Среднее течение Северского Донца в XVII–XVIII вв. Материальная культура населения

Abstract

In the 17th century the development of the steppe outskirts of the Russian state witnessed settling in the middle course of the Seversky Donets River. The territory was developed by Russian military settlers and settlers from the Dnieper region – Cherkasses. Their number was increasing since the second half of the 17th century. During this period, a number of fortified settlements were built in the region, the most important of which were connected by the Thora defensive line. Later the area received not fortified settlements. The southernmost point of this region was the Bakhmut fortress founded in 1701. The development of the territories south of this fortress began in the second half of the century. It marks the beginning of the new stage in the development of the Russian people of the steppes of the Northern Azov region. Archaeological research of these monuments located in the north of Donbass was conducted at the turn of 20th–21st centuries. The explorations found undisturbed remains of the Torsa defensive line of the 17th century, and revealed a number of unfortified settlements. Archaeological excavations were carried out at key sites. The key sites include Sviatogorsk monastery as one of the earliest settlements in this area. More basic research was carried out at Kazachya Prystan (Raigorodok), Tor (Slavyansk), and a settlement located in the Yavor tract. These works helped obtain a large amount of archaeological material that describes different aspects of economic and cultural life of the people who were developing the Russian border steppes in the 17th–18th centuries. These people are direct ancestors of the current inhabitants of the settlements located in the north of the Donetsk region.