THE BARROW OF ZRUBNA CULTURE OF THE "THREE BROTHERS" GROUP NEAR THE VILLAGE OF VEDENSKE (BASED ON V. KULBAKA’S EXCAVATIONS)
Authors:   Mariupol State University, Zabavin V. , Nebrat S. ,   Mariupol State University
Published: November 2024

The article presents the materials of the study of the Late Bronze Age Zrubna culture barrow from the "Three Brothers" mound group near the village of Vedenske in the south of Donetsk region of Ukraine. The article substantiates the relevance of published materials obtained during the research in the North Azov region in 1987 headed by V. Kulbaka, due to the threat to the historical heritage of Ukraine and its cultural values, as well as the state of archaeological heritage during the war. The ritual and inventory complex of burials is considered through the prism of the created general register of burial cities of the Zrubna culture of the North Azov region. This made it possible to clarify and systematise the source base, give a comprehensive formalised statistical description of the burial monuments according to the data of the studied necropolis, and consider some technological features of the construction of stone tombs of the Zrubna culture. On the basis of the barrow comparative stratigraphy and typological analysis of the ritual and inventory complex, three stratigraphic horizons were identified, which correspond to the main chronological stages of emergence and development of the Zrubna culture barrow. Stratigraphic observations and analysis of the ceremonial and inventory complex of burials allowed to establish the sequence of their construction in the mound with a certain degree of probability. All the burials of the mound, except for burial 1, were arranged in ordinary soil pits. The ceremonial and inventory complex of the burials and the qualitative features manifested in the shape and proportions of the pottery, the composition of the ceramic mass, surface treatment and ornamentation allowed us to assign the ceramic corpus of burials 2-7 to the II (developed) horizon of the Zrubna culture cemeteries of the North Azov region. To a large extent, the Azov burial mounds are characterised by a variety of stone architecture. A single burial in a stone structure stands out against the background of ordinary soil pits. The burial structure of grave 1 is a stone tomb built by horizontal masonry. The structure of the tomb is made of small limestone stones. The complexes made in burials with various stone structures occupied the highest positions in the stratigraphic columns of the North Azov region in almost all cases. Most of the burials with various stone structures were attributed by researchers to the ІІІ (late) horizon of the Zrubna culture cemeteries of the North Azov region. The ceramic series of the third chronological horizon is characterised by the spread of relief ornamentation of pottery, with single (rarely two) adhesive semi-circular or oval rollers under the edge of the rim and along the shoulders. The results of the analysis do not contradict the traced cremation rite in the stone tomb. In all known cases, cremations also occupied the upper stratigraphic position in Azov mounds. Keywords: North Azov region, archaeological research, Late Bronze Age, Zrubna culture, cultural-historical (archaeological) heritage, mound, barrow, stone architecture.