Penza, 11 March 2015. PenzaNews. Penza scientists proposed to reconstruct a cultural and historical complex at the location of an ancient Mordovians valley near Razhki village of the Nizhnelomovsky area during the meeting with Vasily Bochkarev, Penza region governor.

“The fertile Moksha river valley at the foot of ancient terraces near Razhki village of the Nizhnelomovsky area has always attracted people who came here from all corners of the world. In the Bronze Age, the southern tribes of she Srubna culture came here, the northern Gorodets tribes arrived there too in the early Iron Age. But the most important thing happened in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when a new nation was born in the valley, the nation which still exists as the Mordvinians. First Mordovian settlements were scattered throughout the valley in small clusters of houses, 3-4 families each. But they had a sacred plot of land where all the valley inhabitants buried their ancestors, and called it a village of the dead. They brought gifts there and prayed for help to those who were alive,” Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Gennady Belorybkin, director of the Institute for Continuing Education of PSU, explained.

In his turn, the head of the region noted the importance of the revival of the valley with the first Mordovian settlement of the Ancient Rus.

“At the next Legislative Assembly session of the Penza region, the deputies will see if it is possible to allocate funds for the archaeological and research work,” Vasily Bochkarev said.

The press service of the regional government informed that in the near future, the officials and researchers scheduled large-scale archaeological, ethnographic and historical researches, and creation of tourism infrastructure that involves all the nearby cultural landmarks.