Archaeologists won a dispute with ancient chronicles over an earlier date for the founding of Polotsk

March 2, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Archaeologists have won a dispute with ancient chronicles regarding an earlier date for the founding of Polotsk. A sensational discovery by an archaeological expedition of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus suggests that Polotsk existed as early as the first half of the 9th century, as reported to BELTA by the expedition leader, Candidate of Historical Sciences, researcher at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Marat Klimov. Polotsk is first mentioned in the legendary "Tale of Bygone Years" under the year 862, when "Rurik alone took all power and began to distribute cities to his men: to him Polotsk..." However, material evidence – remnants of a cultural layer with artifacts that could confirm or refute this date – had not been found until now. During archaeological excavations on the territory of the ancient settlement, the original center of the city, conducted in the summer of 2009, 4 fragments of Arabic silver coins – dirhams – were discovered in a layer of burnt debris. The coins were damaged, but with the help of numismatist Sviatoslav Kuleshov, an employee of the Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg), the minting date of the coins was recently established as the years 800-825. "Thus, the coins have testified that Polotsk is several decades older than is commonly believed according to the first chronicle mention," noted Marat Klimov. The archaeological expedition worked in Polotsk in accordance with the Comprehensive Program for the Development of the City for the period up to 2012. In 2010, the work will continue, and by the city's 1150th anniversary, scientists intend to publish a work on their findings during the excavations. -0-