Archeology

Leaders - Ekaterina Nikitichna Nechaeva, Researcher, State Hermitage
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Cherlenok, St Petersburg State University

The archaeologist's spade
Delves into dwellings
Vacancied long ago,
Unearthing evidence
Of life-ways no one
Would dream of leading now,
Concerning which he has not much
to say that he can prove:
the lucky man!
Knowledge may have its purposes,
But guessing is always
More fun than knowing
Wystan Hugh Auden, Archaeology

Why is a cake similar to an archeological monument? The answer to this question is simple for an archeologist but often puzzles the general public because at the very start you have to explain what archeology is all about, what its objectives are. These first questions are followed as a rule by a multitude of others. I hope that after our first encounters several answers will arise as naturally as the questions.

Archeology is a science that is doomed to be popular. But unfortunately in our country a paradoxical situation has developed: on the one side there are the conferences, articles, and expeditions, that is to say everything which an academic science is engaged in doing; while on the other side there is the general public for whom a scientific article might as well be a document written in Chinese Huge interest in archeological monuments from various ages does not have enough popular-science literature to inform it and leads to the most fantastic propositions. This is how scenes from the hunt for sea animals are turned into naval battles between Aryans and Urals peoples; and burial constructions in the Western Caucasus are understood to be energy cannon.

Museums traditionally play the role of an intermediary between the scientific world and the common man. The section on archeology within the Student Club of the State Hermitage provides everyone who is interested in this science with the chance to speak out about the most exciting archeological discoveries. Our sessions, which meet once a week at a time that is most convenient for the group, are dedicated to this goal. The program of activities offers trips to the archeological sites around the Leningrad Oblast, acquaints participants with the collections of the State Hermitage and arranges meetings with well known archeologists.

An Archeological Monument

Archeologists at work

Getting acquainted with archeological monuments