In the Rostov region, I would like to talk about our trip to Tanais, archaeological museum-reserve, one of the largest in Russia. Its territory is more than 3 thousand hectares. Here you can see monuments from different times and different cultures, from the Paleolithic to the 19th century.
Tanais is the northernmost point of ancient civilization. It is located on the river Dead Donets, which at that time was the main channel of the river. There is still no consensus among historians and geographers as to which river at that time was called Tanais - Don, Seversky Donets or Dead Donets. According to the Greek historian and geographer Strabo(c.64/63 BC - c.23/24 AD), it was the largest city after Panticapaeum (the capital of the Bosporan kingdom, on the territory of Kerch), a marketplace of barbarians. Here was the border between Europe and Asia. Pliny(23-79 AD) wrote: “For anyone who enters here, Europe is on the left, Asia is on the right.”.
Opening of the monument and archaeological excavations
Tanais was discovered in 1823 by a corresponding member of the Paris Academy, Colonel I. A. Stempkovsky (1789-1832). Then the excavations were led by Moscow University professor in the department of Roman literature and antiquity P. M. Leontyev (1822 - 1874), and from 1867 by historian-orientalist, corresponding member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in the category of oriental literature V. G. Tiesenhausen (1825-1902). Alas, starting in 1870, for almost 50 years, until the revolution, the monument was practically not protected, and local residents took it away for their own needs.
In 1955, the USSR Academy of Sciences formed the Lower Don Archaeological Expedition, which, together with Rostov State University and the Rostov Museum of Local History, began excavations. Four years later, the settlement and burial ground were declared a protected area. In 1961, one of the first archaeological museum-reserves in Russia was opened here.
Thanks to the research of historians and archaeologists, it was possible to restore the history of ancient Tanais.
History of Tanais
Three stages are clearly visible in the history of Tanais. First stage covers the period from the 3rd to the 1st centuries. BC. At this time, the city consisted of three areas: the main territory, the adjacent western territory and the riverine area, the study of which is impossible due to the existing buildings. At the end of the 3rd or the very beginning of the 2nd century. BC. the city was surrounded by a fortress wall. At the end of the 1st century. BC. it was destroyed by the Bosporan king Polemon.
Strabo in his “Geography” he left a meager note: “It was recently destroyed by King Polemon for disobedience.”. Polemon was placed on the throne by the Romans in 14 BC. And soon a struggle began against powerful opposition, which ultimately led to his death in 8 BC. Perhaps Tanais opposed Polemon, for which he was destroyed, although not completely. Only the western part was damaged, which was no longer rebuilt. Subsequently, in memory of the restoration of the city, “Tanais Day” was celebrated annually.
Second phase The history of Tanais lasted from the 1st to the 3rd centuries. AD At the beginning of the 2nd century, the city turned into a fortress 225x240 m, which was surrounded by a ditch 10-13 m wide and 7-8 m deep, partially cut through the bedrock. The city becomes an important commercial and cultural center. Thus, in the basement of a house that belonged to a wealthy merchant, 390 amphorae were discovered in which oil was stored. The local population was also engaged in fishing, as evidenced by the premises for storing and processing fish. Apparently, live fish from Tanais arrived at the tables of wealthy Roman patricians. Crafts were actively developing - glass production, jewelry, pottery, construction, blacksmithing, etc.
Such cult finds were discovered, such as an altar, seven clay stamps for imprinting on ritual bread, etc. However, the names of the gods whom the Tanaites worshiped are unknown. It is only known that there was a cult of the “Highest God,” who may have combined the features of the Greek Zeus, the Thracian Sabazius, the Jewish Yahweh and the Christian God the Father.
Despite the fact that in the middle of the 2nd century there was a strong fire in the city, causing great damage, Tanais continued to remain a powerful city.
In the 3rd century, work began to strengthen the city’s defenses to protect against warlike nomads. In 237, Tanais was destroyed by an alliance of tribes led by the Goths. Leontyev wrote: “The ruins of the city show that this destruction was the worst imaginable: there was almost no stone left unturned in the city; the lower rows of masonry have been preserved from quite a few walls; the towers were destroyed almost to the ground, and the very cellars were filled with the ruins of collapsed buildings... Fire took part in the destruction, traces of which are visible almost everywhere in the inner part of the city and on the inner side of the city walls and towers; one of the open towers was burned on all sides". The conquerors took the surviving inhabitants with them.
Tanais was deserted for more than 100 years. Third stage The development of the city falls on the last third of the 4th - beginning of the 5th century. Apparently, the Sarmatians settled in the destroyed city. The rubble was cleared only enough so as not to interfere with movement on the streets. The houses were unsightly, the ceramics were primitive. And at the beginning of the 5th century, the city, which had stood for eight centuries, was abandoned by its inhabitants...
And now - a short photo report about the trip to Tanais. You are greeted at the entrance to the archaeological museum stone women. Once upon a time they stood in large numbers throughout the steppe, but were destroyed as pagan idols.
There is a stove inside the hut.
And a little further away is the huge territory of ancient Tanais. Now archaeologists are constantly working here, and every year brings new discoveries.
The ground around was overgrown with thistles. The Dead Donets is visible in the distance, and on the horizon, in a foggy haze, is the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov.
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And then the most interesting thing began: we took part in historical reconstruction. The result was an unusual mixture of styles and eras: the Romans and the Crusaders, the Polovtsians and the Scythians. Unfortunately, the quality of the pictures here is worse, because... the photographs have been scanned.
The helmet turned out to be too big for me and constantly slipped over my eyes.
Tanais. Romans, Polovtsians, Crusaders...
How to get there and operating hours of the Tanais Museum-Reserve
- Address: 346813, Rostov region, Myasnikovsky district, h. Nedvigovka.
- Directions: From Rostov-on-Don: electric train "Rostov-Taganrog", stop "Tanais", buses "Rostov-Sinyavskaya" No. 158 and "Rostov-Shchedry" No. 158a - depart from the Central Market, stop "Tanais"; 35 km west of Rostov-on-Don.
- Operating mode: Every day, without breaks and weekends, from 9.00 to 17.00
- Admission: Children - 25 rubles, students - 30 rubles, adults - 40 rubles, foreign citizens - 50 rubles.
- Free entry: Heroes of the USSR and Russia, full holders of the Order of Glory, students of educational institutions of higher professional education.
PS. Shot on film camera, negatives scanned.
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If you adore stories about ancient civilizations that ceased to exist long before our modern and familiar world, you dream of coming into contact with the history of the ancient world and seeing the ruins of past centuries that miraculously survived, then you will enjoy visiting the archaeological museum, which is located on the territory of Rostov region, in the area of the Myasnikovsky settlement.
The history of the Don is replete with interesting events and rich in protected places. Have you ever heard of Tanais? This museum-reserve can rightfully be considered one of the largest in the Russian Federation, because its holdings occupy more than three thousand hectares. Here you can see architectural monuments belonging to a variety of historical eras, from Paleolithic times until the recent nineteenth century.
The museum-reserve is located on a river called the Dead Donets, although in ancient times this river was called Tanais, for which the museum owes its name to it. The second largest city of the same name was located here, and the barbarians held their famous markets here.
Not interested in ruins - Dzhemete private sector by the sea. And there is also something to see around Anapa.
But let's return to the museum...
Once upon a time, it was here that the border between Europe and Asia passed, and ancient chroniclers and historians noted that for a visiting wanderer, upon entering the city, Asia stretched on the right hand, and Europe stretched its possessions on the left.
Tanais was discovered in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, but since the architectural monument was not protected for quite a long time after the excavations, local residents gradually began to plunder it, which is why it has now in some way become more scarce. But, starting from the mid-twentieth century, the Rostov Museum of Local Lore took patronage over the excavations, and serious archaeological work can be attributed to this time.
Reserve "Tanais". Excavation estates. 2007
Tanais ancient city at the mouth of the river. Don. In the first centuries A.D. e. belonged to the Bosporan kingdom. Located approximately 30 km west of Rostov-on-Don, near the Nedvigovka farm.
Tanais Nature Reserve is one of the largest archaeological museum-reserves in Russia. The territory of the Tanais reserve covers more than 3 thousand hectares and unites an ensemble of historical and cultural monuments of different times and peoples from the Paleolithic era to monuments of residential and religious architecture of the 19th century. This is the northernmost point of ancient civilization.
Also Tanais the ancient Greek name of the Don and Seversky Donets rivers.
History of Tanais
Tanais River and the Greek colony of Tanais, along with other Greek colonies along the northern coast of the Black Sea.
Tanais Greek colony
Tanais was founded in the 3rd century. BC e. Greeks, immigrants from the Bosporan kingdom, on the right bank of the then main branch of the mouth of the Tanais River Dead Donets. For many centuries, Tanais was a major economic, political and cultural center of the Don-Azov region. The Greek geographer Strabo calls it the largest marketplace of barbarians after Panticapaeum. Ancient geographers and historians drew the border between Europe and Asia from Tanais. The city gradually acquired features characteristic of the lifestyle of local tribes. Tanais fought for independence from the Bosporan rulers. In 237 AD e. it was destroyed by the Goths. Restored 140 years later by the Sarmatians, Tanais gradually turned into a center of agricultural and craft production, and at the beginning of the 5th century AD. e. fell into disrepair.
Tanais Italian colony
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the Venetians founded the city of Tana in a new place - on the changed main branch of the Don mouth, now called the Old Don. Later, control of the city passed to Genoa, who built a Genoese fortress here. In Polovtsian times, the colony of Tanais began to be called Tan for short. In 1395, Tamerlane's troops razed the city to the ground, completely destroying the walls.
Tan = Azov
In the 15th century, the Tang colony was partially restored on the site of the later city of Azov. The rule of the Genoese came to an end in the fall of 1475. The Ottoman Turks, having previously captured all the Genoese fortresses of Crimea and the Orthodox Crimean principality of Theodoro in the same year, landed troops and captured the Tang colony. The Turks owned the city, which finally received the name Azov, with short interruptions from 1475 to 1736, when, as a result of numerous wars, it finally passed to the Russian Empire.
Tanais river
The ancient Greek cartographer Ptolemy gave the coordinates of the source and mouth of the Tanais, according to which this is exactly the Seversky Donets, brought along the lower reaches of the present Don to the Sea of Azov; Thus, Girgis was considered by him to be a tributary of Tanais, located closer to the then civilized world
At the mouth of the Tanais River, not far from its confluence with the Sea of Azov, on the then main channel of the river, two thousand years later called Dead Donets, the Greek colony of Tanais was founded.
I’ll tell you about one more pearl of the Rostov region - the Tanais nature reserve.
What is Tanais? This is an open-air excavation of an ancient Greek city of the 3rd century. BC. That is, this is the northernmost point of the ancient Greek state. Just think for a moment where the Greeks sailed, how vast this country was! And all this without modern means of transportation and communication. How inquisitive these people were, how thirsty they were for new discoveries. I admire and envy them.
The city was named after the Tanais River, the modern Don, and served as a border point between Europe and Asia. Later there was the Italian city of Tana. Still later, it came under the control of the Genoese. In the 14th century, Tamerlane's troops razed the city to the ground. Later, the Genoese restored the Tana colony on the site of modern Azov. Well, you already know the history of Azov from the previous one.
Tanais first attracted archaeologists in 1826. But then they were only interested in the treasures of the Scythian burial mounds. Having found nothing valuable, the excavations were abandoned.
Several decades later, during the construction of the Rostov-Taganrog railway, workers discovered the ancient city for the second time. The settlement was not protected in any way, and local residents stole artifacts for household needs. Only in 1959 the object was declared a protected area, and in 1961 a museum was opened. And in 2009, Tanais became a candidate for the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Now the ensemble of the reserve unites monuments from different eras - from the Paleolithic to the 19th century. The museum is located on the outskirts of the Nedvigovka village on the banks of the Dead Donets, 30 km away. from Rostov-on-Don.
The entire route through the Tanais nature reserve can be divided into two parts. The first part is museums, the second part is excavations. First we walked around the museum part, then we went for a walk around the territory of the reserve.
Several museum buildings display things found during excavations: weapons, Tanait skeletons, household items, Scythian women. Reconstructions of clothing and jewelry from different eras, models of individual buildings and the entire city; on the holographic pyramid you can see the appearance of a Tanaitian lady.
Also on the territory of the reserve there are several restored objects - a farmer’s hut, a model of the western gate, a Roman bridge, a Polovtsian sanctuary, a collection of three-dimensional objects from excavations.
It will be very interesting to go to museums with children. Master classes in weaving and pottery are given here. They teach sword fighting techniques.
Every September the museum holds a holiday - Tanais Day. This is a theatrical performance in the style of past eras. There are also picnic areas on site. There are tables and benches under awnings. After an interesting and educational excursion, visitors can have a Greek-style lunch.
Here is another interesting place in the collection of attractions of the Rostov region. And I’ll probably go there again. Somehow I don’t have enough photographs and impressions. I need a review of the material I have covered.
Tanais was founded in the 3rd century. BC e. Greeks, immigrants from the Bosporan kingdom, on the right bank of the former main branch of the mouth of the Tanais River (now Don) - the Dead Donets, after which the city received its name.
Seven wonders of the Don
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For many centuries, Tanais was a major economic, political and cultural center of the Don-Azov region. The Greek geographer Strabo calls it the largest market place for barbarians after Panticapaeum (the capital of the Bosporan kingdom, in the territory of present-day Kerch). Ancient geographers and historians drew the border between Europe and Asia from Tanais. The city gradually acquired features characteristic of the lifestyle of local tribes. Tanais fought for independence from the Bosporan rulers.
In 237 AD e. it was destroyed by the Goths. Restored 140 years later by the Sarmatians, Tanais gradually turned into a center of agricultural and craft production, but at the beginning of the 5th century it fell into disrepair.
Tanais - Italian colony
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the Venetians founded the Tana trading post in a new location - on the changed main branch of the Don mouth, now called the Old Don. Later, control over the city passed to Genoa, which built a Genoese fortress here.
In Polovtsian times, the colony of Tanais began to be called Tan for short. In 1395, Tamerlane's troops razed the city to the ground, completely destroying the walls.
Colony of Tana on the site of the city of Azov
In the 15th century, the colony of Tana (the medieval name of the Genoese colony of Tanais) was partially restored on the site of the later city of Azov.
The rule of the Genoese came to an end in the fall of 1475. The Ottoman Turks, having captured all the Genoese fortresses of Crimea (Captaincy of Gothia) and the Orthodox Crimean principality of Theodoro before attacking Tana in the same year, landed troops and captured the colony of Tana. The Turks owned the city, which finally received the name Azov, with short breaks (in 1637-1643 and 1696-1711) from 1475 to 1736, when, as a result of numerous wars, the city of Azov passed to the Russian Empire.
Archaeological excavations
Tanais was discovered as an archaeological site in 1823 by a corresponding member of the Paris Academy, Colonel I. A. Stempkovsky. On the personal instructions of Nicholas I, who was interested primarily in the treasures of the burial mounds, excavations in Tanais were subsequently carried out by P. M. Leontiev, a professor at Moscow University in the department of Roman literature and antiquity, and from 1867 - by V. G. Tizengauzen. The study of the Nedvigov settlement was carried out under the control of the Imperial Archaeological Commission. True, Leontyev’s excavations, which were carried out haphazardly, only caused damage to the ancient settlement. Not finding anything that seemed worthy of attention, Leontyev stopped excavations.
At the end of the 1860s, during the construction of a section of the Rostov-Taganrog railway, workers engaged in breaking stone in the Nedvigovka area came across the ancient settlement of Tanais. However, no measures were taken to resume excavations. Having shown some interest in the second “discovered” settlement, the chairman of the Archaeological Commission, Count S. G. Stroganov, wrote a letter to the appointed ataman of the Don Army, M. I. Chertkov. M. Chertkov, in turn, sent the director of the Novocherkassk gymnasium Robush and the artist Oznobishin to Nedvigovka for inspection.
From the 70s until the Soviet government declared all ancient monuments public property under state protection, local residents plundered the settlement for their own needs, using the stone of the ancient city in their buildings.
From 1870 to 1872, excavations at the Nedvigovsky and Elizavetinsky settlements were led by P. I. Khitsunov.
“Tanais” is the first of the archaeological museum-reserves created in Russia on the territory of Russia.
In 1955, the USSR Academy of Sciences formed the Lower Don Archaeological Expedition, which, together with Rostov University and the Rostov Museum of Local History under the leadership of D. B. Shelov, began scientific research of the ancient settlement. Four years later, the excavated site and burial ground were declared a protected area. And in 1961, one of the first archaeological museum-reserves in Russia was opened here, with an area of more than 3 thousand hectares. From 1973 to 2002, the permanent director of the museum-reserve was V. F. Chesnok. Then the director for a short time was the former Deputy Minister of Culture of the Rostov Region V. Kasyanov. In 2005, V. Perevozchikov was appointed director.
The initiators of the creation of the museum-reserve were the head of the Lower Don expedition D.B. Shelov and deputy Director of the Rostov Regional Museum of Local History S.M. Markov. In 1958, the Rostov Regional Executive Committee issued a resolution “On the creation of the Tanais Museum-Reserve as a branch of the Rostov Regional Museum of Local History.” In 1960, the land with the main area of the settlement and the adjacent areas of the necropolis was transferred to the museum for indefinite use. The construction of the first museum buildings based on panel structures began: a museum exhibition, administration and two small utility rooms. Two staff positions were allocated (manager and watchman). On August 1, 1961, the museum opened and received its first visitors.
In 1981, by decision of the Rostoblis Executive Committee, protective zones of the reserve with an area of 1200 hectares were approved. In 1990, the museum-reserve received the status of an independent cultural institution.
In February 2009, the Tanais Archaeological Museum-Reserve became a candidate for inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites).
Today the reserve employs about 40 people. On the territory of his estate there is a new museum building with the main historical exhibition, a storage building, administrative premises, buildings for permanent and temporary exhibitions, museum teaching classes, and technical services. The reserve has become a significant cultural, educational and scientific center of the region, known far beyond its borders.
The most important role in the formation and development of the museum-reserve belongs to the half-century creative union of the reserve and the Lower Don archaeological expedition, which has become international since 1993 (teams of the German Institute of Archeology and the Institute of Archeology of the University of Warsaw).
To date, excavations have uncovered approximately a tenth of the ancient city, as well as a significant area of the city necropolis. Unique standard stock collections and a unique “open-air” exhibition have been formed, which comprises the majority of the explored areas of the settlement. This exhibition also includes large-scale reconstructions of ancient buildings on the museum estate and a lapidarium - a collection of massive, voluminous finds, mainly made of stone. Items from excavations stored in the reserve funds number more than 140 thousand items. The most expressive of them can be seen in the historical exhibition of the museum. The collections have created a unique “Hall of Amphora Standards” - the only experience in Europe of open storage of amphora containers. The museum estate also houses the “Museum of Historical Costume” exposition and a complex of thematic exhibitions of a historical, archaeological and artistic nature.
The museum has accumulated significant experience in working with visitors and has developed interesting and exclusive forms of this activity. Tourists are offered a series of excursion routes through the exhibitions of the museum, the ancient settlement, historical, cultural and natural monuments of the protected areas of the reserve, covering the chronological range from the Paleolithic era to the 20th century. A variety of interactive programs are conducted: historical workshops on ancient craft, written, trade, and sports technologies at the museum and pedagogical centers of the reserve; educational games based on competitions; large theatrical mass celebrations in ancient traditions. The museum publishes booklets, guides and other popular science literature about Tanais, and specialized archaeological collections.
Every year on the third Saturday of September, Tanais City Day is celebrated here.
The holiday program was developed based on the ancient celebration of the same name, which is narrated by the text of a marble slab from 104 AD, found at the ancient site. It is assumed that the festival combined the birthday of the city of Tanais and the honoring of the river god.
Guests will be treated to a series of theatrical performances, master classes on ancient crafts, competitions, quizzes and competitions, and new exhibitions.
Anyone can become a participant in historical reconstructions of the Pythian and Olympic Games, various myths and ancient Greek holidays.
Suggested by a user under the nickname Nikolay S. When preparing the material, data from Wikipedia and the museum’s official website were used.
