Vitebsk Regional History Museum receives unique archaeological documents

VITEBSK, 22 October (BelTA) - The Vitebsk Regional History Museum has received unique documents on the archaeology of the region. The archive of famous Russian historian Leonid Alekseev was handed over to the museum, BelTA learnt from Valery Shishanov, the deputy director for scientific research of the Vitebsk Regional History Museum.

“The archive comprises the photos of the place where the Church of the Annunciation was situated before and after the explosion of the temple. Documentary photos from the 1950s and 1960s are of great value. We will make a lot of discoveries while working with the documents,” Valery Shishanov noted.

Valery Shishanov said that the decision of Leonid Alekseev’s heirs to hand over the archive to the museum came as a total surprise. “The historian’s relatives called us from Moscow and said that they want to give us the documents that were left behind after his death. The archive is not systematized. It is difficult to say how many items it contains. Many documents are dedicated to archaeological excavations: plans, diaries, and a vast card file with which Leonid Alekseev worked. They also gave the museum some archaeological findings and a great number of negative pictures and photos. A part of the archive, when systematized, will make part of the museum’s collections, others will stay in the scientific archive of our museum,” Valery Shishanov said. He added that Leonid Alekseev always had a camera with him. The scientist took photos both of the excavation sites and of the items that were found.

Leonid Alekseev was born in Rostov-on-Don. He studied the history of the Polotsk Principality. The scientist participated in the excavations of settlements in Drutsk, Braslav, in the village of Kamen. Some of the findings were very valuable: a spindle whorl, torcs, and art castings. The findings were handed over to the regional museum. The internationally renowned scientist gave his advisory opinion on the creation of the historic department at the Vitebsk Regional History Museum. In early 1950s Leonid Alekseev found in the Leningrad archive photo plates depicting the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk made in the 19th century by photographer N. Chistyakov, and many years he spent studying the Belarusian sanctity. Enamel artist Nikolai Kuzmich used his research while working on the reproduction of the cross. The Vitebsk Antiquities scientific conference organized by the Vitebsk Regional History Museum in 2010 celebrated the 90th anniversary of Leonid Alekseev.