Far ‘Suburbs’ of Dykyi Sad Fortified Settlement: Structure and Character of Constructions

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper is to uncover the basic principles of building system and to characterize the location structure and internal planning of the construction remains within the territory of the far ‘Suburbs’ of Dykyi Sad fortified settlement, dated to the Final Bronze Age. The scientific novelty is a comprehensive analysis of the principles of archaeological sites location, specification of the structural features of the construction remains, their functional purpose, the localization of the most significant artifacts within the territory of the far ‘Suburbs’ of the fortified settlement, and the elucidation of the basic principles of building practices of the inhabitants of Dykyi Sad as well as the entire region at the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. Conclusions. It is found out that the far ‘Suburbs’ were located in the western part of Dykyi Sad fortified settlement (between the constructions of the near ‘Suburbs’ and the outward moat). Within its territory, 22 archaeological objects (dwellings, utility structures, external pits, utility and ritual area, and moat) are studied. By type, ground-based constructions prevailed – 12; the second group consisted of deepened constructions – 7; 3 external pits were related to certain ground-based constructions (No. 1 and No. 15). By their character, most of the constructions were residential, located in all parts of the far ‘Suburbs’; the second group consisted of utility constructions, concentrated in a separate group and adjacent to the utility and ritual complex on the south side. The following are some of the detached constructions: external utility pits, a utility and ritual complex of pits, and an outward defensive moat that encircled the fortified settlement, taking advantage of natural ravines. The constructions formed a single system of buildings and were concentrated in certain groups, with respect to the natural slope of the plateau, forming some kind of rows (along the moat and around the central area with pits and conventional lines in the direction of the river), in which they practically adjoined each other. The building system of this part of the fortified settlement had a radial-ring character and was carried out at a later stage of Dykyi Sad’s existence, when its population gradually grew, and it functioned for a long time, almost until the end of the Bilozerka period.