During the current field season, Russian archaeologists uncovered nine fresh medieval birch bark documents at excavations in Veliky Novgorod. Interfax reported the discovery, citing the press service of the Novgorod State Museum-Reserve. The finds were dated to the 15th century, and the tablet with inscriptions is undergoing restoration. Among the notes, researchers believe one of the entries mentions trout, and two names appear in the text – Stepanida and the watchman Semyon. These details suggest everyday concerns and social roles from a distant era, offering a direct window into the past as treated by the museum team. [Attribution: Interfax; GMZ press service]
Historical context helps frame the significance of birch bark documents. The Nerevsky excavation site in Veliky Novgorod is where the world’s first birch bark letter was discovered on July 26, 1951 by a local resident, Nina Akulova. Since that landmark find, researchers have recovered numerous texts, with estimates indicating more than 1,143 messages from earlier centuries already unearthed. Preliminary assessments suggest that as many as 20,000 birch bark letters may still be stored at the site, waiting for further study and conservation. These artifacts collectively illuminate daily life, trade, governance, and childhood among medieval Russians, forming a vivid documentary record of the era. [Attribution: historical records; museum archives]
In related scholarly discussions, specialists from Synergy University, including Fedor Dolgikh and Larisa Krushanova, joined Candidates of historical sciences in exploring how early schools operated in ancient Rus. The conversations touch on the nature of instructional institutions, the books used to teach, and the methods children employed in learning. These topics reveal how literacy spread, which texts helped education, and the social framework surrounding early schooling, enriching our understanding of medieval Russian society. [Attribution: Synergy University researchers; historical science candidates]