MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. Artefacts unearthed during works under Moscow’s program My Street geared to improve public spaces can be seen at an exhibition at the Museum of Moscow that opened on Tuesday, Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his VKontakte account.
"I have recently said that we would take care of archaeological finds unearthed during works under the My Street program. And today, on the Archaeology Day, a big exhibition of artefacts was opened at the Museum of Moscow. Come to be the first to see them," he wrote.
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The mayor’s office promised earlier that about 50 artefacts dug up in downtown Moscow would be put on display. Among the exhibits will be a unique Middle Stone Age scraper found in Pokrovsky Boulevard, copper coins of the 18th century unearthed in the Boulevard Ring and silver coins dating back to the times of Ivan the Terrible hidden in an ivory chess bishop. The latter was dug up in Prechistenka Street. Archaeologists believe the person who owned the chess set did not want to carry money in a purse out of fear of being robbed, but wanted to be able to pay in case he lost a game, which was quite popular at that time.
Apart from that, visitors will see artefacts from a secret vaulted chamber used for eavesdropping on enemies in the 16th century that was discovered in a trench dug near the St. John Church, some 700 meters away from the Kremlin. The finds include lead bullets, metal buttons, an iron arrow, a cannon ball, and a red clay ceramic fragment of the 17th century.
In all, more than 150 artifacts dating back to the 16th-19th centuries were unearthed during the city’s renovation works. Among them are coins, ceramics, utensils, bullets, buttons, an arrow and a cannon ball.
Moscow’s central streets began getting a ‘facelift’ under the My Street program that was launched in 2015. This spring and summer, 89 downtown streets are slated for gentrification.