Happy New Age!

Archaeological excavations are scheduled in Lida to clarify the date of the founding of the city

The rich and complex history of this city today is evidenced by the high walls and impregnable towers of the castle. The district centre will celebrate its 700th anniversary next year. Surprisingly, only 43 years ago, it celebrated… the sixth anniversary on a grand scale. The city made an incredible leap in time thanks to the perseverance of researchers who proved and disputed the new date of its foundation. However, it is possible that in the very near future Lida will again change the number in its birth certificate.

Photo by Aleksandr Kulevsky

Testament of the Grand Duke

There are two explanations of the appearance of the name of the city: beautiful and realistic. According to the first, the settlement bears the name of the daughter of the Grand Duke Gedimin Lida, who, in order to avoid an unwanted marriage, jumped into the river from the window of the castle. Unfortunately, historians have not found confirmation that such a character actually existed. Therefore, the second theory has come to the fore today: most likely, the original name of the city sounded like ‘lyada’, which in Old Belarusian means an area on the site of an uprooted forest.
If the researchers were able to come to a common opinion on this issue, then the date of the founding of Lida is still shrouded in mystery and is the subject of scientific disputes. A few decades ago, it was believed that it was formed as a city in 1380 — it was this year that the deed to Lida to Voidyla, the servant of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jagiello, was allegedly dated, and 1323 was the date of the start of the construction of the castle, near the walls of which its builders settled, gradually building the local cartography: streets, houses, shops, workshops and market square. But later, the testament of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gedimin became the basis for determining the time of the appearance of the settlement. In it, he left the right to manage Lida to his son Narimunt. Lida is going to celebrate the 700th anniversary of this event this year.

Night of Museums at Lida Castle, May 2022
Photo by BELTA


Nonetheless, there is another date that today excites the minds of historians and inspires hope that this city was born at least in the same century as Moscow, Grodno, Tula... A number of world encyclopaedias designate 1180 as the year Lida was founded — in particular, it is indicated in the fundamental work on the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by the scientist Teodor Narbutt. There is also an opinion that during excavations conducted by archaeologists from Vilna University 100 years ago, women’s jewellery and utensils dating back to the 9th-10th centuries were found, but due to political upheavals, reports about this were sent either to Poland or Lithuania. Many archives were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. For a long time, historians tried to find them, but to no avail. And only in our days there is hope for establishing the true age of the city.



Director of the Lida Historical and Art Museum Olga Lukyan, 
“Due to the fact that in order to change the date of the founding of the city, artefacts must be in our hands, the Chairman of the Lida Distrtict Executive Committee Sergei Lozhechnik took the initiative to conduct archaeological excavations in the anniversary year. This is all the more important, since archaeological excavations have never been carried out on the territory of Lida, they were carried out exclusively within the boundaries of the Lida Castle on an area of less than a hectare. Now we are planning to lay temporary pits to find the deepest cultural deposit. Places have already been identified in the area of the city park.”

The spear keeps a secret

By the way, the regional authorities plan to make this excavation another tourist attraction. Visitors will be able to watch the work of archaeologists, and if they are lucky, they will also witness a historical event: the discovery of a unique artefact that will allow the date of the founding of the city to be postponed for the third time in half a century. And who knows, maybe not one, but as much as two or three centuries ago...
In addition, optimism is inspired by the surviving reports on the study of the cultural layer on the territory of the Lida Castle in the 70-80s of the last century. It lists many unique items that could become an important part of the exposition of any museum. One-piece ceramic dishes of the 14th century, copies of tiles and much more. Now enthusiasts are looking for participants in those excavations to document their memories.
Historians are also ready for the fact that future research will bring not only new discoveries, but also new mysteries. Like, for example, a silver tip on a Viking spear of the 9th-10th centuries, found near the walls of the Lida Castle. Where could an artefact that belonged to a northern warrior come from here? So far, there is no definitive answer to this question. Nevertheless, each such find is an element of a large canvas on which the history of ancient Lida is written. Apparently, quite a bit of time will pass — and it will sparkle with new colours.

Lida. Suvalskaya Street, 1930
Photo: www.radzima.org

Wander around the Zamkovaya

Preparations are underway for the creation of a pedestrian street in Lida.
It is planned that already this year the townspeople and guests of the city will be able to enjoy a walk along the most ancient street of the city — Zamkovaya. It is located on the northwestern side of the Lida Castle, it has ten buildings, five of which are of historical value. This street has a rich history. Long before the construction of the castle, a road passed between the Kamenka River and Lideika River, connecting the territories inhabited by Lithuanians and Slavs. Prince Gedimin placed the castle on the road from the new capital, Vilna, to the former, Novogrudok. Along this road, residential buildings were laid for the builders of the castle, and a street was formed, which was called Zamkovaya.

By Katerina Charovskaya