Interesting pottery found in Novgorod

Last year, Russian archaeologists found two clay pots near Novgorod, in the so called Rurikovo Gorodishche (Roerik's settlement). The pots are dated by I century BCE. One of them, fully ornamented, is basically intact. Similar pottery was found earlier in Svyato-Yuriev and Varlaamo-Hutynski monasteries near Novgorod, but they were much more primitive than the last finds. These pots prove that the territory was inhabited in the earliest times.

Besides pottery, some other interesting finds were made there in 2006, like two seals, made of lead. They were used to seal documents.

During the exploration of Rurikovo Gorodishche, some strange and funny things were found. For example, in 2003, archaeologists found a monkey's skull. They think that the animal was brought to Novgorod in XII century and was an exotic gift to the family of knyaz.