In Novgorod, archaeologists in the Trinity excavation discovered a unique piece of horse equipment

During excavations, members of the Novgorod archaeological expedition of Moscow State University and employees of the Novgorod Museum-Reserve discovered a bronze cheek-piece in the Scandinavian style – an element of the bridle set of a riding horse. Such artifacts are typical for Northern Europe, but for Ancient Russia they are a rarity.

In 2022, the work of the Novgorod Archaeological Expedition of Moscow State University is being carried out at the fifteenth section of the Troitsky excavation site, located at the Lyudin end of medieval Novgorod (the head of the excavation site is Andrey Stepanov, a senior researcher at the Novgorod Museum-Reserve). Now experts have focused on the study of the oldest layers, which date back to the first half – the middle of the 10th century. Here, the border between two city estates, as well as a section of the bridge of Chernitsyna Street, is being explored.

During the current field season, many interesting discoveries have already been made, but for the first time in Novgorod, in a layer of the middle of the 10th century, a bronze cheek-piece was found – an element of the bridle equipment of a riding horse, decorated in the Scandinavian Borre style. The ends of the psalium blades are shaped like animal heads. The closest analogies to the Troitsk find come from Sweden (Gotland Island) and Norway, and on the territory of Ancient Russia no more than eight examples of cheek-pieces decorated in the Borre style are known.

“Finds of a Scandinavian appearance during excavations on the territory of Novgorod are extremely rare, in contrast to the nearby Rurik settlement. The discovery of this season is completely unique, since it was found for the first time. It is curious to note that in 2014, a rare complex of Scandinavian antiquities, numbering about 20 items, was discovered on the estate, located next to the current one. It included weapons, women’s jewelry, pagan amulets, details of a belt set, various household items and craft tools, playing checkers, and more. The find of this field season speaks of the close connection between the owners of neighboring estates, as well as their contacts with immigrants from Scandinavia,” said Victor Singh, one of the leaders of the Troitsky excavation site, researcher at the Department of Archeology of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University, Candidate of Historical Sciences.

The field season in Veliky Novgorod continues and will end at the end of September with a major scientific event – the international scientific conference “Archaeology of the Medieval City”, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the systematic archaeological study of Novgorod and the 120th anniversary of the founder of the Novgorod expedition Artemy Vladimirovich Artsikhovsky. The name of the latter is associated with the celebration of one of the recent professional holidays – the day of the archaeologist. According to one of the legends, the holiday appeared in the 40s because of the desire of its students to relax during the Novgorod expedition. They couldn’t come up with a better explanation for their Artsikhov than the birthday of Bucephalus, the horse of Alexander the Great. Such a significant event did not go unnoticed, and the tradition of celebrating was preserved, although without reference to the occasion.

At the Faculty of History of Moscow State University, specialists in this interesting profession are trained at the Department of Archeology. In addition to lectures, students must also undergo field practice, during which they get acquainted with various archaeological sites. More information about the practices of the Department of Archeology of the Faculty of History can be found at website.

Information and photos of the press service of Moscow State University