Archaeological Collections of the Medieval Hillfort Isker from the Funds of the Tobolsk Provincial Museum

Abstract

Purpose. The hillfort of Isker is a unique medieval site in the history and archaeology of Siberia, which used to be the center of a large political association, the Siberian Khanate. The purpose of the article is to describe the history of its archaeological collections stored in the funds of the Tobolsk provincial museum. At the same time, we aim at showing how these materials were used in the exposition, research and educational activities of the museum in the late 19^th - early 20^th century. Results. At the stage of the museum being founded, few artifacts from the hillfort of Isker were stored in its funds. At that time, the famous Tobolsk artist M. S. Znamensky, who also worked at the museum, contributed to the replenishment of its funds. He was the author of the book “Isker”, which was published in 1891. Due to unclear circumstances, only a small part of the archaeological collection devoted to this hillfort and belonging to M. S. Znamensky remained in Tobolsk. In subsequent years, the museum regularly replenished its funds with the artifacts discovered on the territory of the hillfort. If we look at the list of the donators, we can see that active collectors of finds were the museum staff. According to the data available, the number of items obtained from the hillfort of Isker at those times exceeded the number of all other materials of the archaeological department. The artifacts were constantly shown to the public in the exhibition halls and occupied an important place in the exposition display. The continuation of this activity was connected with the first excavations on the site, which were conducted by the museum conservator V. N. Pignatti in 1915. In addition, V. N. Pignatti worked with the materials stored in the collections and described them. He published the results of his research in “Isker (Kuchumovo gorodishche)” and “The Catalogue of Finds on Isker Belonging to the Tobolsk Provincial Museum”. A little later, they organized an impressive showcase in the exhibition halls which showed a complete collection of the finds from the hillfort of Isker. The collection included about 1400 items. Thus, V. N. Pignatti summarized all historical and archaeological materials available at those times and presented them to the public and researchers, both readers of his works and visitors to the museum. Conclusion . In the late 19^th - early 20^th century, the museum was the central institution which collected and popularized the medieval hillfort of Isker as an important archaeological site. During those times, an impressive collection was gathered, which was analyzed, described and put into scientific circulation. During a long period, researchers learnt about the events and processes from the history of the Siberian Khanate based on the notes by M. S. Znamensky and V. N. Pignatti. As a result of our study, a fairly detailed history of forming the collection of the Isker at the Tobolsk provincial museum is presented, and the circle of persons involved in its creation is specified.