“A chain from the hands of the Khersonians helped”: how an ancient amphora was caught in Odessa after the explosion of the Kakhovskaya HPP

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In 2022, the Kherson Museum of Local Lore became synonymous with the word “loss”. In the fall of 2022, during the temporary occupation of Kherson, the valuable exhibits of the museum were completely looted by the Russians. Most likely, the then head of the museum, Tetiana Bratchenko, who, according to Kherson residents, literally handed over valuables to the invaders, collaborated with the enemy. A legal process is currently underway, which should establish the number and names of collaborators. Before the occupation, the Museum kept more than 180,000 exhibits. Among the most valuable stolen items: the “golden room”, where there was Scythian gold and silver, a lapidary – samples of ancient writing, a collection of weapons, which was started by the museum’s founder, archaeologist Viktor Hashkevich. In the fall of 2022, employees who had previously refused to cooperate with the Russians returned to the empty walls of the looted and desecrated museum. Olga Goncharova, who before the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation worked in the modern history department, became acting director. When Ms. Olga returned to the city, the first thing the museum staff did was inspect the museum together with the Security Service of Ukraine and record all the stolen exhibits. Then Olga Goncharova said that despite the significant loss of the collection, she has plans for the future. Goncharova was approached by collectors who offered to provide their exhibits for exhibitions in the museum. While the new director shows visitors the consequences of the crime of the Russians, the museum halls are empty. Olga Goncharova does not often give interviews, but UP.Zhyttia managed to talk to the new head of the Museum of Local History – and the reason, despite the sad context, is comforting. The other day, an amphora that was accidentally caught on the beach in Odessa was handed over to the museum. We asked Olga Goncharova about the exhibit, its further research and how the museum lives, resisting the constant attacks of the Russians. The ancient amphora already has a unique history. About the fact that a valuable find, which apparently refers to the Byzantine era, got to the Museum of Local History, was written in the social networks of the Kherson Museum of Local History. The value of the transferred artifact was confirmed to us by Olga Goncharova. “The amphora was found on Saturday, June 10, and on the second day, Sunday, it was handed over to us in the museum. It has only been with us for four days. Kherson is constantly under fire, so people have left the border, and there are currently very few specialists. But when the initial inspection managed to reveal that this is the Byzantine era, moreover, it is the period of Kyivan Rus,” said Goncharova. The valuable amphora was found by Kherson people who were in Odessa. Photo: Facebook of the Museum of Local History The head of the museum also reminded that the so-called path “From the Varangians to the Greeks” passed through the Dnipro to the Black Sea. Conducting active trade, Byzantine merchants often visited the large Potemkin Island, which is located near Kherson – in the Middle Ages, the city of Oleshsia was located there. “And then on this trade route there could have been sinking of ships and vessels. And various settlements, including Greek ones, were located there, in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. Therefore, apparently, this amphora belongs to this period and we will investigate it. But now we can already say that olive oil and wine were transported in such amphoras. It probably dates back to the 10th-13th centuries,” says the director. Read also: “If it weren’t for the collaborators, we would have saved the museum from the Russians.” Interview with the director of the Kherson Art Museum Considering the good condition of the amphora, Olga Goncharova assumes that it was stored in favorable conditions. “Probably, it was buried somewhere, surprisingly, it was preserved in a fairly good condition. The mouth of the amphora was clogged with earth and silt, and air remained inside. But, unfortunately, such a find happened because of a terrible disaster, a terrorist attack that happened on the Kakhovskaya dam. “A powerful current washed away the shores from both the right and left banks. Now all this is flowing into the Black Sea. The amphora washed up on Langheron beach in Odesa,” the director said. The ancient amphora was handed over to the Kherson Museum of Local Lore. Photo: Facebook of the Museum of Local History Because of the catastrophe, it is possible that valuable finds will continue to be found in the future – says the museum worker. “We will probably still discover artifacts of various kinds. And if citizens are aware, they will bring them to museums. I appealed through television that people who discover similar finds should bring them to us, to the Museum of Local History. Not only that we were robbed during the Russian occupation, and some rarities we do not know at all, whether they will ever appear or not – their fate is unknown. Therefore, such finds are very, very valuable for us, for museum workers,” says Olga Goncharova. The woman says that the amphora was found on the Odesa beach by two people from Kherson with their families, when they were rescuing Dnieper freshwater turtles that had been swept into the sea. One of the saviors turned out to be a historian by profession Yurii Poslovsky, who understood the value of this subject. He turned to the Kherson regional historian Maryna Tarasova, who advised to hand over the amphora to the Kherson Regional History Museum. “And what strikes me personally in this story is the chain of hands of Kherson people. One Kherson woman fished, another Kherson woman advised, another Kherson woman brought her. We have already met her here. A chain of such good actions of Kherson people who are true patriots and people who love their land “, says the moved head of the museum. Scientists will study the ancient amphora. Photo: Facebook of the Museum of Local History The museum works with scientific tasks. Now the Museum of Local History is unable to receive visitors, but continues to work. “You see, the news reports how many times a day we are fired upon. That’s why we cannot work with visitors under fire. It’s dangerous. Even standing at a bus stop is dangerous. Secondly, the enemies smashed all the exhibition windows,” says the director. But despite the constant attacks of the enemy, the museum team is working on the creation of the exhibition “The Khersonites are indomitable”, where they want to reveal the resistance of the city’s residents during the occupation. “We will show how Kherson fought, how people went to tanks with their bare hands, to armored personnel carriers with their bare hands. We will display the photos that were given to us by the local photographer Khurnyakov. Part of the exhibition will also be nets woven by our girls, Kherson women for the front. And the debris is the debris that littered our entire city,” says Goncharova. We are hoping for international help. During the conversation with Ms. Olga, we mentioned the study of the art of the Byzantine period in the Louvre. I ask the director whether they are considering the possibility of cooperating with international partners. Olga Goncharova notes that now, in the absence of a collection, it is not the right time. But Kherson hopes for international support and help in preserving its valuable heritage. “You know, we hope that the world did not leave us in the war and helps us. And it will also help us to revive the cultural heritage. We need to rebuild the houses that were damaged during the war. This is the architecture of the 19th century,” says Goncharova. About the collaborators When asked whether the exhibits of the Museum of Local History appeared somewhere like those taken out of the Art Museum, the director notes that she cannot talk about it. “Our situation is a little more complicated than in the Art Museum. And we have much more looting. We can’t talk about it now. We really hope that when this war ends, it will be returned to us according to restitution,” says Olga Goncharova. As for those involved in the robbery of the museum, no information has been released yet. “At the moment, investigative actions are underway, all this has been submitted to the court, and until there is a court verdict, we do not talk about it. It is a painful topic for us, very painful. Because, for example, I have been working in the museum for a very long time, I know all these exhibits – I had them all in my hands, we conducted tours all the time, for many, many years. All of this is so familiar, important for our history. That is why it is very painful, but we will talk about it a little later. Now we have no right,” – says the director. Today, June 15, it became known that in the village of Pokrovsky near Nikopol, at the bottom of the Kakhov reservoir, which is losing water after the Russians blew up the Kakhov dam, the remains of an ancient Cossack church were discovered. Read UP. Culture in Telegram

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