EDMONTON, Alberta – In 2014, the Canada-Ukraine archaeological expedition in Baturyn, Ukraine, continued, excavating the remnants of Hetman Ivan Mazepa’s main residence. Prior to 1700, he constructed a richly embellished brick Baroque palace that was burned by Russian troops during their destruction of the town in 1708.
Many fragments of fine multi-colored glazed and terracotta floor, stove and façade revetment tiles were found. These decorative details of Mazepa’s villa represent the 17th century Kyivan school of architectural majolica.
Researchers have prepared computer reconstructions of nine ornamental floor pavement patterns of the palace’s reception halls, living quarters and office premises. Of all the known early modern buildings in Ukraine, Mazepa’s principal residence in Baturyn stands out for the largest number, variety and distinctive features of decorative types of ceramic floor tiles and pavement methods. This attests to its comparatively large size, multi-storied and multi-chamber architectural design, and exceptional embellishment.
Cover of the new booklet about archeological research in Baturyn.
Archaeologists have completed excavating the remnants of the spacious service structure at Mazepa’s court. It probably housed either members of the hetman’s guard or Kozak officers from his retinue. The following items were found at this site in 2014: 17th and 18th century Polish and Russian silver and copper coins; locally produced bronze buttons; a clasp and four figured appliqués with relief patterns and engravings that adorned the costly leather belts of officers; lead musket bullets; and fragments of imported German glazed tableware and Dutch porcelain tobacco pipes. Using computer techniques, investigators have reconstructed three decorated belts of wealthy Kozak officers.
Among the service structure’s debris and within the Baturyn fortress, many shards of delicate milk-glass plates painted with floral motifs were discovered. These were likely brought to early modern Baturyn from the Ottoman Porte. Finds of imported goods indicate the trade connections of the Kozak capital with Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Islamic East.
In the Baturyn suburb of Ostroh, a ceramic stove tile bearing the relief coat of arms of Pylyp Orlyk, a future émigré hetman and author of the first Ukrainian constitution (1710), was discovered. Archaeologists hope to locate the remnants of Orlyk’s residence at the site where this heraldic tile was found.
In the fortress, 10 graves of 17th and 18th century burghers were exhumed in 2014. Three of them can be identified as victims of the Russian assault on Baturyn.
The excavations of 2014 in Baturyn have yielded important data for research and reconstruction of the architecture and decoration of hetman residences as well as the accoutrement of Kozak officers. New archaeological finds testify to the vibrancy of grain agriculture, crafts and applied arts, as well as international commercial and cultural contacts of the town before the 1708 onslaught.
CIUS, the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (PIMS), and the Ucrainica Research Institute in Toronto sponsor the Baturyn project. Prof. Zenon Kohut (CIUS) is its academic leader. Dr. Volodymyr Mezentsev (CIUS) and Prof. Martin Dimnik (PIMS) participate in this research and the dissemination of its results. Nearly 50 students and scholars from universities in Chernihiv, Kyiv and Hlukhiv took part in the excavations.
A Ukrainian-language booklet, by Profs. Kohut, Mezentsev et al., “Arkheolohichni Doslidzhennia u Baturyni 2013-2014 rr. Palatsy Ivana Mazepy ta Kyryla Rozumovskoho” (Archaeological Research in Baturyn 2013-2014. Palaces of Ivan Mazepa and Kyrylo Rozumovsky) was published in commemoration the 70th birthday of Prof. Kohut (Toronto, 2015, 32 pp., 79 color illustrations).
This is the fourth richly illustrated booklet presenting the work of Canadian and Ukrainian archaeologists and historians researching the capital of the Kozak state. The publication surveys the history of Baturyn during its golden age under Hetman Mazepa and the destruction of the town by Russian troops in 1708 and subsequent rebuilding by Hetman Kyrylo Rozumovsky. The sack of Baturyn is described using 18th century French sources and the Kozak chronicle.
The authors discuss the results of the 2013-2014 Canada-Ukraine excavations at the fortress and hetman estates. They examine the remnants of the palatial residences of Mazepa and Rozumovsky and present computer reconstructions of their architecture and decoration.
The paperback booklet is available from CIUS Press (telephone, 780-492-2973; e-mail, [email protected]; website, www.ciuspress.com) for $8.95.
Dr. Volodymyr Mezentsev is coordinator of the CIUS Baturyn Project.