Archaeological research

1.7.2019

Students of Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University took part in the archaeological research in Starobilsk district.

On June 24, an expedition started on the bank of the Aidar River, which will last two weeks. The organizer of the archaeological excavations is Serhii Telizhenko, a researcher at the Department of Archeology of the Crimea and the North-Western Black Sea Region of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, who in 2007 investigated this area. “Some questions remained unresolved. The first is whether animal domestication was on this territory at that time; secondly, were there ties with the territory of the Lower Don Region,” – the archaeologist notes.

According to Oleksandr Naboka, the history of this archaeological research began a year ago, when the university team traveled to Olvia. It was then that Serhii Anatoliiovych, learning about their expedition, became interested in the possibility of cooperation with our University. And this is not by chance, because a well-known archeologist has been exploring the territory of the Luhansk region for many years and was interested in continuing work with the Neolithic site on the banks of the Aidar in our city. “I think that it is necessary to develop local archeology, it is necessary to educate the younger generation, which will deal with local archeology. The east of Ukraine is a territory that still needs to be explored, especially from the point of view of the Stone Age, the Neolithic. There are so many white spots that no one to explore! By the beginning of the war in the east of Ukraine, we collaborated with the university, and today it is the first step to restore our cooperation and joint research.”

The postgraduate students, a student of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, students of the Educational and Research Institute of History, International Relations and Socio-Political Sciences, headed by the head of the Department of the History of Ukraine Oleksandr Naboka participate in the excavation.

“This is my first experience – my first archaeological excavation. I couldn’t even imagine that it would be so interesting,” – the first-year student Yulia Shevtsova says.

For a week of work in the study area, archaeologists have already managed to find the so-called “dining room” or, as archeologists call it, the “Sushi Bar” of the inhabitants of the ancient settlement, as evidenced by the remains of seashells, the remains of animal bones, pieces of ceramics. “The inhabitants of this region, despite the fact that they lived in the Neolithic era, that is, the birth of cattle breeding and farming, still did not know either of these, and it is clear that they were engaged in fishing, hunting and gathering,” – Oleksandr Naboka tells.

After the completion of the excavations, Oleksandr Viktorovych will write an article where he will tell about the results of archaeological research. In the meantime, we wish archaeologists interesting finds and light excavations so that future generations know the exact history of their city.

Iryna Bakhmet,
Press Center of LTSNU