Dobranichivka archeological site

Dobranichivka archeological site [Добранічівська стоянка; Dobranichivska stoianka]. See Map. An Upper Paleolithic site situated on the left bank of the Supii River in the village of Dobranichivka, Yahotyn raion, Kyiv oblast. The site dates back to the Magdalenian culture and is estimated to be 13,000 years old. It was accidentally discovered in 1952 and was first excavated in 1953 by Ivan Shovkoplias of the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR in 1966–74. Other excavations took place in 1967, 1969, and 1970. The area of the excavations is approximately 2,500 sq m. The Dobranichivka site was a winter settlement of Paleolithic hunters. Remains of four mammoth-bone dwellings, storage pits, fire pits, and flint, stone, and bone tools were uncovered at the site. A unique artefact found at the Dobranichivka site is a stylized sculpture of a female figure made of amber. In 1977 a local museum housing the artefacts from the Dobranichivka archeological site was established on the site as a branch of the Yahotyn Historical Museum.

Marko Robert Stech

[This article was updated in 2020.]