HOLY ASCENSION MONASTERY NEAR DUBNO IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2019–2020

Abstract

The study of the sacred monuments of Volyn requires the involvement of new sources. Some religious centers have disappeared, leaving only a mention of their existence in historical documents. Such sites include the Holy Ascension Convent (also known as Pidboretsky), which was founded on April 8, 1592 on the island of Dubovets among the Surmytsky pond in Dubno.
During 2019-2020, archeological research was organized here by the State Historical and Cultural Reserve of Dubno together with the Interregional Public Scientific Organization «Dubno Archaeological Center» and students majoring in «History and Archeology» of the National University «Ostroh Academy».
During this time it was investigated part of the large secular cemetery near the monastery arose at the final stage of its existence, not earlier than the second half of the XVIII century. It was established that in this area approximately after the 1660s, pits were arranged, necessary for the disposal of significant accumulations of garbage and construction waste. In turn, this may indicate that the area opened by excavation 2 from the time of the foundation of the monastery remained free from construction. However, it is possible that there were some buildings on it, but the peculiarities of the structures did not contribute to their archaeologicalization.
Burial in the cemetery, discovered during excavations, probably continued even after the liquidation of the monastery in 1832. The upper chronological limit of the cemetery is the middle of the XIX century. This dating is due to the construction of a new church in the village of Pidbortsi in 1850, after which the old monastery church on the island was dismantled, although the burials of the villagers probably continued here for some time.