Древнерусские пломбы с территории средневековых Друцкого и Мстиславского княжеств

A.K. Bohush publishes 67 Ancient Rus' lead seals discovered in close proximity to the medieval settlement of Drutsk, within its adjacent territory, as well as 43 seals found nearby in the Mscislau, Drybin, and Cherykau districts of the Mahiliou region, on the lands of the medieval Mscislau principality, which was part of the Smolensk land.

Due to its geographic location, the principality of Drutsk was at the crossroads of water trade routes linking the Polatsk and Viciebsk regions of the Western Dvina with the Orsha region of the Dnieper. The most convenient and shortest route from Polatsk to Kyiv followed the rivers Western Dvina–Ulla–Usveyka–(portage)–Malinovka–Drut–Dnieper. The northern section of the major “Varangians to Greeks” route also passed through Drutsk, via the Western Dvina–Lucessa–Obolyanka–(portage)–Krivaya–Drut–Dnieper.

Additional, shorter routes from the Western Dvina through Viciebsk to the Dnieper included one toward Orsha via the rivers Lucessa–Lake Zelenoye–Uzmenka–(portage)–Lake Orekhovskoye–Orshanka–Dnieper, and another toward Dubrouna via Lake Zelenoye–Verkhita–(portage)–Tukhinka–Dnieper. A separate waterway connected Drutsk with Smolensk via the rivers Krivaya–(portage)–Sokolanka–Adrov–Dnieper (near Orsha).

These water trade routes, especially at complex and crucial points such as portages, required specialized maintenance. The author analyzes the distribution of Ancient Rus' seals along each of these portages, as well as the seals' dating and attribution.