Treasures, Archaeological

Categories / Architecture/Architectural Monuments
TREASURES, ARCHAEOLOGICAL. Sets of objects buried in the ground or other out-of-the-way places by their owners. In St. Petersburg and its outskirts, archaeological treasures have been found repeatedly throughout the course of various construction works. Treasures were hidden from the Middle Ages to modern times. The most ancient archaeological treasures date back to the time of the Varangian-Greek Trade Route. The first treasure (silver Sassanid coins) was found in 1797 during the construction of the Gallery Harbour. In 1941, similar buried treasure was found near Petrodvorets (86 Kufic and Sassanid coins from the early 9th century). These archaeological findings allowed a more precise dating of trade development in the region, and helped determine their directions. Another group of archaeological treasures contains objects from the 17th or the beginning of the 18th centuries (mainly of Swedish origin). Thus, over the course of excavation work at the junction of the Okhta River and the Lubya River (today the territory of the Okhtinsky Chemical Plant), in the region of the former Swedish Nyenschantz Fortress, a peasant named F. Stepanov found, in 1871, 14 silver and 449 copper coins, a cross, a round metal plate, four earrings and a copper pipe. In 1915, in the same region, two barrels were found with copper Swedish coins and a total weight of 13 poods (213 kg) and 20 pounds. The research of archaeological treasures from recent history is part of the city's archaeological projects.

A. Y. Chistyakov. Stepanov F.
Trade Route between the Varangians and the Greeks