Bielskoe settlement - a settlement of the Scythian time (end of VIII – beginning of the III century BC) [1] , located on a hill in the interfluve of the Vorskla and Sukhaya Grun rivers near the village of Belsk, Kotelevsky district, Poltava region of Ukraine. A number of researchers are identified with the annalistic city of Gelon . It is the center of the Vorskla group of monuments of the Scythian time [2] . The settlement consists of three fortified settlements, united by one fortress wall. The total area of the settlement is 4875 ha. The length of the walls is about 37 km. Belsky fortification contains the Kuzemin fortification with an area of 15.4 hectares.
| Hillfort | |
| Bielskoe settlement | |
|---|---|
| A country |  Ukraine |
| Region | Poltava |
| First mention | V century BC e. |
| Status | Archeology monument |
Content
Research History
First mentioned by G. de Beauplan . A more detailed description of the Belsky settlement was made by Count A. A. Bobrinsky . The first excavations on the monument were carried out in 1906 by V. A. Gorodtsov . Since 1954, excavations at the Belsky fortification have been carried out by the expedition of Kharkov University under the leadership of B. A. Shramko . Since 1987, the monument has been explored by an expedition led by I. B. Shramko. From 1992 - 2006, a joint Ukrainian-German expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine worked in the settlement (in 1992-2002 the leader V. Yu. Murzin , in 2003-2004 the leader E.V. Chernenko, in 2005-2006 the leader S.V. Makhortykh )
The settlement is considered the center of the Vorskla group of monuments of Scythian time. According to B.A. Shramko, the Bielskoye settlement is the chronicled city of Gelon , mentioned by Herodotus , the center of the tribal association of Budins , Gelons and Neuros . V.A. Ilyinskaya did not agree with this hypothesis. At the moment, the stationary excavation is carried out by the expedition of the Kharkov National University under the leadership of I. B. Shramko.
General characteristics of the monument
According to the layout, the Bielskoye settlement is located on a plateau. It is a defense complex, which consisted of East, West and Kusemen fortifications, united by the rampart of the Big Belsky fortification. The shaft had wooden fortified walls with towers and other fortifications. Buildings on the hillfort are diverse: land-log cabins, dugouts, half-dugouts, farm buildings, forges for processing iron and bronze, a bone-cutting workshop. The remains of the sanctuary with numerous cult statuettes, a wooden temple with columns are examined. The finds are represented by ceramics, tools, horse harness, bone and horn products, flint and numerous metal products. The basis of the economy of the inhabitants of Belsky settlement was agriculture, cattle breeding, crafts. The monument dates back to the VIII - III centuries BC. e. [3] [4]
Excavations of the Southern rampart, which takes place in the middle of the great Belsky fortification, showed that in the 5th century BC, it separated the southern part of the fortification from the territory, the center of which was the eastern Belsky fortification [5] .
Literature
- Priymak V.V. Problems of vivchenny old age I tis. n e. Bilskogo mikroregіonu (until 70 r.ch. О.. O. Goryunova) // Memos of the archeology of the -pivnichnogo zadidnogo і zhidnogo sectors ’in the district of Bilskogo mound (I tis. BC. - I tis. BC. E.). Poltava, 2010.S. 74-93.
Notes
- ↑ Archaeological Dictionary. - M., 1990 .-- 368.
- ↑ Gavrilyuk N.O. Vocabulary-dictionary of archeology. - K:., 1996 .-- 431 p.
- ↑ Shramko B.A. Belskoe settlement of the Scythian era. - К., 1987. - 180 p.
- ↑ Ilyinskaya V.A., Terenozhkin A.I. Scythia, VII — IV centuries BC e. - K., 1983. - S. 345—348.
- ↑ New archaeological discoveries in the Scythian settlement (photo)
Links
- Bielskoe fortification on youtube.com
- The film about B.A.Shramko (video channel First Capital) "Boris Shramko"
- The film about the Belsky settlement "Misto Skif_v - Gelon"
- film about Bielsko Gorodishche " Lessons of history. Bilske Gorodishche"
- Uryadovy Courier [newspaper] dated 04/04/2014 "Muravsky way to the Bilsky hillfort"