BELLS OF THE ANCIENT RUS AND THEIR FINDS ON THE TERRITORY OF CHERNIHIV-SIVERIAN REGION

The purpose of the article is to analyze the process of formation of the old Russian bell culture by analyzing special studies in the field of history, archeology, art history and campanology; to characterize the features of the manufacturing technology of bells and analyze their findings on the territory of Chernihiv-Siverian region. The research methodology is based on the principle of historicism, which allows to consider historical and cultural phenomena in dynamic development. The analysis and systematization of sources involves the use of historical, comparative, descriptive and classification methods. Scientific novelty. Based on the data collected on the findings of bells on the territory of the Chernihiv-Siverian region, attested their distribution in the region during the time of ancient Rus, at least from the 13th century. Conclusions. After the adoption of Christianity, bells became one of the main attributes of the church in ancient Rus. Other shock-signal instruments preceded their appearance – beat. Over time, bells began to prevail in church use. Initially, bells were brought from Germany, which was the largest center for their production in the 10th century. Over time, the first bells appeared, cast by ancient Russian masters. The development of ancient Russian bell production took place in line with pan-European trends. The first ancient Russian bells were small in size and weight, however, with the gradual improvement of the casting technique, the size of the bells increased and their shape changed. Among archaeological finds, bells are rare. This is due to the fragility of the alloy from which they were made. On the territory of the Chernihiv-Siverian region only six finds of ancient Russian bells are recorded today in Chernihiv, Liubech, Novhorod-Siversky and Vshchyzh.