Tauric Chersonesos has won a grant of Rinat Akhmetov’s Foundation for Development of Ukraine in direction of „Cultural Heritage”, programme „і [idea – impuls – innovation]”, presenting a project “Museumification of archaeological monuments: innovation methods in creating open air exposition in Chersonesos”. The programme „і [idea – impulse – innovation]”, according to conception of the Foundation, is an impulse for a good idea that together would lead to innovation.

The project is aimed to create a new exposition object on the territory of the Preserve – the city quarter with five-apsed church uncovered by excavations of the Ukrainian-Polish expedition directed by E.Yu. Klenina and A.B. Biernacki in 2001–2003. The project planned to be realized using innovation methods and modern technologies of museum studies is intended to fulfil two main tasks: preserving of archaeological remains of the unique object and its exhibiting with subsequent inclusion in the tourist route round Chersonesos.

Activities planned in the project are as follows: to restore and conserve architectural remains on the territory of the quarter with the five-apsed church; to design, make, and install boards with information on objects of the quarter including their plan and three-dimensional reconstruction; construct a sightseeng platform and a ladder leading to it, and to install an information board on the platform; to prepare and hold a seminar presenting results of museumification.

Restoration and conservation will be conducted in accordance with regulations of the international documents on restoration and conservation of archaeological sites following the main requirement of the UNESCO convention – preservation of authenticity of unique cultural heritage. EU specialists will be engaged in the project, too.

The director of the project is E.Yu. Klenina, Ph.D. (archaeology), scientific secretary of the About Chersonesos, participant of several international research projects, author of a number of monographs and publications, scholar of prestigious international foundations. The main executor of the project is A.B. Biernacki, Ph.D. (archaeology), director of the International Interdisciplinary Archaeological Expedition “Novae” of A. Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Poland), author of 4 monographs and numerous articles. A.B. Biernacki was a fellow of the Polish-Egyptian Conservation Mission and director of international research projects connected with excavations of the Roman city of Novae (Bulguria) and Tauric Chersonesos (Ukraine). E.Yu. Klenina and A.B. Biernacki head the long-term Ukrainian-Polish project „Topography of Tauric Chersonesos”.

The second executor is A.S. Namoylik, specialist in ancient archaeology and epigraphy, author of a series of publications, participant of aforementioned Ukrainian-Polish project. For 10 years A.S. Namoylik was a fellow of archaeological expeditions of the State Hermitage and the Institute for History of Material Culture of Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia, Saint-Petersburg).

The project based on serious scientific researches is intended not only to conserve and restore one of the main objects of the site, but also to make it interesting for visitors thanks to competent arrangement of the area and popular presentation of information. It will open one more page of centuries-old history of the ancient city.

Support of innovation projects in museum studies aimed at popularization of history and culture of Ukraine is one of the activities of Rinat Akhmetov’s Foundation. Realization of such projects contributes to achieving the main goals of the Foundation – preservation and development of culture in Ukraine, that makes for greater prestige of our country in the European and world community. Presentation of a new object museumificated in accordance with the world standards is a resolute step of Chersonesos towards UNESCO.