The National Geographic Russia editor in chief is talking with a Novgorod’s archeologist the medieval city streets. Not far away from them the local authorities and Moscow businessmen assess the tourist potential of different regions. And in a few steps from them there is an Irish historian discussing metal smelting methods with a colleague from Chelyabinsk. How could one gather them all together and captivate with one common idea?
Last Friday, on April the 6th, we’ve had an official presentation in Novgorod the Great. Now you will know who is in charge of the project and how it’s going to function.
The ‘Seven in the past’ project is a dream for everybody who loves history: seven people are to go to a 10th century farm where they will live using only technologies and things of the epoch. To realise this idea is a complicated task indeed, but it’s so amazing that lots of people gather around us not only from Russia, but from different countries. We’ve gathered our potential ‘project ambassadors’ in one place: those who are already involved in its organization and those who may become interested in it.
The ‘Seven in the past’ is only a beginning, and the first step on the ‘Way to Holmgard’ – an enormous project that we wish to realise in the Novgorod region. The ideologist of the project, the Historical Projects Agency «Ratobortsy» leader Alexey Ovcharenko told us about these plans.
‘The way to Holmgard’ is a series of festivals, media-projects and a historical park all in one. In this park we are going to recreate a medieval world of Holmgard (Novgorod), and each visitor will decide for himself how far into the Past he would like to go. That’s the adventure without a script or museum restrictions.
1. Station
2. Ancient Russia panoramas
3. Holmgard
4. Northern Wilderness
5. Dock
‘Seven in the past’, festivals and the historical park should become a Novgorod’s region tourism locomotive, the investment projects that would attract both spectators and business. That’s why the local authorities and the Russian Tourism Union support the ‘Way to Holmgard’.
The Novgorod history, the Viking Age and living history projects attract people from around the world. We already have a partnership agreement with a Norwegian company ‘Hands on history’, and our potential ‘Seven in the past’ participant Joseph Davis from Ireland came right for the ‘Way to Holmgard’ presentation. He delivered a speech on his interests in science that he plans to realise during the project.
A symbolic moment – the Novgorod archeologist Michael Petrov translated Joseph’s speech, so we see how international scientific contacts start to establish. Michael Ivanovich Petrov helps our Dmitry Sapozhnikov (Sapog) and Ded in their researches. Another famous science popularizer from Chelyabinsk, Ivan Semyan is going to help our project. He also has great hopes for the ‘Seven in the Past’, as a place for experimental archeology. Ivan is going to give consultations to the participants in metallurgy both before the project starts and on the farm itself. Probably he will have a chance to live there for a few weeks.
‘Seven in the past’ is interesting not only for scientists. The project is a mine of topics and subjects for the media. We have presented our partner in the media, the National Geographic Russia for the first time at the event. Indeed, the magazine itself and its pages in social networks will regularly post materials about the project. ‘For us it’s a unique possibility not only to write about the Ancient Rus, but also to make photos of it!’, has numerously underlined the editor in chief Andrey Palamarchuk.
After the official part the guests didn’t leave straight away. They have lots of things to discuss, and stayed for 1,5 hours at least. And it’s only the beginning!
Понравилось?