When will the Museum of Archeology of Moscow be opened ? There was no entrance to this building on Manezhnaya Square for several years. Muscovites and guests of the capital were looking forward to 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 opened with serious technological disruptions. We noticed them almost immediately, but decided to postpone the reconstruction. The museum lasted 15 years with these problems, and since it was no longer possible 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 Museum of Archeology of Moscow open?"
Opening
The museum was reborn 3 years later, on May 18, 2015. The opening was timed to the Day of Museums, after the "Night of Museums".
Now the Museum of Archeology of Moscow, in addition to being reconstructed again (engineering communications have been updated), is also equipped with the latest equipment. For example, you can admire a light show that projects directly onto the Resurrection Bridge. The outlines of St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Historical Museum and the Moscow Kremlin are floating. 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 of the 18th century: the Voskresensky bridge, not yet covered with earth, strolling couples in love, officials running around on business affairs and scurrying trade clerks.
In the updated exposition, modern technologies are widely used, but, according to the director general of the museum, Alina Saprykina, they are not the main thing in the museum. And when the restoration work began, the founders instructed that the hi-tech and new museum equipment not obscure the exhibits, because for them this project was created in due time.
Museum History
The Moscow Archeology Museum is the first completely underground museum (7 meters deep) and probably the only one created around the exhibits. Large-scale archaeological work went on Manezhnaya Square from 1993 to 1997 as part of the construction of the complex here. Archaeological finds were very diverse. These are clay and glassware, coins, children's toys, stove tiles, as well as wooden pavements, the foundations of houses, the ruins of the Moiseevsky Convent with a cemetery, the settlement of the Stremyanny Streletsky regiment, 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), it was decided to arrange the Museum of Archeology of Moscow. It is located underground Manege Square in the very center of the capital. Red Square and the Kremlin have a new neighbor.
Main exhibit
Due to the deplorable state 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 effects of the environment due to waterproofing, the bridge was covered with fungus. Now it is put in order.
The largest exhibit in the past connected the banks of the Neglinnaya River and led to Kitai Gorod. According to historians, there has been a ferry in this place since the 13th century. The white stone bridge dates back to the 17th century, when stone construction was carried out in Moscow. The remains of this bridge are now in the museum. In the 18th century it was destroyed and rebuilt, the new building had five solemn arches, only three have survived, they are now the heart of the exhibition. And in 1917, a river with a pond (it was on the site of Theater Square) and a bridge were filled up, making Voskresenskaya Square.
Science archeology
The renewed 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. So, under one of the three arches of the Resurrection Bridge shows an archaeological site (pit) with simple tools of a scientist-archaeologist who opens the white stone masonry of supports. An exhibition has been organized in the hall for successive exhibitions, introducing visitors to the history of Moscow archaeological research from the 1890s to the present. An interactive map is also presented that points to the sites of the current archaeological site. This information is constantly updated by the museum staff.
Fashion Exposition
Nowadays, it has become fashionable for all renovated museums to arrange open storage. The Museum of Archeology of Moscow was no exception, the photo shows the equipment of a wealthy Muscovite of the 16-17th centuries and household utensils. Also shown are tiles of the 16-18th centuries and utensils - jugs, ceramic pots, mugs, dishes.
The museum has two thousand exhibits, among them - flint tools of ancient people who lived in this area, the remains of fabrics, they were found on the site of ancient settlements, ceramic jugs and bottles of glass, utensils, dishes, bronze brooches and other jewelry, horse harness details . The life of our ancestors is told by a bone fork and a spoon of the 16-17th centuries, metal buttons with carnelian, dating back to the same time, a fragment of a leather bag, 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 has its own story. For example, the Spanish treasure, discovered in 1970 in Ipatievsky Lane, almost suffered from an excavator during the construction of the building. In a copper basin there were 3397 coins (about 75 kg of silver) in denominations of 2, 4, 8 reais, among them was a fake bronze coin. They were minted in the 16-17th 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 clearing the log base of the burned house, two jugs were found in which 335 silver thalers were hidden, they were minted in Sweden, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries, and about 100 thousand Russian kopecks made of silver from the time of Ivan the Terrible and Boris Godunov. By the size of the treasure, one can understand that the owner of such savings could be a rich merchant. The “youngest” coin is a Polish thaler of 1640 from the time of King Vladislav, which means that the money was hidden in the first half of the 17th century.
The busy life of the museum includes children's archaeological programs, they are designed for different ages.
Reviews
Museum guests note a very pleasant impression of the visit. The museum is located in the very center of Moscow, right near the Kremlin. A ticket can be freely bought, a few people. The underground beautifully decorated room contains unique finds that are found in the historical center of the capital. Visitors like that here you can find many objects of material culture of residents, all kinds of jewelry, household items, you can’t even believe that they were used in everyday life, they seem ridiculous to contemporaries. Halls are decorated on the theme. Great guides. It's nice that the museum always has a lot of school trips, guys come from different cities. From interested eyes you can understand what they are curious. The museum is worth a visit. Such is the general opinion of people who have visited its halls.