Enrollment and Systematization of Archaeological Objects in the Territory of Mykolaiv Oblast in the 1970s

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper is to publish and consider the results of memorial protection activities in the territory of Mykolaiv oblast in the 1970s and analyze the evolution of Soviet approaches to the regulatory support of cultural heritage protection.

The scientific novelty. Based on the study of the results of archaeological research, which determined the initial list of objects for enrollment, as well as the process of enrollment and systematization of archaeological sites of cultural heritage in the territory of Mykolaiv oblast in the 1970s, statistical data on archaeological sites according to territorial-administrative (raion based) and specific features are obtained. The legal and regulatory framework and administrative documents that regulated relations in the memorial protection sphere and provided legal protection for archaeological sites at the local and republican levels are analyzed.

Conclusions. It can be argued that the innovations that occurred in the Soviet memorial protection legislation in the post-war period led to the legal provision of archaeological sites preservation. In turn, active archaeological activity in the territory of Mykolaiv oblast in the 1960s – 70s, in conjunction with research into the region’s historical past, gave impetus to the formation of a basic list of discovered but unexplored cultural heritage objects.

In 1971 and 1978, local authorities initiated the foundation of legal recognition and consolidation of the protective status of archaeological sites. The aforementioned resolutions of Mykolaiv Oblast Council marked the beginning of active work on enrollment and ensuring the preservation of memorials, establishing the fundamental forms and methodologies for that undertaking. Concurrently, there is a degree of legal ambiguity surrounding the legitimacy of the resolution adopted by Mykolaiv Oblast Council of People's Deputies No. 357 of July 2, 1971, which calls into question the status of the objects taken under protection according to that resolution.

The authors uncovered that among the central executive bodies of the Ukrainian SSR, the powers to develop relevant profile legislation, implement a policy on the protection of historical and cultural memorials, and coordinate memorial protection activities were assigned to the Ministry of Culture of the Ukrainian SSR, established in 1953. As part of those structural transformations, the role of academic institutions also changed, and they began to be involved in developing profile drafts of regulatory legal acts on the protection of cultural heritage. The culmination of that evolutionary process was the promulgation of the Law of the Ukrainian SSR of July 13, 1978 ‘On Protection and Use of History and Culture Memorials’, which, although based on the foundations laid by the all-Union normative act, incorporated distinctive republican features, including the delineation of pivotal terms and conceptual frameworks.