Conclusions of the XII Bolgar Archaeological School

From August 12 to 25, 2025, the XII Bolgar International Archaeological School was held at the Bolgar ancient settlement. The project was organized by: the Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, the Bolgar State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, and the International Institute for Central Asian Studies (Samarkand, Republic of Uzbekistan), with the support of the “History of the Fatherland” Foundation.

On August 24, a conference to summarize the results of the event was held at the Memorial Sign of the museum-reserve. Participants presented reports on their scientific activities and work in their chosen fields. The event concluded with a certificate award ceremony.

The school brought together 80 participants: students, postgraduate students, and young scientists and specialists from 24 regions of Russia and 5 foreign countries (Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan).

This year, the primary focus was on mastering the fundamental skills of restoring archaeological artifacts made from various materials: ceramics, stone, birch bark, bone, and metal. The participants attended a series of lectures and completed numerous practical assignments, including those of an experimental nature. Special attention was paid to field conservation, restoration, and the reconstruction of paleoanthropological material.

The lecturers were leading specialists from the State Hermitage Museum, the State Research Institute for Restoration (GOSNIIR), the Kunstkamera Museum, the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology at Lomonosov Moscow State University, the N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences.