The Azov Museum of History, Archaeology and Palaeontology (russian: Азовский историко-археологический и палеонтологический музей-заповедник) in

Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mo ...

Rostov oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...

, is one of the largest museums in the south of Russia, particularly notable for its palaeontological collection.Museum.ru: M836 Азовский историко-археологический и палеонтологический музей-заповедник
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History

The museum was first opened on 17 May 1917 by the efforts of Mikhail Aronovich Makarovskiy and the town's civic society, and displayed small items given by the local population (old coins, postage stamps, bullets and so on), but was destroyed shortly afterwards in the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

. It was reopened in 1937 but the collections were lost during the occupation by German troops in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war the local people tried to revive the museum, but to do so took until 1960. The museum occupies the premises of the old town hall. It also administers the

Powder Cellar Museum The Powder Cellar Museum is a museum in the city of Azov, Rostov Oblast, Russia. It is a branch of the Azov Museum of History, Archaeology and Palaeontology. The place it occupies was recognized as a cultural monument of federal significance of ...

Exhibits

The palaeontological collection is of particular note, containing, among other specimens, skeletons of

deinotherium ''Deinotherium'' was a large elephant-like proboscidean that appeared in the Middle Miocene and survived until the Early Pleistocene. Although superficially resembling modern elephants, they had notably more flexible necks, limbs adapted to a mo ...

woolly rhinoceros The woolly rhinoceros (''Coelodonta antiquitatis'') is an extinct species of rhinoceros that was common throughout Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch and survived until the end of the last glacial period. The woolly rhinoceros was a me ...

elasmotherium ''Elasmotherium'' is an extinct genus of large rhinoceros endemic to Eurasia during Late Miocene through the Pleistocene, existing at least as late as 39,000 years ago in the Late Pleistocene. A more recent date of 26,000 BP is considered ...

and

steppe bison The steppe bisonSeveral literatures address the species as ''primeval bison''. or steppe wisent (''Bison'' ''priscus'')
– Y ...

. The museum also has two complete skeletons of

steppe mammoth The steppe mammoth (''Mammuthus trogontherii'', sometimes ''Mammuthus armeniacus'') is an extinct species of Elephantidae that ranged over most of northern Eurasia during the late Early and Middle Pleistocene, approximately 1.8 million-200,000 y ...

s, a male and a female. The skeleton of the male was found on 11 December 1964 near Azov in Kagalnitsky sand pit and was brought to the museum, but since it did not did have a paleontological laboratory and restoration specialists, assistance in the preservation of bones was provided by the workers of the Zoological Institute of the

Academy of Sciences of the USSR The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

. Vadim Evgenevich Garutt was engaged in conservation work. Restoration and production of missing bones took about ten years. After the restoration, in 1980 the whole skeleton was returned transported to the museum. In 1999, also in the Kagalnitsky quarry, the skeleton of a female steppe mammoth was found and excavated, and is also displayed in the paleontological collection.

Gallery

Steppe mammoth skeleton, Azov Museum (3).jpg, Steppe mammoth Steppe mammoth skeleton, Azov Museum (1).jpg, Steppe mammoth Steppe mammoth skeleton, Azov Museum (2).jpg, Steppe mammoth Steppe mammoth skeleton, Azov Museum (4).jpg, Steppe mammoth File:Deinotherium skeleton, Azov Museum (4).jpg, Deinotherium File:Woolly rhinoceros skull, Azov Museum.jpg, Woolly rhinoceros File:Elasmotherium skeleton, Azov Museum (2).jpg, Elasmotherium File:Steppe bison skeleton, Azov Museum.jpg, Steppe bison File:Various bones, Azov Museum.jpg, Bones (various species) File:Excavation site reconstruction, Azov Museum.jpg, Reconstruction of steppe mammoth excavation site File:Gorytos and sword sheath, Azov Museum.jpg,

Gorytos A gorytos ( grc, γωρυτός, la, gorytus) is a type of leather bow-case for a short composite bow used by the Scythians in classical antiquity. They are a combination of bow case and quiver in one, and are worn on the archer's left hip with ...

and sword sheath File:Venetian naval cannon, Azov Museum.jpg, Venetian naval cannon File:Mortar, Azov Museum (2).jpg, Mortar File:Cannon, Azov Museum (1).jpg, Cannon File:Cannon, Azov Museum (2).jpg, Cannon File:Cannon, Azov Museum (3).jpg, Cannon File:Turkish mortar, Azov Museum.jpg, Turkish mortar File:Gold plaques from horse cloak, Azov Museum.jpg, Gold plaques from

caparison A caparison is a cloth covering laid over a horse or other animal for protection and decoration. In modern times, they are used mainly in parades and for historical reenactments. A similar term is horse-trapper. The word is derived from the Lat ...

References

*''Музеи России (комплекс., ист., естественно-науч., техн., отраслевые)'': спpав. Ч. 4. М., 1993. p. 77 *Richagova, E.: ''Из глубины веков…'', in ''Азовская неделя'', 26 March 2015, p. 10 *Barannikova, A.: ''Музей для детей'', in ''Город N.'' 23 December 2014, p. 44 *Richagova, E.: ''Азовскому музею — 95'', in ''Азовская неделя'', 24 May 2012, pp. 1, 4 *Zekrach, М.: ''Хранитель истории'', in ''Приазовье'', 23 May 2012, p. 12 *Richagova, Е.: ''От городской управы до музея'', in ''Азовская неделя'', 18 May 2006, p. 1 *Semyonova, S. V.: ''Азовская диковина'', in ''Дон. временник'', 2009, pp. 146—148 *Felotova, Т. А.: ''Азов и его музей'', in ''Там же.'', 2007, pp. 59-62 *Boranova, G.: ''Визитная карточка Азова'', in ''Приазовье'', 16 May 2002, p. 4 *Kravtsova, Е. ''Хранители древностей'', in ''Новая азов. газ.'', 23 May 2002, p. 5 *Visavskaya, I.: ''Музей открыл миру Азов'', in ''Азовская неделя'', 16 May 2002, p. 1 *Gorvenko, А.: ''Азовский краеведческий'', in ''Приазовье'', 18 May 1996, p. 7 *Dik, N.: ''Сокровища кочевников Евразии: об экспозиции музея-заповедника'', in ''Азов'', 2010, No. 3 (October), p. 12-13 *Boranova, G.: ''Свидетель истории (история здания музея-заповедника)'', in ''Красное Приазовье'', 14 August 1984 *Visavskaya, I.: ''Музей открыл миру Азов'', in ''Азовская неделя'', 16 May 2002, p. 1

External links

Azov Museums website

Museum.ru - M836

Culture.ru - Institutes/11289
{{coord, 47.1117, 39.4236, type:landmark_region:RU, display=title Azov Museums in Rostov Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Rostov Oblast

History

Exhibits

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links