The results of the archaeological research season will be presented at the "Vitebsk Antiquities" conference.

October 20, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. The results of the past archaeological season will be presented at the republican scientific-practical conference "Vitebsk Antiquities", which will be held in Vitebsk on October 22-23. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by Valery Shishanov, Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore. The event plans to discuss new results of archaeological research on the socio-political and cultural development of the cities of the Vitebsk region from the 10th to the early 20th centuries, issues of local history development and the formation of museum collections reflecting the culture of the region's cities. For the first time, a unique archaeological find will be presented to the scientific community - a tombstone from a kurgan burial, discovered by scientists in the summer of this year in Drutsk (Tolochin district). The authors of the archaeological sensation will conduct a historical and cultural analysis of the Drutsk kurgan, and will also talk about the latest research results and expert examinations of items from the kurgan. In addition, a number of reports will be devoted to historical and archaeological research of Polotsk, Braslav, Vitebsk and a number of other ancient cities and settlements in the region. In total, about 40 scientists, archaeologists and museum workers from scientific, museum institutions and higher education institutions of the country will present the results of their own research in Vitebsk. The main goal of the conference is to introduce the results of the research work of domestic archaeologists and historians into scientific circulation, and to discuss and exchange data on the latest discoveries. Based on the results of the conference, a collection of materials is planned to be published. The conference will be dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the first birch bark letter in Belarus. The unique document was discovered on August 20, 1959, during the dismantling of the St. Nicholas Cathedral on the site of the current Freedom Square in the regional center. "This is a significant event for our country, so we decided to dedicate the scientific forum of archaeologists and historians specifically to this historical fact," emphasized Valery Shishanov. In addition, this year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the famous local historian Anton Brodovsky, who played an important role in the development of museum work in Vitebsk in his time. His private collection today forms a large and significant part of the collection of the Regional Museum of Local Lore. Some reports at the "Vitebsk Antiquities" conference will be devoted to the biography and scientific activities of this extraordinary person. Also, during the conference, two exhibitions will open at the Museum of Local Lore, the basis of which will be items from Anton Brodovsky's collection, as well as items accidentally discovered by residents of the Vitebsk region and handed over to museum institutions for safekeeping. The organizer of the "Vitebsk Antiquities" conference is the Regional Museum of Local Lore. -0-