The most fashionable place this September was Veliky Novgorod. In August, activists reported that the Trinity site XVII, an important archaeological research site, was in danger: construction of the National Center for History and Archeology was supposed to begin by the end of this year, but the research failed. You don’t have time to complete it. This situation threatens the destruction of cultural layers. Firstly, there were calls for volunteers to come for at least a day or two, and secondly, a petition was made to postpone the excavations until next year. After the scandal, volunteers and journalists from the federal media began to flock to the scene en masse.
Everyone was mainly worried about the fate of the birch bark letters, which were perfectly preserved in the local moist soil. Medieval Novgorodians corresponded very actively. Most of the messages concern various aspects of economic life: payment for goods and services, debts, taxes. But there are other species, they are much more impressive.
Beyond the competition, of course, there is also the boy Onfim, who left us many letters. From them you can follow how he learned to write and how he had fun in his free time. On one of them he drew a ridiculous four-legged creature and signed it: “I am a monster.” In the other, he depicted himself as a horseman attacking the enemy with a spear. Each of us seven-year-olds were probably doing about the same thing.
There are also wedding congratulations: the 12th-century Milusha sent such a wish to the Great Kosa for his upcoming marriage to Snovid, a wish that no decent publication would dare to reproduce today (Google “letter number 955”). But at least today we know that medieval women knew a lot about pleasure.
Birch bark messages are found in smaller quantities in other cities. Letter number 35 from Staraya Russa is noteworthy. A mischievous footnote was added to the purely economic message about how much money to receive from the merchant: “To Yakov, brother, [люби] lie down!”, where an obscene verb is used instead of “to love”, which any adult native speaker of the Russian language can easily replace here.
The desire for “brother Yakov” is of course not literal. This means: do not show off, be like everyone else, do not make unnecessary movements. It is easy to imagine how the expression “[люби] The word “reach out” is also used in the same sense in modern male friendship. It’s even sad that the formula has now been forgotten.
For some reason, it is precisely this type of archaeological curiosity that makes the inhabitants of Ancient Russia especially understandable and close to modern people: it turns out that 900 years ago they spoke to each other with the same intonation as we do today.
But friendly humor is one thing, it is another thing for a responsible person to express himself in the same spirit, albeit with decent words. However, the rhetoric of the director of the Novgorod Museum-Reserve, Sergei Bryun, boils down to the desire “not to show off”.
“It is sad to see that my colleagues, especially our archaeologists, had to take on this task due to misinformation by two people who worked at the excavation site for only a few days and launched a “rescue mission” from a non-existent threat. He wrote in early September that he needed to take their attention away from work to answer questions about “devastation.”
And in a recent interview with the local branch of VGTRK, he added: “I am waiting for the next petition: “Go deeper into the mainland to discover possible dinosaur and meteor remains.”
The official’s comments are aimed at activists who are allegedly making a fuss in vain. Bruhn stated that the excavations are expected to be completed before the end of the year, and said, “If the archaeologists cannot cope and do not have time, the museum will be in touch.” [федеральный] A report by Novgorod TV stated that the Ministry of Culture was discussing a request to move the construction site.
It cannot be said that the people believe the words. At least because of the devaluing rhetoric.
But there is a more important factor that maintains the general level of anxiety. The truth is that the volunteers attracted to the scandal, and the observers concerned more broadly, are mostly well-educated, many with management experience. Of course, they are not involved in the scientific process, but the organization of such an important excavation for the country raises natural questions for them – from everyday problems to working with volunteers, where a seemingly valuable resource is almost not coordinated. path. An archaeologist I know, who has two dozen expeditions behind him, was quite surprised to learn that there were empty days at the excavation site that urgently needed to be saved.
These are not all the oddities that catch your eye. Also there is something no one has mentioned yet. But some things are better left unsaid. Now. But so be it…
Birch bark letters are an extremely fragile and infinitely valuable thing. It’s been a long time since Onfim, Yakov and his abusive brother or the Great Scythe (I hope Snovid hasn’t let him down); One day neither Sergei Pavlovich Bryun, nor I, nor you, dear reader, will leave; All the big misfortunes and small joys we experience today will disappear. But living sounds from medieval Novgorod will remain. They will speak in the same meaningful way to those who will be here in our place, they will extend their personal history for hundreds of years, and therefore they will also bear their responsibilities proportionately towards the present, past and future of this land, this culture, this language. . At least.
In fact, the Novgorod letters, like the Sanskrit, are in the public domain. And not just museum officials. And not even just scientists. Therefore, at even the slightest threat to birch bark letters, we have not only the right, but also the obligation to start worrying: sound the alarm, “distract the director’s colleagues,” demand explanations, sign petitions, go voluntarily (if possible). Everyone can and should do this, no matter how many days they spend at the excavation site (ten, two, or none).
But how to properly organize work with the public for mutual benefit is the task of responsible people. I’m not sure jokes about “dinosaurs and meteors” will help here.
XVII. What the public should definitely not do until the excavations reach the mainland is to let the problem take its course.
To put it in ancient Novgorod, “[любить] This is not the time to lie down.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.
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Source: Gazeta
Dolores Johnson is a voice of reason at “Social Bites”. As an opinion writer, she provides her readers with insightful commentary on the most pressing issues of the day. With her well-informed perspectives and clear writing style, Dolores helps readers navigate the complex world of news and politics, providing a balanced and thoughtful view on the most important topics of the moment.