Findings of the archaeologists in Baturyn have attracted the attention of the Archaeological Institute of America in New York (web.: archaeology.org). In 2023, the popular Archaeology magazine of this Institute published a nicely illustrated article about Baturyn and the tragic destruction of this capital of the Cossack state and the residence of the distinguished Hetman Ivan Mazepa by Russian troops in 1708, as well as the impressive archaeological findings there titled “Excavating Ukraine’s Lost Capital… a Bastion of Cossack Independence and Culture”. Mr. Daniel Weiss, executive editor of Archaeology, has prepared this article using the extensive consultations with Prof. Zenon Kohut, eminent historian of the Cossack polity and ex-director of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) at the University of Alberta, and Dr. Volodymyr Mezentsev of this Institute, executive director of the Canada-Ukraine Baturyn Research Project at CIUS and the associate leader of the excavations in Mazepa’s capital in 2001-13. Mezentsev’s photos of selected archaeological finds were published in the article. This highly reputable American magazine provides a broad publicity for the Baturyn history and culture and its study in the West.

Article

This illustrated article by Dr. Volodymyr Mezentsev in PDF examines the glazed ceramic stove tiles featuring the angels or putti of the Renaissance tradition which were excavated among the remnants of Ivan Mazepa’s palace in Baturyn (ca. 1700). These archaeological finds show the ornate interior decoration of his principal residence and the stimulating influence of the European Christian art on the Cossack Ukraine capital promoted by the hetman. The article was published in the bulletin Canadio-Byzantina, No. 36, University of Ottawa, January 2025. This Canadian academic series has published Mezentsev’s brief reports and updates on the Baturyn excavation results from 2002 onward (https://uottawa.scholarsportal.info/ottawa/index.php/cb/issue/archive).

Article

This article with gallery of colour illustrations in PDF examines the rare glazed ceramic and terracotta tiles featuring the angels or putti that ornamented stoves at the ambitious principal residence of Hetman Ivan Mazepa in his capital city of Baturyn. Their fragments have been discovered during the excavations of the palace’s remnants. This publication presents the computer graphic reconstructions of two complete tiles and the most expensive and ornate majolica multicolour tiled stove of Mazepa’s headquarter which was destroyed during the ravaging of Baturyn by Russian troops in 1708. These tiles testify to the wealth and fine art adornments of his palace and also demonstrate the assimilation and dissemination of the putti motif of the Renaissance tradition in the decorative applied art of Cossack Ukraine promoted by Mazepa. This article was published in the “Ukrainian Echo”, the English-language section of the popular Ukrainian Canadian newspaper “Homin Ukrainy”, Vol. LXXVI, No. 23, Toronto, June 18, 2024.

Ukrainian_Echo_2024

This illustrated article by archaeologists Dr. Volodymyr Mezentsev (Canada) and Yurii Sytyi (Ukraine) surveys the results of the 2021 excavations in Baturyn, Ukraine. It also examines the princely coat of arms of Ivan Mazepa depicted on the stove tiles discovered at the site of the ruined residence of Pylyp Orlyk, on the 19th-century German engraving, and the hetman’s seal, 1707-08, in a comparative analysis. The first shorter version of this article was published in the bulletin Canadio-Byzantina, No. 33, University of Ottawa, January 2022, pp. 15-22. These authors regularly present their articles and booklets on the history and culture of Mazepa’s capital at this website.
Article

This article with gallery of colour illustrations in PDF examines the rare ceramic stove tiles featuring the armorial bearings of Ivan Mazepa which were discovered during the excavations at Baturyn in 2017-20. It presents and analyses the computer reconstructions of his broken and burnt heraldic emblem in relief surrounded with images of weapons, military accoutrements, and hetman and Cossack symbols of power topped by the unique depiction of a princely crown. These archaeological finds have been identified with Mazepa’s coat of arms as Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. He was granted this title in 1707. This article was published in the “Ukrainian Echo”, the English-language section of the popular Ukrainian Canadian newspaper “Homin Ukrainy”, Vol. LXXIII, No. 10, Toronto, March 9, 2021.
Article

This illustrated article in PDF surveys the findings of the 2020 excavations of remnants of the underground brick tunnel in Hetman Ivan Mazepa’s manor, the residences of Chancellor General Pylyp Orlyk, and a well-to-do Cossack in Baturyn’s suburbs. It focuses on the decorations of unearthed ornamental and heraldic stove tiles in Ukrainian baroque style of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Photos and computer graphic reconstructions of selected broken and burnt ceramic tiles as well as two façades of heating stoves of the ruined P. Orlyk’s home are presented and described.
Article

This illustrated article by Dr. Volodymyr Mezentsev in PDF summarises the results of the excavations in Baturyn last summer focusing on the ceramic ornamental and heraldic stove tiles found at the ruined residences of Ivan Mazepa and Pylyp Orlyk. It is an off-print from the bulletin of the Canadian Committee of Byzantinists Canadio-Byzantina, No. 32, University of Ottawa, January 2021, pp. 13-18, republished here with the permission of the author. Our colleague, Dr. Mezentsev, regularly contributes his articles and booklets on the history and antiquities of Ivan Mazepa’s capital at this website.
Canad-Byzantin_N32_2021