Archaeological expedition in Starobilsk city

19.8.2020

Students and teachers of Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University took part in an archaeological expedition.

From 6 to 16 August, archaeological research of the Neolithic site “Starobilsk-1” was carried out in Starobilsk city, in which students, postgraduate students and teachers of Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National  University took an active part. The scientific leadership of the expedition of the Luhansk archaeological detachment named after Serhii Loktiushev was carried out by Candidate of Historical Sciences, researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Serhii Telizhenko. The curator was Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of History of Ukraine Oleksandr Naboka.

Among the participants of the expedition was postgraduate student of the Department of World History and International Relations Maria Alekseeva;  students of the Institute of History, International Relations and Socio-Political Sciences Igor Verkhovod, Yulia Shevtsova and Yaroslav Moiseenko, as well as student of the Faculty of Natural Sciences Denis Lebedev. 
The current research is a continuation of last year, when archaeologists returned to the study of the important archaeological site.
The previous scientific research of the archaeological team named after Serhii Loktiushev did not go unnoticed by the active community of the city, which expressed its readiness to support the expedition. That is why the current stage of the expedition took place within the framework of the public and artistic project “Aura of the City”, the initiator of which was the public organization “Effective Community” and the “Ukrainian Cultural Foundation”. It was agreed that all the finds will become part of the exposition on the ancient history of the Starobilsk Territory in the Luhansk Regional Museum of Local Lore.

During the work, two excavations were created at the site of the existence of the Neolithic site. Objects of material culture of ancient people were discovered: shells of mollusks – toothless, which formed the basis of the diet of the inhabitants of the settlement, flint tools, a bone harpoon, the remains of animal bones, ornamented ceramics. Their presence testifies to the rather active economic life of the site, the existence of which falls on 5900 – 5800 AD. In the course of the study, the assumption was once again confirmed that the ancient people who lived in the valley of the Aydar River led a lifestyle characteristic of the previous era – the Mesolithic, and did not yet know either agriculture or cattle breeding. However, the active use of pottery makes it possible to classify the site as Neolithic.

In addition to the main tasks, the Luhansk archaeological detachment named after Serhii Loktiushev, another important scientific task was implemented. Under the leadership of Serhii Telizhenko, exploration of the Podgorovska Chalk Mountain was carried out, during which a number of Bronze Age burial mounds were identified, which were marked on the Schubert map of the 19th century, but were not recorded in modern scientific documentation.
The research results formed the basis for the script of the popular science film “The World’s Oldest Sushi Bar”. Ancient history of Starobilsk ”(scriptwriter – Oleksandr Naboka) filming of which also became part of the program of the project “Aura of the City”. The film was shot in creative collaboration with the long-term partner of the Department of History of Ukraine, the public Internet channel of Severodonetsk city “Sepsis” (director – Andrii Zaitsev). The premiere of the film and a creative meeting with its scriptwriter is scheduled for August 28, 2020.
Photos by Mykola Skuridin, Viacheslav Nepran.

Educational and Research Institute of History,
International Relations and Socio-Political Sciences