A fragment of the largest statue in the history of excavations was found in Chersonese

Research staff of the museum-reserve summed up the intermediate results of archaeological excavations near St. Vladimir Cathedral. T. V. Sarapulkina, Deputy Director for Museumification and Protection of Cultural Heritage Objects, and D. A. Kostromichev, Head of the Settlement and Necropolis Department, spoke about the progress of work and about the rare artifacts. Studies of this site of the Kherson settlement were carried out more than a century ago under the leadership of K.K. Kostsyushko-Volyuzhinich, and two years ago pits were laid in this area, which showed the need for further excavations. Last autumn, before the restoration of the temple, a decision was made to conduct archaeological research.

In the process of archaeological research from the western side of St. Vladimir’s Cathedral, it turned out that the remains of an undisturbed cultural layer were preserved here. In front of the western entrance, burial structures of the medieval period were found buried in the mainland clay. Their study will clarify information about the little-known Christian church that was located on this site. To the south of the western entrance to the cathedral, a section of the Roman period layer has been preserved. A fragment of a marble sculpture was found here. The proportions of the surviving part suggest that the height of the depicted character was 4 meters. The discovered fragment of the sculpture is today part of the largest statue of all found in Chersonese‒ shared D. A. Kostromichev, head of the Settlement and Necropolis department.

One of the first finds of the specialists of the museum-reserve was a wall belonging to the quarter number 7 of ancient Chersonesos, medieval coins, drains, a catchment cistern and ceramics of ancient times. According to the researcher of the Department of Ancient History E. S. Lesnoy, “among the discovered shards, antique ballot papers stand out, on which the names of — Antiochus son of Eucles and Andreas son of Aikios. The researchers also found well-preserved fragments of black-glazed pottery and a two-handled jug dating back to the 8th-9th centuries. The discovered coins, some of which lay in one of the three drains, are already being restored.

Scientists will need several more months of painstaking work to explore the entire site and unravel the mysteries of the history of the ancient city hidden underground. Follow our news so as not to miss important information about the results of excavations near the walls of St. Vladimir Cathedral in Tauric Chersonese! — noted in the press service of the museum-reserve.