Slobodka-Romanovka

Abstract

An Eneolithic barrow situated on the hill between Krivaya Balka and Slobodka- Romanovka (nowadays on the outskirts of the central part of the city of Odessa) which gradually descends to the sea, ending by the famous Odessa Peresyp (Fig. 1b). Most probably, a series of barrows was constructed there, and only one has survived.This barrow is interpreted as the first polyethnic cemetery within the territory of the contemporary city of Odessa. Its thousand-year history involved many reshapings through burials and refillings as a ritual place used by Usatovo, Pit-Grave, Kemi-Oba, Catacomb, and Sabatinovka populations (Sinitsyn, 1955). Stratigraphically traced by Dobrovolsky (1950), this barrow is regarded as the most detailed reference point for barrow graves of prehistoric inhabitants of NWBS region.