Thanks to the director of the Vytautas Military Museum, Rita Malinauskienė, the team of the project “Tiahyn Fortress as stronghold of the European history of the Ukrainian south” had the unique opportunity to learn about the experience of research and restoration of artefacts during their stay in Lithuania. The team visited leading laboratories, got acquainted with modern technologies for research, restoration, and conservation of archeological objects made of various materials – wood, fabric, metal, paper and even bread (Lithuanians kept in Soviet camps used to make rosaries from bread, and these are very valuable historical artefacts).
The head of the Southern Medieval Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences Svitlana Bilyaeva and the expedition manager Natalia Bimbirayte were primarily interested in determining the age of the materials from the excavations in Tiahyn, as well as in finding partners for the restoration and conservation of the finds. In particular, the mace found in 2021 in Tiahyn needs restoration, as the mace is poorly preserved due to the peculiarities of the soil in which it was found.
The Lithuanian colleagues who first heard about the archaeological finds in Tiahyn were really impressed by their historical value, so these meetings were a good start for further professional cooperation.
