Vishnu
idol found during excavation in Russian town
PTI
| January 04, 2007 | 10:52 IST
An ancient Vishnu idol has been found during excavation in an
old village in Russia's Volga region, raising questions about
the prevalent view on the origin of ancient Russia.
The
idol found in Staraya (old) Maina village dates back to VII-X
century AD.
Staraya
Maina village in Ulyanovsk region was a highly populated city
1700 years ago, much older than Kiev, so far believed to be the
mother of all Russian cities.
"We
may consider it incredible, but we have ground to assert that
Middle-Volga region was the original land of Ancient Rus. This
is a hypothesis, but a hypothesis, which requires thorough research,"
Reader of Ulyanovsk State University's archaeology department
Dr Alexander Kozhevin told state-run television Vesti.
Dr
Kozhevin, who has been working in Staraya Maina for last seven
years, said that every single square metre of the surroundings
of the ancient town situated on the banks of Samara, a tributary
of Volga, is studded with antiques.
Prior
to unearthing of the Vishnu idol, Dr Kozhevin has already found
ancient coins, pendants, rings and fragments of weapons.
He
believes that today's Staraya Maina, a town of eight thousand,
was ten times more populated in the ancient times.
It
is from here that people started migrating to the Don and Dneiper
rivers around the time ancient Russy built the city of Kiev, now
the capital of Ukraine.
An
international conference is being organised later this year to
study the legacy of the ancient village, which can radically change
the history of ancient Russia.
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