The Nebelivka experimental house construction and house-burning, 2014–2015

Authors

  • Stuart Johnston Durham University Department of Archaeology, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE
  • John Chapman Durham University Department of Archaeology, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE
  • Bisserka Gaydarska Durham University Department of Archaeology, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE
  • Aleksandr Diachenko NAS Institute of Archaeology, 12 Heroyiv Stalingradu Ave., 04210, Kyiv
  • Patricia Voke Wessex Archaeology (South), Old Sarum, Salisbury SP4 6EB
  • Marco Nebbia Durham University Department of Archaeology, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE
  • Vladyslav Litkevych Independent researcher

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.57573/be-ja.9.61-90

Keywords:

Trypillia, mega-site, Nebelivka, experimental archaeology, house-construction, house-burning

Abstract

One of the research goals of the AHRC-funded “Early urbanism in Europe?: the case of the Trypillia mega-sites, Ukraine” Project was the better understanding of how Trypillia houses burned down in order to aid our understanding of the taphonomy of house remains excavated at the Trypillia BII mega-site of Nebelivka. For that reason, the Project decided to build two 2/3 size Trypillia experimental houses – one single-storey and one two-storey – in order to compare the burnt remains of the two types of houses. In the first part of this article, we explain the construction methods of the two 4 x 3m houses and the resources utilized to build them. In the second part, we provide an account of the burning of the two-storey house and explain the principal results of the experiment. In conclusion, we seek to define the specific contribution of the Nebelivka experiment not only to the history of Trypillia house-burning but the wider debate of deliberate house-burning.

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be-ja-9-1-2019-61-90

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Published

2019-06-26

How to Cite

Johnston, S., Chapman, J., Gaydarska, B., Diachenko, A., Voke, P., Nebbia, M. and Litkevych, V. (2019) “The Nebelivka experimental house construction and house-burning, 2014–2015”, Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology | Българско е-Списание за Археология, 9(1), pp. 61–90. doi: 10.57573/be-ja.9.61-90.

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2019)

Section

Papers

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