As a 1930s administrative building at Kremlin, Moscow, was dismantled in 2014 archaeologists moved in to study the area occupied by concrete structures, revealing Medieval layers and numerous artefacts.

Beneath the 20th century structure of the 14th Wing build in the Stalin era, archaeologists managed to uncover strata dated to between 12th-14th century AD. The 14th Wing itself  became one of the first Communist footprints within the Kremlin area. It was built in 1932 after the Bolsheviks destroyed two of Russia’s important religious sites – the Chudov monastery and the Ascension convent.

Archaeologists welcomed the opportunity to excavate the area where the first Muscovites were said to have settled in the mid-12th century. They were able to uncover over 2000 artefacts, among which is a stone casting mould with Moscow’s first-known Cyrillic writing. There were also layers uncovered that could be identified as evidence of fire in the city set by Mongol ruler Batu Khan in the 13th century his Golden Horde invaded Europe.

(after PhysOrg)