"Tanais" is a museum-preserve. Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Rostov Region: photos and reviews

The archaeological museum-reserve "Tanais" is the first on the territory of Russia. The basis of the exposition was the sites of the ancient city.

Tanais is an ancient city

This is the northernmost point of ancient civilization. He is on the river Dead Donets. Historians and geographers are still arguing about which river at that time was called Tanais - Seversky Donets, Don or Dead Donets.

Tanais was founded in the III century BC by Greek merchants. They were from the Bosporan kingdom, located in the eastern Crimea. It became the most northern Greek city. He was entrusted with an important strategic role - control of the entire northern Black Sea coast.

Tanais from all sides surrounded by a variety of tribes - from the Scythians to the Sarmatians. This left an imprint on his culture and way of life of citizens. Today we can say with certainty that our own special culture has been formed here.

Through Tanais, trade between Europe and Asia was conducted. This was the boundary of the ancient world, the main point of commodity exchange between barbarian tribes and Greeks.

The first excavations

The ancient settlement Tanais was first discovered in 1823 by Colonel IA Stempkovsky, a correspondent of the Paris Academy. The very first excavations were led by PM M. Leontiev, a professor at Moscow University; later this work was headed by Professor VG Tizengauzen. Since 1870 (almost 50 years) the monument was not protected.

In 1955, the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union created the Lower-Don Archaeological Expedition, which, in cooperation with the Russian State University and the local history museum, began to excavate the site of the ancient settlement. Four years later, this territory was declared a reserve. Soon Tanais became known to the general public. The Museum-Reserve was opened in 1961. Since then, everyone can see the ancient city with their own eyes, observe the excavations, get acquainted with the discovered artifacts.

Tanais Archaeological Museum-Reserve

This hospitable southern city has many attractions that represent cultural and historical value. Almost all tourists arriving in Rostov, "Tanais" visit necessarily. It is located 30 kilometers from the Don capital, where the majestic Don flows into the Sea of Azov. A unique open-air museum occupies a vast territory - more than three thousand hectares. Here visitors are given the opportunity to see a complex of the most interesting monuments of culture and history of different peoples, from the Paleolithic era to the XIX century.

"Tanais" is a museum-reserve, which is located in the western part of the Nedvigovka farm. Here you can see the area free from buildings, which is surrounded on three sides by a deep ditch. Coming closer, you will see that in different parts of this territory are visible the remains of defensive towers, houses, walls, which create entire streets. This is Tanais - an ancient city, the study of which scientists have been engaged for many decades. Today the museum is open for tourists.

Exposition

"Tanais" is a museum-reserve, the main part of the exposition is located in the open air - these are the quarters of an ancient city found during the excavations. In the center of the settlement there is a wide street that crossed the city from north to south. From her, as, indeed, in our modern cities, there are alleys that limit the city quarters, united in several estates.

It is interesting that the stone pavement of all the yards had a slant towards a huge cistern, to which rainwater probably drained. Thus, the townspeople stored water in case of drought.

From all sides the city was protected by defensive walls, archaeologists managed to almost completely clear the western section with the remains of the towers. Such a construction once again confirms how powerful Tanais was.

Necropolis

From the western, eastern and northern sides of the site there is a necropolis, in which archeologists of the Lower-Don expedition discovered more than a thousand soil burials and mounds. For a long history in the city lived a rather motley, from an ethnic point of view, population. This is confirmed by various funeral rites.

Archaeological finds

All those who come to Tanais (Rostov Region) can visit the museum with an area of about 200 square meters. It consists of several halls. They can be accessed with numerous materials collected during the archaeological excavations of Tanais. The first exposition, telling about how the ancient city was discovered, and how the excavations were going on and is now being conducted, is an opening one and is located in the lobby of the museum.

The first hall is devoted to the trade relations of the ancient city and the main occupations of its inhabitants - cattle breeding and farming. Here is the section "Conquest of Tanais Polemon", where visitors will see the reconstruction of military tools of the ancient period in full size. A small diorama and some details of weapons will show how the battles of that time were going on.

In the second room you will learn how the economic, political and cultural life of Tanais proceeded in the 1st-3rd centuries AD, when the city was in its prime. Special interest of the museum visitors is caused by the exhibitions "Crafts" and "Trade". Here you can see ceramics, glass, Egyptian faience, bronze - imported goods. With them there are products of local craftsmen - potters, blacksmiths, weavers, glass blowers.

The third hall of the museum is fully dedicated to the ethnic composition of the inhabitants of Tanais. Here are the finds, which show that in this place lived different nationalities, with their traditions and customs. A very interesting thematic exhibition, located in the second room - "The Religion of the Tanaits". Here are displayed amulets, cult sets, figures of revered deities, skillfully made of terracotta and bronze.

The fourth hall of the museum is devoted to thematic exhibitions, which are held regularly in the museum. These are the exhibitions of famous Don artists. Their work tells about the history of the native land and its development.

Holographic pyramid

Visitors who recently visited the Tanais Museum-Reserve (Rostov Region) were pleasantly surprised. Here, a unique design was created - a holographic pyramid. This is a completely new direction in the museum business. This device is a 3D projector for any images. That's why all the pictures in the pyramid become voluminous.

Scientists of the museum in cooperation with invited designers from the capital prepared for the museum visitors an interesting program that demonstrates how women were in the Greco-Sarmatian time. You can see how they dressed, what hair styles they had, and in the smallest details to consider their ornaments. You can see this holographic miracle in the building of the museum of historical costume. We will describe it below.

Museum of Historical Costume

Here is a huge collection of historical costumes. "Tanais" is a museum-reserve, where ancient clothes, shoes and hats, worn by representatives of the Bosporus, Scythian and Sarmatian cultures are represented. Here you can see also numerous accessories: fibulae (fasteners), decorations, pins, buttons.

It is planned to install a virtual fitting room in this museum department. In it, using modern technologies, every visitor will be able to try on the ancient costumes of the inhabitants of the city of Tanais. The museum-reserve will give an opportunity not only to virtually try on these ancient outfits, but also to get a picture of its image for memory.

Buildings and buildings

On the territory of the reserve, one more museum complex is being created, in which the buildings and structures of ancient times will be reconstructed. The towers of the fortress walls, the Meot hut, the dwelling of the rich Tanait, the Polovtsian sanctuary will be moved here and installed, and a children's playground in the form of an ancient fortress will appear.

How to get to the museum?

We hope that after reading this article, many of our readers will want to see with their own eyes "Tanais" - a museum-preserve. How to get to him, we will explain. From the suburban railway station of Rostov-on-Don the train "Rostov-Taganrog" departs daily, the stop - "Tanais". From the Central Market buses number 158 on the route Rostov-Sinyavskaya and No. 158a-Rostov-Shchedry route go.

Reviews of tourists

Today thousands of tourists from our country come to "Tanais". Reviews of the visit to the museum and the site are admired and surprised at the same time. Many of the tourists recently learned about its existence. All of them believe that Russian archeologists have made a professional feat, giving an opportunity to everyone who wants to touch our history. Many celebrate hospitality, hospitality of the Rostovites and high professionalism of the museum staff.