A 17th century white-stone bridge found in Slavyanskaya Square

An old stone and brick bridge has been found in Moscow. It was mentioned in a document dating back 400 years. It was found by workers repairing water pipes under Slavyanskaya Square. Archeologists who took part in the project saw unusual stonework at a depth of over two metres, which turned out to be the foundation and a brick arch of a white-stone bridge dating back to the 17^th century. The bridge was considered lost for a long time. The length of the discovered section was 17 metres and the height 1.5 metres. The arch had survived the best.

“It took several days to clean, examine and study the ancient bridge. Two halves of the bricks were taken from the upper layer of the stonework. Each brick is 14.5 centimetres wide and 7.4-7.8 centimetres tall. The bricks had markings: the letters P and D. Experts established the approximate date as being around the third quarter of the 17^th century,” said Head of the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage Alexei Yemelyanov.

He also said that after the archeologists examined and described the finding, and took samples, the bridge was again covered with soil.

“The bridge structure has become very fragile over several centuries. Moreover, it was severely damaged by utility lines that were buried here during Soviet times. Now the bridge will be conserved naturally. All received information will be put on the archeological map of Moscow,” Yemelyanov said.

The bridge led to the gate of the Varvarskaya Tower of the Kitai-Gorod Wall. Its first wooden prototype was built together with a defensive wall upon the order of Yelena Glinskaya, mother of Ivan the Terrible (the construction took place from 1535 to 1538 - mos.ru). This wall was supposed to protect Moscow’s centre from enemy invasions. The wall was able to even withstand artillery fire.

The length of the Kitai-Gorod Wall was over 2,500 metres. It was surrounded by a moat filled with water. The wall comprised 12 towers; several of them had gates (including the Varvarskiye Gate) that were opened so that people could enter Moscow. Bridges led to the towers across the moat. Even though the bridges were initially constructed from wood, in the 17^th century they were rebuilt of stone. Thus, a document dating back to 1646 says that a “new white-stone byk (bridge) was constructed” leading to the Varvarskaya Tower. This is the only documented mention of the bridge.

The bricks found in the stonework are from a more recent period. Archeologists assume that the bridge had been repeatedly repaired.

The bridge was used to enter the centre of Moscow until the 1920s. During the reign of Alexander I, the moat under the Kitai-Gorod Wall was filled up with earth, the earth ramparts and bastions destroyed, and the wall itself was no longer perceived as a defensive structure. The surface of the contemporary Slavyanskaya Square was leveled and the remains of the bridge ended up underground.

In May, the remains of the moat surrounding the Kitai-Gorod Wall were found during sewage works. Many recent archeological discoveries in Moscow are connected with this wall. In squares and streets where the wall goes, renovation work is underway in accordance with the My Street programme. Near Lubyanka and Novaya squares fragments from the wall have been found recently, as well as secret chambers used by defenders of Moscow in the 16^th century to listen to the enemy on the other side of the wall.

All renovation work under the My Street programme from March to September involves archeological monitoring. So far over a thousand artefacts have been discovered in recent years.