Birchbark letters from the excavations of 2024. II. Veliky Novgorod, Staraya Russa, Megletsy

This article presents a preliminary publication of 14 birchbark letters discovered during the 2024 archaeological season in Veliky Novgorod. Of particular historical and linguistic interest is a group of seven documents from the second half of the 14th century attributed to scribe Fefila, who was associated with posadnik Ontsifor Lukinich. It includes, in particular, court records related to a case of bride abduction and a petition from the Zaonezhye region that precisely specifies the author’s place of residence. The article also publishes document no. 59 from Staraya Russa and two birchbark documents found alongside a hoard of coins from the late 15th century near the village of Megletsy in the Moshensky District of the Novgorod Region.