Post by UKarchaeology on Nov 11, 2015 14:26:37 GMT
A sad tale of a Medieval traveler has emerged from the historical center of Moscow as archaeologists unearthed a rare letter written on birch bark.
Dated to the 14th century, the manuscript was found in a district close to Red Square by a team of the Russian Academy of Sciences who dug 13 feet down. They retrieved hundreds of objects that provide new information about life in Moscow in the Middle Ages.
The letter, by an unknown author, is addressed to “Sir” and recounts the troubled trip of an unnamed individual.
Birch bark as writing surface was popular in Medieval Russia. The first birch bark manuscripts were found during archaeological excavations in Velikiy Novgorod in the 1950s.
Since then, more than 1,000 manuscripts have been discovered in Novgorod, dating from the 11th to the 14th centuries. The find suggests the humble Medieval inhabitants there had an unusually high level of literacy.
Full story: news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/birchbark-message-reveals-story-of-medieval-traveler-151106