HOW DID THE COSSAKS TELL TIME? PART 1

HOW DID THE COSSAKS TELL TIME? PART 1

Did the Cossacks know how to tell time? Did they have devices to do so?

It turns out that they did, at least in the 16th century!

One of the objects stored in the Khortytsia National Reserve funds can prove this. It is a gnomon found during the excavations of the “castle” of Dmytro Vyshnevetsky in 1998. The Cossack fortification existed on the island in the 50s of the 16th century. It was the first Zaporozhzhia Sich or, better said, the proto-Sich (i.e., one that was just being formed at the initial stage of development).

A gnomon is a part of a sundial that casts a shadow (see photo). The object was found in the northwest corner of the tower on the ground, along with other things. It appears like a hexagonal bone rod, pointed at one end. The object has a through hole at the wider end. There is also a hole at the tip of the object. On each of the faces of the gnomon, there are double concentric circles with a recess in the center. There are nine circles on two faces, eight on one, and seven on the other. Between each pair of circles, there are three to five notches. The total length of the object is 14,5 cm, thickness – 1,4 cm, diameter of the holes – 0,6-0,25 cm. The other part of the sundial – the cadran (dial) – was not found. In 2006, a similar object was found at the same site. Sundials were widespread long before the castle of D. Vyshnevetsky was constructed, and Cossacks likely used it in the 16th century. The item could be used to determine the time and indicate the direction to the north, the geographical latitude, and thus the location. The described object likely belonged to a wealthy person associated with the Cossacks and Dmytro Vyshnevetsky.

Although it does not indicate the mass use of sundials by the Cossack Elders, it proves the existence and use of time-measuring devices in the 16th-century Cossack community.

(based on the materials of the head of the Department of  Museum Communications of the Khortytsia National Reserve, O. Kravtsova)