262 book reviews

Andreï A. Nepomnyashchiï Professor Nikolaï Érnst: Pages from the History of Regional Studies in the (Biobibliography of Crimean Studies 15). Kiev, Stylos Publishing House, 2012, 464 p., ISBN 978-966-193-062-8.

In recent years more interest has been shown by archaeologists in the history of their discipline. A stimulus for the development of this trend was provided by the brilliant writings of A. A. Formozov.1 The history of archaeology in the has been evolving in the direction of memoir literature at various lev- els and of varying quality.2 Unfortunately not all archaeologists are talented writers and thus able to write interesting memoirs: nor are they all accom- plished historiographers or bibliographers able to write works devoted to the history of work in their field. For this reason the appearance of a professionally written monograph about archaeologists always arouses lively interest. A particularly topical subject at the moment is that of Crimean studies: books in this field are followed with keen interest by the author of this review. Among them books coming out in the series “Biobibliography in Crimean studies” are the focus of particular attention. This series is edited by A. A. Nepomnyashchiï3 of which 15 issues have already been published. The whole spectrum of academic materials relating to our historical and ethnographical heritage is represented and in the series almost 70% of the content is devoted to biobibliographical research relating to archaeology.4 Striking confirmation of the above is provided by the fundamental mono- graph resulting from A. A. Nepomnyashchiï’s research, devoted to the life and work of an archaeologist and expert in the Crimea, the last Chairman of the Tauris History Society – Nikolaï L’vovich Érnst, archaeologist and ethnographer. The wide-ranging activities of this scholar are described against a background of complex socio-political processes which were influencing the academic life of Russia in general and in the Crimea in particular. The key feature of this pub- lication is that it draws upon an extremely wide range of source materials from the central archives of the Ukraine and Russia and also covers the trial of the scholar, records of which are held in the Archive of the State Department of the Security Services of the Ukraine in the Crimea (“Minutes of the Interrogations of Nikolaï L’vovich Érnst conducted on July 3, 1939, September 25, 1939 and September 26, 1939”). On the basis of these documents it proved possible to write a biography of the leading figure in the archaeology of the Crimea in

1 E.g. Формозов 2011. 2 E.g. Симоненко 2010; Добролюбский 2013. 3 Гаврилюк 2012, 128-135. 4 Непомнящий 2001.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���4 | doi 10.1163/15700577-12341272 book reviews 263 the 1920s and 1930s – historian, ethnographer, museum expert and organizer of the system for the protection of monuments in the Crimea immediately after the Civil War. This highly educated and erudite man, N. L. Érnst, was one of those who were a crucial link between the archaeology of pre-revolutionary Russia and the archaeology and organization of museums in the Soviet period. The author of the work reviewed here has shed light on the wide range of field archaeology in which Érnst was engaged: the study of Palaeolithic sites (excavations in the Kiik-Koba, Kosh-Koba, Shaïtan-Koba Adji-Koba and Fatma-Koba caves, at the Kukrek site), Bronze-Age sites, burial-mounds and Classical sites. Érnst was virtually the first archaeologist in the Crimea, who carried out archaeological investigations designed to ensure the protection of sites. Most of the archaeological excavations and surveys Érnst carried out were undertaken in areas where construction work was due to take place. This can be seen from the list of archaeological excavations and surveys he under- took published on pages 439-443 of the work reviewed here. The list of his published works includes 105 titles (pp. 444-452) and it reflects the main fields in which Érnst worked. It is difficult to single out the main sphere of his interests. It was possibly the Classical Period. At any rate the results obtained during the research Érnst carried out in Scythian Neapolis are still relevant today.5 He also made an important contribution to the study of Late Scythian sites, in particular the fortified settlements of Alma-Kermen and Kara-Tobe. N. L. Érnst’s first pieces of scientific research were devoted to Tatar sub- jects: his study of the relations between the Crimean Khanate and the state of Muscovy. The results this scholar was to obtain from his investigation of the Bakhchisarai Palace were to prove sensational. The full text of Érnst’s work devoted to his study of Aloisio the New’s creation, the “Iron Gates”, is included in the book (pages 399-422). Érnst was the first scholar to link the unique archi- tectural structure with the earlier Khan’s palace situated in Salachik, below the Chufut-Kale fortress. His interest in the excavations at Eski-Kermen was to prove more than justified. When it come to the conflict, which arose between Érnst and N. I. Repnikov with regard to the priorities in the investigation of the sites at Eski-Kermen, the author of this monograph was quite correct in taking sides with Érnst, referring as he did so to documentary materials. A good deal of the research is devoted to Érnst’s activity as the organizer of the system for the protection of monuments in the Crimea, which to a large extent was adopted when a similar system was being created to protect monu- ments all over the Soviet Union. Parts of the book are also concerned with

5 Высотская 1979, 14, 17; Зайцев 2003, 6.

Ancient Civilizations from to Siberia 20 (2014) 257-265