Long ago a principle was established according to which all great civilizations were developing along the passages of river or sea trading routes. The river trading routes underlie the formation of the Russian State. Moreover, there is a theory elaborated by the famous Belgian Anri Piren according to which the rapid development of the Northern Europe connected with a sudden intensification of navigation in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. was conditioned by the search of a new trading route to the East. Exactly in the 7th century in the period of formation of Islam the Arabic Moslem expansion along the shores of Mediterranean Sea until the Balkan Mountains completely severed commercial ties between the Kagolingian Empire and Middle Asia.

And the route was found. It began in Baltic Sea, followed through the Gulf of Finland, Ladoga, Ilmen or Onega into Volga and further on to Caspian Sea. For the last millenniums trading on this route practically never stopped and it`s impossible to calculate how many ships came from Baltic to Caspian Sea and back. But dozens of thousands of them died either due to elemental forces or battles for the control over the main trading passage of Northern Europe. Today they lie mixed and often we can find a vessel of the 18th century or even the wrecks of an older one in the neighborhood with ships of the 20th century. Ancient waterways were not aware of the modern borders. A Russian ladia may lie in the waters of Estonia, an ancient Norwegian drackar – in the waters of Ladoga, a Sweden battleship of the 18th century - near Saint Petersburg. Very often the ships that died in course of one storm or one war lie on both sides of the modern marine border as if unifying the scientists of different countries. Partly artificially we singled out some stages in development of this way in order to show the tremendous potential of the region of our investigations better.