Despite the fact that the history of Archaeologist's Day is not connected with any events and discoveries, and the holiday itself is neither state nor national, archaeologists from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine celebrate their professional holiday on August 15. By the way, in Ukraine it received state status in 2008, according to the presidential decree №694/2008.
There are several versions of the history of the origin of this holiday. According to one of them, the tradition of celebrating Archeologist Day on August 15 developed in Russia in the 1930‑s on the initiative of Professor Vladislav Ravdonikas, who from 1934 to 1959 led an expedition to excavate the settlement of «Staraya Ladoga» in the vicinity of Leningrad (St. PETERSBURG). According to legend, the expedition had a strict — rule to celebrate only serious dates and holidays. When no reason was found, telegrams were sent to other expeditions: «Congratulations on Archaeologist's Day».
According to another version, the holiday originated in the Novgorod expedition in the early 1940s, when, during excavations on August 15, students of ‑archaeologists wanted to relax. They came to the leader of the expedition, Artsikhovsky, and stated that today is a big holiday — the birthday of Bucephalus, the horse of Alexander the Great, and it should be celebrated. The holiday was celebrated as expected, and then the occasion was forgotten, and Bucephalus’s birthday became Archaeologist’s Day.
Many archaeologists believe that the date of the holiday is connected with the birthday of the outstanding scientist Tatyana Passek (1903-1968), which was initially widely celebrated only on her own expedition, and then the celebration of August 15 gradually passed to others.
Archaeology — (from the Greek archaios — ancient and logos — teaching) — science of antiquities, study of the life and culture of ancient peoples from extant material monuments. This is a completely separate science. All historical events are established either from written sources or from archeological data. There are very few written messages left, and sometimes there is more household material — than you can imagine.
Among the famous archaeological discoveries — are the ruins of the temple of Artemis of Ephesus — one of the seven wonders of the world of the ancient world; the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt; sarcophagi in the Valley of the Kings; remains of the legendary Labyrinth — of the Minotaur Palace; a treasure of the 13th century belonging to the Zapotec people; Kul-Oba mound; Chinese «Terracotta Army»; mummy of a woman buried around 2600 BC; Australopithecus Lucy...
In Russia, archeology began to develop from the era of Peter I, who in 1714 issued a decree that «everyone collect various antiquities in places». In the same year, the first Russian state public museum, — Kunstkamera, was founded in St. Petersburg, for which ancient finds were collected. Excavations of the mounds began for research purposes, and restoration of individual monuments was carried out.
In the mid-19th century, the Saint Petersburg Archaeological-Numismatic Society was founded in Saint Petersburg. It was headed by the President of the Academy of Arts, Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, who had experience in independent archaeological excavations in Egypt. In its first phase, the society limited itself to classical archaeology and modern numismatics, mainly from Western countries. In 1849, the society was renamed the «Imperial Archaeological Society», and in 1924 it became part of the Academy of the History of Material Culture.
An important event in the development of archaeological research in Russia was the founding of the Imperial Archaeological Commission by Count S.G. Stroganov on the basis of the Commission for the Investigation of Antiquities. In 1859, Emperor Alexander II approved the regulations on the Imperial Archaeological Commission, marking the beginning of the first state institution of Russian archeology. After the revolution of 1917, the Commission was reorganized into the Institute of the History of Material Culture, which later merged with the Academy of Sciences.
In recent years, interest in the history of the Fatherland has been revived in Russia, and many manuals and monographs on this topic have been published. But it is safe to say that almost none of them would be scientifically substantiated without archaeological data. Every summer, new field seasons open in all corners of Russia.
The holiday itself, Archaeologist's Day, like many other professional holidays, has its own traditions. One of them is associated with the holding of a traditional archaeological event (the scenarios of which are very diverse) — Initiations into archaeologists of beginners, after passing which they are considered accepted into the ranks of the professional brethren, from «archaeoluchs» becoming real archaeologists.
Postcard «August 15 — Archaeologist's Day» Story «It's too early to write us off»