Unique graffiti was found in the Transfiguration Church in Polotsk. One of the inscriptions is sensational. The Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus posted such information on its website, BelTA reports.

The Transfiguration Church of Polotsk opens new pages of the ancient history of Belarus. The temple is not only a unique monument of ancient architecture, but also a real "library" of ancient graffiti inscriptions. They date back to the XII-XIX centuries, and their number has reached four thousand. In April, as a result of restoration work on the northern door of the temple, a fragment of the wall was cleared, on which new graffiti was found.

The memorial record in five lines measuring 17x6.5 cm was read by the leading specialist of the Center for the History of Science and Archival Affairs, Associate Professor Inna Kalechits.

Graffiti was made in the 12th century, as evidenced by paleographic data. The person who left the inscription was used to writing. He scratched the graffiti with a confident hand, albeit somewhat expressively, some lines several times. Perhaps he was shocked by the death of the priest. The titles that the graffiti author puts above abbreviated words differ in spelling: for words expressing holiness, he uses straight titles with dashes, for simple words and numbers - corners.

A rather brief memorial inscription, in fact, unfolds the biography of a man who came from Byzantium and was most likely a builder or a master of fresco painting. After working in churches in Polotsk and possibly participating in the construction or painting of the Church of the Savior, he stayed in the city, accepted the priesthood, became a priest in the Church of the Savior and died on March 1.

Thus, thanks to the study of ancient graffiti, the name of another person became known, the master and priest Avdakim, who lived in the time of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk and who can be put on a par with the famous architect John and the equally famous master Lazar Bogsha. The names of the icon painter Kuzma and the builder Savva, as well as the priests and abbesses of the monastery, who are not mentioned in other written monuments, are also known from the graffiti of the Transfiguration Church
According to the materials belta.by