Аннотация:The archaeological excavations of Novgorod the Great have spanned a period of 85 years and are still continuing: over this time a vast amount of information about the inner workings of an Ancient Russian city has been gathered. Some important finds include: the location of the joint court of the city’s prince and posadnik — un-covered in the 12th century cultural layer of homestead E. This discovery, in addition to the birch bark manuscripts (the first of which was found in Novgorod!) and wooden security seals, is indicative of the process of government consolidation. This article will discuss the archaeological materials gathered during the excavation of homestead “Zh” at the Troitsky excavation site. This excavation is especially noteworthy because the oldest Slavic book dis-covered to date, “The Novgorod Psalmbook” (dated to the turn of the 11th century) was unearthed at the Troitsky XII site. Furthermore, a grand total of 480 birch bark manuscripts found at this site have given archaeologists a peek into the daily life of the 11th — 13th century inhabitants of Novgorod the Great.
In 1973 the Troitsky excavation site located in the medieval Lyudin’s End (to the south of the Novgorod Kremlin) became of increasing interest. This area was first settled in the 930s, when it still bordered farmland, and two homesteads, “Zh1” and “Zh2”, existed (they merged into one — homestead “Zh” — at the beginning of the 11th century). This homestead’s cultural layers, dating to the 10th — 11th centuries, yielded a collection of unique artefacts: for instance, a set of about 20 finds of Scandinavian appearance — including game pieces for a “hnefatafl” game set, belt-mounts decorated in the Borre style and other items. Furthermore, there has been a significant number of finds that indicate the involvement of the homestead’s first inhabitants in trade — 14 dir-hams, a miliarense, parts of folding balance scales and weights. The stretch of time from the 12th to beginning of the 13th centuries on homestead “Zh” is subdivided into two time periods (1098–1150 and 1150–1190) and characterized by a high concentration (100 items) of birch bark manuscripts. During this time the layout of the homestead remained the same — with the main living quarters (a 5-sided log-house) being located towards the rear boundary of the homestead, while other household buildings stood along either side, thus creating a large yard in the center. Birch bark manuscripts #1045–1050 date to this time period and chronicle the communica-tions amongst a group of merchants, who appear to have been involved in the fur trade.
During the second of the abovementioned time periods (1150–1190) only 36 birch bark manuscripts were found, a majority of them being penned by a man named Yakim, who most probably was the manager of a wealthy boyar’s homestead. The high social status of the homestead’s owners at this time, is illustrated by a collection of valuable finds which include: a Byzantine seal with a Greek inscription, a gold temple ring with three beads, and a large number of shards of imported glass vessels.
At the turn of the 13th century the area of homestead “Zh” sharply decreases and its layout changes; this most likely reflects a change in ownership. Most of the buildings are small, four-sided log-houses, placed along the street. A majority of the finds dating to the 13th and 14th centuries is household objects — keys and locks, wooden plates, whetsones, double-sided combs and many glass bracelets — a distinct contrast to the finds from the 12th century. However, the collection of items made of non-ferrous metal is large and diverse, indicating the possible presence of a jeweler’s workshop on homestead “Zh” during the later part of its existence.