One of the oldest museums of local lore in Ukraine owes its birth, like most of its brethren, to the turbulent 19th century, when the movement of human thought in pursuit of technical progress realized that without the past there is no present and future — in 1965 the Kamianets-Podilsky historical-statistician was created. committee, and a quarter of a century later (January 30, 1890), on its base at the Kazan Cathedral, the official approval of the charter of the museum of antiquities took place.

The Museum of Antiquities is located in the architectural monument of the XV — XVIII centuries - the house of the Armenian bishop (former trading house).

The bishop's house has a long and interesting history, which is intertwined with Kamenetz-Podolsky himself.The building was built in the 15th century. At that time, it served as a trading house. Later, the residence of the Armenian bishop was located here. Also in this building lived the commandant of the city, Jan de Witt.

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It was in the post-war years that the rapid flowering of the Podolsk collection of historical and artistic relics began, when the buildings of the Town Hall were given to him in 1967, to the spiritual seminary in 1982, to the Armenian trading house in 1984, to the spiritual consistory in 1991. Since then, Kamianets-Podilsky the historical museum every year acquires more and more noisy fame not only due to the constant replenishment of the list of expositions and new interesting unique exhibits, but also the lively atmosphere of long-gone days, which each of its exhibits skillfully inserted into the the framework of history.

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In the halls of the museum there are more than 1 thousand exhibits. The exposition is located in 4 halls and the courtyard of the Armenian trading house. Here you can get acquainted with the history of the ancient tribes that inhabited Podillya, with their everyday life, military affairs, as well as immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the beliefs of the population of the Middle Podnistria from ancient times to the baptism of the Slavs. To see the bones of ancient animals that inhabited our land in different historical periods, the evolution of the tools of ancient people, women's jewelry from the era of the Copper-Stone Age to the period of Ancient Russia.

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The exposition recreates the dwelling of an ancient man, reconstructed tools and household items in their conditional use. The Museum of Antiquities helps to plunge into the depths of the ages, the history of our country. And also to trace the ancient life of the peoples who were the first to historically live in Podillya and the territory of the city of Kamianets-Podilskyi.
In the courtyard of the Museum of Antiquities there is an exposition of ancient beliefs - a lapidary of stone sculptures of ancient gods. These are unique stone idols that were used in pagan rites before the adoption of Christianity in Russia. The history of archaeological research on the territory of Podillya and the contribution of archeological scientists to the study of the region is also presented. On the second floor of the building is the administration of the Kamianets-Podolsk State Historical Museum-Reserve.

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At the beginning of the XV century. on the site of the modern house stood a small stone structure, from which only the basements survived. They became the basis of the house, erected no later than 1479 (during the restoration of the house, a stone slab was discovered with the inscription in Old Armenian: “The house was bought by Pastor Betris and his wife 1479.” At the end of the 17th century, during the Turkish rule in the city, the house was damaged. At first. In the XVIII century. it was restored: from the west they completed a two-story volumetric passage, which was decorated with a white stone portal with a floral ornament.In the XIX-XX centuries. the palace of the Armenian bishop was used for various purposes, as a residential and industrial facility. This house belonged to the few estates of the Old Town, which in the 19th century had their own garden in the courtyard. In 1977, the restoration of the house was completed — by the project of architects E.Plamenytska and A.Tyupich. The building was restored to its original appearance. XVIII century.

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Exposure

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Stone Age Exhibits of the Historical Museum in Kamenets Located in the building of the former Armenian Trading House (also known as the Bishop's House) in the courtyard of one of the dominants of the old Kamenets — the towers of the Armenian church — the Antiquities Department of the Historical Museum tells a long story that a man has gone through its existence to acquire a modern physical type.So, starting its story from the time of the Early Paleolithic, the basis for which are the finds of one of the thirty found ancient settlements of Podillya near the village of Luka-Vrublivetska (300 thousand years old therefore), the exposition through the diorama “Neanderthal Cave”, where archaeological finds of objects of everyday life and labor, flora and fauna of that period are collected, smoothly leads through the millennia to the new Mesolithic era (12 — 8 thousand years BC), when man tamed the first animal (traces of parking lots in the villages of Sokil, Kalus and Vrublivka). Following the time, the Neolithic hour (7 — 4 thousand BC) arrives in the halls of the Kamenets Repository of Antiquities, raising man above other creatures of nature in order to adapt its gifts to their needs. Traces of those distant times and now under a transparent veil of glass are axes and tips made of stone, from sixty Neolithic monuments of Podillya and South Volhynia. Further, the exposition of the earliest stage of history smoothly crosses the border of the Copper-Stone Age (4 — 2 thousand years BC.), from which begins the taming of metal by man, represented by exhibits of Trypili culture (more than a hundred were found on the territory of the region) in the form of earthenware and household items, jewelry and objects of labor of the villages of Tatariska and Tsviklivka.

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And although already in the 2nd millennium BC the tribes inhabiting Podillya knew bronze, but in the exposition more widely, thanks to the Cimmerian and Scythian finds in the VIII — III centuries BC the villages of Luka-Vrublevetska, Bakota, Sokil, Humenka, Rudkivka, Pyyka Boryshkivka, Boryshkivtsi, represented the Iron Age with its religious attributes and decorations, household utensils and military weapons.Tribes of Chernyakhov culture, which occupied in the late II — III centuries the territory between the Dnieper and the Dniester, are fully explored thanks to the finds near the villages of Lepesivka, Luka-Vrublivetska, Bakota, Ustia, Stavchany, Berezhanka with their bone ornaments and bronze fibules, iron knives and glassware, silver and gold valuables, and ceramics of ancient Slavic cultures (VII — VIII centuries) complete the review of the antiquities department of the historical museum of Kamenets. And on the green veil of the court of power The ball is dominated by unique sights — altars with idols from the villages of Stavchany, Ivankivtsi and Kalush of Novoushytskyi district. Here the mysticism of the sacrificial fire and the magic of steles with empty eyepieces of the Istuccans look at what was and what will be in the mute majesty of silence.

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Idols

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The Museum of Antiquities of Kamianets-Podolsk State Historical Museum-Reserve has collected a unique collection of Slavic idols found in the Transnistrian regions. The abode of these ancient stone deities is in the courtyard of a former trading house, the house of an Armenian bishop. Such a neighborhood of similar in age, gender, beauty and magical essence to the personifications of ancient beliefs. Perhaps, once upon a time, in the sanctuaries that have not yet disappeared, they majestically carried their guard, looked at the sunrise and helped everyone who brought their prayers to them. Now in each of them there is a centuries-old secret of ancient knowledge and beliefs. And its magical power. They say that any museum in Europe could be proud of such a collection.The uniqueness of this collection is that it is the Slavic idols that are collected here. Each of them is a part of that culture about which we know so little. And so we can trace how the worldview and beliefs of our ancestors changed. Probably, this was the period of the change of religion among the Slavs, as evidenced by such a large number of appearances of stone deities.

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In the village of Stavchany, an ancient village was found directly on the farm. The man who was just going to build a hut found a stone sculpture sprinkled with earth... Fortunately, he did not let the idol on the building material, but called archaeologists. Later, in the department of antiquities, scientists recreated the Stavchan funnel exactly as it was found.

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When they excavated the hearths, found a match, broken dishes, we can assume that the tradition of beating dishes “for luck” stretches back from those times. And they also found animal bones, so I can assure you that human sacrifice was not practiced among the Slavs. It was here that they found two stone idols, which date from the 3rd-5th centuries. This is just the period of Chernyakhov culture. Ion Vinokur, who studied them, believed that one of these idols was the sun god Horses. This is evidenced by the sun and snake signs engraved on the sculpture. The snake among the Slavs, by the way, was considered a sacred animal. He could not even be driven out of the house, for it would cause trouble to the whole family. Another sculpture has a helmet, facial features, even a beard, are perfectly visible. In his hands, the idol holds the horn of abundance. We assume that this is the Slavic god Saint Rod or Dazhbog. There are mentions that in the fall, when his days were celebrated, the priest filled the horn with honey and placed it near such a sculpture. It was a kind of harvest sacrifice.And on the sculpture of Dazhbog, scientists found an image of a white horse. Perhaps it symbolizes the sun moving from east to west? There is also an image of a children's heel. Perhaps it is associated with the rite of initiation of boys. True, over time, the images on the sandstone from which the god was once carved are increasingly erased, but now they can still be seen quite well.

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The oldest in the collection is the Kalu idol. It was found at the end of the 19th century and since then for about half a century it has been kept in the ancient storage of the museum. Until it was installed in the courtyard of the antiquities department. He also resembles the Holy Family, although there is no face. It is broken, only the beard is left. In one God holds the horn of abundance, and in the other the cake. At first, this cake was hardly noticed, but in 2005 the museum took night shots and everyone was surprised that the best of this cake is visible in the moonlight! The Slavs had an interesting custom associated with the cake. To celebrate the harvest days, they baked a huge brazier, the diameter of human height. A priest followed her and asked people if they could see him. If he was not noticed behind the cake, of course, it was believed that people would live in abundance for a year.”

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The Yurkovets idol, which huddles next to it, was found in the Chemerovo region in 1972. The front of the deity is actually stripped away, so the very symbolism by which the idol could be identified is absent. But the helmet and stern faces, which are well preserved, reminded scientists of Perun, the god of thunder and war.

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Three more majestic gods were brought to the pantheon from the village of Ivankivtsi, in the Novoushyts'kyi district. Archaeologists believe that it was there, on the banks of the Dniester, that there was a kind of religious center of the ancient Slavs. Around 1950, a letter from a villager came to the Institute of Archaeology, in which he told about three idols found near the village. It was a kind of chapel, an altar dedicated to the three main gods: Veles, god of the underworld and patron of cattle, Triglav and Perun.

Veles can be recognized by the stone bandage around his forehead. It looks like it was made of white cloth, the Slavs tied it for holidays. It is the highest in stature deity. Triglav has three faces — the god of spring Yarovit, the god of summer - Poryvit and the god of autumn - Ruevita. For the Slavs, this is the god of fertility. Why is there no winter? For this is the time when the earth is resting, covered with snow, so there is no face. But the third deity is Perun again. It is interesting to look at his hands. They are crossed. The right goes to the heart, the left goes to the stomach, in which he holds something like a sword. It is on the stone sculpture of Perun that several runic signs in the form of a trident are perfectly visible, which the Slavs had a symbol of a falcon (phoenix), which dies in a fire, and then is restored. Interestingly, Triglav was once taken to the Chernivtsi Museum. From there he wandered for many more, until he got to “his” in the recreated Ivankovets sanctuary.

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But the Mother Goddess did not want to leave the temple... The penultimate was lured to the courtyard by the Pyzhyvsky idol. They say that the deity stubbornly did not want to leave the early Slavic sanctuary: then the equipment broke, then the weather turned sour, then some other miracles happened... This almost four-meter stone sculpture is associated with the Scythian time. We think that this is the goddess Roshenitsa, two carved diamonds are clearly visible on it: as a mother-goddess and a goddess-daughter. There is something similar to the image of the breast and the female womb. The semicircle recalls an ancient custom: when women prayed to the gods, they broke bracelets, opening a kind of gate between the omnipotent and man.

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Another in the pantheon of ancient Russian gods is the Surzhinetsky idol. It was found near the Ternavka River in the 70s of the last century. And only a few years ago, during an archaeological expedition, the idol was transported to the museum.

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A copy of the famous Zbruchansk idol was installed in the museum for the curiosity of visitors. After all, it is here, according to the archaeologist, that the Slavic worldview is well combined: the world of gods, the world of people and the underground kingdom, that is, heaven, earth and dungeons.