Archaeological Research of Sites of the Peter the Great Era in Volgograd Region

Introduction. This paper presents preliminary results of the first archaeological survey of the objects of the archaeological heritage “Petrov Val” and “Selimov Val of 1550.” The main purpose of the event has become the clarification of existing information regarding to the features of creation and operation of difficult hydraulic engineering structures such as “Selimov Val of 1550” or Johann Brekkel’s canal and “Petrov Val” or rather, the canal, which was built under the leadership of John Perry at the turn of the 17th – 18th centuries. Methods and materials. During the research, the attempt to discover the cultural layer of the 18th century was made using the help of archeological methods. Analysis. In the process of visual inspection of these objects, their significant damage was observed, which was inflicted during human economic activity. During the archeological exploration, open test pits were made to identify the cultural layer in the most promising places. While studying the site “Petrov Val”, the test pit was made on the territory located near the Ilovlya riverbed. During the survey of the object “Selimov Val of 1550”, one pit was made near the Cossack artillery battery, which can be dated to the beginning of the 18th century, the second was made in the place where, a small old working settlement of the builders of the Brekkel’s canal was located, according to the map from the atlas of Kruise (1704). Unfortunately, archaeological material was not found during the excavations. Results. During the visual inspection of the site “Selimov Val of 1550”, its beginning from the Ilovlya River and its continuation up to the settlement of Petrov Val, which had not been considered for forming the boundaries of this object before, were localized. According to the results of archaeological work, it has become clear that the name “Selimov Val of 1550” is wrong, because the surviving remains of this hydraulic engineering structure fully correspond to the description of the canal, which was laid by workers under the leadership of Johann Brekkel in the late 17th century.