Preventive archaeological studies of Neolithic settlement Modrychi 1

Abstract

The article presents the results of protective excavations and surveillance on the Modrychi 1 archaeological site, located near the south-eastern outskirts of Modrychi village, Drohobych district, Lviv region. During the construction of a new highway bypassing the town of Truskavets, three excavation trenches were placed on a total area of 1,745.5 m2 on the section passing through the western edge of the monument. During the excavations, 137 archaeological objects were discovered, including 3 large amorphous household pits, 4 structures in the form of narrow ditches, and 130 pillar pits. Most objects are grouped and composed of two large overground buildings, once erected on the pillar supports. Considering the likeness with similar structures, which were discovered in the settlements of the Linear Pottery culture all over Europe, these objects are defined as the remains of residential buildings – the so-called «longhouses». The collection of archaeological finds was gathered in the cultural layer, in the perimeter of residential buildings, and in the fillings of objects, which consists of hand-made pottery, flint, obsidian and stonewares. Pottery is predominantly represented by kitchen utensils and there are only a few examples of tableware ceramics. Collapsed vessels and separated fragments were found in very poor condition, which may be due to the alkalinity of the soil at the excavation site. An abundant collection of flint and obsidian artifacts has been collected as well, including nuclei, retouched plates, and flakes. A stone tool (axe or adz) in the shape of a «shoe pad» was also found in the settlement. All these items clearly allowed dating the prevailing cultural layer of the excavated site Modrychi-1 to the Neolithic era. Key words: settlement, Neolithic, Linear Pottery Culture (Linearbandkeramik, LBK), longhouse, flint artifacts, obsidian artifacts.