Cultural treasure uncovered: Ukrainian man discovers medieval Easter egg in his garden

A local of the village of Drevyny, Volyn region, discovered a clay "pysanka" — a decorated Ukrainian Easter egg dated the XI-XII centuries.

The find was handed over to the local history museum, Rubryka reports.

The Volyn Museum of Local Lore said that the egg is covered with ceramic glazed and ornaments on the outside, and inside, it has a rattle — a musical instrument.

The age of the "pysanka" was estimated by analogy with similarly painted eggs, which were already found in the west of Ukraine. For example, in 2013, a similar thousand-year-old Easter egg with a similar pattern was found in the Rivne region.

Taras Verba, head of the ancient history department of the Volyn Museum of Local Lore, told ZAXID.NET that the "pysanka" was discovered in the garden by a local, Oleksandr Mishchuk, during farming.

The man noticed an unusual clay egg, which was probably washed from the ground by rain. Oleksandr consulted with a local historian he knew, who advised him to contact the museum.

Museum specialists examined the egg and determined that it was an ancient medieval artifact.

"The 'pysanka' is smaller than an ordinary chicken egg, and its length is 4.5 centimeters," Taras Verba said. "There is a clay or stone beater in the egg cavity. Most likely, the product was not a toy or an ordinary household item. It is probably connected with religion."

According to Verba, the price of such Easter eggs on the black market is relatively high. The man who gave the valuable exhibit to the museum for free did the institution a great service. Soon, the "pysanka" will become part of a new exhibition.

Rubryka reported that the Government of Canada will allocate funds to complete the second phase of the Holodomor Museum in Ukraine. The international aid cannot be spent on military needs.

Ukraine's National History Museum received confiscated silver ornaments of the ancient Slavs of the 8th century for safekeeping. The treasure was found by a so-called "black archaeologist" and illegally sold through an online auction at the beginning of the summer.