Arhaeological Research in Okhtyrka — the Arhaeology of War

Abstract

The article is devoted to the result of archaeological research carried out on the territory of the Okhtyrka fortress of the second half of the 17th–18th centuries. Excavations were conducted in the basement of the Okhtyrka Municipal Local History Museum. The building was severely damaged because of the night bombing in spring 2022. During the reconstruction of the museum, the workers had discovered archaeological artefacts. In the result of archaeological research, there were discovered the remains of a building buried in virgin soil. The most informative were the remains of the cellar walls. In the filling of the building, there were distinguished two layers separated by a sterile one. In the lower layer, the vast majority of fragments of tiles and furnace slag were found, and in the upper layer — numerous fragments of pottery and individual finds. The analysis of the artefacts location and the general stratigraphy allows presuming preliminary conclusions. The dwelling had two levels — the ground living level with the furnace and the underground one, or a cellar. The level had a massive ceiling made of oak logs and a wooden construction made of logs with a diameter of 0.15–0.25 m. The space between the wooden construction and virgin soil was filled with yellow sand. Mostly, in the filling of the dwelling were found light clay pottery fragments and some items covered with green glaze. The tiles were decorated with stylised floral ornament. Among the imports, the most noticeable are a handle of a faience cup produced in the Ottoman Empire and fragments of clay bottles of Riga balsam. In addition, a faience ointment jar, produced in Germany or Austria in the 18th century. Based on the analysis of the finds, the time of construction of the building is dated to the 20s–30s, and the time of destruction — 70s–80s of the 18th century. The first date is indicated by a coin minted in 1731, found in a piece of preserved oak log, and the second one by the lower part of a clay bottle, found on the floor of the cellar. Some of the imported finds are related to medicine, so we can assume using the building as a pharmacy in the last years of its existing.