To the question of the origin of Ilya Muromts

Based on the analysis of written sources of the 16th-17th centuries, the text of ancient Russian epics, materials from archaeological excavations of East Slavic settlements and burial grounds of the second half of the 12th century, as well as the results of scientific research on the relics of St. Elijah of the Caves, conducted by Soviet researchers in 1939, 1982 and 1988-1990 . the author was able to refute the hypothesis that dominated for a long time in domestic science that Ilya Muromets is a folklore character that never really exists. The study provides arguments in favor of the epic version of the origin of Ilya Muromets