Today, on August 15, teachers and students of the Institute of History and International Relations of the SSU will celebrate the Day of the Archaeologist. And they do it on another expedition!
This year, on the Day of the Archaeologist, historians have planned a trip to the Krasnoarmeysky district – this is part of the scientific plan of the Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage of SSU. The site between the villages of Zolotoye and Trubino is subject to exploration – a very interesting but little-studied place due to the complex landscape with steep 20-meter cliffs framing the Volga coast.
Two "pillars" of the Saratov University Scientific School – ancient archaeology and regional archeology of the Volga region – Sergei Monakhov and Vladimir Lopatin tell about the history and traditions of the holiday, which experts and their friends are happy to celebrate.
According to one version, the holiday arose towards the end of the main work in the northern expeditions during the excavations of the village of Staraya Ladoga and Veliky Novgorod. According to the memoirs of Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valentin Yanin, it is associated with a joke by archaeologists who came up with an original reason to celebrate August 15 – the birthday of Bucephalus, Alexander the Great's favorite horse. Over time, the joke was forgotten, but the holiday remained. There is another version, according to which the appearance of the Day of the Archaeologist is associated with the name of one of the leading experts on the Neolithic, Eneolithic and Bronze Age Tatyana Sergeevna Passek. She was engaged in Tripoli culture, conducted excavations of monuments in Ukraine and Moldova. Tatyana Sergeevna's birthday is just on August 15th.
It is traditionally customary at Saratov University to celebrate this holiday at the excavations, as it falls during the field season. Very often on this day, an "initiation into archaeology" is held for those who participate in the expedition for the first time. Or it happens on July 25th, like this season. University archaeology has its own specifics, because it includes not only a pronounced scientific emphasis, but also a teaching component. There is an educational and archaeological practice in the training program for historians. Students in the field of Pedagogical education go to the territory of one of the largest centers of the Golden Horde of the XIII century – Uveka. For 20 years, associate Professor V.A. Lopatin has been taking his groups to the Atkarsky district. On the banks of the Medveditsa River near Nizhnyaya Krasavka, student trainees and teachers are excavating a settlement from the Bronze Age (XV-XVIII centuries BC). An annual field training archaeological practice is also held in the Krasnodar Territory at the Taman-3 monument (a unique settlement arose around the second quarter to the middle of the VI century BC) under the guidance of Professor S.Yu. Monakhov.
– We have been working in the Atkarsky district for a long time – since 2007, – says Vladimir Anatolyevich Lopatin, Associate professor of the Department of Russian History and Archaeology at SSU. – There is a very rich "bush" of Bronze Age monuments. In 2018, we excavated one large settlement with three huge dwellings. Now we dig the next one. The result of these works are very interesting materials that are exhibited in the Atkar Museum of Local Lore and the Museum of Archaeology, SSU. In 2009, unique artifacts were found there, for example, a magnificent detail of horse harness for war chariots of the war period of the 18th and 17th centuries BC.
As for the study of the regional archeology of the Volga region, everything seems to be logical here. But how are Ancient Greece, amphorae and Saratov University connected? Meanwhile, our university has become the center of attraction for the attention of specialists in amphorology in many countries. Today, the scientific school created by Sergei Yuryevich Monakhov is widely recognized both here and abroad. Many specialists are guided by the results of research by Saratov archaeologists in the field of amphorology.
– Since 1970, ancient expeditions from Saratov University have been sent to a variety of regions, ranging from the Caucasus to the Danube, – says the head of the Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Head of the Department of Ancient World History at SSU, Professor Sergey Yuryevich Monakhov. – This year I have already had the fifty-third such expedition. We have been working in the Northwestern Crimea for twenty-five years, and in the last fifteen years the Kuban has become our haven. Every year I lead an archaeological expedition on the shore of the Taman Bay. This is an archaeological El Dorado – a zone of Greek colonization on the Taman Peninsula. We are excavating a huge settlement with an area of twenty hectares, historical students of SSU come here for archaeological practice and participate in the study of the monument.
When mentioning the most prominent archaeologists in the world, my interlocutors refer to the names of Heinrich Schliemann and Arthur Evans. Among the current colleagues are the German archaeologists Anatoly Nagler and Herman Parzinger and many others.
At our university, the archaeological field has been developed for many decades by such famous archaeologists as Pavel Sergeyevich Rykov, Ivan Vasilyevich Sinitsyn, Vladimir Alekseevich Fisenko, Valery Grigoryevich Mironov. Actually, our interlocutors and other eminent university archaeologists consider themselves to be their followers. Among them are Nikolai Mikhailovich Malov, Alexey Borisovich Malyshev, a whole galaxy of their students in the ancient and local primitive cycle.
The scientific School of Saratov University is one of the oldest in Russia. Russian archaeology originated a little later than in Europe. At the state level, serious recognition of this trend began in the middle of the 19th century, when the Imperial Archaeological Commission was established. After Moscow and St. Petersburg, branches began to appear in provincial centers – in Kazan, Kiev, Kharkov, and since 1886 – in Saratov. But it finally took shape only in the Soviet period. It is noteworthy that the first student archaeological practice in Russia was born at Saratov University. It took place at the Uvek settlement (the Golden Horde city of Ukek) in 1919, at the height of the civil war. The result of these trips was Professor F.V. Ballod's book "Volga Pompeii", which is still in demand.
As for ancient archaeology, unlike the regional archaeology of the Volga region, it has not such deep roots. It all started in 1956, when Vladimir Ivanovich Katz (by the way, Monakhov's teacher) got to the excavations of the ancient city of Tauric Chersonesos after the third year. Later, the scientist laid the foundations of ancient archaeology at SSU.
To popularize archaeology, 15 years ago, the university established not only the Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, but also the Museum of Archaeology. There are few such museums in universities – there are in Moscow State University, Rostov State University and two or three more. Our museum is small and educational, but it shows only the originals – the results of excavations over many decades.
Vladimir Anatolyevich Lopatin has been the holder of Open Permission Sheets for archaeological research since 1978. He is very proud that, while still a second-year student, he received the first such document and still remains an active field specialist. For many years, Lopatin led archaeological expeditions in the Saratov and Penza regions, in the Republic of Kalmykia, took part in work on Ustyurt, in Northwestern Kazakhstan, on the Don and in the Caspian Sea.
Vladimir Anatolyevich gives such a succinct definition of archaeology:
– As a biased person, I will say that this is the best of sciences, we call it the mother of sciences. This is a basic discipline, because a historian begins with archaeology. The history of primitive society, the Ancient World, ethnology – these disciplines determine the nature of the future historian's thinking. Being a historical discipline, archaeology is still closer in many things to the natural sciences, because we actively use their methods - chemical, physical, mathematical. As a student, I sometimes fell into despair myself, this discipline was so difficult, the literature on ethnogenetic and cultural processes was so difficult to read and understand.
V.A. Lopatin admits that today the paradigm of student thinking is noticeably changing. Many young people still enjoy going to excavations, and there is already a whole galaxy of rising scientific stars. But there are also those who seek to avoid this difficult practice. The queue for specialization to archaeologists is no longer the same as in his student years, when the competition in specialized universities reached 15-20 people per place. However, even then everything was not easy. In the 1st year, while studying at SSU, 17 out of 50 of his classmates rushed to the archeology circle, seven people began to specialize, but only four defended their theses.
According to the scientist, the main features that an archaeologist should possess are patience, hard work, and intelligence. And he must also possess a lot of additional competencies, for example, be able to draw and draw. Not everyone has these skills now, and they often turn to the services of professionals. And now there is always a full-time draftsman on large expeditions.
– I always did it myself, every time I tried to teach others, – Lopatin admits. – Our students are now increasingly using computer technology, and in principle they make brilliant drawings of amphoric material and other artifacts at the highest level. I still do everything with my own hands, I don't trust anyone with this job.
And what about the skeptics who believe that everything has been excavated and found for a long time? Vladimir Anatolyevich is categorical:
– I am convinced that we still know only one and a half to two percent of what we will have to find and discover. All the most interesting things are still in the ground, and only mounds are visible on the surface. Everything has already been explored in England, and young people are learning from the excavations of already excavated mounds. And we have enough for our great–great-grandchildren! And there will be more.
Sergey Yurievich also agrees with him:
– Archaeology studies ancient society based on the remnants of material culture. Moreover, the number of archaeological sources is doubling every 5-10 years! Therefore, we have unlimited opportunities to analyze and reconstruct the life of ancient societies, as new data are constantly emerging. In archaeology, information accumulates gradually, although there are, of course, breakthrough finds. We are constantly improving our knowledge about the life of the ancient society.
And, I must say, the contribution of Saratov researchers to this knowledge is very serious. S.Y. Monakhov is today one of the most frequently cited authors in ancient and Scythological studies. He is the main expert on ancient amphora containers, the author of authoritative monographs, which no researcher of antiquity can do without today. The computer database on amphorae, Greek amphorae (VII–II centuries BC), prepared by him and a group of scientists is truly invaluable. This is a unique website that has no analogues in the world. In two years – more than 37 thousand views! The site is used in Australia, Greece, France, America and other countries of the world.
An archaeologist always recognizes an archaeologist, my interlocutors say. They are given the appropriate terminology, their scientific discussions are filled with the deepest meaning, and this language is understandable only to them. Even on the sidelines. Among archaeologists, the joint development of directions is welcome. Since Saratov has developed a kind of center for the study of log culture settlements, excavations of Bronze Age dwellings, Samara archaeologists, for example, invited themselves to visit V.A. Lopatin to see how their Saratov friends work.
Taking this opportunity, our scientists congratulate all their near and far colleagues on Archaeologist's Day and wish them new discoveries ("our brother cannot do without this!"), as well as a calm and productive field!
By the way, exploration by combat, that is, by the field, continues, because many archaeological expeditions work until December. Saratov University joins these congratulations!
Text by Tamara Korneva, photos from the interviewees’ archives
Translated by Lyudmila Yefremova
