Under Tverskaya

What ended the scandal with archaeological finds discovered during the reconstruction of the street

The reconstruction of Tverskaya Street during large -scale work on the improvement of the Moscow Center provoked a scandal: the Archnadzor movement announced the destruction of archaeological monuments of the XIV -XVII centuries, including the walls of the historical White City and other objects. The city hall insisted that the work was agreed and conducted in accordance with the law. On June 8, the parties managed to agree. "Medusa" talks about the conflict - and about how it ended.

What happened

Part of Tverskaya Street was excavated for reconstruction as part of the program "My Street". In total, the program provides for the reconstruction of 52 streets in the center of Moscow by September 2016. In the course of work on Tverskaya, numerous archaeological monuments were discovered: the remains of the buildings of the XIV -XVII centuries, including the towers of the Tver gates of the historical White City; The fence of the wall of the passionate monastery; the foundation of the Temple of St. Demetrius of Solunsky, destroyed in the 1930s; Wooden bridge of the XVII -XVIII centuries. On June 8, when part of the street was again opened for movement, the Moscow authorities also announced the discovery of “thousands of small artifacts of various eras and objects of antiquity”. Some objects, including a wooden pavement, promised to put it on display - for this, by September, a glass showcase should be built right on the sidewalk, through which you can see the old road and other finds.

What did Archnadzor say

The Moscow city hall was accused of damage and destruction of historical monuments. According to representatives of the Archnadzor movement, excavations were carried out hastily and with the use of earthmoving equipment; Archaeologists did not devote time either for excavations or fixation of the found objects. As a result, at the statement of Archnadzor, the white -stone basement opened during the work was partially destroyed; Through one of the arches, communications were missed; Technology destroyed brickwork on the site of the Tver gates on Pushkinskaya Square. The coordinators of the movement called what was happening a crime. The Archnadzor promised to contact the Prosecutor General’s Office with a request to verify the legality of the work, and also demanded that public control over the progress of the program for the reconstruction of the capital's streets.

What the Moscow authorities answered

Representatives of the city hall insist that no violations were committed. The chief archaeologist of Moscow, Deputy Head of the Moscow City Highway Leonid Kondrav, assured Medusa that archaeologists were present at all stages of work, and the necessary studies were carried out long before the reconstruction. “This is a rather large, laborious and troublesome, but at the same time rather routine project,” said Kondrashev. - You can’t stop the life of the city. Our task is to give the city to develop, but at the same time preserve the historical heritage. ” The construction equipment, he said, was used to open a concrete pillow, which is under the asphalt. “The upper layers, as a rule, are removed by excavators - and when the object appears, archaeologists begin to work,” Kondrashev explained. “In some places they work together-this is the so-called practice of archaeological observations.”

What the City Hall and Archnadzor managed to agree

On June 8, a meeting of the Archaeological section of the Scientific and Methodological Council under the Moscow City Council was held in Moscow. The meeting was attended by the coordinator of Archnadzor Konstantin Mikhailov. According to him, the possibilities of the museumification of the archaeological objects found under the Tver archaeological objects were discussed, in particular - the remnants of the passionate monastery and the towers of the Tver Gate. Access can be made to some monuments using existing underground transitions. According to Mikhailov, the fate of damaged monuments was discussed only in connection with the future development of museumification. “I said at the meeting that it would be correct, since such a surge in the interest of the city leadership in archeology is now observed, to propose some kind of program of the city’s systematic study of the city archaeological heritage,” said Archnadzor coordinator. - Not situational, in connection with arising construction and improvements. Then it will be possible to avoid damage to objects, which, unfortunately, could not be avoided during the work on Tverskaya. The section agreed with this - funds will be found for this in the framework of the target program “Culture of Moscow”. That is, the financing of such work will be laid for the future. This is a very correct statement of the question. ”