The discovery of treasures is an extraordinary event that happens more often than we think. According to statistics, news about hoards appears in Russia every six months. But how many are actually found is hard to estimate, since not everyone shares hoards with the state, and not all finds are reported in the media. Some stories resemble detective tales — jewels are discovered purely by chance during construction work or are seized from illegal diggers when they try to sell them to private collectors. In this article we have collected stories of three unique hoards found in Russia in recent years.
The Naryshkin Family Hoard
In 2012 a unique hoard was found in Saint Petersburg. During restoration work in the Trubetskoy–Naryshkin mansion, builders discovered a secret room between the second and third floors, filled with the immeasurable treasures of a noble family. The workers planned to conceal the discovery and intended to secretly remove the hoard from the site, but were caught red-handed when they tried to pawn some of the items. The ill-fated treasure seekers were expelled from the country — not for the attempted theft, but for overdue registration.
During the years of the revolution many noble families hid their treasures in secret caches. The Naryshkin descendants were no exception. Before emigrating they hid their wealth, apparently hoping someday to return for it. Specialists found three dinner services comprising more than three thousand items, antique coins, candelabra, boxes, and jewelry. All the items were carefully wrapped in 1917 newspapers treated with vinegar and were excellently preserved. The value of the treasures was estimated at 189,000,000 rubles.
In addition, among the items were documents and orders in the name of Lieutenant Sergey Somov, as well as a numbered badge of the Society for Assistance to Private Nurses, No. 64, which belonged to his wife — Natalya Somova, née Naryshkina. It appears that they were the ones who hid the jewels in the hiding place. The Naryshkin hoard can be seen in the exhibition of the Konstantinovsky Palace in Saint Petersburg.
The Pre‑Petrine Coin Hoard in Zaryadye
The park Zaryadye got its name from its location behind the lower rows of shops by the Kremlin. The area is first mentioned in the 14th century, although it is known to have been inhabited much earlier. Craftsmen, merchants and service people lived here, and the famous English Court was located there. In the second half of the 20th century the large hotel complex 'Rossiya' was built on this territory. After its demolition in 2006, a park was laid out in Zaryadye.
In 2016, during excavations on the site of the future Zaryadye Park, city archaeologists discovered a unique hoard of pre‑Petrine coins. The money lay in clay jars, a flask and a jug. Historians dated the hoard to the first half of the 17th century. According to archaeologists' estimates, 43,000 silver and copper coins were found in the excavation — one of the largest hoards discovered in Moscow. At the same time, scholars note that at the time the money was buried it represented a fortune — the sums could have been enough to buy several estates.
For modern researchers the value of the find lies elsewhere: this hoard is a collection of specimens of coinage from three eras. It contains coins from the reign of Ivan the Terrible, silver kopecks from the Time of Troubles, and pieces from the reign of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov. The Mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, solemnly transferred the found hoard to the collection of the Museum of Moscow.
Hoard of Women's Jewelry from the Middle Sarmatian Period
In May 2023, on International Museum Day, the exhibition of the State Museum‑Reserve 'Kulikovo Field' was enriched with a unique hoard. The story is a detective with a happy ending, because the treasures were found twice: first by an illegal digger near the village of Barybinka, and then by the FSB Directorate for the Tula Region during an attempt to illegally sell the artifacts. The artifacts were seized, documented, and transferred to the museum.
The hoard consists of women's jewelry from the 1st–2nd centuries AD, characteristic of the Middle Sarmatian period. The inventory is as follows: glass beads, two spiral bracelets and rings, silver temporal medallions, a long necklace made of 1,098 small rings, metal cord end fittings, clothing ornaments. There are also many separate elements that were probably part of a chest ornament. Historians have determined that the owner of the jewelry belonged to the upper class of society, and her treasures are characteristic of the forest zone of Greater Tula.
The hoard is of enormous historical value and is unique in that it allows the reconstruction of the image of a Sarmatian woman. Archaeologists usually study the history of ancient costume from burials, but in the 1st–2nd centuries AD bodies were cremated rather than buried, so any evidence of the Middle Sarmatian period is a treasure for the scientific community. Currently archaeologists are restoring the jewelry and continuing excavations near the village of Barybinka. These territories hold a large number of artifacts from the Great Migration period and from the historic Tula region.
We asked Alexey Vorontsov, the scientific secretary of the 'Kulikovo Field' museum, to tell us about the hoard's restoration process:
