Moscow Archeology Museum: feedback about the visit

When will the Museum of Archeology of Moscow be opened ? For several years there was no entrance to this building on Manezh Square. Muscovites and guests of the capital were eagerly awaiting the opening of the museum, which was planned for the 850th anniversary of Moscow. And so it happened, they managed to coincide with the anniversary of the city, but, as it turned out later, they hurried and discovered with serious technological infringements. We noticed them almost immediately, but we decided to postpone the reconstruction after all. With these problems, the museum lasted 15 years, and, since it was already impossible to turn a blind eye to them, it was necessary to close it for major repairs. And again the same question arose: "When will the Moscow Archeology Museum open?"

Opening

The second birth of the museum was three years later, on May 18, 2015. The opening was timed to the Day of Museums, after the "Night of Museums".

Now the Moscow Archeology Museum, in addition to being remodeled (engineering communications have been updated), is also equipped with the latest equipment. For example, you can admire a light show, which is projected directly to the Resurrection Bridge. The outlines of the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed, the Historical Museum and the Moscow Kremlin float. Special binoculars, with which you can plunge into the past of Moscow, are waiting for visitors to the museum on the second floor. They reflect Moscow in the 18th century: the Voskresensky Bridge, which is not covered with earth yet, strolling lovers, business officials running and scurrying sales clerks.

Modern technology is widely used in the renewed exposition, but, according to the museum's general director Alina Saprykina, they are not the main thing in the museum. And with the restoration work begun, the founders instructed that hi-tech and new museum equipment should not obscure the exhibits, because for their sake this project was created in due time.

History of the museum

The Moscow Archeology Museum is the first fully underground museum (7 meters deep) and probably the only one created around the exhibits. Large-scale archaeological work was carried out at the Manege Square from 1993 to 1997 as part of the construction of the complex here. Archaeological finds were very diverse. This is clay and glassware, coins, children's toys, stove tiles, as well as wooden pavement, the foundations of houses, the ruins of the Moiseevskiy convent with the cemetery, the settlement of the Stirred Strelets Regiment, and a part of the bridges across the Neglinnaya River.

At the depth of the cultural layer of large-scale archaeological excavations, around one of these bridges (Voznesensky), and it was decided to arrange the Museum of Archeology of Moscow. It is located under the Manezhnaya Square in the very center of the capital. Red Square and the Kremlin have a new neighbor.

The main exhibit

Because of the deplorable condition of the Resurrection Bridge in 2012, the Museum of History and Archeology had to be closed for restoration. General Director Alina Saprykina says that the main exhibit had to be literally saved. Being exposed to the negative impact of the environment due to violation of waterproofing, the bridge was covered with a fungus. Now he is put in order.

The largest exhibit in the past connected the banks of the Neglinnaya River and led to China Town. According to historians, from the 13th century there was a ferry in this place. The white stone bridge dates back to the 17th century, when stone construction was conducted in Moscow. The remains of this bridge are now in the museum. In the 18th century it was demolished and rebuilt, the new structure had five solemn arches, only three have survived, they are now the heart of the exposition. And in 1917 the river with a pond (it was on the site of the Theater Square) and the bridge fell asleep, having arranged the Resurrection Square.

Science archeology

The renovated Museum of Archeology of Moscow not only acquaints visitors with the material culture of past centuries, but also gives an idea of the science of archeology. Thus, under one of the three arches of the Resurrection Bridge, an archaeological excavation (shurf) is shown with simple instruments of the scientist-archeologist, who opens a white-stone masonry of supports. In the hall for successive exhibitions, an exposition has now been organized that acquaints visitors with the history of Moscow archaeological research from the 1890s to the present day. An interactive map is also presented, which points to the sites of the current archaeological excavations. This information is constantly updated by the museum staff.

Fashionable exposition

In our time it has become fashionable for all the renovated museums to arrange open storage. The Moscow Archeology Museum was no exception, the photo shows the equipment of a wealthy Muscovite of the 16th-17th centuries and household utensils. Also shown are tiles of the 16th and 18th centuries and utensils - jugs, ceramic pots, mugs, pots.

In the museum there are two thousand exhibits, among them - flint tools of ancient people who lived in this area, remains of fabrics, they were found on the site of ancient settlements, ceramic jugs and glass bottles, utensils, dishes, bronze brooches and other ornaments, . About the life of our ancestors tell a bone fork and spoon 16-17 centuries, buttons made of metal with carnelian, related to the same time, a fragment of a bag made of leather, a knitted sock.

Treasures

A special place in the museum is occupied by treasures. They were found on the territory of Moscow and transferred to the museum. Each find stores its history. For example, the Spanish treasure, discovered in 1970 in Ipatyevsky Lane, nearly suffered damage from the excavator during the construction of the building. In the copper basin was 3397 coins (about 75 kg of silver) in denominations of 2, 4, 8 real, among them was a fake bronze coin. They were minted in the 16th and 17th centuries at the mints of Spain and in its colonies in Latin America.

Another treasure was found on the site of the Old Gostiny Dvor in the spring of 1996. When cleaning the log foundation of the burnt house, two pitchers were found, in which 335 silver thalers were hid, they were minted in Sweden, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries, and about 100,000 Russian kopecks from the silver of the times of Ivan the Terrible and Boris Godunov. By the size of the treasure you can understand that the owner of such savings could be a rich merchant. The "younger" coin is a Polish thaler of 1640 from the time of King Władysław, which means that the money was concealed in the first half of the 17th century.

The rich life of the museum includes children's archaeological programs, they are designed for different ages.

Reviews

The guests of the museum note very pleasant impressions of the visit. The museum is located in the very center of Moscow, right next to the Kremlin. The ticket can be bought freely, the people are few. In the underground beautifully decorated room are stored unique finds, which are found in the historical center of the capital. Visitors like that here you can find many items of material culture of residents, all kinds of jewelry, household items, do not even believe that they were used in everyday life, to contemporaries they seem ridiculous. The halls are decorated by theme. Excellent guides. It's nice that there are always a lot of school excursions in the museum, the guys come from different cities. By interested eyes you can understand what they are curious about. The museum is worth a visit. This is the general opinion of the people who visited the halls.