraya Ladoga and discovered there in the mounds and pagan graves, as it was written in his inventory, "various ancient vessels, coins and various pagan things." The attention of Peter I to such finds is indicated by his decree,who ordered to hand over "extraordinary things" to the governors and commandants at the place of discovery, promised a reward for especially interesting specimens and a fine - for concealing the found values.
By the end of the 18th century, as a result of victories over Turkey, the Crimean lands were at the disposal of the empire. The finds of antiquity, which this territory hid, brought Russia no less glory than the victories of Russian weapons. It is interesting that the first researchers of Panticapaeum, Chersonesus, Ol-Via and other ancient settlements were officers of the Russian army, who were ordered by the official order to describe ancient buildings and search for various antiquities.
Archeology stepped even further into the darkness of the centuries in the middle of the next, XIX century. It was at this time that a scientific school was formed that studied primitive man and the world around him. Biologists were the first to become interested in the Stone Age: in 1859, the future father of comparative anatomy, Karl Baer, read his report "On the most ancient inhabitants of Europe" in the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. Research in the field of primitive archeology forced historians to collaborate with representatives of the natural sciences and gave an amazing result: at the beginning of the 20th century, scientists came to the conviction that all animals of all kinds descend from one simplest form. However, this statement was vehemently denied by the Russian Orthodox Church. The "common Orthodox sentiment" forced the clerics to deny the very possibility of man's descent from a monkey or a similar soulless creature.
History armed with a shovel
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During the years of Soviet power, rich in upheavals, archeology did not stand still. The circle of her interests during this period expanded unusually: she not only studied the objects found from different eras, but also analyzed, on their basis, the economy that our ancestors led, the social development of society, religion, art, issues of resettlement of tribes and the creation of statehood.
One of the most respected figures in Russian archeology was Boris Rybakov, an expert on Slavic culture. The ability to rely in his work not only on abstract inferences, but mainly on the actual results of excavations allowed him to make several significant scientific discoveries. In his work "The Craft of Ancient Rus", he brilliantly proved that this country was not at all inhabited by farmers and hunters alone. Rybakov refuted the assertion that Russia was completely dependent on "trade guests" from Byzantium, Western Europe and the East, since the ancient Russian craft remained extremely undeveloped. An analysis of the extensive archaeological materials collected by the scientists showed that Russia could boast of masters who owned such secrets of processing metal, glass, clay and wood, which were unknown to either European or Eastern,nor the Byzantine craftsmen. In his other works devoted to Slavic paganism, Rybakov sets out the development of pagan beliefs, their change from hunting and fishing cults to the veneration of the gods by a princely squad, and, finally, a difficult period when paganism was firmly intertwined with Christianity, leaving an indelible mark on Russian Orthodoxy.
Another famous Russian archaeologist, Valentin Yanin, devoted his entire life to studying the history of the Lord of Veliky Novgorod. Through his efforts, not only the scientific world, but also everyone who is interested in the history of the Fatherland, could imagine what ancient Novgorod looked like, who inhabited it, from noble boyars and merchants to common people, and what matters, state and household, occupied our distant ancestors. The main role in this was played by the birch bark letters found by Yanin, the publication of which later took four weighty volumes. From the letters discovered in the Novgorod land, the world learned about the life and political activities of the mayor Miroshka Nezdinich, about the work of the icon-painting workshop of the priest Olisey Grechin, about the notes and drawings of the boy Onfim, and about the ancient proposal of the hand and heart of a certain Mikita to unknown to us Anna: “Follow me … I like you, and you like me."
"Black boxes" of antiquity
In general, archeology is capable of answering the most intricate questions and unraveling an uncountable number of historical mysteries. Found during excavations in Dagestan, the most ancient settlement of people on the territory of Russia has been waiting for its researchers for more than two million years. It was founded by the so-called Homo erectus (from Latin - "upright man") - immigrants from the African continent who came to the Caucasus, where they were stopped by the beginning of the great glaciation. By the footprints left by a man at this site, one can judge the paths taken by people, mastering our planet.
In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, an ancient city of the Bronze Age was discovered on the Horse Stream during the flooding of the reservoir. It was a settlement with an area of about three square kilometers, containing 43 residential buildings. Nearby, archaeologists have found 45 burials made in accordance with Scythian traditions. Unfortunately, it remains unknown what the inhabitants of Horse Creek looked like - it was not even possible to establish what race they belonged to. However, the objects discovered (a shamanic mask made of a human skull, an ax with a jade blade and more than a hundred other objects) helped to study the details of the life of people who lived in the distant past.
1993 brought worldwide fame to Russian archeology. On the Altai Ukok plateau, archaeologists have discovered the grave of a woman who died no later than the 3rd century BC. Groundwater penetrated into the sarcophagus and chained the burial with an ice shell, which caused the unprecedented safety of the deceased. Scientists gradually thawed the find for several days, and their patience was rewarded: in front of them was the body of a young woman, no older than 25 years old, quite tall, with amazing tattoos on her body. One of the drawings depicted a mysterious animal that combined the features of a ibex, a griffin and a deer. The burial was rich - together with the woman, six horses in full harness were buried in the ground, and she herself was dressed in a silk shirt, a skirt made of fine wool, felt boots and a fur coat. So they buried only people belonging to noble families,and therefore the find was popularly called the White Lady or the Princess of Ukok. The analysis of the mummy made it possible to find out from what the princess died - she was ruined by breast cancer. The indigenous inhabitants of Altai believe that natural disasters that began after the excavations in Ukok are associated with the anger of the disturbed White Lady, and demand to return her to the ground. But for now, the ancient aristocrat is placed in a sarcophagus with a special temperature regime in the museum of Gorno-Altaysk, and everyone can see her there. But for now, the ancient aristocrat is placed in a sarcophagus with a special temperature regime in the museum of Gorno-Altaysk, and everyone can see her there. But for now, the ancient aristocrat is placed in a sarcophagus with a special temperature regime in the museum of Gorno-Altaysk, and everyone can see her there.
Digger trail
The history of archeology, including Russian, would be incomplete without mentioning the so-called black diggers. Their occupation is much older than it might seem at first glance. They are direct descendants of the ancient plunderers of the Egyptian pyramids, European barons who dragged the stones of pagan temples to their castles, and Russian landowners who were not lazy to tear down Scythian burial mounds in search of treasures.
These self-appointed archaeologists, as a rule, do not have a special education, are not interested in science - all their actions are aimed only at making a profit from the sale of antiquities. Their finds are sold in antique shops, in markets, through advertisements on the Internet, and in the overwhelming majority end up in private collections. And official historical science is losing evidence that could reveal important information about the past.
However, unwittingly, black diggers sometimes bring benefits to science. In 2012, officers of the FSB of Russia stopped the illegal export abroad of a unique “Venetian treasure” found by treasure hunters in the Bryansk region. In this way, historians got into the hands of about 150 items of bronze jewelry of amazingly fine workmanship, including objects that were usually found in the burials of the leaders of Slavic tribes, dated back to the 3rd century. Until now, scientists believed that at this time the Slavs had not yet come to Russian lands, so the recognized theories had to be revised. And the bronze mirror, which is part of the hoard, made in the same way as mirrors were made in ancient China, can serve as evidence of early trade contacts between the Slavs and the Chinese. In short, some scientific papers will have to be rewritten anew.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №33, Ekaterina Kravtsova