THE BRONZE AGE BARROW NEAR THE VILLAGE NYZHNYA DUVANKA ON THE LEFT BANK OF SIVERSKI DONETS RIVER

Abstract

The results of excavation of a Middle Bronze Age stratified barrow near the village of Nyzhnya Duvanka, Svativ district, Luhansk region are published in the paper. Nine burials were discovered, including seven burials of the Сatacomb Сultural community and two burials whose cultural affiliation is unclear. From a cultural and chronological point of view, the discovered burials belong to Donetsk (Donetsk-Don, according to S. N. Bratchenko) Сatacomb Сulture of the Middle Bronze Age. The primary burial of the barrow is burial 9 of the Donetsk Catacomb Culture. Among the finds, the stone ax-hammer that accompanied the child’s burial 3 attracts special attention. According to the classification of V. I. Klochko, this stone ax-hammer belongs to the «Ingul» type which is characteristic for Ingul Catacomb Culture. Such hammer axes in the «Donetsk» burials of the late stage reflect the connections with the Dnieper region. The presence of astragalus in the burials of the barrow 1 of group 2 near the village of Nyzhnya Duvanka which were found en masse especially in the graves of children and adolescents of males is also of great interest. The ditch around the mound, which is a rather rare phenomenon in the barrow construction in the Siverski Donets region also should be noted. Another interesting point in the research of the barrow 1 of group 1 is the discovery of a pillar pit on the edge of the secondary mound. Its location as well as the catacomb complex of the burial, similar to the barrow 1 near Nyshnia Duvanka, and the finding of a large fragment of Catacomb culture pot very near the pit, to a certain extent, allow us to connect its origin with the bearers of the Catacomb cultural tradition.