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Special thanks to Portia Chambliss at UCLA for sending such
nice photocopies showing the location of Shaptichi in Belarus.
Unfortunately, its coordinates (53 05 N / 28 15 E) are not
quite close enough to the settlement of Szapciszki or
Shaptishki that my patron is looking for.  As mentioned in my
first message some days ago, my patron has found reference to
this settlement in the "Russisches Geographisches Namenbuch"
(vol. 10, page 222).  He knows that Shaptishki is in the
volost (district) of Kobyl'nik, now known as Naroch, or
Narach (Russian and Byelorussian forms of the name).  The
coordinates of the district are 54 56 N / 26 41 E, and the
settlement of Shaptishki is within a VERY FEW miles of these
coordinates.  Does anyone have maps of Belarus that are more
detailed than the AMS 1:250,000 Eastern Europe series, and
would you be willing to look in the area of the district of
Narach to see if Shaptishki is shown?   My patron has been
told that the name of the settlement may have been changed to
"Zasc," but he has not been able to verify that.  Thanks again
for any information you can provide.
Jane Carlson, Map Collection Assistant
University of Iowa