Ilya Malkov from the Arkhnadzor movement has found a unique gravestone of the 16th under builders’ refuse on garbage in Zamoskvorechie District.
More than that, the activist has found a headless dolomite sculpture reminding of The Madonna and Child.
A set of most valuable artifacts of the 18th - 19th centuries was earlier found in the same place. Despite the builders’ counteraction, the activists demand further archaeological examination.
According to some information, an ancient monastery metochion used to be located there.
The gravestone stirred a great interest among professional archeologists and was transferred to the Board on Saving Archaeological Heritage Sites. It came to light that the picture in the gravestone plate coincides with the gravestone recently found in a church in Chernigovsky Lane. The sculpture and gravestone found by Ilya Malkov are presently undergoing expert review.
Defenders of "old Moscow" claim that the Zamoskvorechye area belongs to the zone of protected cultural layer, but the builder tries to hide the facts of valuable artifacts and still has not given permission for official archaeological research. The activists emphasize that the area between the Garden Ring Road and the Serpukhov Shaft is to be included in the historical center zone.
Author: Vera Ivanova