History of Rescue Studies at Kamiana Mohyla in 1950s

Abstract

 A great number of research works is devoted to Kamiana Mohyla. Its main researchers are O.M. Bader, V.M. Danylenko, M.Ya. Rudynskyi, V.M. Hladylin, and B.D. Mykhailov. The history of the study of Kamiana Mohyla begins at the end of the 19th century and lasts until today, though, there is no special study on this topic so far.

This article is devoted to the rescue archaeological research at Kamiana Mohyla in the 1950s due to the construction of the Molochansk reservoir. The works were carried out by the Melitopol-Terpinnia Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology, the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR headed by DSc. M.Ya. Rudynskyi.

The main effort of these studies was aimed at the discovery of plates with patterns and at their recording. During five field seasons, a significant number of images on stone slabs, both known before, and new (over 50) were discovered and described. To accomplish this task, a complicated mounting work was done, with enlisting the services of the specialists and «heavy» equipment. The importance of revealing the whole image was suggested by M.Ya. Rudynskyi, who believed that this was the only way to make more or less accurate interpretation of the picture in the future. The expedition researchers also carried out the first topographical plan of the monument. They recorded its appearance in more than 600 photographs.

Since the construction of the reservoir was frozen, Kamiana Mohyla was not destroyed. M.Ya. Rudynskyi was actively involved in the issue of monument’s protection. It was he who initiated the creation of the Preserve of the Academy of Sciences at Kamiana Mohyla. In addition, he wrote articles, gave lectures and excursions to introduce the population to the cultural and historical heritage of their land.

Compared with previous years, the work of the Melitopol-Terpinnia Expedition in the 1950s can be considered the first large-scale and thorough research of the monument.