Unusual discoveries after the Nova Kachovka disaster. What was hidden at the bottom of the tank?

On June 6, 2023, the world learned about the blowing up of the dam in Nova Kachovka. Most analysts indicate that Russian troops were behind the explosion. Within a few hours, water from a huge reservoir with a capacity of 18 cubic kilometers poured onto the surrounding towns, and the bottom, which had remained invisible for over six decades, saw the light of day. The exposed area is as much as 2,155 square kilometers - the historic Wielki Ług, called the "great meadow".

Archaeological El Dorado

The exposure of the bottom of the reservoir turned out to be a real treat for archaeologists. According to "The Guardian", intensive research began on the island of Khortytsa, near Zaporozhye, in September 2023. A team of archaeologists came across extraordinary finds: deer antler tools from the Bronze Age, fragments of Scythian pottery, a piece of a Byzantine amphora, and even an 18th-century anchor. The greatest sensation, however, was a perfectly preserved boat carved from a single tree trunk, which had survived underwater for over a thousand years.

The first crime was building a dam. The second one is to blow it up, says Valeriy Nefedow, an underwater archaeologist who has been advocating the gradual drainage of the reservoir for years. Today, together with a team of historians, ecologists and scientists, he is exploring previously unknown areas.

Appeal for protection and conflict of interest

More than a hundred Ukrainian non-governmental organizations support the application to include Veliky Lug on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Experts emphasize not only the unique historical but also natural value of this place. In just three years after the area was drained, trees up to seven meters high grew there. Biologists are also monitoring the levels of toxic heavy metals that may have been exposed after the water receded.

Building the dam was ecocide, destroying it was ecocide, and the third ecocide would be rebuilding it, emphasizes biologist Pawło Ołijnyk.

However, not everyone agrees with this position. The government of Ukraine, in cooperation with the state-owned company Ukrhydroenergo, is considering rebuilding the dam after the end of the war. The reservoir was crucial for irrigation of the southern agricultural areas of the country.

Working in the shadow of war

Today, Wielki Lug remains a gray zone, located close to the front line. Archaeologists and scientists work under constant threat of shelling. There is always a risk that a rocket will fall here, says Anatoly Volkov, who studies stone structures from the Bronze Age.

The history of this place dates back to ancient times. Already in the 5th century BC it was described by Herodotus, and in the 16th century the Zaporozhian Cossacks created their quasi-democratic republic here, important for Ukrainian identity.