Where is Tanais? Tanais - an ancient city at the mouth of the Don River

The story of Tanais is amazing and at times mysterious. Here the destinies of the numerous peoples who inhabited these lands were intertwined in close unity. Scythians, Sarmatians, Greeks, Polovtsians... There are also legends about the Amazons in these places.

So what kind of city is this, Tanais? Did the Amazons really live here, or are these all myths? Is it true that there was once a prosperous antique city? Let's try to find answers to these and other questions in this post.

1000 years before the beginning of the new era, the wide expanses of the coast of Lake Maeotia (now Sea of ​​Azov) and the lower reaches of the rivers flowing into it were occupied by the Cimmerians.

400 years later, the Cimmerians were forced out of their homes by the warlike Scythian nomads, who came to the bottom steppes from Asia. The Scythians were skilled warriors. Very quickly they managed to subjugate vast territories up to the Syrian borders of Egypt. But soon the Sarmatians, related to the Scythians, came to the south of Russia.

At the turn of the V-IV centuries. BC Relations between the Scythians and Sarmatians begin to deteriorate. Gradually, the Sarmatians managed to oust the Scythians from the fertile pastures of the bottom region in the Crimean steppe. The warlike Sarmatians (Sauromatians) differed from the Scythians in that women also owned weapons along with men. Women could also lead their people.

There is a beautiful legend about one such Sarmatian woman.

“In the family of the tribal leader Amor and his wife Grena, they were expecting their first child that night. The future fate of the entire family depended on the sex of the child. And then from the main tent a delighted exclamation was heard: “The leader has a daughter!” "Daughter!" – It was like the rustling of leaves in the wind swept around. There was no doubt. Now the tribe will be ruled by a woman.

The girl was named Lysippa, which meant “fearless”, “brave”. From the very first days of her life, the girl lived up to her name. Her favorite toy was her father's old sword. Gren's mother was very proud of her daughter and tried to pass on to her everything that she knew.

By the age of 14, the girl had mastered writing, the secrets of local magic and healing, martial art and battle strategy. Then she began to participate in the armed campaigns of her people.

At 16, the young maiden became the high priestess of several Sauromatian tribes. But the affairs of the priestesses were of little interest to Lysippa. She preferred to solve military issues. And then Amor makes a responsible decision - to hand over the reins to his daughter. Without thinking twice, Lysippa agreed.

Her first task in the place of the leader was a trip to distant countries to enter into profitable alliances with other tribes. She took the same warrior girls with her and set off along the steep coast. Lysippa learned from the locals that the river along which they were walking was called Amazon, which in an unknown dialect meant “river of a woman-ruled people.” The leader really liked this name.

- Only we, Sauromatian women warriors, can live on the banks of the river with such amazing name! – she declared.

Local men were amazed by her beauty, but no one even dared to approach her. Lysippa returned home as a queen. Literally immediately upon arrival, she began to plan an even longer journey to conclude new alliances. A month later, Lysippos army set out for the unknown lands of the upper Amazon, where the Greeks lived.

The Greek supreme leaders were amazed by the wisdom, beauty and art of diplomacy of the young Sauromatian queen. They were even more amazed by her ability to sit proudly in the saddle and skillfully wield a weapon. From the warriors accompanying the queen, the Greeks learned that the army had arrived from the steppes near the Amazon. It was then that the first legends appeared about the Amazons inhabiting the shores of the Amazon near Lake Meotia.

According to the laws of Hellas, the union of tribes had to be supported by the marriage of noble persons. Lysippa had no intention of getting married, but she still liked one of the Allied soldiers. His name was Berossus. Long conversations under the moon grew into passionate love for the young people. But the young people were never destined to be together. The alliance was concluded. Lysippa and her army returned home, where life went on as usual.

Soon after the death of her parents, the brave Amazon had a son. They proposed to name the boy Tanais, which meant “born of the river.” This is how the young heir to the throne, Tanais, appeared in Sauromatia.

He grew up to be a strong and healthy baby. From early childhood he was modest and hardworking. By the age of fourteen, he had fully mastered the martial art. It’s just that the lack of fatherly upbringing fostered arrogance and cynicism in the young man. Despite all the shortcomings, the mother doted on her handsome offspring. The only thing she could not forgive was excessive flirtation with girls. Lysippa believed that her son would become a real warrior who would not be ashamed to hand over the throne, despite the fact that two more daughters were growing up in the family.

One day, on the banks of the Amazon, Tanais saw a group of girls. He approached them and started a dialogue. The prince liked one of the beauties so much that he immediately wanted to be with her. To which he received a reproachful answer: “The prince stopped hanging around with commoners. The laws of Sauromatia prohibit this.”

The angry young man went to his mother, wanting to convince her to rewrite the laws. However, the conversation did not go well. The mother did not support her son's intentions.

The young man's heart was torn into pieces. His mother insulted his royal and masculine dignity, the sudden outbreak of love was doomed... The prince did not sleep all night, and in the morning he saw a group of warriors from his mother’s personal guard at his tent.

- She decided to arrest me? This will never happen! If there is no free love on this earth, then there is no point in living here! — with these words, the narcissistic young man jumped out of the tent and went to the steep bank of the Amazon.

There was a glow over the steppes rising sun. Having looked into the bright scarlet veil for the last time, Tanais spread his arms and rushed down.

Having learned about the death of her beloved son, Lysippa immediately hurried to where everything happened. In grief and sadness, she looked up at the sky and said: “From now on, the waves of the Amazon will bear the name of the great prince Sauromatia Tanais.”

The death of her son changed the queen very much. She rearmed the army, began to carry out frequent raids on neighbors more often, and introduced strict military discipline. The army returned to its native places less and less often, going further into the mountains. In one of the fierce battles, the elderly queen was seriously wounded and soon died. Her life’s work was continued by her younger daughters, further strengthening the glory of female warriors.”

Years later, the fame of Queen Sauromatia reached Greece and Rome. Passed from mouth to mouth, stories about the female warrior became increasingly surrounded by new myths and legends. At the end of the 4th century. Ancient philosophers and historians became fascinated by legends about the warrior Amazons. The great Homer was the first to tell the whole world about the beautiful Lysippa and her son in his famous “Iliad”. This is how the people learned the myth about the beautiful prince Tanais.

Over time, the Greeks began to be attracted by the shores of distant Tanais. In the 3rd century. BC Hellenes from the Bosporan kingdom (now Eastern Crimea) equipped their ships and went to the barbarian tribes to establish trade relations.

Here, on the right bank of the Dead Donets, formerly the main branch of the mouth of the Tanais River, they founded their settlement of the same name. Very quickly the ancient city at the mouth of the Don became the largest shopping center northern edge of the inhabited world. Here the Greeks traded with the nomads of the Don and Azov regions. Gradually, the ancient culture of the Hellenes became closely intertwined with the local flavor, new traditions and customs emerged, which provided the basis for the development of many peoples of our country.

The city of Tanais during antiquity

Tanais, like other ancient cities, experienced periods of rapid growth and prosperity, followed by periods of complete oblivion. It existed for almost eight centuries from the 3rd century. BC until the middle of the 5th century. AD

During the period of its existence, the fort was destroyed twice. The first time was in 237 AD. The Goths, 140 years later, the restored city was destroyed by the Sarmatians. Afterwards, he was never able to fully recover. Therefore, by the 5th century. the settlement fell into disrepair.

In the Middle Ages, the river slightly changed its course. Along with the river, people left to the south. Venetian merchants settled here. Near the mouth of the Don, they founded the Tana trading post, control over which later passed to the Genoese, who built a Genoese fortress here.

During the time of the Cumans, the colony received the abbreviated name Tang. The Polovtsians remained in the settlement.

In 1395, Tamerlane's troops completely destroyed the walls and razed the city to the ground. In the 15th century the Tang colony was partially restored, although a little to the south, on the site of modern Azov.

Under Peter I, the ancient city finally ceased to exist. And the settlement near the old ruins received its modern name - Nedvigovka. Ukrainian immigrants began to settle here. Later the Cossacks joined them.

In 1823 Tanais was rediscovered, now as an archaeological site. The first to search for the ancient city at the mouth of the Don was a corresponding member of the Paris Academy, Colonel I.A. Strempkovsky. It was he who suggested that a Greek settlement should be looked for on the site of modern Nedvikovka. However, Strempkovsky never received support from the tsarist authorities. The idea of ​​finding a Greek city fell into oblivion.

The site of Tanais in the 21st century

Later, Nicholas I came to the imperial throne. The sovereign's special passion was the treasures of the mounds. It was by his highest order, 30 years after Strempkovsky’s research, that a research expedition was sent to the Don steppes. It was headed by Moscow University professor P.M. Leontyev, later his work was continued by Baron V.G. Tiesenhausen.

Leontyev mercilessly dug through 20 mounds, but did not find anything valuable in them, because they had long been plundered by treasure hunters. Without losing hope of success, Leontyev began to excavate the site. Excavations were carried out haphazardly, using a destructive search method, which caused enormous damage to the ancient settlement. The professor hoped to excavate an ancient city with rich Greek architecture at the mouth of the Don, but with each layer of soil removed he realized that his ideas were more myth than reality.

Having finally lost hope of finding valuables, Leontyev declared that there was no Greek settlement in Nedvigovka. Excavations were completely stopped and abandoned.

Since the 70s XIX century Until the revolution, local residents stole antique stones for their own needs. Many houses and barns were built in Nedvigovka from these historical stones.

And only with the advent of Soviet power, all ancient monuments were declared the property of the state, protected by Soviet law.

In 1955, the Lower Don archaeological expedition, consisting of employees of the USSR Academy of Sciences, students and professors of Rostov University and employees of the Rostov Local Lore, began the scientific study of the ancient settlement. At the end of the 50s, the excavated settlement and burial mound were recognized as a protected area. And in 1961, the first and largest archaeological museum-reserve in Russia was opened here, total area more than 3000 hectares.

Today Tanais is one of the largest and northernmost points of ancient Greek civilization.

“Tanais” is the first of the archaeological museum-reserves created in Russia on the territory of Russia. It is based on sections of the ancient city of Tanais, discovered as a result of research by the Lower Don expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, carried out since 1955. The city is named after the Tanais (Don) river, at the mouth of which at its confluence with Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov) was founded, for almost eight centuries it played a significant role in the economic and political life of the cities of the Northern Black Sea Coast and the spaces of the Great Steppe bordering them.

The Tanais Archaeological Museum-Reserve is located 35 km southwest of Rostov-on-Don. It was created on the basis of excavations of a monument of federal significance, a settlement and necropolis of Tanais - the extreme northeastern center of ancient civilization (III century BC - 5th century AD). The areas of the ancient city studied by archaeologists form an exhibition under open air. The most striking finds are demonstrated in the historical exhibition of the museum. In addition, the Museum of Historical Costume and the Exhibition Complex are open to the public. Within the protected areas of the museum-reserve there is a unique ensemble of historical, cultural and natural monuments.

The Tanais Museum is located on the outskirts of the village of Nedvigovka, Myasnikovsky district Rostov region. On his estate he presents a reconstruction of ancient buildings and a lapidarium - a collection of large finds, mainly stone slabs with texts carved on them. In the halls of the “open-air museum” there are thematic and permanent exhibitions: “Ancient and painted ceramics”, “Museum of historical costume”, “Tanais and the Lower Don in art”. A special pride of Tanais is the unique hall of amphora standards, the only experience in Europe of open storage of amphorae.

Tanais - Greek colony

Tanais was founded in the 3rd century. BC e. Greeks, immigrants from the Bosporan kingdom, on the right bank of the then main branch of the mouth of the Tanais River (now Don) - the Dead Donets, after which the city received its name.

For many centuries, Tanais was a major economic, political and cultural center of the Don-Azov region. The Greek geographer Strabo calls it the largest after Panticapaeum (the capital of the Bosporan kingdom, in the territory of present-day Kerch), marketplace of barbarians. Ancient geographers and historians drew the border between Europe and Asia from Tanais. The city gradually acquired features characteristic of the lifestyle of local tribes. Tanais fought for independence from the Bosporan rulers. In 237 AD e. it was destroyed by the Goths. Restored 140 years later by the Sarmatians, Tanais gradually turned into a center of agricultural and craft production, and at the beginning of the 5th century AD. e. fell into disrepair.

Tanais - Italian colony

At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the Venetians founded the Tana trading post in a new location - on the changed main branch of the Don mouth, now called the Old Don. Later, control over the city passed to Genoa, which built a Genoese fortress here.

In Polovtsian times, the colony of Tanais began to be called Tan for short. In 1395, Tamerlane's troops razed the city to the ground, completely destroying the walls.

In the 15th century the colony Tan(the medieval name of the Genoese colony of Tanais) was partially restored on the site of the later city of Azov.

The rule of the Genoese came to an end in the fall of 1475. The Ottoman Turks, having captured all the Genoese fortresses of Crimea (Captaincy of Gothia) and the Orthodox Crimean principality of Theodoro before attacking Tang in the same year, landed troops and captured the Tang colony. The Turks owned the city, which finally received the name Azov, with short breaks (in 1637-1643 and 1696-1711) from 1475 to 1736, when, as a result of numerous wars, the city of Azov passed to the Russian Empire.

Among the most interesting objects stored in the museum’s collections is a slab with a relief sign of the Bosporan king Rimetalkos of the 2nd century. According to scientists, it was built into the defensive walls of the city, and it is decorated with the king’s personal sign. Another unique exhibit: a marble altar decorated on one side with the head of a bull and on the other with a woman’s bust. The silver perfume bottle found in Tanais is also unusually elegant. Its surface is decorated with inserts of garnet and gold wire.

Colonel Ivan Alekseevich Stempkovsky, a corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, was the first to draw attention to the place where Tanais was subsequently excavated. He went down in history as the creator of the Museum of Antiquities in Odessa and Kerch. In the thickets near the Nedvigovka farm in 1823, Stempkovsky discovered strange “trenches”, which turned out to be not trenches at all, but the remains of ancient fortifications. Shards of broken dishes - Greek amphorae, as well as Bosporan coins confirmed this guess.

The first regular excavations, begun 30 years later under the leadership of Moscow University professor Pavel Mikhailovich Leontyev, and then the famous numismatist, Baron Vladimir Gustavovich Tizenhausen, generally confirmed the hypothesis of the famous archaeologist. Walls were discovered and a rough plan of the city was revealed. However, in the 1870s, excavations stopped, only to resume in Soviet era. They are still going on. It is thanks to this work that today we see the exciting and dramatic history of a huge city that disappeared from the face of the earth.

In ancient times, Tanais was considered the largest trading center of the Northern Black Sea region and Meotida (the Greeks called the Sea of ​​Azov Lake Meotida). In the Roman era, it was believed that this was where the border between the civilized world and the steppe inhabited by barbarian nomads lay. Pliny the Younger wrote: “For anyone who enters here, Europe is on the left hand, Asia is on the right.”

The name of the city itself comes from the name of the great river Tanais. In Hellenic geography, these are the Northern Donets and Don (in the lower reaches). However, for more than two millennia coastline has changed a lot. The city was built at the confluence of Tanais with the Sea of ​​Azov. Now, only one of the Don branches flows in these places - the Dead Donets…

The first settlements here were founded by the Greeks from the Bosporus in the 3rd century BC. e. No later than the beginning of the 2nd century BC. e. residential areas were surrounded by a fortress wall. However, between 14 and 8 BC. e. the city was destroyed by the Bosporan king Polemon. The Greek geographer Strabo wrote about this event as a rumor from a distant outskirts: “It was recently destroyed by King Polemon for disobedience.” Hardest hit western part city, which was no longer rebuilt. The residents restored the rest of the territory quickly enough, and in memory of these events, Tanais Day was celebrated annually.

Period from 1st to 3rd centuries AD. e - the time of the highest prosperity of Tanais. Locals were engaged in trade, fishing, crafts and arts. In Tanais there was the only glass production in the Northern Black Sea region. It was probably from here that noble fish - sturgeon and sterlet - were delivered to Rome, to the table of the patricians. Moreover, they brought her alive: Roman aristocrats could afford such a pleasure. Representatives of various nations lived here - Greeks, Jews, Sarmatians, Maeotians. However, judging by archaeological material, the city quickly erased ethnic differences. A Tanaisian style of life was taking shape, as evidenced by the special cult of the Most High God that existed among the townspeople. This God was similar at the same time to Zeus, the Jewish Yahweh, and the Thracian Sabazius. In addition, representatives of the local nobility - merchants, aristocrats, officials - were members of fias, a kind of religious-social unions. Today, from ancient times, only the names of people, members of these unions, which were inscribed on marble slabs, call to us…

At the end of the 3rd century, Tanais suffered a new misfortune. This time it was destroyed almost to the ground, and the women and children were taken into slavery. Residents returned here almost a hundred years later, and then not for long. These were completely different people who did not master fine crafts and had no idea about architecture. They didn’t even bother to clear away the rubble on the streets, so they lived among the ruins. No written evidence of that era has survived.

But the last townspeople left at the beginning of the 5th century. Tanais was completely empty. It is possible that the reason is simple: the sea receded and the city lost the strategic benefits of its position.

For domestic archaeologists specializing in ancient monuments, this long-lost ancient city has long become iconic and legendary. Many famous scientists began their scientific careers at excavations in Tanais. To understand and measure this place, you need to be a historian. But to feel it, it’s enough just to visit these places and look at the fruits of the labors of several generations of archaeologists.

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The archaeological museum-reserve "Tanais" is the first in Russia. The exhibition was based on sections of the ancient city.

Tanais - ancient city

This is the northernmost point of ancient civilization. It is located on the Dead Donets River. Historians and geographers are still arguing about which river was called Tanais in those days - Seversky Donets, Don or Dead Donets.

Tanais was founded in the 3rd century by Greek merchants. They came from the Bosporan kingdom, located in eastern Crimea. It became the northernmost Greek city. It was entrusted with an important strategic role - control of the entire northern Black Sea region.

Tanais was surrounded on all sides by a variety of tribes - from the Scythians to the Sarmatians. This left an imprint on its culture and the way of life of the townspeople. Today we can say with confidence that its own, special culture has formed here.

Trade between Europe and Asia was carried out through Tanais. This border was the main point of trade between the barbarian tribes and the Greeks.

First excavations

The ancient settlement of Tanais was first discovered in 1823 by Colonel I. A. Stempkovsky, a correspondent of the Paris Academy. The very first excavations were led by P. M. Leontiev, a professor at Moscow University, and later this work was headed by Professor V. G. Tizengauzen. Since 1870 (almost 50 years) the monument has not been protected.

In 1955, the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union created the Lower Don Archaeological Expedition, which, in collaboration with the Russian State University and local history museum began to excavate the site. Four years later, this territory was declared a protected area. Soon Tanais became known to the general public. The museum-reserve was opened in 1961. Since then, everyone can see with their own eyes ancient city, watch the excavations, get acquainted with the discovered artifacts.

Archaeological Museum-Reserve "Tanais"

This hospitable southern city has many attractions that are of cultural and historical value. Almost all tourists arriving in Rostov must visit Tanais. It is located 30 kilometers from the Don capital, where the majestic Don flows into the Sea of ​​Azov. The unique one occupies a huge territory - more than three thousand hectares. Here visitors have the opportunity to see a complex of interesting cultural and historical monuments of different peoples, from the Paleolithic era to the 19th century.

"Tanais" is a museum-reserve, which is located in the western part of the Nedvigovka farm. Here you can see an area free of buildings, which is bordered on three sides by a deep ditch. As you get closer, you will see that in different parts of this territory you can see the remains of defensive towers, houses, walls that create entire streets. This is Tanais - an ancient city, which scientists have been studying for many decades. Today the museum is open to tourists.

Exposition

“Tanais” is a museum-reserve, the main part of the exhibition of which is located in the open air - these are the quarters of the ancient city found during excavations. In the center of the settlement one can see a wide street that crossed the city in the direction from north to south. From her, as, indeed, in ours modern cities, alleys diverge, delimiting city blocks united into several estates.

It is interesting that the stone pavement of all the courtyards sloped towards a huge cistern, into which rainwater probably flowed. In this way, the townspeople stored water in case of drought.

The city was protected on all sides by defensive walls; archaeologists managed to almost completely clear the western section with the remains of the towers. Such a structure once again confirms how powerful Tanais was.

Necropolis

On the western, eastern and northern sides of the settlement there is a necropolis, in which archaeologists of the Lower Don expedition discovered more than a thousand ground burials and mounds. Over its long history, the city has had a rather diverse population, from an ethnic point of view. This is confirmed by various funeral rites.

Archaeological finds

Everyone coming to Tanais (Rostov region) can visit the museum with an area of ​​about 200 square meters. It consists of several halls. In them you can familiarize yourself with numerous materials collected during the archaeological excavations of Tanais. The first exhibition, which tells how the ancient city was discovered and how the excavations were and are being carried out, is introductory and is located in the museum lobby.

The first hall is dedicated to the trade relations of the ancient city and the main occupations of its inhabitants - cattle breeding and agriculture. There is also a section “The Conquest of Tanais by Polemon”, where visitors will see a life-size reconstruction of military weapons from the ancient period. A small diorama and some details of weapons will show how the battles of that time took place.

In the second hall you will learn how the economic, political and cultural life of Tanais proceeded in the 1st-3rd centuries AD, when the city was in its heyday. Of particular interest to museum visitors are the “Crafts” and “Trade” exhibitions. Here you can see ceramics, glass, Egyptian faience, bronze - imported goods. Neighboring them are the products of local craftsmen - potters, blacksmiths, weavers, glassblowers.

The third hall of the museum is entirely dedicated to ethnic composition residents of Tanais. Here are findings that indicate that different nationalities lived in this place, with their own traditions and customs. The thematic exhibition located in the second hall is very interesting - “The Religion of the Tanaites.” Amulets, cult sets, and figurines of revered deities, skillfully made of terracotta and bronze, are exhibited here.

The fourth hall of the museum is dedicated to thematic exhibitions, which are regularly held within the walls of the museum. These are exhibitions of famous Don artists. Their works tell a story native land and about its development.

Holographic pyramid

Visitors who recently visited the Tanais Museum-Reserve (Rostov Region) were pleasantly surprised. A unique design was installed here - this is a completely new direction in museum work. Such a device is a volumetric projector for any images. That is why all the pictures in the pyramid become three-dimensional.

Museum scientists, in collaboration with designers invited from the capital, have prepared an interesting program for museum visitors that demonstrates what women were like in Greco-Sarmatian times. You can see how they dressed, what hairstyles they had, and examine their jewelry in the smallest detail. You can see this holographic miracle in the building of the Museum of Historical Costume. We will talk about it below.

Museum of Historical Costume

There is a huge collection of historical costume here. “Tanais” is a museum-reserve where ancient clothes, shoes and headdresses worn by representatives of the Bosporan, Scythian and Sarmatian cultures are presented. Here you can also see numerous accessories: brooches (clasps), jewelry, pins, buttons.

It is planned to install a virtual fitting room in this department of the museum. Using modern technologies, every visitor will be able to try on the ancient costumes of the inhabitants of the city of Tanais. The museum-reserve will provide an opportunity not only to virtually try on these ancient outfits, but also to receive a file of your image as a souvenir.

Structures and buildings

Another museum complex is currently being created on the territory of the reserve, in which buildings and structures from ancient times will be reconstructed. Towers of the fortress walls, a Meotian hut, the dwelling of a rich Tanaite, a Polovtsian sanctuary will be moved and installed here, and a children's playground in the shape of an ancient fortress will appear.

How to get to the museum?

We hope that after reading this article, many of our readers will want to see “Tanais” - the museum-reserve - with their own eyes. We will explain how to get there. The Rostov-Taganrog train departs daily from the suburban station of Rostov-on-Don, stopping at Tanais. From the Central Market there are buses No. 158 on the route Rostov - Sinyavskaya and No. 158a on the route Rostov - Shchedry.

The Rostov region is home to many architectural monuments, museums and memorial buildings. However, there is a territory that occupies the most important place in the history and culture of not only the country, but the entire planet. This is the famous Tanais museum-reserve.

Story

One of the largest archaeological museum-reserves in the Rostov region is "Tanais". It is located in the open air and occupies more than 3 hectares of land. In the 3rd century BC, the city was founded by Greek merchants. Then the settlement consisted of three parts: the main area, the western and the riverside. The latter, unfortunately, cannot be explored due to modern buildings. At the end of the 1st century BC, the city was destroyed and captured by the ruler of the Bosporan kingdom. The entire western part of the settlement was destroyed and was never rebuilt.

Already in the 1st-3rd centuries AD, residents turned their city into a fortress surrounded by a deep moat. Thanks to convenient location(off the coast Dead River Donets, which connected the city with the Black Sea through the Taganrog Bay), Tanais gradually turned into the largest trading port. It was from this time that the cultural and economic dawn of the city of Tanais began. During excavations, many vases with oil were discovered in the basement of a wealthy merchant. The population was engaged in catching and processing fish, as evidenced by special premises.

Despite a severe fire that occurred in the 2nd century, after which many of the most important values ​​of the city were destroyed, Tanais remained a powerful center of trade for about 8 centuries in a row.

Sights of the Archaeological Museum

The Tanais reserve preserves many buildings from antiquity, as well as lapidariums - these are stone slabs with inscriptions. The museum buildings often host various exhibitions, and the main attraction is the open amphora hall, which is the only one in Europe.

The unique exhibits presented in the halls of the reserve include a handmade slab on which the nameplate of the ruler of Rimetalk is carved. In the 2nd century AD, it decorated the walls of the Tanais fortress. Also historically significant is the marble altar, which is decorated with the bust of a woman and the body of a bull. During excavations, a surprisingly elegant bottle for aromatic water was discovered here, neatly decorated with precious stones.

Excavations

The first studies of the Tanais museum-reserve began in the mid-19th century under the leadership of I. A. Stempkovsky, a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. In 1823, his expedition discovered strange trenches in the Rostov region. However, upon detailed study, these turned out to be not trenches, but the remains of ancient historical buildings.

Numerous vases, coins, tools and remains of clothing were discovered in the ground. Then the great archaeologist put forward a theory about the location of an ancient city here and the need for further excavations. Other archaeologists and numismatists came here. In 1870, research stopped; excavations were resumed only in Soviet times.

After the creation of an expedition at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1955, systematic exploration of the territory of the Tanais Museum-Reserve began. The huts of the ancient inhabitants, the bridge, gates and towers of the city were reconstructed. Six years later, Russia's first archaeological museum-reserve "Tanais" opened. At the entrance to the reserve, archaeologists and tourists are greeted by two sculptures - stone women.

Museum of Historical Costume

The museum-reserve was one of the first in the Rostov region to take possession of modern technologies. There is a holographic pyramid here, which allows you to see three-dimensional images without special devices. Museum visitors can see in detail what kind of jewelry the ancient inhabitants of Tanais wore.

In addition, in the museum you can see reconstructed costumes of the Bosporans, Scythians and Sarmatians. Ancient jewelry, pins, fasteners, buttons - this is what the walls of the Tanais Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve still preserve.

Museum workers promise that a virtual fitting room will soon appear, in which visitors can change into an ancient costume and then send photos to themselves by email.

Exhibition complex

It is located in the building of the old museum. It was built in the middle of the last century. Currently there are permanent and temporary exhibitions here. The first hall of the museum is dedicated to painting and fine arts. Artists visiting Tanais often exhibit their paintings here. IN summer period Meetings and congresses are held here, at which the progress of the excavations and the recovered objects are depicted on paper. Then all the paintings can be seen at the exhibition.

Historical exposition

It is located in a building that was built four years ago and meets international standards: modern showcases, good lighting and heated floors.

The museum stores items found during excavations on the territory of the Tanais archaeological museum-reserve. More than 100 thousand items of finds are located on the shelves of the exhibition, mainly pottery, jewelry and household items. Everything is done very carefully.

Amphora Hall

This unique place, which houses many amphorae in the open air. There is nothing like this in Europe anymore.

Amphoras are earthenware vessels that were used to store liquids, grains, berries and fruits. According to legend, the Mycenaean king climbed into such a vessel in fear, seeing Hercules with a terrible three-headed dog in his hands. Another ancient Greek story says that the philosopher Diogenes lived in such a vessel.

Amphoras were brought to Tanais in the first centuries AD, when the city was engaged in trade. On the handles of the vases there are traces of stamped seals with the names of the merchants who owned the goods.

Holidays

"Tanais" annually welcomes many tourists, archaeologists and just amateurs ancient architecture. To attract guests, various holidays are held here every year:

• “Pushkin and Antiquities” in June. For more than 30 years, at the beginning of summer, the Tanais Museum-Reserve has been gathering lovers of architecture, poetry and art songs. At this time, the museum management invites musical performers from neighboring regions and regions. Many of them come here every year and have become local celebrities.
• "Tanais Day" in September. It began at the end of 2008, according to the inscriptions on the ancient tablet, City Day is a very ancient holiday. It was carried out back in the 2nd century AD, and then its organization was carried out by the leadership of the settlement. Today, those present at the festival can observe the ancient tradition of opening, the solemn ritual of elevating the city of Tanais to honorary people.

All the guests who came to the museum for the holidays are satisfied. They share their colorful photos with friends and promise to come back here again. The photos taken at the Tanais Museum-Reserve fascinate with their colorfulness and unusualness.

Location of the reserve

The museum is located near Rostov, in the village of Nedvigovka, Myasnitsky district. It is possible to travel from Rostov to the Tanais Museum-Reserve by bus or train.

• Buses No. 458 or No. 455 depart from the central market of the city of Rostov-on-Don. The fare is no more than 100 rubles per person. Buses depart daily at 8 and 12 o'clock. Travel time is 90 - 120 minutes.
• The electric train departs from the Taganrog-2 station and the suburban station. Departure times are the same as for buses. The ticket price will be 150 rubles. Travel time is 50 minutes.

Opening hours of the Tanais Museum-Reserve: daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except weekends and calendar holidays.

Ticket prices are low: for adults the price is 40 rubles, schoolchildren must pay 30 Russian rubles for entry to the museum. To view the various exhibitions located inside the buildings, you must purchase entrance tickets. The price is set by the museum management, on average - 100-200 rubles.

The museum operates a hotel with several rooms. The cost of a night for one adult will cost 1,500 rubles. But during the holidays (June and September) the price increases. The rooms have a kitchenette with a microwave, toaster and oven. There is also a bathroom with bath amenities and an individual set of clothes.

A trip to the museum-reserve

You can get here from Moscow in various ways.

• Flights Moscow - Rostov will cost 3 thousand rubles (one way only). Planes fly from many airports in the capital, the approximate departure time is 12 hours. You will spend no more than two hours on board.
• The Moscow - Rostov-on-Don train departs daily from Kursky and Kazansky railway stations. The cost of a ticket per person will be no more than 3 thousand rubles.
• You can get there by car in 13 hours. Leaving Moscow, you need to head south along the E-115 highway.

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The famous Don archaeologist, who headed the Tanais Archaeological Museum for many decades, Valery Fedorovich Chesnok in his book “In the Beginning There Was a Legend” said beautiful words: “Legends were born in the steppe, and in the steppe they are looking for confirmation”...

The city of Tanais was once itself a legend. But it has long been a reality and tourists can wander through its ancient ruins. And the excavations of Tanais provided material confirmation of many amazing legends.

The open-air museum - the ancient city of Tanais - is located in the Nedvigovka village of the Myasnikovsky district of the Rostov region, located 30 kilometers from Rostov-on-Don.

They say that it was these places that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin described in the preface to his poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”: “At Lukomorye there is a green oak...” The fact is that the bend of the Azov Sea, which once reached Tanais itself, was called Lukomorye - after its shape .

Once upon a time in these parts there was the northernmost colonial settlement of the ancient Greeks - Tanais. This populated area the times of the Bosporan Kingdom was founded in the 3rd century BC and existed until the beginning of the 6th century AD, that is, eight centuries, having experienced a lot during this time: a grandiose fire that consumed the entire city, raids of nomads...

Here, on the edge of the Oikumene (as the Greeks called the “inhabited earth”), life was in full swing for a relatively large port city. The geographer Strabo called Tanais “the largest marketplace of barbarians after Panticapaeum” (“barbarians” because, along with the Bosporan Greeks, representatives of local tribes lived in Tanais - the Sarmatians and Maeotians). Here were extensive cellars and warehouses of Tanai traders. We can still see the ruins of these ancient buildings today.

In ancient times, Tanais was considered a trade intermediary between two different parts of the world, Europe and Asia, on the border of which it was located.

The outstanding ancient encyclopedist Pliny wrote: “At the mouth of the Tanais River there is a city, for those who enter here, Europe is on the left hand, Asia is on the right...”

But this city in the Don Delta not only separated two different worlds- barbarian and Greek, but was also the result of their rapprochement, the fusion of two different cultures.

For a long time, the existence of Tanais in our area was considered a legend. Some even doubted that the legendary city would ever be found, just as Homer’s fabulous Troy was once found. “Who can doubt that Tanais under the cold sky was just as dear to its people, if they were found there,” said the creator of the great “Decameron” Boccacho, putting into these words distrust of the stories of the ancients about Tanais.

One of the first Russian archaeologists, Ivan Alekseevich Stempkovsky (1789-1832), believing the words of ancient authors and following the instructions of ancient books, found the legendary city. Subsequently, the famous Heinrich Schliemann found his Troy in the same way, which for a long time was considered an invention of Homer and other ancient poets.

Now on the site of the ancient settlement there is the world-famous archaeological museum-reserve "Tanais", excavations are underway, bringing new historical discoveries every year.

People who are passionate about history come to Tanais every year in warm weather to touch the secrets of the past. Moreover, this miracle is available to everyone and any volunteers can help archaeologists, as you can see by reading how to go on an archaeological expedition.

I myself have never been on an archaeological expedition. But I really love wandering through ancient places, admiring the evidence of life in centuries gone by. And when communicating with archaeologists, of whom there are many among my good friends, I understand: this is a completely different world, full of romance, secrets and mysteries...

Do you love antiquity and ancient times?

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