Praskovya Uvarova

Countess Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova , Princess Scherbatova ; 9 April 1840, Bobriki, Kharkov Governorate – 30 June 1924, Dobrna, Slovenia) was a Russian archaeologist. In 1885 she became chairman of the and held that post until 1917.

Life Uvarova was born as the daughter of Sergey Alexandrovich Scherbatov and his wife, Princess Praskovya Borisovna Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya. In the course of her education, she mastered French, German and English. She explored the areas of the Caucasus foothills away from the coast. In her own words, she had "very often to get to the sites via completely overgrown, little known and inaccessible trails," "riding around those upland spaces or deaf gorges which lie beyond roads and communications, and which, with rare exceptions, can only be reached on horseback" (Уварова 1894, 2). In the area of the Tsebelda valley, Uvarova found a group of small medieval churches, often decorated with sculptures. Some of the monuments that she published remain poorly understood. As a result of her work, several volumes of Ancient Caucasus were published on her initiative, several of them with her own contributions, among them (Materialy po archeologii Kavkaza). In 1916, she was celebrated by 30 of the most distinguished archaeologists of contemporary Russia.

As a result of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the title of "Countess" had become a stigma and her collections and property were confiscated. She emigrated to Yugoslavia, where she lived modestly.

Uvarova died at 84 on 30 June 1924 in Dobrna, Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Family Uvarova and her husband had seven children.

Alexei (Алексей) (1859-1913) Praskovja (Прасковья) (1860–1934) Sergei (Сергей) (1862–1888) Ekaterina (Екатерина) (died in infancy, 1863) Ekaterina (1864–1953) Fyodor (Фёдор) (1866–1954) Igor (Игорь) (1869–1934)

Memberships Honorary Member of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences