2023-08-25 10:00:28
Director of the Narva Museum Maria Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova stands next to the Dry Moat, 8 meters deep, at the base of which an ancient drainage hole was found.
In the middle of the courtyard of Narva Castle there is a mountain of earth the height of a two-story building: this is the soil that during the large-scale reconstruction project of the castle had to be dug up in order to find out what surprises lurk here and avoid problems in the future.
Since all the finds will soon be conserved and buried again, the staff of the Narva Museum invited journalists so that they could see all the artifacts with their own eyes and tell readers about them.
Ancient “hole in the wall”
One of the most amazing finds is a large arch in the northern wall of the Narva Castle, which is located at a depth of eight meters: this is the oldest drainage through which water could leave the castle territory.
“We are sometimes asked why we made a hole in the wall, but this is a drainage hole that has always been there. And this was the biggest discovery made during this reconstruction,” says Museum Director Maria Smorzhevskikh-Smirnova.
It all started with the reconstruction of the northernmost wall: in order to find out whether the waterproofing laid during its restoration works reliably, excavations were carried out at the base of the wall to a depth of 4 meters and a beautiful old masonry was found next to the wall: according to the plans, there were the remains of the Dry Moat, which was completely covered with city debris and earth in the second half of the 17th century.
Part of it was planned to be left for viewing, so it was decided to strengthen the masonry with gabions – special arrays of stones in metal meshes. By spring, the gabions suddenly sank several meters down, and it became clear that the Dry Ditch was actually much deeper than expected.
An old flagstone cellar next to the Herman Tower, which was not on the plans, was discovered during the reconstruction of the courtyard of the Narva Castle.
After excavations, it turned out that the bottom of the moat is a solid stone platform, but the most important discovery was a wide stone arch at the bottom of the moat, which leads outside the fortress wall.
Probably, when the moat was filled up, everyone forgot about it, and later the drainage systems of the castle were laid much higher.
After the completion of the reconstruction of the Narva Castle, visitors will still be able to see a small, narrow part of the moat and the arch, said Jüri Moor, Narva Castle project manager.
“It’s good that the castle courtyard didn’t collapse”
Another massive structure found in the depths of the earth near the Herman Tower is a huge deep basement, the walls and ceiling of which are made of thick flagstone.
Builders are now covering the walls and ceiling with durable waterproofing boards that will preserve it for archaeological research in the future. It is impossible to carry out these surveys within the framework of the current project, so the purpose of the basement is currently unknown. “But taking into account the fact that until now the load on the courtyard of the Narva Castle, including this site, has been quite high – powerful trucks have passed here, setting up the stage and other temporary structures, we can consider it lucky that the basement ceiling did not collapse” , says Jüri Moor.
“All excavations on the territory of the Narva Castle were carried out not only with the aim of conducting an “inventory” of archaeological artifacts: during the reconstruction, the entire territory of its courtyard was thoroughly renovated.
According to the director of the museum, museum workers, architects and builders have been racking their brains for a long time: is it not worth leaving at least a piece of the grandiose basement for public viewing. However, archaeologists believe that it is not necessary to show an object whose purpose is unknown, while the builders considered this idea simply dangerous. Therefore, no one will see the flagstone building for many years. All excavations on the territory of the Narva Castle were carried out not only in order to carry out an “inventory” of archaeological artifacts: during the reconstruction, the entire territory of its courtyard was thoroughly renovated, strengthened and repaired.
Underground communications were re-laid, new paths, lighting, benches and fencing appeared.
Read about all the finds, as well as significant innovations that will appear after the completion of the large-scale project in the Narva Castle and will make visiting it and walking around the courtyard much more comfortable for Narva residents and tourists, read in detail in the next issue of Narva Newspaper. The project is scheduled to be completed in November.
Photo: Irina Tokareva
The post An 8-meter-deep moat, a huge basement: during the reconstruction of the Narva Castle, new objects were found that were not planned first appeared on gazeta.ee.
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