A Trypillia Settlement Discovered Above Verteba Cave in Ternopil Region

Researchers have discovered a Trypillia settlement above Verteba Cave in Ternopil region, revealing new archaeological evidence about prehistoric communities and supporting efforts to secure UNESCO World Heritage status.

During extensive magnetometric surveys using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at two Trypillia culture sites included on UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in Ternopil region, researchers discovered a Trypillia settlement on the surface above Verteba Cave.

This was reported to a Ukrinform correspondent by archaeologist Mykhailo Sokhatskyi, director of the Borshchiv Regional Museum of Local Lore.

“A team of researchers from the S. I. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv studied Trypillia sites using high-resolution magnetometry with UAVs. This method makes it possible to detect underground objects and soil features by measuring variations in the magnetic field,” Sokhatskyi said.

According to him, modern equipment enabled specialists to conduct a successful non-invasive archaeological survey of three Trypillia settlements located on the surface above Verteba Cave and near the village of Hlybochok, covering an area of approximately 60 hectares.

“We were able to see the clear outlines of the remains of Trypillia houses and map these prehistoric settlements with considerable accuracy. For example, there turned out to be far more dwellings in Hlybochok than we had anticipated. We could see how people arranged their houses in accordance with the landscape and oriented them toward the sunny side,” the archaeologist added.

The research findings are still being processed. However, the data obtained so far indicate that Trypillia settlements existed not only inside Verteba Cave but also above it.

“Verteba is unique because it is the only place where a Trypillia settlement existed underground. Moreover, it existed there for a long time — about 750 years. We decided to find out whether people had also settled on the surface above it. We carried out small-scale archaeological excavations using test pits and found that people had also lived above the cave.

Unable to conduct large-scale excavations, we used equipment to ‘scan’ the surface above Verteba and discovered archaeological features in the form of dwellings. This means that Verteba has taken on new significance. There is the underground Verteba, but there is also an above-ground cultural heritage site.

We will now determine its parameters, including the size of the settlement, its boundaries, and how it overlaps with the cave’s karst sinkholes. Perhaps there were other entrances to Verteba, or maybe there is another cave nearby. The equipment allows us to see all of this, so we are eagerly awaiting the final research results,” Sokhatskyi said.

It is worth noting that the research will provide an important basis for preparing the documentation required to nominate two Trypillia cultural heritage sites — Verteba Cave and Hlybochok — for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

As Ukrinform previously reported, the Trypillia settlements located in Verteba Cave and near the village of Hlybochok in Ternopil region were added to UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites.