In Pushkin Pushkin completed the first phase of the site GMII on numismatics and completed restoration of the ancient baths of the excavation Panticapean. Today in the Italian courtyard museum presents the results of these studies

Today, June 21 at 12.00 in the Italian courtyard of the Main Building of the State Museum of Fine Arts Pushkin will be a presentation of two projects. The first milestone was the completion of the first phase of the site GMII on numismatics. The second reason to collect the guests - the end of the restoration of antique bathtubs from excavations Panticapean.

Since 1945, the Pushkin them. Pushkin conducts regular and systematic archaeological survey of one of the largest antique centers of the Northern Black Sea region - the settlement Pantikapaion located in the heart of the modern city of Kerch (Crimea) on the hill, called "Mount Mithridates. During two field seasons of the 1985-1986 excavations at the Bosporus Expedition led by Head of Department of Art and Archaeology of the Ancient World, candidate of historical sciences VP Tolstikov, along with a set of findings were discovered more than 80 fragments of a ceramic object. The find was made in a building that was part of a unified architectural ensemble, built in the central part of Panticapaeum at the end VI - the beginning of V century BC. e. The central element and the architectural dominant of the ensemble served Tholos - round in terms of building a diameter of 14 meters, it is very rare for this early period of Greek history type (of them for the end of the VI - the beginning of V century BC. E. Know no more than four). Long-term studies suggest that the architectural ensemble of Tolosa is a social and religious center of ancient Greek polis emerging Panticapean. In this context, the discovery of the ceramic products of particular interest.

carried out at the Museum of the primary restoration of several fragments allowed to assume that we are dealing with a ceramic bathtub considerable size. The study of literature and a comparison with the existing objects that circle in all the leading museums around the world have concluded that discovered a truly unique, having no direct analogies ancient artifact. This is a ceramic bath, the outer surface of which is richly decorated with relief friezes. The biggest surprise for the researchers was that, along with plant decoration of the bath was introduced and the plot frieze: Big match, that is, chariots, drawn by a pair of horses. The presence of complex, plot decoration on the external surface clearly indicates that pantikapeyskaya bath was not meant to put it below the floor level, as was usual for Greek baths. It is clear that our bath towered above the floor and was designed for all-round view. It is obvious that its functional significance was very special: a bath could be intended for sacred ablutions of priests or magistrates to discharge their functions at a community center Panticapean.

quarter of a century, fragments of unique bath waiting in the wings in storage GMII im. Pushkin, primarily because it was not possible to create reliable its model - based on field of restoration. Only in 2009 there were objective conditions for the work. The initiators of this research and restoration programs have become the chief curator of the Museum of TV Potapova, and head of the department of restoration I. Borodin. At this point, have been created and successfully tested the program 3D-modeling of objects using high-precision laser scanning. Restoration group GMII im. Pushkin head restorer of the highest category of VI Cheremhin. The work was extremely labor intensive and interesting. Digital 3D-model has allowed the restorers to combine existing pieces of the tub. She also provided an opportunity to perform in the material fragments of pottery and items of polyurethane foam. As a result, managed to get the reconstruction of a large part of a unique ancient monument and turn it into a museum exhibit, understandable and accessible to the general public.

participants in this project see it as another gift to the Museum of Fine Arts A . Pushkin to his 100-year anniversary.

Source : Press Release Pushkin Pushkin