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Archaeologists unearth trove of Medieval artifacts in Minsk Oblast

Photos from bsu.by

MINSK, 19 July (BelTA) – Historians of Belarusian State University (BSU) have unearthed household objects dating from the mid-1st - the early 2nd millennium AD. The artifacts were found near the village of Rechki, Vileika District, Minsk Oblast, during an archaeological dig as part of a summer internship of students of the History Faculty of BSU, BelTA learned from the press service of the university.

The fieldwork was supervised by Head of the Archeology and Special Historical Disciplines Department Polina Kurlovich, teachers of the department Vladimir Plavinsky and Vladimir Grib.

“At the moment, more than 1,000 remains of household objects of the specified period have been unearthed. These are ancient jewelry, including temple rings, fragments of bracelets, brooches, pendants, glass beads, tools, fragments of molded and ceramic dishes, as well as a large number of clay spinning wheels - weights for a spindle. The items found suggest that the people living there used iron, non-ferrous metals and clay,” the press service said.

A more precise age of the items will be established during further research.

The archaeological dig in Rechki will last until 29 July. The archaeologists plan to find a dwelling of the 5th-7th centuries with remains of stone furnaces, as well as to collect items for the laboratory of the museum of the History Faculty of BSU.

The excavation area studied by the BSU historians consists of two fortified and one unfortified settlements, as well as a burial mound. This place was discovered back in the mid-19th century, while the first excavations were carried out by archaeologist Adam Kirkor in the 1850s. A full-scale study of the area began under the supervision of BSU historians in 2019. They are set to uncover extensive evidence about the daily lives of the inhabitants of the settlement and the way they ran their households.

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