New Building Expeditions in the Kakhovka Water Reservoir Construction Area

Abstract

In the paper, mainly basing of archival data, the activity of the saving expeditions of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR that had been worked in the area of the construction of Kakhovka Water Reservoir during 1951—1955 is analyzed. During five years of the work in the region almost all territory of future flood zone was explored. There 35 settlements, in particular of the Neolithic, Late and Final Bronze Age, Scythian and Late Scythian time, of Cherniakhiv culture and Kyiv Rus time were excavated. Three settlements — two Late Scythian and one Medieval Tatar were discovered. Due to these researches, in addition to the archaeological material the anthropological items were also significantly enlarged. Thus, the work was carried out on seven burial grounds (of Neolithic, Late Bronze, Cherniakhiv culture, Late Scythian and Kyiv Rus time). 90 barrows with 340 graves of the Bronze Age, 85 Scythian and 18 Late Scythian burials as well as 43 Sarmatian graves were excavated. In addition, the material of these studies significantly enlarged the historical map of the region. The earliest sites belonged to the Neolithic age, and in the Eneolithic the region was inhabited by the tribes of Nizhne-Mykhailivska culture (Osokorivka, Mykhailivka). The largest number of sites, mostly burials were left by the Yamna and Catacombna tribes. The region was inhabited by people of the Babynska, Sabatynivska and Belozerska cultures (Hrushivka, Kut, Babyne, Liubymivka, Ushkalka, Zmievka, etc.) during Late and Final Bronze Age. An important discovery for the study of the Yamna cultural and historical community was the excavation of the Mykhailivka settlement. Complex research of the Zolota Balka settlement and burial ground made it possible to study in detail the life and economy of the Late Scythians. Significant material from the Sarmatian graves laid the foundation for the study of these tribes. Ceramic material obtained in the settlements of the Cherniakhiv culture (Kut, Hrushivka, Osocorivka, Dudchany, Kairy, Beryslav) allowed to classify it as the separate local variant with their own special features. The significance of the saving expeditions was also in the training of young archaeologists who later became the coryphaei of our science H.T. Kovpanenko, O.H. Shaposhnikova, L.S. Klein, A.V. Burakov, I.A. Antonova, M.P. Kuchera, N.V. Linka, A.M. Kirpichnikov and others.