Vladimir I. Zavyalov^1,*, Pavel S. Kireev^2,**, and Valentina S. Gavrilova^2,***

¹Institute of Archaeology RAS, Moscow, Russia
²Ryazan Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, Ryazan, Russia

*E-mail: v_zavyalov@list.ru
**E-mail: pazzlef@gmail.com
***E-mail: velanta13@yandex.ru

Keywords: gusli, musical instruments, Pereyaslavl Ryazansky, Vvedensky excavation site.

In July 2025, a unique find – a fragment of a gusli wing – was made during excavations at the Vvedensky excavation site in the Kremlin of Pereyaslavl Ryazansky (Ryazan). Until now, similar artifacts were known only from Novgorod and Staraya Russa. A distinctive feature of the Pereyaslavl instrument is its leather loop for hanging the gusli – a detail previously unseen on similar artifacts. The fragment retains four holes for tuning pegs and a shelf for the upper soundboard. The layer, which produced the artifact, can be dated to the late 14th to early 15th century based on the pottery material. It is noteworthy that a winged gusli is depicted on a silver plate bracelet from the Staraya Ryazan hoard of 1966. This discovery expands the distribution area of old Rus musical instruments.

DOI: 10.7868/S3034577426020138