The first birch bark manuscripts of the current excavation season found in Veliky Novgorod

«The archaeologists made a number of important findings during the first days of works at the Troitskiy excavation site, including three birch bark manuscripts, which got corresponding numbers 1103, 1104, and 1105. Layers of the last quarter of the XIIth century are currently being worked on,» the source said. The press service added that one of the manuscripts was preserved in its entirety, while the other two are just fragments. Experts now decipher the texts of the birch bark manuscripts. «The manuscript #1105 pertains to some court case. The author states his intention to complain about his addressee to the prince, if the former does not adhere to the author’s conditions. The text is written in very clear, neat handwriting, on the outside of the bark,» the museum said.