Ust-Sheksna Archaeological Site

It stands on the site of a large trade and craft settlement of the XI-XVI centuries, which was the predecessor of Rybinsk.

A Stone Age parking lot has been found in the historical center of the city. The oldest settlement at the confluence of the Sheksna with the Volga was called Ust-Sheksna. The first chronicle mention is associated with the Rostov uprising of 1071: Yan Vyshatich "stasha on Ust-Sheksny" for the trial and punishment of the rebellious Magi. Excavations have revealed traces of an extensive trade and craft settlement at the beginning of the XI century (an area of over 30 hectares) with products of Byzantine and Scandinavian origin, an abundance of Arab dirhams. Obviously, there was a major point of the Volga trade route on the site of the modern city. The seal of Igor Yaroslavich was also found.

Since 1991, archaeological security excavations have been conducted here by the forces of the Rybinsk archaeological expedition. In 2005, a watchtower with a stockade was built here, in which the first stage of the interactive archaeological museum was opened. In 2006, a memorial sign was erected, which is an image of an ancient Russian warrior.

Presumably, the settlement of lands in the area of present-day Rybinsk dates back to the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. The Christianization of the Russian north took place in the direction of the Volga–Sheksna watershed, and then went higher – to Beloozer and the White Sea.

Graffiti inscriptions, book clasps, and writings found by archaeologists attest to the literacy of the population. The townspeople were also quite wealthy. This is indicated by objects with gilding and enamel. The professionalism of the soldiers who defended the city can be judged by the finds of armor (fragments of plate armor and chain mail were found) and weapons (battle axes: hammers and axes, spears, sulits, tassels, "garlic").

Fragments of building complexes are located in the southern part of the archaeological monument: palisades, 5 log buildings, a boardwalk courtyard. It was possible to restore the plan of several buildings, other buildings were reconstructed based on the spots of filling of baking pits, underground pits, and ruins of furnaces. The remains of fifteen buildings have been found on an area of almost 700 square meters. They were placed in the appropriate building levels. The main type of buildings of the ancient settlement are ground houses. There were adobe hearth furnaces in residential buildings. There are large houses and two-chamber buildings.

The layout of the central part of the settlement is in several rows, located parallel to the Sheksna. Traces of fences have been found between the estates: until the middle of the 12th century, wattle fences were characteristic here, then palisades, including double ones. In the northern part of the archaeological site, the structures can only be guessed from the continental pits, clusters of ceramic fragments and individual finds.

Of interest are floor tiles and fragments of roughly shaped bricks. The presence of these "urban features" confirms the high status of this settlement.

Ust-Sheksna's decline occurred in the 14th-15th centuries. This was facilitated by the "Tatar-Mongol" invasion and plague epidemics. In the 14th century, the northern and in the 15th century, the central part of the city was lost. But the settlement did not fade away: according to the sources of the 17th century, it is described as the administrative center of the inheritance of the Shekhon princes with commercial and customs functions.