Investigations of the Historical Centre of Ochakiv (on the Results of the Works of 2021)

The article is devoted to the results of preservation archaeological investigations of Ochakiv in 2021. The works performed on the square of 214 m2 according the Plan of the Department of Architecture of Ochakiv City Council. Locations of future fountains were marked on the plan, which required archaeological research. The method of carrying out the work consisted of investigations in the places where the future fountains will be built in order to prevent the destruction of the cultural layer or the remains of the building. Therefore, field work was conducted to identify the cultural layer or the remains of historical buildings and accordingly either the sampling of the cultural layer or the conservation of building structures. The results of archaeological studies allow obtaining important evidences on the cultural and chronological periods of development of this historical city of the 15th–18th centuries. The cultural artefacts of the Ottoman period present the classic features of typology classification of ceramics as chronological indicators. There is pottery of the well-known centres of Turkish art ceramics: İznik, Kütahya, Çanakkale and imports from Çhine. Ukrainian glazed and painted ceramic dishes of various forms are widely represented in the collection of artefacts of the 17th–18th centuries. Such tableware is typical for the material culture of Southern Ukraine. It was present at all area of the site of the Ottoman period as the second component of the material culture of the Northern Black Sea region. Glassware was also represented. Items of various purposes made of different materials were also found. For example, smoking pipes is a remarkable group among them. These finds present an important component of the material culture of Southern Ukraine, one of the regions of the Ukrainian nation formation. As a result of Russian aggression, Ochakiv is being devastated by bombs and rockets, making any further archaeological study impossible.