History of Exploration of Final Bronze Age Fortified Settlement (Hillfort) ‘Dykyi Sad’ (Mykolaiv, Ukraine)

Abstract

The history of exploration of the fortified settlement (hillfort) of the Final Bronze, Age Dykyi Sad, located in the center of the modern city of Mykolaiv (Mykolaiv oblast, Ukraine) is presented in the paper. Results of 30 years of systematic excavations of the archaeological site are summed up. The authors show the changing dynamics of the site concept, uncover the peculiarities of the settlement planning and building, highlight the finds of material culture in various categories – ceramics, metal objects, lithic and bone produced items. Based on the whole complex of artifacts found at the fortified settlement (architectural structures, material and votive items), it can be argued that the Dykyi Sad arose because of the need to control the trade routes that connected the north-south, east-west of the ecumene. Thus, from the end 13th till the 10th century BCE the settlement fulfilled the function of the economic, cultural, religious, and political center of South-Eastern Europe, remaining the only Black Sea port settlement of the times of the legendary Troy and the Trojan War in the region of the steppe area of the Northern Black Sea region, and which population maintained a close relationship with the surrounding territories. At the time of the fortified settlement flourishing, a clear system of unified settlement planning and development was formed within its territory: a citadel surrounded by a moat, suburbs in the hemisphere of the outer moat, and posad. Thus, we are dealing with a structure that corresponds to the classical concept of ‘urbs’ – ‘city’. The historical phenomenon of the Dykyi Sad goes far beyond the traditional perception of both Bilozerka culture itself and the entire era of the Final Bronze Age in the south of modern Ukraine. In many respects (material culture, economy, crafts, architecture), the Dykyi Sad differs from the concepts that have been developed in science so far. It should also be noted that no traces of the combat assaults on the fortifications and any destruction of its structures as a result of hostilities have been found at the settlement. This fact indicates the military-fortification innovations of the inhabitants of the fortified settlement and the strong fortifications of the Dykyi Sad. Given all the above facts, the fortified settlement of Dykyi Sad can be described as the most striking phenomenon among the archaeological sites of the Final Bronze Age in the south of Ukraine. Undoubtedly, the Dykyi Sad was an important strategic center of the Final Bronze Age in the steppe zone between the Prut and Don rivers.