On the State of Museum and Reserve Collection Work in the National Historical and Archeological Reserve «Olbia»
Abstract
The paper is devoted to a brief overview of the history of the archaeological collection forming, which is stored in the Scientific Reserve Collections and the Museum of the National Historical and Archeological Reserve «Olbia» (NIAZ) of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The main reasons for the creation of a storage facility and a museum at the excavations site are analyzed. The formation of the own repository in the reserve «Olbia» began in 1935. From the very beginning, the repository has been forming on the principle of forming the complex archaeological collections with mass archaeological material. Most probably, the museum was established in Olbia at the same time with the reserve collections depository, approximately in 1941. Even though a large part of the archaeological collections of the 30s-70s is stored in the reserve repository, there were no clear requirements for their conveying by the relevant deeds, and the status of the reserve collections as the repository of the archaeological collections containing mass materials was not determined. At present, only the inventories describing archaeological findings have remained of the old collection documentation.
Starting from 1981, almost all archaeological materials found during the excavations of the Olbian Archeological Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (IA NASU) are conveyed for permanent conservation to the NIAZ «Olbia» by the deeds of conveyance and with the corresponding collection descriptions.
As of today, the archaeological collection of the reserve includes 131474 specimens of storage, 465 of which are on a permanent exhibition of the Museum of Ceramics, about 1000 specimens are exhibited in the lapidarium, another 68 specimens were conveyed for permanent exhibition to the Mykolaiv Regional Museum of Local Lore «Staroflotski Barracks» with which NIAZ maintains a long-standing and close relations. Thanks to the excavations of the Olbian Archeological Expedition of the IA NASU, the Scientific Reserve Collections of the NIAZ «Olbia» are annually broadened with new findings, just as mass so presentable or exhibitional.
Due to the lack of necessary storage conditions and, premises, that would meet the modern conditions of archaeological materials storage in general, the NIAZ «Olbia» Scientific Reserve Collections, as well as the Museum of Ceramics, still cannot provide the necessary temperature and humidity regime, and certain findings such as numismatic materials, as well as certain categories of metal productions, are taken out and conveyed by the corresponding deeds for permanent storage to the Scientific Reserve Collections of the IA NASU.
The extremely limited exhibition area of the NIAZ «Olbia» Museum of Ceramics does not allow creating such an exposition, which would fully characterize all aspects of the life of ancient Olbia during the thousand-year period of its existence. Therefore, the current exposition of the Museum of Ceramics in the NIAZ presents only certain thematic areas, such as the earliest imports to Olbia, the main types of incoming utensils of pre-Roman and Roman times, the findings from the necropolis, the utility nook with the main types of moulded utensils, pottery and the main kinds of local and general handicraft production.
Temporary exhibitions are periodically held in the round hall of the museum to demonstrate at least a small part of new specimens.
Over the last ten years, in the NIAZ «Olbia» a new exposition has been created and the old exposition has been essentially changed in the lapidarium.
The materials of the archaeological collections stored in the repository are the part of the Museum Reserve Collection and the National Heritage of Ukraine. And the activity of the employees of the repository is aimed at preservation, systematization, cataloging, and studying of certain groups of archaeological materials, and constant monitoring of their state.
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