NEW FOUND STONE AGE SITES IN THE MIDDLE CURRENT OF THE SIVERSKYI DONETS RIVER

Abstract

For two decades, the locations of flint, which can be dated to different epochs of the Stone Age, have been recorded in the middle current of the Siversky Donets. The exploration was carried out by the expedition of the M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum headed by I. A. Snizhko.

The first group of surface scatter of flint is located on the right bank of the Siverskyi Donets River between the Krynychne and Shchurivka villages and on the right bank of the Chepil’ River near the Volobuivka village, Izyum District, Kharkiv Region. The surface scatters of flints are located south of the Krynychne village, northeast of the Yanokhine village, to the east and northwest of the Khomin Yar ravine. Core-shaped fragments, cores, flakes, blades, microblade of local raw material were found here. On the eastern outskirts of the Nova Husarivka village, a piercing tool of the Late Paleolithic Type was discovered.

East of the Volobuivka village, on the right bank of the Chepil’ River, a large surface scatter of flint and quartzite artifacts is located. A collection of surface finds which can be divided into several groups was gathered here. The first group includes finds that can be dated to the Late Paleolithic: cores, core-shaped fragment, which was used as a hammerstone, flakes, burins, chisel-shaped tool. The finds of the second group belong to the Mesolithic-Neolithic period: cores, cutting ax preform, flakes and blades. Most likely, this is a primary processing workshop next to the outputs of raw materials that were used during different historical epochs.

The second group of surface scatters of flint is located between the Kam’yanka and Sunychyno villages. West of the Synycheno village, the finds which can be attributed to the Late Paleolithic period were collected: core, flakes and blades, burin. On the right bank of the Sukha Kam’yanka River, three sites of flint artifacts, which can be dated to the Late Paleolithic and Neolithic times have been located.

On the left bank of the Sukha Kam’yanka River, on the cape which was formed by an ancient ravine, the location of Late Paleolithic flint was recorded. It is similar to the materials of the Kam’yanka site, which is located 1 km north.

All the named surface scatters of flints are determined by visual inspection, except the location near the Volobuivka village, where the test pits were dugout. Now it is impossible to continue the research in this region due to permanent combat operations. But we still hope that publication of these materials will release in future.