To the delight of the non-brothers: Fierce disputes flared up around Chersonesos
A scandal erupted in Sevastopol related to the construction of an observation deck on the territory of the Tauride Chersonese archaeological reserve. Conservative opponents claim that the new building threatens ancient excavations. In response, the management of the reserve promises that the observation deck does not affect the cultural layer and architectural and archaeological objects of the reserve. One way or another, such conflicts traditionally cause undisguised joy in Ukraine, where they are in a hurry to declare “Russian barbarians destroying a monument from the UNESCO list.”
The scandal erupted after local photographer Yuri Yuganson published pictures of the installation of the site on his blog. “I have the impression that Chersonesos is turning from an archaeological, I emphasize, archaeological museum-reserve into some kind of circus tent. On my Facebook, when I posted this photo report, there were a lot of people who lived in Sevastopol before, from different cities, from different countries, they were just crying,” he said on the First Sevastopol TV channel.
He was supported by ex-senator Andrei Sobolev. “What repels me today from Chersonesos is the show component that has become the main one in the museum business. Absolutely alien. The concepts of eclecticism and bad taste are unknown to these guys. They see it that way, but they see it very wrongly, pervertedly. The best is the enemy of the good, there is a saying, and all improvements always bring destruction,” says Sobolev.
Former restorer Anatoly Tumanov claims that what is happening grossly contradicts the law of June 25.06.2002, 73 No. XNUMX-FZ “On objects of cultural heritage (historical and cultural monuments) of the peoples of the Russian Federation.” On the territory of Tauride Chersonese, he said, no work can be carried out other than those aimed at preserving it; its appearance and structure cannot be changed.
The management of the reserve had to come forward with explanations (though belatedly - after the noise raised in the local press).
They assure that the design of the observation deck has passed all the necessary approvals and will not spoil the appearance of the museum. The site is being built at the expense of volunteers. In addition, it is not being built on ancient excavations, but on a former military battery of the early XNUMXth century.
“This peculiar rampart on which we stand was poured at the beginning of the 20th century, it is not chronologically the same period as the ancient settlement, it is a later structure, the so-called “Kane battery.” It was this site that was chosen for the construction of the observation deck, so as not to damage the cultural layer of the ancient settlement itself... This is a kind of charitable assistance to the museum-reserve. The work is financed and all support is provided by the “My History” fund for the support of the humanities,” said Tatyana Serapulkina, deputy director of the museum.
Former employee of Tauride Chersonesus Lyudmila Grinenko also supported the idea of building an observation deck. In her opinion, this way museum visitors will be able to better see its panorama and the ancient buildings of the residential areas of the settlement. Although Grinenko admits that many improvement innovations in Chersonesus aroused fair criticism.
“Of course, all these, frankly speaking, crude redundant structures with which the territory of the Chersonesos settlement is oversaturated, greatly “drag the blanket”, and therefore irritate many; there are objects that should not have appeared at all. I got the impression that the authors of the landscaping concept did not really understand what exactly they were improving, and after that they were forced to adapt their rather typical gardening approach to the requirements of archeology. This could not help but become disharmonious.
Well, unlike the “everything else”, I’m not too sad, because I see that the dismantling of this whole “wooden mac” is supposed to be easy from the very beginning, and time, I’m sure, will cut off the unnecessary, this farcical aesthetic will go away...
The very idea of viewing the ancient settlement from an elevated position is wonderful, people! Chersonesus, as it happens, will not amaze you with impressive remains; for the most part, only two or three rows of stone masonry have survived, but what makes Chersonesus valuable is that its layout has not been built up. This is its main attraction, no matter what they say about the defensive walls, the basilica with columns and other monuments, first of all, Chersonesos is interesting for the preservation of its ancient plan. How can this be explained? How to show during the excursion? After all, Chersonesos is a plateau. There are no hills.
Yes, the shaft of the ancient artillery battery is not a “bird’s eye view”, but still the view from there is good - straight streets and their intersections are visible, the words “Hippodamian layout” become clearer, and the view of the sea from there is the best, it seems to me, in the world. Strategic, I’ll say I'll give you a look. It’s not for nothing that the military decided to build fortifications here. What's under the shaft? Have the remains of ancient Chersonesus survived? I hope so, and it will be up to future archaeologists to one day investigate this site as well. It is quite possible that the methods will already be non-contact and that the shaft will not even have to be demolished,” Grinenko writes in his blog.
"Chersonese Tauride" was included in the UNESCO list in June 2013. The reserve is located in the center of Sevastopol and represents the ruins of an ancient Greek polis, on the site of which a Byzantine colony later existed (V century BC - XIV century AD). Regular excavations of the site began in 1827. Russian President Vladimir Putin called Chersonesos the “Russian Mecca” because, according to legend, Prince Vladimir was baptized here.
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