Russian Archaeology of the Holy Land

A survey of the remains and excavations preceded almost every building activity in the newly obtained sites. Like many of his enlightened contemporaries, Fr. Antonin was an amateur scholar and an antiquarian. He often excavated in the purchased sites and showed the most vivid interest in research on ancient monuments. He was acquainted with the work of the leading scientists working in the Holy Land in the last third of the 19th century and knew many of them personally—among his close friends were Charles Clermont-Ganneau and Conrad Schick.

The mostly unpublished diary of Fr. Antonin is an interesting and detailed source for the history of Jerusalem in the last third of the 19th century, detailing the most important events and personalities of the Holy City. Together with other Russian sources, such as diplomatic reports, pilgrimage accounts, photographs and so forth, they represent extremely important sources for the archaeological study of certain key sites and particular finds in Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Jericho.

Russian scholars were also active elsewhere in the region.

Members of Russian expedition to Syria and Palestine in Jerusalem,1891. Seating in the center: Akim Olesnitskii; second from the right: Nicodim Kondakov. Courtesy of the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Two expeditions worked in Palestine, Syria, and Transjordan, led by the art historians Akim Olesnitskii (1873–74) and Nicodim Kondakov (1891). These Russian expeditions can be described as archaeological only in terms of the 19th century; their survey focus was on the architectural and historical-geographic features of the country. But the solid reports published by Olesnitskii and Kondakov effectively present the results of these large surveys, supplying also drawings and photographs of the monuments. However, the most important achievements by Russian scholars were studies of ancient manuscript collections of the Holy Land and Sinai, and the many publications of ancient pilgrimage texts written by Russian visitors, beginning with abbot Daniel who visited Palestine in the 12th century.

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the following Russian Revolution of 1917 stopped Russian pilgrimage and research in the Holy Land for almost a century. Today, the vestiges of the Russian presence in the Holy Land can be studied like any other archaeological material dated to later periods of occupation of the Holy Land’s historical cities.

For example, remains of demolished Russian buildings of the late 19th century and their infrastructure—water cisterns, drain channels—and various sign of preparations for building—quarries, limekilns, and other installations—were discovered in salvage excavations in Jerusalem in the large area around the ‘Russian Compound,’ the main administrative and religious center of Russian pilgrimage in Ottoman Palestine. Together with the relevant archival materials, these finds provide interesting information regarding the city’s development in the last third of the 19th century, with its curious combination of European and local architectural elements. Since the ‘Russian layers’ cover, and sometimes cut through earlier archaeological remains, the detailed study of these upper layers is also important for understanding the site’s formation process, since they may often change the interpretation of the ancient finds.

Large waves of Russian pilgrims to Palestine also left numerous material remains that can be archaeologically studied, such as graffiti inscriptions scratched by pious visitors in the holy sites. The most ancient Russian inscription of the sort, dated to the 12th century, was discovered in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, but most date from the 19th century. Today, Israeli and Russian archaeological teams are carrying out a joint systematic study of Russian-pilgrims graffiti at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and in minor monasteries in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Other archaeological remnants of pilgrimage are the small souvenirs from the Holy Land, mainly bottles with Russian inscriptions containing blessed oil and holy water collected from the Jordan River and other sites. Such bottles were recently discovered in archaeological excavations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the City of David. A few examples are also preserved in Russian museums. Amazingly similar souvenirs, the so-called eulogia (“blessings”) bottles, decorated with Evangelical scenes, are known from Byzantine Palestine, showing the strong continuous tradition of these pilgrimage practices.

After more than a century-long break, Russian archaeologists are also coming back to study the Russian antiquities of the country.