Moscow Kremlin reveals its secrets. On Thursday, a new guided tour called "The ancient Kremlin and the Holy Abode" was opened. The uniqueness of this tour is that a part of the exhibition is under the ground, and the ancient artifacts can only be seen through the so-called museum windows, mounted directly into the paving of the Ivanovskaya Square in the Kremlin. Anastasia Sakhovskaya was among the first ones to get acquainted with the archaeological museum in the open air.

Every view would look good on a postcard. Panoramas of the Moscow Kremlin drive millions of tourists crazy. But now you can not only look around, but also observe under your feet how the Russian state emerged. Here, on the Borovitsky Hill, the oldest and still the least known one. Only now it reveals its underground secrets to the archaeologists, which, in their turn, are ready to open up for tourists a window into history.

Such an expression as "archaeological window" really exists. Even the beams are made of glass in order not to conceal the view. They are so transparent that the dazzling white and the blinding gold of the Kremlin cathedrals can be seen through them. The beam looks weightless, but this impression is deceptive. This big and durable load is lifted by an automatic crane. "The height of this beam is 5.5 meters. The weight of the beam is 300 kilograms. It consists of five panes. Glass will be put on these beams so that visitors can see all the magnificence of the opened fundament".

During several days this sarcophagus for the antiquities of the XIV century was painstakingly assembled with the help of XXI century technology. The glass has several layers. The upper one protects from scratches and damage. It is very thick, but all the excavations at the depth of five meters are in full view. This absolutely transparent 112 mm thick glass allows to see the presented exposition without any distortions and refractions.

The construction is very safe for both excavation works and tourists. One can and should easily walk on this glass. It was tested many times at the Moscow Region factory, where, for example, windshields for fighter aircraft are made. Here, the glass for the Kremlin went through serious hardening in the oven at the temperature of 650 degrees, and then was checked for transparency, hermetic state, and, of course, its strength.

"This is an experiment sample of the glass for the Kremlin. It has one layer, and there will be four of these. And this is the most vivid and simple test of its strength. This sledgehammer weighs 4 kilograms". And this is a professional test to determine the tensile strength. It is carried out in a closed chamber with a hydraulic piston. It turned out that the beam can withstand the pressure of up to 1,200 atmospheres. It is clear that there will be no such pressure in real-life conditions. They also simulate a situation of 40 people standing on the glass. Test engineers put measuring sandbags on a special platform, like on the scales. Each one of them weights 50 kilograms, and they hang them on the same glass beam as well.

"We saw, that it could withstand four tons, and moved on. Now the load is 6 tons, and we are planning to increase it up to 10 tons so that the excursions can be easily held, and people on wheelchairs can go on top of the glass to see the exposition in perfect safety. We are sure of that". The glass went through this test with perfect results, and its shine will not fade away in any weather. For the archaeological windows to be opened all year round, the glass has a heating system and is also tested with a thermal imager. The bright red color means, that the snow will melt and the rain will evaporate from the top of the glass, and inside, there will be no condensation. Most importantly, the temperature and humidity conditions, as archaeologists say, will be maintained. The stone will not dampen, and the sarcophagus will carefully preserve the precious findings.



"The temperature of the pits is +5. This will ensure its proper functioning. Moreover, it will be possible to carry out further research in these pits. There is a lot to explore". The chronicle of the Kremlin hill, which now has new lines engraved on limestone slabs and monastery tombstones, which ancient foundations turned out to be made of, is particularly visible under the glass in the evening, when the colorful lights are on. "The plate of Pavel Rodionov, servant of the Chudov monastery. This is the first plate which actually displays the name of the Chudov monastery. It is a great finding for us, of course".

The Chudov monastery, a place of Russian enlightenment, a spiritual center of the country, was founded in the XIV century. The Small Nicholas Palace was the official Moscow residence of the royal family, and there is a gorgeous monument of Catherine II. Not only on the photos can we see where the ancient Kremlin area was located. In 1929 it was destroyed to build a faceless administrative building instead. Only after its demolition, which was done at Vladimir Putin's disposal, it became possible to look into the depth of the centuries and start some sort of a time machine, a new guided tour into the past, also developed at the request of the President.

The tour includes a visit not only to this area, but also to an exhibition dedicated to the Monastery of Ascension and the Chapel of St.Varus, where the relics of Saint Euphrosyne are stored, and the exhibitions… In the basement of the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the tourists will be able to discover the Kremlin treasures: jewelry of the pre-Mongol era, where headwear symbolized the sky, pendants — rain streams, and necklaces with beetles — the earth and fertility. The relics from the Monastery of Ascension, which was also demolished after the Revolution, are exhibited in the outbuilding of the Cathedral of the Archangel. Finally, the tourists will find themselves on the Ivanovskaya Square, which was previously closed for sightseeing. "I would say that the whole Kremlin's space is being rethought. It has opened its doors for the visitors. And if we add the fact that the visitors and participants of the tour will now go through the Spassky Gate, that means down the ancient Spasskaya Street, they will get a complete view of the Kremlin's monastic history".

But archaeologists have dug deeper, to the base of Moscow. All that was found is now being examined. Afterward it will be displayed. A new archaeological exhibition is pending within three years, a concept is already in place. In the Kremlin, an underground area will be added to the open-air museum.