The Moscow Archaeology Museum is one of the branches of the Museum of Moscow. The museum was opened in 1997 on the site of the largest archaeological excavations of Manezhnaya Square carried out in 1993–1996 and became the capital's first underground museum, located in an underground pavilion 7 meters below ground. The upper gallery displays items found directly on Manezhnaya Square, in central Moscow and beyond. Here you can see clay and wooden tableware used by Muscovites four centuries ago, bone combs, sewing implements, leather shoes with wooden heels and metal horseshoes, and birch-bark containers (tuesa).
Clay and metal tableware
In the past the Neglinnaya River flowed past the Kremlin walls — a crossing over it existed already 500 years ago. In 1602, during the reign of Boris Godunov, a white-stone bridge was built in place of the wooden crossing, and after it fell into disrepair a new bridge was constructed in the 1840s under the direction of the Dutch architect Petr Heiden. It was 115 meters long and 15 meters wide; it was made entirely of brick and faced with white stone. The river once flowed under the fourth arch of the bridge, while the other arches were closed with log dams.
A. M. Vasnetsov. "Street Traffic on the Voskresensky Bridge in the 18th Century." 1926. Paper, watercolor, charcoal. Museum of Moscow, Moscow.
The bridge had various names: sometimes "Negliminsky" after the river that flowed there, sometimes "Gingerbread Bridge" because gingerbread and other sweets were sold on it. But the main name of the bridge is "Voskresensky," because it began at the Voskresensky (Resurrection) Gate, which still leads to Red Square. At the beginning of the 19th century the Neglinnaya River was put underground, and the bridge was partially demolished and covered with earth. It is these fragments and the abutments of the White-Stone and Voskresensky bridges, discovered during excavations in the 1990s, that are the main exhibits of the Moscow Archaeology Museum.
Abutments of the White-Stone and Voskresensky bridges
Abutments of the White-Stone and Voskresensky bridges
The museum's exhibition also includes the city's hoards. Among them is the largest kopeck hoard, found on the grounds of the old Gostiny Dvor in 1996. About 95,000 Russian silver kopecks — popularly known as "cheshuyki" — were found in clay jars. The hoard was hidden in the 17th century. For that time it was a very large sum — for example, for one kopeck you could buy a hundred cucumbers. Besides kopecks, foreign coins and a variety of expensive tableware were found in the hoard. Historians believe the hoard belonged to a merchant of the upper class who for some reason decided to hide his savings.
Spanish hoard found in Ipatievsky Lane, Moscow
Finds in the capital's hoards
The museum's exhibition tells the story of Moscow and its inhabitants and includes objects from the Paleolithic era to modern times. The museum provides an overview of the medieval capital, the history of the development of the area of today's Manezhnaya Square, and contains general information on archaeological research methods.
