MOSCOW, March 30 - RIA Novosti. In April, the research archaeological laboratory of the Vyatka State University begins to study the necropolis of the 18th - the first half of the 20th century in the city of Slobodsky, Kirov Region. The study, which will be the first experience of a comprehensive study of necropolises in the region, will be held as part of the Priority 2030 program, RIA Novosti was told in the press service of the university.
The pre-revolutionary Russian necropolis, according to experts, is a conglomerate of unknown elements that may be lost in a few decades. Information about buried people will disappear, unique samples of copper-casting plastic and stone carving will disappear.
The preservation of necropolises and information about them in the cultural space of Russia is the most important task for scientists, since burial practice contains certain features and traits of the urban Russian population, said Alexei Kaisin, head of the research archaeological laboratory of Vyatka State University.
- There are many cemeteries of the national period, and if all of them cannot be museumified, then at least they should be turned into memorial complexes. This will require techniques that are not purely excavation. If it is not possible to create such a complex, then in order to preserve historical memory and our cultural identification, it is important to create a digital twin of each object included in the system of necropolises, - he said.
In his opinion, it is important to raise the topic of registering the memorial complex as an object of cultural heritage, as well as to develop a procedure for filling out the documentation for the object (object passport).
The team of the archaeological laboratory is going to form and test the method of field fixation of tomb crosses. For each object, coordinates will be determined using a GNSS receiver. Based on these data, an overview scheme of the necropolis and the surrounding area will be built in the future. Then the scientists will photograph the crosses using a scale rod and a special white matte screen made of geotextile, which will help simplify the process of further image processing.
After that, archaeologists will measure the height, thickness, width of the cross, the dimensions of each of the crossbeams, as well as the sections of the forged rod. They will create descriptions of the crosses, where they will indicate their origin, purpose, preservation, ornament and additional decorative details, the position of the cross - whether it is in its place or moved.
Then the scientists will fill in the forms for fixing tombstones, prepared by a teacher from the Russian Orthodox University of St. John the Theologian by Denis Pezhemsky, and using photogrammetry to create their three-dimensional digital twins.
According to Aleksey Kaysin, it is important for researchers to check the possibility of putting the necropolises under protection as objects of cultural heritage (place of interest). It is also necessary to try, through visualization and 3D modeling, to preserve the tomb structures of the late 18th - early 20th centuries. for posterity. Another task is to compile various maps of burials, types of monuments and determine their artistic, philological and historical significance.
According to scientists, this work will help to introduce into scientific circulation a large layer of material for research related to Orthodox funeral rituals and the rite itself, with cemetery structures and architectural details. Also, the archaeological study of cemeteries will help make decisions about the possible development of the territory.
Primary source - RIA Novosti
