MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS Correspondent Irina Skalina/. TASS correspondent visited the Pomors' settlements on the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago's north, a location which is believed to be the place where Dutch explorer Willem Barents was buried - to learn what artefacts Novaya Zemlya is keeping, how the Pomors lived and explored the severe archipelago, why it is so complicated to study their historic monuments, and how expeditions have been searching for Barents' grave.

Novaya Zemlya is known for a few centuries. The Pomors - brave sailors of the White Sea - explored those severe islands. Scientists believe they were the first to get to those islands. But when? When did they begin to explore Novaya Zemlya and what prompts the conclusion? Experts of the Russian Arctic National Park have been searching for answers. Studying the Pomors' culture on Novaya Zemlya is a priority for them. And equally a most complicated task.

There are two main reasons: the territory, which is a part of the national park, is hard to reach - those are the northern part of the Severny Island and neighboring islands. For example, an expert managed to visit Murmantsa Bay for the first time in 2022. The second reason is that the Pomors developed more actively the Yuzhny Island. It is closer and easier to get to, but since the middle of last century it is occupied by a military range, which limits studies at the coastline.

On Novaya Zemlya since 12th century

The national park's head of the department for preservation of historical and cultural heritage, Evgeny Yermolov, says written chronicles point to the time when the Pomors began sailing to Novaya Zemlya. The earliest records were in chronicles of the 11th-12th centuries. They also mentioned the "midnight" seas. European sources of the 12th-13th centuries, describing the territories, which now are Russian, also say about some islands in a cold sea.

- It is like the first mentioning of Moscow in chronicles dated 1147, though, probably, it existed even earlier. As for Novaya Zemlya, things are complicated, because the Pomors have not left any written witnesses, and we can be using even indirect data. Some data go back to chronicles of Ivan III; European sources mention Moskoviya somewhere, and in the north - a big island, rich in wildlife, and which is remarkable: the sun does not set there, and hunting is rich. From all this, we can conclude these sources are speaking exactly about Novaya Zemlya.

Most probably, the Pomors explored Novaya Zemlya from about the 12th century. Sure, it is highly unlikely such ancient artefacts may remain on the archipelago. However, it is quite probable to find old proofs indicating the long history of Pomors on Novaya Zemlya. A striking example is an archaic boat of the Pomors found on the Oranskiye Islands - the northernmost part of Novaya Zemlya. The boat was made without a single nail. It was found in 2016. After a few failed attempts to transport it from the island, the attempt in only 2022 was successful, thus proving how complicated it is for historians to work in the Arctic.

Succession of generations

It was very typical for the Pomors to follow the example of their ancestors. This was reasonable if a technology proved to be effective in the harsh Arctic conditions. In such a case, it was used for centuries. It could be slightly modified if, for example, appeared new tools, like, say, the saw. On the coast of Murmantsa Bay, located on the Kara side of Novaya Zemlya, the historian has found the Pomors' ship graveyard.

The scientist names what they have found: the keel, the stem, the bow and stern ends, many fragments of the sides, even the anchor beam - it is the uppermost part of the ship's side.

— These karbases (boats) are great. They show to us how technology has transformed. The frames (the transverse rib of the boat's hull) of the Oransky Island's boat and the frames found in Murmantsa Bay are absolutely the same. However, on the boat in Murmantsa Bay, they already used a saw. But the boats are equally massive, equally rough, with used lump - a section of the tree where the trunk turns into the root. It seems they could've made composite frames, but no. The people cared and did everything the way their fathers and grandfathers did, relying on the practices used for centuries. The boards there were already sawn, thin, quite elegant, and we already can see they used steel rivets.

From the bay, the experts took a curious artifact - a two-meter boat, which the Pomors called "tuzik". They could have used it to deliver cargo to the shore not to risk a big karbas. Or they could have towed it behind the main boat, using the small boat to carry the catch. They pushed the small boat slightly into the water, so that the prey remained cold and fresh. According the historian, the small boat may be used now to demonstrate the technology, since it is in a good condition and fits the museum's interior perfectly.

- Clearly, the object was assembled on the archipelago. It is made from parts of other, larger boats. As if it was made of what they had around. In some places additional boards have been applied, and besides, the keel and stern have remained.

The Pomors used to sail to Novaya Zemlya for fish and for sea animals. The found harpoon proves they hunted beluga whales - this object makes the historian really happy. The national park's museum demonstrates a Pomor in full gear, but since the park did not have a real harpoon for belugas, they planned to make a replica. Now, the museum has a harpoon, a Pomor harpoon, which has been found in the national park.

The expert stresses it is very important to record all possible objects, even the camps that were built on Novaya Zemlya mainly in the 1930s. In the 1950s they were rebuilt. Earlier, experts did not pay much attention to them, but those houses mostly resemble the houses that the Pomors had long before the 20th century. Nowadays, for researchers those houses are important to understand how the Pomors lived and hunted on Novaya Zemlya.

For example, a small shield house - Kolosov's house - in that very Murmantsa Bay. Perhaps he was a hunter, and, surely, he did not live there alone.

- Camps were named after one person. There also is a walrus rookery, a large bird rookery, and belugas probably used to come there. That is, most likely, people knew that location, and Kolosov must have come not to an empty place. Most likely, someone helped him - at least to lift and transport the products.

In Russkaya Gavan Bay, Evgeny for the first time described the structures of a fairly large Pomor camp. To get to it, the group had to walk more than 10 km over rough terrain. The researchers were about to turn back when they came across a snow hill, which was dangerous to cross - under such snow puffs could be voids, into which travelers could easily fall. The group decided to walk around the hill.

There, the Pomors hunted walrus, beluga, polar bear, and arctic fox. They collected eggs and eiderdown - the Bogatyi Island with a bird rookery is nearby. In the camp, the group has found quite a lot of nets, barrels with inscriptions like, for example, "small cod without heads." Thus, most probably, they also fished there. Anyway, nobody has described the camp earlier.

- It will be an object of hunting and fishing - specified and described. In the 1930s, similar camps were organized on Novaya Zemlya. They were numerous, and the network was growing constantly. Two capital houses were built in Russkaya Gavan, and steamboats used to sail to that destination. Very convenient: the polar station and the camp - they are side by side, can always help each other, and the authorities did not have to organize a separate trip for the steamer to deliver supplies. Everything ceased when a range was formed on Novaya Zemlya. At that time, only polar stations remained, and fishing and hunting were stopped.

The buildings, the historian continued, are not in very good conditions, one of the walls is actively washed away by a stream, thus it is important to register and describe everything that has still survived.

Where is Barents buried?

Another mystery of Novaya Zemlya is where Willem Barents - the one who made the archipelago known to Europeans - is buried. As we have mentioned above, Europe even before the Dutchman did know that somewhere far to the north there is an island rich in sea animals. The sun never sets there. The island's name - Nova Zembla - appeared on European maps in the 16th century. At that time, Spain and Portugal controlled the southern sea routes to China and India. Other countries had no choice but to find a northern route to the Far East.

Barents participated in three expeditions trying to find a passage to the Pacific Ocean: in 1594, 1595 and in 1596-1597. The first two were financed by the Dutch government. The third expedition, initiated by the navigator, was supported by Amsterdam merchants. Strictly speaking, he was not the expeditions' official leader. Barents was not of a noble origin, but he was considered a very experienced and respected sailor. Clearly, they failed to open the route to the Far East. Willem Barents died of scurvy when returning from the north of Novaya Zemlya. There, in Ledyanaya Gavan Bay, the expedition ship got trapped in the ice, and the travelers had to sail in two boats to get to the mainland.

The situation about the sailor's burial, after whom the sea was named, is unclear. The campaign's diaries were written by Gerrit De Veer, who described all the three Barents expeditions.

- In the summer of 1597, during the Dutch expedition, Barents and the doctor died, De Veer wrote, adding Barents had died at Cape Ledyanoy, the historian said.

The expedition's chronicler in that situation was surprisingly brief, although, perhaps, what mattered at that time was not records, but mere survival.

- For example, when their cabin boy died, back in January, 1597, in Ledyanaya Gavan, most likely of scurvy, De Veer described it in great detail - how they comforted him, read the Bible to him, and how they buried him later on and how sad it was for everyone. As for Barents, there were no details: Barents died, we've buried him. Where, how? It's unclear, of course.

Back then, the name Cape Ledyanyi was given, among other things, to outlet glaciers stretching far into the sea. It seems Barents died on an ice floe. Some researchers say he was buried in the sea. Others dispute this version, claiming it was not in the tradition of the Dutch, especially when the land was nearby. For example, on Spitsbergen the Dutch had a whale hunting camp. If a man died there in winter, the rest waited for the summer to make sure he is buried in the ground.

- Researchers refer to this tradition to prove they had to bury him in the ground. But where? In 1979, Dmitry Kravchenko found a grave at Cape Vilkitsky. Back then they were walking along the coast from Cape Zhelaniya. Fogs, no visibility, no GPS. They described a rectangular sinkhole that looked like a double grave. There they also found a large pile of stones used as a landmark and a bear skull with a hole of 2 cm in diameter, like from a musket bullet.

Grave that never existed

There is a place in Ivanov Bay that was considered a potential grave of Barents. This version was supported by Peter Boyarsky, who led the Arctic Marine Complex Expedition. There is a sinkhole of a suitable size a couple of hundred meters from the coastline, blocked by rocks, and the stone pile. In 1995, Dutch scientists worked in Ivanov Bay.

- Not so long ago we found the report of that Dutch expedition. It turns out, they have opened that "grave" in Ivanov Bay. There was nothing inside it. Just the stone pile, and untouched land under it. What we saw last summer - a clearly seen square of two by two meters with mixed soil - it was the result of that archaeological exploration.

As for the stone pile with the bear skull, no one has seen it again. Although the Dutch were searching for it in 1995. They were hampered by fogs, where nothing could be seen in just a few meters away.

- Most likely, Kravchenko was mistaken about the locations, - the historian added. - The Dutch expedition walked to Cape Vilkitsky, examined all the surroundings to find nothing. However, every time they were walking there, they stumbled over the stone pile in Ivanov Bay and decided to have it registered, too.

By the way, any work "inside the ground" requires a special permit, which archaeologists call "open sheet". Before digging, it takes at least a few days to 'comb' the territory. Good weather is top important. From Cape Zhelaniya, where the Russian Arctic National Park has a base, it is impossible to get to that Ivanov Bay by land, and sailing by boat is too long and dangerous. Nowadays, specialists may use drones to examine the terrain folds, the expert told TASS.

- One day, we will try working in this format. There are monuments that are being destroyed, and they must be preserved first of all. This, of course, is a paramount task.