Unique 1000-year-old helmet discovered in Bobruisk river port
Unique 1000-year-old helmet discovered in Bobruisk river port
Photos and videos of a unique helmet found in Bobruisk have appeared. And questions, is it not a fake The helmet found on the banks of the Berezina in the port of Bobruisk will be transferred to the city museum, said Alexei Batyukov, director of the Museum of History of Mogilev.
“This is a unique gilded princely helmet from the end of the 10th century. This is a sensation, ”says Igor Marzalyuk, Doctor of Historical Sciences, archaeologist. Visually, the helmet resembles the so-called “Chernigov helmets” of the X-XIII centuries. If the examination confirms the date, it will be the first such find in Belarus.
In total, only a dozen of such helmets have been found in the world. Moreover, the Bobruisk one looks better, just perfectly preserved. The helmet was found thanks to the Bobruisk journalist and enthusiast Nikolai Silkov.
The found gilded helmet can become one of the symbols of Belarusian antiquity. True, some archaeologists doubt that this is a true helmet, and not a reconstruction that has lain in the water for several years. “We were very hot with Vitovt’s Belt,” writes historian Sergei Tarasov on Facebook, “they tried with Efrosinya’s Beads. A similar, though amateurish, attempt is the Polotsk underwater idol. Many bought. All of the above is a deception! And this helmet – what is made of stainless steel? Just lying in the water for almost 700 years? Years 2-3 have held the usual replica. Enough with us “belts”. And some kind of “excavator”, as with “Vitovt’s belt”, – writes Tarasov. An examination will show who is right. Sergey Gezgalo, photo by Nikolay Silkov
A helmet was found on the bank of the Berezina. The find is 1000 years old, ” Vecherny Bobruisk ” April 5 This was reported to “VB” by the turner of the Dnieper-Berezinsky waterway enterprise Vladimir Balynda, who discovered the helmet. As the man said, last year the enterprise carried out work on the Berezina – they cleared and deepened the bottom. During the winter, along with ice and snow, part of the water disappeared, and the find was on the shore. – We have already come from the museum, they said that the helmet was preserved in very good condition. Now we are waiting for the car, we will take him to the Bobruisk city executive committee. They say this is a valuable historical find, and the helmet will be donated to the museum.
As noted in the Bobruisk city museum of local lore, such a find is a sensation not only for the city, but for the whole country. Temporarily the helmet will be there, until the degree of its value is determined. The decision to carry out conservation and restoration work will be made by a commission under the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee.
Historian Nikolai Silkov noted that such a helmet has only a few analogues around the world. It could belong to a representative of the military elite of that time (tenth century), to a prince, or to someone from the top of the princely squad. The shape of the helmet and its edging indicate that the find belongs to a person of very high social status. – The helmet has been preserved in almost perfect condition. Considering its historical value, it is urgent to carry out work on its conservation. Before that, artifacts from the war of 1812, when Napoleon’s army was ferried here, had been found more than once in the Berezina and on the banks of the river. There were found coins, edged weapons and firearms.
In Bobruisk, during the work in the river port, a helmet was found from the late 9th – early 11th centuries, Chairman of the Permanent Commission on Education, Culture and Science of the House of Representatives, Doctor of Historical Sciences Igor Marzalyuk told BelTA.
According to him, this is a unique find for Belarus. “Such a thing has been found in the country for the first time. There are analogs in Ukraine, in the burial grounds of the squad – in the famous” Black Grave “(a mound in Chernigov) and in Shestovitsa,” said Igor Marzalyuk. This weekend, excavations will be conducted at the site where the helmet was found. Scientists expect that it will not be the only unique find. The helmet is well preserved. The issue of its conservation is to be resolved. It is planned that the find will be transferred to specialists for research.
In Bobruisk, during work in the river port, a helmet was found from the late 9th – early 11th centuries, said Igor Marzalyuk, chairman of the Standing Committee on Education, Culture and Science of the House of Representatives.
According to him, this is a unique find for Belarus. “Such a thing has been found in the country for the first time. There are analogs in Ukraine, in the burial grounds of the squad – in the famous” Black Grave “(a mound in Chernigov) and in Shestovitsa,” Igor Marzalyuk noted. This weekend, excavations will be conducted at the site where the helmet was found. Scientists expect that it will not be the only unique find. The helmet is well preserved. The issue of its conservation is to be resolved. It is planned that the find will be handed over to specialists for research.
Remember the plot of the movie “Gentlemen of Fortune”? Three criminals stole the golden helmet of Alexander the Great from the excavation site of the archaeological expedition, the leader hid the find, but then forgot where it was. As a result, the thieves had to dive into an ice hole in the lake in search of the hidden treasure. Of course, the helmet was not used for filming by Alexander the Great … But everything is serious in Bobruisk! And our artifacts are real! An ancient Russian helmet – you can see it in the picture – was discovered on April 4 on the territory of the waterways enterprise of the Dnieper-Berezinsky District Unitary Enterprise! Of course, “Commercial” went to the place of the sensational find and talked with an employee of the enterprise who discovered the artifact.
We were working on lowering the floating dock, – says the turner of the enterprise Vladimir Alexandrovich Balinda, – I drew attention to a strange object nearby, which appeared from the river sand. I thought: what kind of saucepan? Let me see. He looked and gasped! Ancient helmet! According to Vladimir Alexandrovich, it was in this place in the fall of last year that work was carried out to deepen the floating dock. Most likely, together with the sand, a unique find was raised to the surface from the river. And they discovered it only now, when the ancient helmet shone in the rays of the sun.
Photos of the unique find with a request to comment on it, “Commercial” sent to the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Here is what Vadim Ivanovich Koshman, head of the department of archeology of the Middle Ages and modern times, said about the Bobruisk sensation: – I believe that this find is the best thing that happened in Bobruisk over the last thousand years! Found a unique artifact – an ancient Russian helmet, dating from the 10th – early 11th century! This helmet could belong to both a prince, a boyar, and a warrior. Such helmets have never been encountered on the territory of Belarus before! On the territory of Ancient Russia, only five or six such exhibits are known. Specialists have already left for Bobruisk to take the necessary measures to preserve the treasure that has come down to us a thousand years later.
If the work on conservation and restoration of the find is not urgently carried out, its condition will deteriorate catastrophically. It is important that such unique exhibits are the property of the state.
The continuation of the story with the artifact from the times of Kievan Rus took place last Saturday, April 6. On a sensational occasion, a doctor of historical sciences, chairman of the permanent commission on education, culture and science of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Igor Marzalyuk, representatives of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Faculty of History and Philology of Mogilev State University named after Kuleshov arrived in Bobruisk.
On this day, on the bank of the river, work was organized by the efforts of teachers and students of the history and philological faculty of the Mogilev university, Bobruisk schoolchildren. The water area of the river inflow was examined by the divers of the “Sea Pegasus” diving club. Alas, no major finds in addition to the ancient helmet have been found. Among the objects found are clay spindle whorls, fragments of ceramics, fragments of bog oak bridge piles.
How did an ancient helmet with a shamrock get to the river bank (the plot of the art of Ancient Rus)? Here the opinions of experts differ. Someone thinks that the helmet could have been in the burial, which was later damaged. Someone suggests that the helmet could have been an offering, when our ancestors donated the most expensive and valuable thing to the water surface in order to pray for a fertile year, to protect themselves from wars or drought. How effective can further work be?
I was at the work site. In connection with the soil redeposited at this place, further work does not bode well for optimism, – says Vadim Koshman, head of the department of archeology of the Middle Ages and modern times at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. – The soil moved as a result of the deepening of the river. Finding items related to the helmet at this place is problematic.
However, the discovery of synchronous antiquities in the immediate vicinity of the place of discovery is not excluded. But this is the task of future full-fledged archaeological works. It is possible that the helmet found is part of a votive offering to the deity, when our ancestors tried to attract good luck to themselves in battles or some important events.
Vadim Koshman once again emphasizes that the most important thing today is the urgent conservation and restoration of the artifact. Of course, these are very expensive jobs, but they are required! Galina CHIRUK