Current work site: Pskov Oblast
Head of expedition: Andrey Mazurkevich
In 1962, G.P. Grozdilov created the Neolithic Unit within the Pskov Archaeological Expedition (headed by A.M. Miklyaev) intending to trace the evolution of material culture from the emergence of human life in the area until the Middle Ages. The new unit was reorganized in 1964 by M.I. Artamonov into an independent Nevel Expedition, renamed the North-West Archaeological Expedition of the State Hermitage Museum in 1970. The Expedition has been headed by A.N. Mazurkevich since 1993.
A number of Early Iron Age and mediaeval monuments were discovered and studied by A.M. Miklyaev, R.S. Minasyan and V.I. Mikhailov. In the mid-1980s, B.S. Korotkevich focused on Early Iron Age monuments, while A.G. Furasyev, I.I. Eremeev, N.V. Lopatin and V. Nefedov chose to concentrate on the mediaeval sites. Later, the archaeologists organized their own expeditions.
Between 1962 and 1968, most studies were conducted in Usvyatsky District, Pskov Oblast. In 1963, the first stilt-house settlements dating from the Middle – Late Neolith (end of 4th–mid-2nd millennium BC) were discovered. The Usvyaty IV site, which gave its name to the whole Usvyaty culture of stilt-house settlements, was found to contain remnants of pile dwellings, zoomorphic images made of bone, the Usvyaty Idol and wooden equipment (an oar, a scoop with a handle decorated with a bear head, axe handles, etc.); rich ceramic and flint collections were retrieved. In the 1970s–1980s research efforts mainly targeted the Mesolithic and Early – Late Neolithic monuments of Dubokrai I-X and the Mosty iron works discovered at the bottom of Zhizhitskoe Lake (Naumovskoe Settlement) and Sennitsa Lake (Pskov Oblast). The sites became testing grounds for underwater research methods. In the mid-1980s excavations started in the valley of the Serteyka River (left tributary of the Western Dvina River, Smolensk Oblast). Survey and digging works were conducted by A.N. Mazurkevich, M.E. Polkovnikova, D.V. Gerasimov, M.N. Praslova (Zheltova), S.N. Lisitsyn, I.Yu. Khrustaleva and E.V. Dolbunova. The area proved to be extremely rich in Early – Late Neolithic sites. The Middle and Late Neolithic sites dating from the 8th–6th millennium BC, discovered in the moorlands and under the water, are the oldest Neolithic monuments in the woodland area of Eastern Europe. Extensive archaeological and geological studies made it possible to reconstruct Early – Late Neolithic settlement patterns which favoured diverse economic activities including land cultivation and cattle farming. Apart from the settlements, fishing sites with remnants of wooden fishing structures and a fragmented fishnet with plummets dating from the 6th–3rd millennium BC were found. Underwater excavations on the stilt-house settlement of Serteya II have become the principal research field in the past several years, yielding remnants of wooden pile dwellings, art works and fragments of textiles and ropes made of wood fibres.
Large-scale geological investigations, series of tests and investigations have enabled archaeologists to reconstruct the evolution of the local landscapes and river network during the Neolithic period. These studies make it possible to follow the history of the region over several millennia, focusing on the changes resulting from the unexpected transgressions and regressions, warmings and coolings, the arrival of bearers of other cultures from the woodland areas of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Central Europe and the Baltic Sea Region.
