Mikhail Yevgenyevich Masson (; 3 December 1897 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

– 2 October 1986) was a Soviet

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. He was the founder of the archaeology school in Central Asia and a professor, doctor of historical and archaeological sciences and member of the

Turkmen Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan () is a state body in Turkmenistan founded in 1951, which is responsible for the implementation of Turkmen scientific and technical policy. The academy was closed under president Saparmurat Niyazov and reop ...

Biography

He was born on 3 December 1897, in

. Mikhail Evgenyevich Masson lived with his mother in

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

almost from his birth. He studied at the

Men's Gymnasium. In 1908-1909, he participated in the excavations of the Ulugh Beg Observatory led by the archaeologist V. L. Vyatkin. On June 1, 1912, Vyatkin appointed Masson as the head of the excavation site. In 1916, Masson graduated from the

Gymnasium. In 1916, he began studying at the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute to become an irrigation engineer. After being called to military service, he fought on the Southwestern Front, where he was elected a member of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in 1917. In 1918, Masson returned to

. In

, he worked as the head of the Samarkand Regional Museum, enriching its collection with various exhibits. In 1924, he was transferred to

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

to work at the

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

(later Uzbek) Committee for Museum Affairs and the Preservation of Monuments of Antiquity and Art as the head of the archaeological department of the

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n Museum. During this time, he attended courses at the

Eastern Institute and conducted archaeological research during the restoration of historical monuments in

. He also worked as a museum affairs instructor in the

Central Asian Republics Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian suffix "-stan" ...

. From 1929 to 1936, Masson focused on the history of mining at the Geological Committee of

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, where he established an extensive geological library. He combined this work with his role as the head of the archaeological sector of the Uzbek Committee for Museum Affairs and the Preservation of Monuments of Antiquity and Art. Starting in 1936, Mikhail Evgenyevich Masson served as the head of the Department of Archaeology at the Central Asian State University in

. Mikhail Evgenyevich Masson passed away in

in 1986 and was buried in the Dombrobod Cemetery in

. Later, one of the streets in

was named in honor of Mikhail Masson.

Family

Parents: father - Evgeny Ludwigovich Masson, a descendant of a Russified French aristocrat who moved to Russia during the Jacobin terror, a topographer; mother - Antonina Nikolaevna Shpakovskaya. His first wife was Xenia Ivanovna, who took her own life. His second wife, Galina Anatolyevna Pugachenkova, was a renowned Soviet and archaeologist, an academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR, and researcher of Turkestan. His son from his first wife, Vadim Masson, also became a well-known archaeologist and scholar.

Scientific achievements

He conducted excavations in the

Kushan ''Kushan'' or Kushana may refer to: * Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan ...

and medieval

Termez Termez ( ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Its population is 182,800 (2021). It is notable as the site of Alexander the Great's city Alexandria on the Oxus, as a center ...

from 1936 to 1938. He also conducted research in the city of

, which was then located in the territory of the

Turkestan ASSR The Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (TASSR; ; ), originally called the Turkestan Socialist Federative Republic, was an autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic located in Soviet Central Asia which e ...

of the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

(now in the South Kazakhstan Region of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

). In 1934, Masson surveyed the Turkestan settlement of Kul-Ata, creating a plan of castle ruins, the Shakhristan (settlement), and the surrounding area, uncovering numerous traces of metallurgical production. Starting in 1946, Masson served as the head of the South Turkmenistan Archaeological Complex Expedition, which conducted work in the

Turkmen SSR The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Turkmenistan, the Turkmen SSR, TuSSR, Turkmenistan, or Turkmenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union located in Soviet Central Asia, ...

. Under his leadership, excavations were carried out at the Parthian ancient settlements of Nisa and Merv. M.E. Masson's research was dedicated to demonstrating the existence of a slave-owning system in Central Asia, the patterns of development in Central Asian cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent, and others, the history of the monetary economy and mining, architecture, epigraphy, and historical geography of Central Asia.

Scientific school

He established the Central Asian School of

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and trained specialists who later became leading archaeologists in

. Some of his students included Oleg Rostovtsev, Boris Kochnev,

Edvard Rtveladze Edvard Vasilevich Rtveladze ( ka, ედუარდ ბასილის ძე რთველაძე; ; May 14, 1942 – February 10, 2022) was a Soviet, Georgian, and Uzbek scientist. He was a member of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, Doctor ...

, and Nina Nemtseva.

Awards

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(20 February 1968) * Honored Scientist of the Uzbek SSR (1944) * Honored Scientist of the

(1950)

Selected works

* On the construction of the

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi The Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi () is a mausoleum in the city of Turkistan (city), Turkestan, in southern Kazakhstan. The structure was commissioned in 1389 by Timur, who ruled the area as part of the expansive Timurid Empire, to replace a ...

in the city of Turkestan // Bulletin of the Central Asian Geographical Society, Vol. 19, Tashkent, 1929; * Regarding some coin finds registered on the territory of

before 1942 // Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, 1948.

Memory

A street in

in the Sergeli District was named after him, but in 2013, it was renamed Obikhayot Street.

Literature

* Lunin B.V. Scientist, teacher, public figure // History and archeology of Central Asia. Ashgabat: Ylim, 1978. pp. 12–19. * Masson M.E. Practical problems of archeology in Central Asia and their topics // Scientific Committee of the UzSSR. Tashkent, 1937. Separate edition. * Masson M.E. Archaeological research in Uzbekistan (1924-1939) // Science in Uzbekistan for 15 years. Tashkent, 1939. * Masson M.E. Archaeological work in Uzbekistan in 1933-1935 // Proceedings of the III International Congress on Iranian Art and Archeology. L., 1939. * Masson M.E. Ancient settlements of Old Termiz and their study // Proceedings of the Uzbekistan branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Series I. Vol. 2. Tashkent, 1940. * Masson M.E. Brief description of the history of the study of Central Asia from an archaeological point of view // Proceedings of SASU. Archeology of Central Asia. New episode. Vol. LXXXI. Tashkent: SAGU publishing house, 1956. * Masson M.E. Central Asian School of Archeology at ToshSU // Materials of the Central Asian State. flour Vol. 295. Archeology of Central Asia. Tashkent, 1966. * Masson M.E. The fallen tower. Tashkent: Uzbekistan, 1968. * Masson M.E. From the memoirs of a Central Asian archaeologist. Tashkent: Gafur Ghulam Literary and Art Publishing House, 1976. * Pugachenkova G.A. Mikhail Evgenievich Masson is the founder of the Central Asian Archaeological School. Tashkent: University, 1995. * Rtveladze E. Respice post te, or Academician Masson and others // Above East. Vol. XXVI. Tashkent, 2012. * Rtveladze E.V. Remembering the past. Book I. Tashkent, 2012. * Method of work and field life of South Turkmenistan archaeological complex expedition (memories of participants). Ashgabat, 1972. * Central State Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan, f. R-2773, op. 1, building 251 * Central State Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan, f. R-2773.

References

External links

UNESCO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masson, Mikhail 1897 births 1986 deaths Archaeologists from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd People from Samarkand People from Samarkand Oblast Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour People from the Russian Empire of French descent Russian archaeologists Russian military personnel of World War I Russian numismatists Soviet archaeologists Soviet people of French descent Uzbekistani archaeologists Uzbekistani people of French descent