A team of archaeologists working in Starocherkasskaya, near Rostov-on-Don in Russia, has uncovered objects linked to a local Cossack legend from the Civil War era.
The dig began after a homeowner asked the Heritage Archaeological Society to examine part of his land. People in the village had long spoken about valuables hidden there during the fighting in 1920. According to the story, a Cossack woman named Martynova placed family belongings into a deep well before Bolshevik forces arrived.
Excavators later found a well around five metres deep beneath the property. Inside were several pieces of metal tableware: three bronze basins, one copper basin, and a silver bowl.
Roman Yolkin, who leads the archaeological group, said the objects matched details from the old story passed down in the village.
He said the silver bowl alone could now be worth close to 500,000 roubles because of its size and age.
The excavation also produced 34 smaller items. Among them were old coins, religious objects, and household pieces connected to life in the Don region.
Researchers identified a denga and a half-kopek coin from the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna in the 18th century. Workers at the site also recovered two Old Believer crosses.
Starocherkasskaya was once the capital of the Don Cossacks and remains one of the oldest settlements in the Rostov region. Archaeologists have carried out digs there for years because of the area’s historical importance.
The head of the Heritage Archaeological Society, Roman Yolkin, said:
“We consider this find an absolute treasure. Firstly, it confirms the old legend about hidden valuables, and such tableware was indeed expensive at the beginning of the last century. Even today, the value of a silver bowl weighing over a kilogram, given its historical significance, approaches half a million roubles.”
During the Russian Civil War, many families buried money, jewellery, and household property as armies moved through southern Russia. Some of those hidden belongings were never recovered.
The items found at the site will now be cleaned and examined before being transferred to regional museum collections.
Residents in the village have followed the excavation closely. The story about hidden valuables had circulated locally for decades before the discovery was made.
Sources : Heritage Archaeological Society