The permanent exhibition “Relics from the Battle of Kulikovo” features an arrowhead with a tang. Such tangs were slid into the shaft and wrapped with a rope that had been soaked in glue. The rhombus-shaped body of the arrowhead is a flattened rhombus in cross section. The neck with concave shoulders has a flange. The tang is round in cross section, its diameter is 0.3 cm at the base. The arrowhead has been only partially preserved. According to its characteristics, the item dates to the period from the 9th to the 14th centuries, although this type of arrowheads was still used later, up to the second half of the 17th century.
This find was discovered in 1999 in excavations conducted by the military-historical unit of the Upper-Don archaeological expedition of the State Historical Museum led by Mikhail Ivanovich Gonyany, on site No. 5, in the area of the Green Oak Grove, to the south of the Monastyrshchino village, Kimovsky district, Tula Oblast. The State Museum-Reserve “Kulikovo Field” houses a replica made in 2003.
According to the chronicles, it was the Ambush regiment located in the Green Oak Grove that played a decisive role in the Battle of Kulikovo. When the entire army of Dmitry Ivanovich was surrounded and found itself in dire straits, the Ambush regiment that was hidden not far from the regiment of the Left Hand in the Green Oak Grove entered the battle under the command of Vladimir the Bold, prince of Serpuhov, and Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky. This episode is mentioned in the “Zadonshchina” and the “Tale of Mamai’s Defeat”. The entry of fresh Russian forces into the battle drastically changed the situation and caused panic amongst the Horde. Mamai’s armies fled, and Prince Vladimir of Serpukhov pursued the enemy until dark.
By the end of the 14th century, the Russian warlords had found effective ways of resisting nomadic steppe-style warfare. The Battle of Kulikovo proved that there were possibilities of finally liberating Russian lands from the yoke. The confrontation between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Mamai’s army ended in the defeat of the latter. Despite the tragic death of many Russian soldiers, the Battle of the Kulikovo has remained a symbol of a great victory, giving a powerful impetus to national self-consciousness and the creation of an all-Russian statehood with a center in Moscow.
This find was discovered in 1999 in excavations conducted by the military-historical unit of the Upper-Don archaeological expedition of the State Historical Museum led by Mikhail Ivanovich Gonyany, on site No. 5, in the area of the Green Oak Grove, to the south of the Monastyrshchino village, Kimovsky district, Tula Oblast. The State Museum-Reserve “Kulikovo Field” houses a replica made in 2003.
According to the chronicles, it was the Ambush regiment located in the Green Oak Grove that played a decisive role in the Battle of Kulikovo. When the entire army of Dmitry Ivanovich was surrounded and found itself in dire straits, the Ambush regiment that was hidden not far from the regiment of the Left Hand in the Green Oak Grove entered the battle under the command of Vladimir the Bold, prince of Serpuhov, and Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky. This episode is mentioned in the “Zadonshchina” and the “Tale of Mamai’s Defeat”. The entry of fresh Russian forces into the battle drastically changed the situation and caused panic amongst the Horde. Mamai’s armies fled, and Prince Vladimir of Serpukhov pursued the enemy until dark.
By the end of the 14th century, the Russian warlords had found effective ways of resisting nomadic steppe-style warfare. The Battle of Kulikovo proved that there were possibilities of finally liberating Russian lands from the yoke. The confrontation between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Mamai’s army ended in the defeat of the latter. Despite the tragic death of many Russian soldiers, the Battle of the Kulikovo has remained a symbol of a great victory, giving a powerful impetus to national self-consciousness and the creation of an all-Russian statehood with a center in Moscow.
