Ancient disposable tableware has little monetary value, but in the heat of war Ukraine is trying to protect its cultural heritage carefully.
ODESSA In early May, Ukrainian soldiers accidentally found ancient vases near Odessa.
The shovels hit vases that were at least a couple of thousand years old as soldiers dug new lines of defense on the outskirts of the city for a possible Russian attempt to land.
Two pieces of double-eared vases from ancient times, called Amfora, were revealed from the ground layers. The 126th Brigade of the Regional Defense Forces, which made the discovery, has reported the case On your Facebook page (go to another service).
The amphorae and other objects found in connection with them were delivered to the Odessa Archaeological Museum, where ‘s photography team got to see them.
The find has not been shown to the public, as the museum has been closed due to the war. Even pedestrian movement around the museum is restricted.
The museum is strategically located one block from Odessa Harbor. It is the last major port in Ukraine.
The neoclassical museum building, as well as the surrounding administrative quarters, are protected by street locks and armored barriers in case Russian troops try to take over the city. Some of the museum’s windows are covered with plywood.
The museum’s valuables are hidden in secret places
There is almost nothing on display in the museum. Only the introductory texts on the walls tell the history of the area over thousands of years. All major museum objects have either been protected, taken to the basement or transported elsewhere for better security.
During the storms of World War II, the collections of the Odessa Archaeological Museum ended up as loot to other countries, especially Romania. Lessons have been learned from it, and now valuables have been hidden.
Where, it’s a secret, says a senior researcher at the museum Igor Pistruil.
However, Pistruil has specifically placed amphorae for to be photographed on a wooden table in the middle of the exhibition hall of the Archaeological Museum.
Of the two amphorae, the crank is completely intact. The thicker one has at some point lost its second carrying handle. Pieces of pottery and bones were found loose from them.
With Pistruil’s permission, we are allowed to touch and even lift vases. They are surprisingly light, ie thin – that is, skillfully cast from clay.
Nothing special about them is found out, which annoys the researcher. The reason is the way the discovery ended up in the museum.
According to Pistruil, archaeologists should have been allowed to explore the site themselves, but because of the war, the armed forces did not allow scientists to field work on the site.
When the soldiers just dug up the vases, at the same time their historical context and everything else the ground floor could have revealed to the researcher was lost.
The criticism is so daring that he doesn’t say it in an interview with a TV camera, but only later. In a country at war, the armed forces should not be criticized for small things.
Ukraine thinks Russian soldiers are barbarians
However, criticism of the treatment of the archaeological find has also reached the ears of a representative of the armed forces. It will be clear when can ask about it later.
Southern Military District Communications Manager Natalia Gumenjuk know archaeologists are concerned that they have not been able to make proper excavations at the site. There is much more to be found in the same place.
– They have to understand that in order to defend our country, those objects can wait a little longer, and they have accepted it, Gumenjuk says.
According to Gumenjuk, the regional defense forces have still done their best to prevent the country’s cultural heritage from being destroyed in the fortification work.
– Even during the war, it is important that the regional defense forces do not become barbarians like those who attack us, Gumenjuk says.
The role of the barbarian is reserved for Russia, and for good reason, as Russia has not avoided causing damage to Ukraine’s cultural and historical sites in its attack.
The museum building on Käärmesaari was destroyed in battles
Most of Ukraine’s cultural history has been destroyed in Russia’s attacks in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. Among them were more than a hundred religious buildings, more than 60 cultural buildings and more than 40 monuments.
One of the buildings of the Odessa Archaeological Museum has also been destroyed in the war. It was located in the Black Sea on Snake Island, over which Ukraine and Russia fought fiercely at the beginning of the war.
– I am sure there is nothing left of it, says researcher Pistruil.
Were it destroyed by the Ukrainians or the Russians?
– Both, because there’s a war now. What can it do, Pistruil says.
In the midst of war, the cultural heritage of one’s own country feels particularly valuable and therefore its loss is tragic.
– It’s our memory, our history and our culture, Pistruil says.
Amphoras were ancient disposable tableware
Although amphorae are beautiful, they are not particularly rare or valuable for Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
According to Pistruil, amphorae were ancient disposable vessels. Therefore, they were made in huge quantities. In most cases, the vase was used only once, for example to store and transport oil.
After the oil had been used, the vase often ended up in fragments, for example, for paving paths, as the vase, which absorbed the oil, was no longer suitable for other uses. For storing wine or dry goods such as grain, the selected vases are still suitable for reuse.
“Amphoras are not unique, but the Odessa region is full of such objects,” says Pistruil.
The reason is that the Greeks extended their power to the entire southern coast of Ukraine long before the beginning of time. There were settlements along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts.
– There are a lot of places here where you can find Greek pottery. They are now being destroyed as the surface of the Black Sea rises, Pistruil says.
The amphorae are possibly from the Greek era, about 400-500 years before the beginning of the era.
The Black Sea shore on the Russian side was once the same culture, so vases can be found there as well. Just over ten years ago Situation staged in Russia (moving to another service)with the then prime minister and current president Vladimir Putin supposedly found pieces of amphora in the shore water.
I ask Pistruil exactly how the Ukrainian soldiers found the latest amphorae on the outskirts of Odessa.
“It’s a war secret, and telling it could kill us or put us in jail,” says Pistruil.
At first with a serious face, but then to clarify for the sake of certainty:
Then, when the war is sometimes over, Pistruil gets to explore the place more closely anyway. And with peace, the public will finally see the vases rescued from the trenches.