Danube Region Research Articles

New data of historical and archaeological topography of Kirov and Slobodskoy ob- tained through 2015–2022 state historical and cultural expertise

The article analyses C-shaped all-cast earrings from complexes dated 4th-7th century. There is a collection of artefacts from 79 monuments (France, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria). Precise topological & geodesic data are used to draw the map of embellishments. In the first place C-shaped earrings are found in the Northern Black Sea region. In terms of chronology they were popular for an extended period of time from antiquity (6th-5th century BC till early Middle Ages 4th-5th century AD). C-shaped earrings in complexes of 4th-7th centuries are evident of the Alans’ interference. However, it is assumed that the Huns adopted the Alans’ aesthetics and symbols. Caucasus, Northern Black Sea region and Lower Volga region in the first half of the 1st millennium were occupied by Sarmatian tribes (the Aorsi, the Alans) and the Huns. This territory is found with more than a half of our complex selection with C-shaped earrings. The Danube region (Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria) is another region discovered with archaeological materials that include this jewellery. Besides, C-shaped earrings are found in Brittany in the 5th century burial ground La Mézière (near Orléans), in Burgundy and Normandy. In the South-West France (Occitania, Pyrénées-Orientales) they found a few C-shaped earrings. Two regions in Gaul (France) were mentioned in certain written sources in relation to the Alans’; these regions were also discovered with C-shaped earrings. Volga - Kama - Aral region is registered with 25 closed complexes with C-shaped earrings. Elements of the burial ritual accompanied by tools are described in the table. Both ritualistic elements and tools found in complexes demonstrate homogeneous materials in regions thousands of kilometres apart. Simple C-shaped earrings in Volga - Kama - Aral region can be dated 4th-6th century. Earrings with bunches or pyramids can be dated the second half of the 6th-8th century. These earrings belong to the Sarmatian Alans.

Zooplankton in the zones of transformation of river runoff in the north-western Black Sea region and the Mediterranean Sea in 2017–2020

Estuary zones play a key role in the regulation of the impact of continental processes on marine ecosystems. The zone “river–sea” is a unique area with specific conditions, geochemical and biological processes. They belong to the so called “ecological hot spots” and that is why their research is especially needed to understand possible changes in the ecosystems. In the present study we described the spatial distribution of zooplankton in the zones of transformation of river runoff in the Ukrainian part of the north-western Black Sea region and the Turkish coast of the Mediterranean Sea in 2017–2020. In the Black Sea, samples were collected from the coast of the Odesa Marine Region, Danube Region and coastal waters between Dnipro-Bug estuary and Yuzhne town. On the Turkish Mediterranean Sea coasts, samples were collected between Antalya city and Patara village (Mugla province). A total of 64 samples of the zooplankton were studied. We did not establish a direct dependence between zooplankton biomass and annual volume of river runoff (correlation between these metrics is from –0.25 to –0.80). 20 taxa of zooplankton in the Odesa Marine Region, 21 taxa in the Danube Region, 11 taxa in the Dnieper Region, 23 taxa in the Turkish coastal zone of the Mediterranean Sea were registered. Species of forage zooplankton were dominant over non-forage ones in all seasons and all investigated aquatoria. The percentage of Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid & Swezy, 1921 and jellyfish did not exceed 5% of the total biomass of zooplankton. In summer in the Black Sea, the majority of zooplankton by number and biomass was formed by organisms of meroplankton, species of Cyclopoida and Harpacticoida, in autumn species of the genus Acartia, Oithona davisae Ferrari F. D. & Orsi, 1984, larvae of Cirripedia and Penilia avirostris Dana, 1849. The number and biomass of adults and Copepodid Stages of Acartia species increased from spring to autumn in all years. In populations of Acartia species Copepodid stages predominated over adults by number and biomass in all seasons. In the Mediterranian Sea, the majority of zooplankton by number and biomass was formed by larvae of benthic invertebrates and Copepoda. The abundance and biomass of zooplankton at a distance of 300 m from the river mouth were greater than directly at the mouth. The hydro-front was expressed near all investigated rivers, the maximum values of zooplankton number and biomass were observed here and they decreased in direction both towards the mouth of the river and towards the open sea.

Fiscal resilience over time and its management in the context of multi-risks: an application to the Danube Region

Multi-hazards as well as multi-risk management are increasingly gaining importance in research, policy, and practice, but present a challenging task. Focusing on governments as key risk bearers, we assume a multi-hazard and multi-risk perspective and address the question of how different natural hazards can influence fiscal risk and how fiscal risk can change over time due to other risk realizations (e.g., pandemics). We employ a risk-layer approach to analyze the changes in fiscal risk, comparing the fiscal stress associated with different hazards during distinct time periods and scenarios. In doing so, we address the question under which circumstances risk reduction or risk financing may be needed as well as how an iterative approach can account for changing financing resource levels for different hazards under different scenarios. We apply this methodology to the Danube Region which is exposed to different natural hazards and encompasses countries with different levels of fiscal resilience. Furthermore, the countries in the Danube Region were affected by Covid-19, which acted as an additional stressor and caused large economic costs. The analysis should demonstrate the flexibility as well as the relevance of the presented methodology to address multi-risks within a coherent framework. One of the main outcomes of the study is the appreciation of different fiscal resilience levels for different countries and the different types of disasters they are exposed to, which can inform the diverse strategies needed on a case-by-case basis but within a common framework to tackle current and future risks. The analysis should be therefore not only informative for the Danube Region and respective countries but also regarding the more general question under which circumstances risk reduction or risk financing may be needed as well as how an iterative approach can account for changing financing resource levels against multiple risks.

“Gravettians in the Altmühl Valley”? Comprehensive Reassessment and New Data from the Sequence from the Abri I im Dorf (Neuessing, Bavaria, Germany)

Due to the high density of cave and rock shelter sites, the Altmühl Valley is one of the most essential regions of southern German Palaeolithic research. The site presented in this paper, the Abri I im Dorf, lies within the main concentration of Palaeolithic sites found in this valley, extending along its lowest stretch between Riedenburg and its confluence into the Danube in Kelheim. We present the results achieved in reassessing the archaeo-stratigraphic sequence uncovered during the excavation campaign of 1959, including the first radiocarbon dating and comprehensive analysis of the lithic, faunal and bone industry evidence. Radiocarbon evidence points to occupations dated to ca. 27 ka cal BP. At the same time, the features of the lithic assemblage (blade industry with a predominance of burins and an important presence of backed tools) fit those of Late/Final Gravettian technocomplexes in the Danube region. However, the characteristic evidence traditionally associated with these industries (Kostënki knives and shouldered points) is scarce and highly questionable. The same applies to the “shovel-like” ivory object, typically related to the Pavlovian but with a doubtful determination as a shovel and no clear parallels in this and other industries of Gravettian tradition. The faunal remains revealed that hunting activities, which occurred between late summer and the beginning of winter, concentrated on reindeer. Nonetheless, new excavations and analyses are required to confirm all these preliminary results. In this sense, future work at the Abri I im Dorf can significantly contribute to our understanding of pre-LGM human settlement dynamics in the Upper Danube.

The development of Danube Ports amid war and post-war recovery of the Ukraine

Purpose: assessment of the development of Danube Ports amid war and post-war recovery of the Ukraine as part of the security system for Ukraine, Europe, and the world as a whole. Меthods. In the research general scientific (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, analytical grouping) and special (abstraction, modelling, etc.) methods of studying economic phenomena and processes have been used. The object of the study is the Danube river ports. Results. The conducted analysis showed that in the conditions of war and the blockade of the ports of Greater Odessa, export transportation through the Ukrainian Danube ports of Reni, Izmail, and Ust-Danube has been activated. This was also facilitated by the dredging works in the Bystre estuary, which allowed its transport capabilities to be used for the passage of vessels with a draft of up to 6.5 meters, and not only the Romanian Sulina canal. The analysis showed that, in addition to positive results for Ukrainian ports, there was also an increase in cargo handling volumes in Romanian ports, for example, the Sulina port has shown an increase in cargo movement volumes in recent years. Overall, if we compare the growth rates in the direction of Danube-Black Sea and in the opposite direction, the preference is given to the Danube-sea direction. Regarding transportation through the Danube-Black Sea canal, recent years have also seen an increase in cargo transportation volumes, but this is mainly due to international transportation. Domestic transportation does not show similar dynamics. The Constanta port has also been increasing cargo handling volumes in recent years due to sea transportation, but river transportation is also growing, although not as significantly. Unlike the mentioned ports, the Romanian port of Galati has been decreasing cargo handling volumes since 2021. The reason for this is that, among the two routes considered - the Danube and the Danube-Black Sea to the Constanta port, preference is given to the latter. Conclusions. The conducted research has shown that the further expansion of navigation along the Danube using the routes Ukraine - Galati, Ukraine - Regensburg, and Ukraine-Constanta (via the Danube) will ensure the effectiveness of the mentioned ports and create additional conditions for the development of transport logistics in the Danube region as part of the security system for Ukraine, Europe, and the world as a whole. An additional advantage of such decisions is their environmental orientation, since among all types of transport, water transport is the most environmentally friendly.

ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT STATE OF FUNCTIONING OF COMMERCIAL PORTS OF UKRAINE

Thearticle presents the results of the study of the functioning of the ports of Ukraine through the prism of the impact of the war. A generalized analysis of the operation of Ukraine's ports from the first wave of blockade by the Russian Federation in 2022 to the current state is presented, including the actual throughput capacity of functioning ports and the nomenclature of cargo handling by Danube ports in 2023. In addition, the dynamics and structure of the supply of agricultural products by the main modes of transport are provided, where the importance of the ports of Ukraine as the main way of exporting agricultural products to ensure their arrival on international markets is highlighted; shows changes in grain and wheat prices between January 2021 and August 2023 based on International Grains Council indices. The role of the ports of the Danube region and the grain agreement for the export of cargo flows of agricultural andother products to African and Asian markets is singled out. The question of the potential for further development, development, modernization and renewal of the infrastructure of the ports of Izmail, Reni, and Ust-Dunaysk was revealed. The restoration of ship calls to the ports of Greater Odessa thanks to the formation of Ukraine's own humanitarian corridor was emphasized. The consequences of Russia's large-scale war against Ukraine in the field of port activity are grouped due to the consequences of direct and indirect influence. The risks of shipping among the countries of the Azov-Black Sea basin from the standpoint of security are summarized. It is concluded that the consequences of the protracted war scenario in Ukraine will have a negative impact not only on the port industry, but will also become a catalyst for an economic crisis in the developed economies of the world.

SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES: BASIC PREFERENCES AND LEGAL REGULATION

The article is dedicated to the definition of the peculiarities of legal regulation of creation and functioning of special economic zones on the territory of Ukraine. The main preferences have been characterized, which are provided to ensure the liberalized regime of such zones. The classification of preferences has been carried out in accordance with the nature, grounds and consequences of the implementation. It has been classified: the fiscal and organizational; the political and economic preferences; the preferences for foreign and domestic investors; as well as the preferences based on domestic legislation and/or on the norms of the international agreements. The relevance of the research subject is due to the need to form an updated concept of legislative regulation of the regimes of special economic zones in Ukraine. The methodological basis of the research is formed by general scientific and special legal methods of scientific knowledge (dialectical, analysis and synthesis, scientific abstraction, forecasting). The article is aimed at formulating the basic scientific principles for updating the normative regulation and practical application of the preferential regime of special economic zones in Ukraine in the post-war period, determining the essence and characteristics of the main privileges and simplifications used in them. The task of the article is the developing proposals for the formation of a theoretically-applied basis for updating the current legislation of Ukraine on special economic zones and improving the legal regulation of their regimes. The article has characterized and analyzed the norms of laws and by-laws acts, aimed at regulating relations in the sphere of functioning of special economic zones in Ukraine, their insufficient character has been noted. The levels of such legal regulation have been defined: the national and local. It has been proposed to update the regulatory basis of the special economic zone in the Danube region, due to its significant importance and growth in 2022-2024.

NAMES OF RITUAL BREAD IN BULGARIAN DIALECTS OF SOUTHERN UKRAINE

The purpose of the article is to describe the ritual vocabulary associated with the use of bread in the ritual calendar of Bulgarians, to study and systematize the terminological system used in the Bulgarian continuum, to study the main trends in its development in the dialects of the Lower Danube region in Southern Ukraine. The object of the article is the names of ritual bread and other dough products in the Bulgarian dialects. The subject of consideration is the description and functioning of the terminological system of bread baking and the use of dough products in the calendar and ritual system of the Danube Bulgarians of Besarabia. As a result of the study, the names of bread and dough products operating in the Bulgarian dialects between the Dniester and Danube rivers are analyzed and classified. The rituals associated with baking bread for various religious and family holidays among the Bulgarians of the Lower Danube region are described. Conclusions. In the Bulgarian dialects, there is a fairly complete, capacious and integral system of names for bread and rituals where it is used. The study of the lexical and thematic layer of the names of bread and other dough products gives a sufficient idea of the nature of the dialect vocabulary and its archaic features.

Herennius Germanus – veteranus of legio IIII Flavia and the Archeological Complexes of Ratiaria and Its Territory

The archaeological studies of the frontier zones of the Roman Empire are of particular importance due to the abundant excavated data that can be directly linked to historical sources and epigraphic evidence known for centuries. In the Lower Danube region of the Roman Limes, an area that has not been as extensively explored as the areas in Central and Western Europe, there are now a lot of new rescue and regular excavations. The new field data, which were obtained from details unearthed near the village of Sinagovtsi, Vidin region, only 15 km away from the ancient centre of Ratiaria, are important as they might help clarify the way of life in Antiquity if linked to and interpreted together with the already known epigraphic, historical and numismatic data.

Farewell to the Young: Early Iron Age Mortuary Practices in the Middle Danube Region

ABSTRACT The study of burials and mortuary practices in the past provides essential information on the role and treatment of children in past communities. This study aims to better understand the status of children by reviewing the material culture provided by child burial contexts. Early Iron Age (800–300 BC) mortuary practices in the southern Middle Danube (present–day eastern Croatia and northwestern Serbia) are characterized mostly by the cremation of the dead. The Iron Age is an important time for funerary transitions. The standard practice of cremating the dead was replaced by the practice of inhumation during the 6th century BC. The manner of treatment of the dead body affected the preservation of objects and data in the graves. This paper studies 74 burials with child remains, costumes, jewellery, tool items, and pottery grave goods. In Early Iron Age mortuary practices, children were treated just like the adult members of the community.

Challenges in assessing and managing multi-hazard risks: A European stakeholders perspective

The latest evidence suggests that multi-hazards and their interrelationships (e.g., triggering, compound, and consecutive hazards) are becoming more frequent across Europe, underlying a need for resilience building by moving from single-hazard-focused to multi-hazard risk assessment and management. Although significant advancements were made in our understanding of these events, mainstream practice is still focused on risks due to single hazards (e.g., flooding, earthquakes, droughts), with a limited understanding of the stakeholder needs on the ground. To overcome this limitation, this paper sets out to understand the challenges for moving towards multi-hazard risk management through the perspective of European stakeholders. Based on five workshops across different European pilots (Danube Region, Veneto Region, Scandinavia, North Sea, and Canary Islands) and an expert workshop, we identify five prime challenges: i) governance, ii) knowledge of multi-hazards and multi-risks, iii) existing approaches to disaster risk management, iv) translation of science to policy and practice, and v) lack of data. These challenges are inherently linked and cannot be tackled in isolation with path dependency posing a significant hurdle in transitioning from single- to multi-hazard risk management. Going forward, we identify promising approaches for overcoming some of the challenges, including emerging approaches for multi-hazard characterisation, a common understanding of terminology, and a comprehensive framework for guiding multi-hazard risk assessment and management. We argue for a need to think beyond natural hazards and include other threats in creating a comprehensive overview of multi-hazard risks, as well as promoting thinking of multi-hazard risk reduction in the context of larger development goals.

Geometry of a Mithras Slab: Philosophical Consequences

The analysis of the golden Mithras’ bas-relief in the Museum of the Baths of Diocletian in Rome confirms the Platonic Chiasma. The scene admits two diagonals starting from each corner. One passes through the sun and the other through the moon. The sun god is also shown with an object in his left hand, which may be a soul or a sacred heart. This would confirm that the slab shows the opposition between metempsychosis (lunar) and resurrection (solar). The analysis of the Barberini fresco is of great interest. It shows that the Platonic Chiasma falls exactly within the celestial gates of Capricorn and Cancer. The solar line is superimposed on a line already present on the fresco. Finally, sacred geometry helps to explain some strange-looking reliefs from the Danube region

Development of a qPCR Duplex Assay for simultaneous detection of Fascioloides magna and Galba truncatula in eDNA samples: Monitoring beyond boundaries

Parasites constitute a significant economic burden and highly impact environmental, public, and animal health. The emergence of many parasitic diseases is environmentally mediated and they share the same biogeography with humans and both domestic and wild animals. American liver fluke, Fascioloides magna – a trematode parasite of domestic and wild ungulates – is an example of the anthropogenic introduction of an “invasive alien species” in Italy and Europe. Multiple introductions to Europe have led to the biogeographical expansion of the parasite across the Danube region mainly provided by the presence of suitable habitats for all hosts involved in the parasite's life cycle, human-assisted transport, and drastic environmental events such as flooding. In Italy, it was introduced and established in La Mandria Regional Park (LMRP) near Turin in 1865 along with imported wapitis (Cervus elaphus canadensis) from North America (Bassi, 1875), but with no reported expansion to the surrounding areas. LMRP isolated F. magna focus, poses an important threat of possible expansion since the enclosed area is vulnerable to occasional bidirectional passage of roe deer. Additionally, tributary rivers to the Po river system, traversing the enclosed area, could further bolster the possibility of such spread. In this study, we developed a duplex qPCR assay for F. magna and its principal intermediate host Galba truncatula optimized for testing eDNA samples to meet the needs for surveillance of the parasite. Moreover, we validated the developed assay in natura by testing samples derived from filtered water and sediments collected inside and outside LMRP's fenced-off area. Our findings for the first time demonstrate the presence of F. magna's eDNA outside the park's internal fenced-off area.

The Gaius/Lucius denarii of Augustus and the intensity of the occurrence the Julio-Claudian dynasty coinage in Moravia

The first imperial dynasty significantly reformed the Roman coinage, the production of which was partly moved to the provinces closer to the Germanic regions. Due to the newly emerging settlement structure of the newly established provinces of Noricum and Pannonia as well as the irregular trade relations between them and the Kingdom of Vannius, the representation of coins from the first two thirds of the 1st century in Moravia is minimal (only 86 coins are currently available). Unfortunately, isolated surface finds without an archaeological context do not provide sufficient support for dating their deposition in the ground. Some of them could have been brought later, for example during Roman military operations in Barbaricum in the last third of the 2nd century or in Late Antiquity. Newly, the find collection in the central Danube region was extended by additional denarii of the Gaius/Lucius type (denarius and subaerat around Germanic settlement in Bzenec), which are otherwise mainly concentrated near the Varus’s battle in the Teutoburg Forest and in the Rhineland. What is also noteworthy is the dominance of asses from the Roman mint struck under the supervision of the college of three mint officials (tresviri monetales) among the bronze denominations of Augustus. The gold aurei, silver denarii, billon tetradrachms and aes asses of Nero are also a fairly representative set, whereas the coins of the emperors Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius have a meagre numerical representation.

Камни из ритуальных сосудов в скифских погребальных комплексах на левобережье Нижнего Днестра

The paper deals with 221 burnt stones from the Scythian graves found on the left bank of the Lower Dniester dated to the 5th—2nd centuries BC. All of them, if it was fixed, come from wooden or handmade ritual vessels. Stones of approximately the same size and without traces of processing were used as heating elements. In all cases, traces of burning were recorded — soot spots and characteristic fracturing. Petrological thin sections showed the mineral composition of the rocks and their structural and textural features. These are, as a rule, sandstones and, much less often, other rocks (carbonate, igneous and metamorphic). The vast majority of stones are of local origin, and only a few are imported. At present, it is obvious that the tradition of fumigating graves among the Scythians of the North-West Black Sea region appeared no later than the 5th century BC. Initially, wooden vessels served as containers for red-hot pebbles and organic balms. Starting from the 3rd century BC as vessels for the same pebbles, handmade incense cups began to be used, widely known not only in the cemeteries of the 3rd—2nd centuries BC near the Glinoe Village and in other sites of the Dniester region, but also in a number of other Scythian sites, situated westwards (Dobruja, Lower Danube region) and eastwards (Bug, Dnieper, Crimea, Azov and Don regions). Keywords: Scythians, graves, 5th—2nd centuries BC, left bank of the Lower Dniester, wooden and handmade ritual vessels, petrography, rocks

F.W. von Bauer and Russian Mapping of Moldavia and Wallachia

Abstract During the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 the advance of G.A. Rumiantsev’s First Army after its great victories at Riabaia Mogila, Larga, and Kagul was slowed by several factors, including the lack of adequate maps of southern Moldavia and Wallachia and the Turkish fortress line along the Danube. This problem was finally addressed by Lt General Friedrich Wilhelm von Bauer (1731–1783), a talented engineer in Russian service, a hero of the Riabaia Mogila and Larga battles, and author of a project to organize a Russian General Staff along Prussian lines. Bauer’s surveying work facilitated the Russians’ successful drive across the Danube in 1773 and this surveying work informed the remarkably detailed map of Moldavia he published in 1775 and 1781. The data he gathered for a similar map of Wallachia was published in his Mémoires historiques et géographiques sur la Valachie, avec un prospectus d’un Atlas géographique et militaire de la derniére guerre entre la Russie et la Porte Ottomanne (1778). Bauer’s work as a geographer and cartographer contributed to European knowledge of the geography and chorography of the Danubian region and illustrated the increasing impact of technicalism upon Russian military development in the eighteenth century.

The Working Community of the Danube Regions: A Long History of Interregional Dialogue and Overcoming Dividing Lines with the Hope of a Peaceful Europe

The Working Community of the Danube Regions: A Long History of Interregional Dialogue and Overcoming Dividing Lines with the Hope of a Peaceful Europe

The 2021–2022 Period and Slovakia’s Engagement in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region

The 2021–2022 Period and Slovakia’s Engagement in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region

Key policy mechanisms supporting the University–Industry collaboration in the Danube region: case study of academic HPC centres and SMEs

Purpose This paper aims to explore the key anchors of the National Innovation System shaping the nature of collaboration between academic high-performance computing centres (academic HPC centres) and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in the automotive and electronics sectors of the Danube region. With two main research questions, it discusses the importance of knowledge transfer and technology transfer for collaboration between University and Industry (U-I collaboration) in three groups of developmentally distinct countries: competitively advanced, competitively intermediate and competitively lagging. As main anchors of the innovation system, stable legal environment, exciting innovation policies and strong R&D funding are recognised.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative empirical study in 14 Danube region countries included 92 focus group participants, expert representatives of academic HPC centres and SMEs. The data were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed.FindingsThe findings show the main prerequisites of the framework conditions for efficient U-I collaboration evolve through a goal-oriented National Innovation Policy and developed and functioning legal environment supporting labour market and intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement. Additionally, skilled people are needed to be able to operate with HPC, where it seems all the countries lack such skilled workforce. In competitively lagging countries, the high levels of brain drain exhibit strong impact to U-I collaboration.Research limitations/implicationsResearch into relationships between academic HPC centres and SMEs conducted was qualitative; therefore, limitations in terms of generalisation arise from it. On the other hand, the research is promising in terms of offering the guidance for policy makers who can use the findings when delivering innovation policy mix, adjusted to developmental level of own innovation ecosystem.Originality/value The study is among the pioneering work in U-I collaboration between academic HPC centres and SMEs from automotive and electronics industries in the Danube region. The research addresses the dynamics of collaboration and offers policy implications to strengthen the particular U-I collaboration.

The Significance of Annalistic Ulyches in the Early Medieval History of Ukraine

The purpose of the article is to study the habitat of the Ulych tribe on the territory of modern Ukraine, the specifics of their interaction with non-Slavic peoples, and the reasons for their confrontation with the princes of Rus. The research methodology is based on a combination of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and special-historical (historical-comparative, historical-typological, historical-systemic) methods with the problem-chronological principle and the principles of scientificity, historicism, objectivity, comprehensiveness and integrity scientificity. The scientific novelty of the work is that, for the first time, historical information about Ulyches in different regions of our country is correlated and analyzed, and their civilizational influence on the population of Ukraine during the Middle Ages is established. Conclusions. The historical information about the habitation of the Ulyches in the Middle Podniprovya, Southern Pobuzhzhia, Podnistrovya, and the Danube region is confirmed by the results of archaeological research. Separate local zones of Ulyches’ settlement were Southern Podniprovya, Southern Kyiv Region, Southern Volyn, and Dnister Canyon. The Ulyches possessed developed for their time agricultural technologies, which were based on agriculture and homestead cattle breeding. The metallurgy, metalworking and jewelry were among the main crafts. The production of millstones from volcanic tuff was a unique technology . The main Ulyches’attractions are numerous hillforts, which were above all things a military camp and a shelter for the population. The ability to build and improve these objects quickly testifies to the presence of developed clan relations, authoritative administration and nobility. The Ulyches and the Tyvertsi were particularly close tribes and had a common area of residence in Podnistrovya. Both tribes together participated in the development of the right bank lands of the Danube mouth in the 10th-11th centuries. Counting the number of known hillforts and analyzing the Ulyches’ settlement area allows us to call them one of the most numerous tribes of Ukraine in the 9th–11th centuries. The long period of wars of the 9th–10th centuries. between the princes of Rus and the Ulyches was caused by the struggle for supremacy in the Dnipro region and possession of the Dnipro river route to the Black Sea.The Ulyches had a special relationship with nomadic peoples, that distinguishes them from other Slavic tribes. The representatives of the southern branch of the Saltiv culture were their neighbour and constant partner in interaction during the VIII–XI centuries.