Vishnu idol found during excavation in Russian town
**PTI | January 04, 2007 | 10:52 IST
An ancient Vishnu idol has been found during excavation in an old
village in
Russia's Volga region, raising questions about the prevalent view on
the
origin of ancient Russia.
The idol found in Staraya (old) Maina village dates back to VII-X
century
AD.
Staraya Maina village in Ulyanovsk region was a highly populated city
1700
years ago, much older than Kiev, so far believed to be the mother of
all
Russian cities.
"We may consider it incredible, but we have ground to assert that
Middle-Volga region was the original land of Ancient Rus. This is a
hypothesis, but a hypothesis, which requires thorough research,"
Reader of
Ulyanovsk State University's archaeology department Dr Alexander
Kozhevin
told state-run television Vesti.
Dr Kozhevin, who has been working in Staraya Maina for last seven
years,
said that every single square metre of the surroundings of the
ancient town
situated on the banks of Samara, a tributary of Volga, is studded with
antiques.
Prior to unearthing of the Vishnu idol, Dr Kozhevin has already found
ancient coins, pendants, rings and fragments of weapons.
He believes that today's Staraya Maina, a town of eight thousand, was
ten
times more populated in the ancient times.
It is from here that people started migrating to the Don and Dneiper
rivers
around the time ancient Russy built the city of Kiev, now the capital
of
Ukraine.
An international conference is being organised later this year to
study the
legacy of the ancient village, which can radically change the history
of
ancient Russia.
http://in.rediff.com/news/2007/jan/04russia.htm
Mirror:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ancient_Vishnu_idol_found_in_Russia
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