It is known that from ancient times rivers were not only a source of water and certain types of food, but also significant obstacles for overland travel. This especially applies toto the second-order watercourses, the length of which reached hundreds of kilometers, making it simply impossible to bypass them, including the right tributary of the Dnipro River — the Sula. Therefore, usually the most convenient places were chosen to overcome the water obstacle, which had optimal conditions, namely the width and depth of the channel, the speed of the current, the convenience of the coastline, etc. Usually there were not many of them and they functioned for a considerable period of time. In the article the issue of finding important elements of land communication of the Left-bank forest-steppe, namely crossings and fords across the Sula River, which could have existed in the Early Iron Age, was considered. Using the analysis of later cartographic materials, the locations of such important infrastructure elements of the 19th century as ferry crossings, which were usually located in the most favourable sections of the coastline and existed for quite a long time, were identified. Also, the names of settlements were taken into account, in which the answer could be found in the search for fords through the Sula. The analysis of later historical events that took place in the region helped a lot in solving the issue of finding fords and crossings, because, as mentioned above, there were few convenient places and they were usually used for thousands of years. In the paper four places on the Sula River that could have been used by the ancient population as fords and crossings, namely: Pishchanyi ford on the upper reaches of Sula and Basivka, Hlynsk and “Horoshynskyi portage” in the Sula basin. The locations on the right bank of both fortified settlements and large burial mounds of the Early Iron Age demonstrate a certain regularity that suggests the presence of crossing-points. We argue that the approach to these crossing-points was also marked on the left bank with mounds of 3—4 m height. So, the Sula River example shows the perspective of the direction of research of ancient communication routes, namely the search for places of ancient crossings and fords with the help of local historical literature, cartographic materials and analysis of later historical events that took place in the region.
Among the regions of distribution of the settlement sites on the Forest-Steppe of Dnieper Left-Bank area in Ukraine the Sula River basin is one of the least studied meanwhile it is primarily known for its large barrow necropolises. The most famous settlement is Basivka, and others are only briefly mentioned in the professional literature. Scholars do not agree on the purpose of some fortifications. They include the protective structures near Velyki Budky village. Large area, weak cultural layer, as well as the location within the fortified site of the mound necropolis where the height of some barrows is more than six meters, do not speak in favor of the settlement in the classical sense. Also the immediate vicinity of 2 km to the largest site in the region — Basivka settlement which existed since the end of the 6th century BC to the beginning of the 3rd century BC may supplement the above statement. This paper reveals the problem of the fortification interpretation near Velyki Budky village. Favorable topographic location on the cape of the Sula River right-bank which is formed by the confluence of the Khmelivka River gives additional natural protection and shows the strategic importance of the site. Overview of the plain area where the danger was most probable reaches 5—6 km. The author of the paper defends the position of certain «outpost» which protected the path to the weakest point of the Basivka settlement. Therefore, in his opinion, these sites should be considered the single system of fortifications.
Висвітлено історію досліджень центральної поселенської пам’ятки Посулля скіфського часу –Басівського городища. Проаналізовано ступінь вивченості та опрацювання гончарного комплексу.Розглянуто результати новітніх досліджень і перспективність застосування природничихметодів, зокрема рентген-флуоресцентного, для аналізу елементного складу ліпленої кераміки. The history of the studies of the second largest Scythian settlement of the Dnieper Left-Bankforest-steppe – Basivka hill-fort, which is directly the key monument in the Sula river basin microregion,is revealed in the article. The peculiarities of studying such a category of material culture as handmadeceramics are highlighted. It has been established that certain works on ceramics, which would relate purelyto materials from the Basivka hill-fort, have not been published to date, which complicates further work.During the prospecting of the nearest area of the monument by the Basivka detachment of the PutyvlArchaeological Expedition in 2020, new, promising for further research, settelements and locationswere discovered. For the first time, the method of natural sciences was used to study ceramics from themonuments of the Scythian period. The author publishes the results of analyzes of ceramics from theBasivka hill-fort made by non-destructive X-ray fluorescence method. The conclusions show the prospectsfor further cooperation of archaeologists and physicists in the study of handmade pottery of the Scythiantime, not only in this micro-region, but also in general in Ukraine.
Defensive structures are the integral part of any fortified settlement. Their study requires significant labor costs, so usually the earthen constructions haven’t received enough attention from the predecessors. Basivka hill-fort is definitely the key settlement of the Scythian Age in the Sula River basin. Its total area is approximately 170 ha. The central, residential part is located on three well-fortified capes. Not all fortification areas were created simultaneously but had developed dynamically in time and space. Successful usage of natural topographic features at this settlement is combined with the basics of defense tactics. Modern agricultural activity and dwelling construction led to significant damage,and in some places to the destruction of earthen structures of Basivka hill-fort. This is especially true of the Great Outer Rampart which is well-preserved only in the eastern part. The complexity of the modern terrain and the significant forest cover were the determining factors that hindered the preparation of the most accurate topographic plan of this site. The paper presents a new plan of central fortifications but it also needs to be revised which is a matter of the future. A separate issue of the work is devoted to the placement of ancient entrances, which, like the fortification in general, could change over time and move from the main to the role of secondary ones. The paper highlights the results of excavations of the Great Basivka Rampart which were conducted in 2020—2021. It is ascertained that the defensive structures cover the cultural layer of the settlement. In general, valuable information was obtained regarding the development of fortifications in the Ukrainian Forest-Steppe of Dnieper Left-Bank area in the Scythian Age.
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