A New Reading of the Inscriptions on the Handles of the Nominal Knives Found on the Sims Bay Shores

Abstract

Purpose. The article presents a new reading of the inscriptions on two nominal knives found on the coast of Sims Bay in the Laptev Sea. The results of the reading are differs from the readings of paleographers and researchers published earlier. It was possible to give a correct reading of these inscriptions due to the use of the non-contact 3D modeling method developed by the RSSDA Laboratory and used in the Code of Russian Inscriptions (CRI).Results. The reading of the inscriptions on the nominal knives proposed by the authors of this article made it possible to establish their belonging to Gury (baptismal name) – Akaky (prayer? name) Ivanov's son Karzyaev, the likely head of the commercial and industrial expedition in the 20s of the 17th century. The site of polar sailors of the 17th century in the Sims Bay is located in 70 km to the west from the Thaddeus the North island, where in 1940 members of the hydrographic detachment of the East Taimyr hydrographic expedition found similar finds, including 8 other knives. Unfortunately, these knives have only partially preserved handles, and most turned out to be represented only by blades. Inscriptions filled with Slavic script could be found only on two knives from a hut in Sims Bay.Conclusion. According to the official version, both finds belong to the members of the Russian trade and industrial expedition in the 17th century. The rich composition of the archaeological artifacts collected at these two locations makes this site of Russian culture of the 17th century unique.