Odessa Society of History and Antiquities

Created March 25, 1839 in Odessa at the request of M. S. Vorontsov , Governor-General of Novorossiysk and Bessarabsky ; began to operate on April 23, when the first meeting of the company.

On November 14, 1839, by Decree of Emperor Nicholas I, the Grand Duke, the heir Alexander Nikolaevich , was appointed the August Patron of society. The company received "the right to conduct archaeological investigations throughout southern Russia : on state lands - with the permission of the local authorities, and in private lands - with the consent of the owners." Since that time, the society conducted archaeological excavations ( Olbia , Snake Island , Kerch mounds, then in Khersones and other places along the coast).

From the first days of its founding, the Society paid great attention to “the Tauride Peninsula ( Crimea ), both because it was not long before that it constituted a special, separate kingdom, and because it was best known to ancient writers and more than others preserved monuments, worthy of research. "

The objectives of the company are as follows:

a) collect, describe and store all the remnants of antiquity that open in Southern Russia , or related to it

b) to engage in the search, analysis and explanation of documents and acts up to the history of the designated area related

c) critically examine the testimonies of ancient writers about its localities and sights, and look for traces of them in the present tense

d) to prepare reserves for the future history of the region, by collecting the correct information about its present condition in relation to geography and statistics

e) analyze the works published in Russian and foreign languages ​​that have the same subject, and determine the degree of their reliability

f) publish the results of their studies, through printing, in the general information.

The initiative to create society belonged to the students of Moscow University N. N. Murzakiewicz and M. M. Kiryakov , as well as D. M. Knyazhevich , A. S. Sturdze and A. Ya. Fabr . Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov became the honorary president of the company , Dmitry Maksimovich Knyazhevich , trustee of the Odessa educational district, became president. Initially, the Society numbered 28 members, in 1914 - up to 200. Among the active members of the society were A. L. Berthier-Delagard (vice president of the Company), A. B. Ashik , P. V. Becker .

Prominent scientists were also members of the society, whose works were an important contribution to Russian science. After the founding of the Novorossiysk University in 1865, the role of Odessa as a center of archaeological science in southern Russia increased. University scientists F. K. Brun , V. N. Yurgevich ^[1] , N. P. Kondakov , A. I. Markevich , F. I. Uspensky , E. R. Stern , Director of the Moscow Armory, Talyzin, Arkady Alexandrovich and others took an active part in the work of society and contributed to the development of the museum.

Soon, thanks to excavations, as well as acquisitions as a gift and purchases, a large museum collection was assembled in society. In 1840, a museum was opened at the society, which in 1858 merged with the Odessa City Museum of Antiquities , founded in 1825 by I. A. Stempkovsky and I. P. Blaramberg . In 1847, the Highest Order was issued to the Ministry of State Property on the transfer to the Museum of the Society of those antiquities that would not be received in such St. Petersburg stores. During the time of the activity of the society, a great deal of material has been accumulated on the archeology of the Northern Black Sea Region , which contributed to the wide popularity of the museum not only in Russia but also abroad.

The society also owned a museum in Feodosia , architectural monuments of Sudak and Akkerman , Melek-Chesmensky mound in Kerch . Gradually, an extensive and valuable library also gathered in the Society.

The Museum of the Imperial Odessa Society of History and Antiquities kept a rich collection of Greek terracottas (most of which were handicrafts found in Kerch). According to Russian historians A. N. Derevitsky, A. A. Pavlovsky and E. R. von Stern, the Kerch ( Pantikapei ) figurines formed in this museum “a rare collection of types in its wealth: from the first archaic attempts <...> to the monstrously barbaric imitations, all types of pottery production known so far have their representatives here ” ^[2] .

In total, 33 volumes of Notes of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities were published (published from 1844 to 1919; renewed in 1960), which published articles on the history, archeology, epigraphy and numismatics, ethnography, geography and statistics of the region, as well as published documents and archaeological sites highlighted the results of field studies. The annexes to each volume published the minutes of the meetings of the company. The protocols contained important information about the nature of the collections and individual finds coming to the museum. The society also published three issues of the catalog of the museum's ancient terracottas and ceramics from Feodosia and a description of the oriental coins, old plans and maps stored in the museum.

• Historical Societies in Russia

• Notes of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities vol. 1-33 (djvu)
• Narizhny S. Odeska, the partnership of the historical old // // Prazі Ukrainian Ukrainian historical and philological partnership in Prazі. - Prague, 1942. - T. 4. - S. 215–234.
• Archaeological Societies in Russia // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Dzis-Raiko G. Odessa Archaeological Museum of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. - K.: Naukova Dumka, 1983.
• Charter Odessa. islands of history and antiquities. - Odessa, 1880.
• Yurgevich V. East. sketch of the fiftieth anniversary of Odessa. islands of history and antiquities 1839–1889. - Odessa, 1889.
• Okhotnikov S.B. Archeology in Odessa. 185 years of the Odessa Archaeological Museum. - Odessa, 2010.
• Popruzhenko M.G. Odessa. about-in history and antiquities (Regarding the 75th anniversary of its existence). - "IV". - 1914 .-- No. 11.
• Popruzhenko M. G. Index of articles placed in 1-30 volumes of "Notes of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities." - Odessa, 1914.
• A brief index of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities. - Ed. 2nd, add. - Odessa, 1871.
• Sinitsyn M.S. Development of archeology in Odessa // Zap. Odessa archaeological society. - 1960 .-- T. 1 (34).
• Solemn meeting of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities Lovers February 4, 1840. - Odessa, 1840.
• Brun F.K. Odessa Society of History and Antiquities, its notes and archaeological collections. - Odessa, 1870.
• Khmarsky V.M. Archeography of the Odessa Society of History and Old Age. - Odessa, 2002 .-- 398 p.