TOP-8 archaeological sites in Russia

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Since the Stone Age, people have settled along the banks of reservoirs from Kamchatka to the Crimea. Under the forests of the Smolensk region lie dwellings made of mammoth bones, in the steppes of the Southern Urals there are scattered traces of the inhabitants of the ancient Country of Cities, and the salt marshes of the Astrakhan region hide the capital of the Golden Horde.

1. Rurik's settlement in Novgorod

More than a thousand years ago, on a low hill, not far from the center of modern Veliky Novgorod, there was a city - a rich administrative, trade and craft center of the entire Priilmenye - Rurik's settlement. Archaeologists have discovered many things of Scandinavian origin in its cultural layer. The settlement became the predecessor of the capital of the Novgorod principality; it was here, according to legend, that the Varangian Rurik came to reign.

2. Kostenki

One of the most famous archaeological sites of the Paleolithic era is located in Russia, in the Voronezh region. The first human settlements in Kostenki appeared 45 thousand years ago. In Kostenki, piles of animal bones were found - the ancient inhabitants of these places built dwellings from the bones of mammoths. Among the 40,000 finds are tools and works of art.

3. Gnezdovo

On both sides of the Dnieper in the Smolensk region there is the largest monument dating back to the birth of the ancient Russian state - the Gnezdovsky Kurgan Complex.

Once upon a time, 3500-4000 mounds were piled here. Both the Slavs and the Scandinavians in the VIII-X centuries buried the dead in the same way: first they put the body in a funeral pyre, and why they poured a mound. Some burial mounds were piled up on burnt burial boats; such burials turned out to be especially rich. They found jewelry, broken swords and other items.

4. Phanagoria

Phanagoria is one of the few ancient Greek colonies on the territory of modern Russia. A large port city served as the second capital of the Bosporus kingdom after Panticapaeum (present-day Kerch). On the territory of the modern city, administrative and residential buildings of the late 6th - first half of the 5th century were excavated. BC.

The most valuable find in the history of excavations is a wooden ship. It was possible to date it thanks to a metal ram, on which the cast sign of the king of the Bosporus state Mithridates VI Eupator (star and crescent) was found. Apparently, the birema ship (a rowing warship with two rows of oars on each side) was part of the tsarist fleet and was burned during the assault on Phanagoria in 63 BC.

5. Chersonesos

In October 2015, the Chersonese Tavrichesky Museum-Reserve passed to Russia, and although UNESCO refused to acknowledge this fact, now the Museum-Reserve is under the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Culture.

The only Greek polis in the Black Sea region, Chersonesos managed to be a Roman colony, became part of the Bosporus kingdom, was independent for a short time, became part of Byzantium, survived the raids of Genghis Khan's troops, was twice destroyed and plundered by the Lithuanian princes, saw Genoese merchants. Its cultural layer keeps the memory of every period in the history of the ancient city.

6. Selitrennoe settlement (Saray-Batu)

On the territory of the Astrakhan region, there is the capital of the Golden Horde, the city of Saray-Batu, founded by Khan Batu. It became saltpeter much later, when, under Peter I, plants for the production of saltpeter were installed here.

Foundations of many buildings - public, residential and industrial - were found on the territory of the monument. The cities of the Golden Orzhy were built by conquered peoples, therefore the material culture of Sel Saray-Batu was very eclectic.

7. Ancient settlement of Ryazan

One of the richest cities in Ancient Rus, the capital of the Ryazan principality was not at all where modern Ryazan stands. The ancient settlement of Ryazan was discovered in 1822 thanks to an accidental find - a treasure of gold jewelry. After the Great Patriotic War, excavations were taken seriously. Three temples, art objects, houses and premises where people were engaged in handicrafts, 16 treasures with coins and valuable things were found on the site.

8. Arkaim

For 3 thousand years BC, a huge fortified city was built on the territory of the modern Chelyabinsk region. In special workshops, its inhabitants melted bronze and were engaged in pottery. The city was strictly planned and had storm sewers.

Formed by the remains of fortifications and dwellings, circular figures in the steppe attracted not only historians, but also adherents of occultism of all kinds: they call the archaeological monument “a place of power”, “the cradle of humanity” and “the ancestral home of the Aryans”.