Siberian period of scientific activity G.O. Ossovsky

Gottfried Osipovich Ossovsky, a famous geologist and archaeologist, worked from 1893 to 1897 in Siberia. For this short period of time he discovered and investigated several burial grounds and barrows and carried out hydro-geological investigations in Tomsk province. G.O. Ossovsky (1835-1897) was born in Ko-zarovka village (Kiev county, the Russian Empire (now Cherkasy region, Ukraine) The first period of his scientific activity (1862-1874) was connected with the geological study of Volyn. He prepared and published the first geological map of the area, opened new mineral «volynit». The second period (the Prussian-Galitsky (1874-1893)) was associated with the work in Torun and Krakow. Being the member of Krakow's archaeological Museum G.O.Ossovsky earned his recognition in the European archaeological community. The greatest popularity was got by his researches of upperpalaeolithic cave parking areas in vicinities of Krakow and excavation of the Great Ryzhanovsky barrow. G.O.Ossovsky moved to Tomsk in March, 1893. Hydro-geological researches became a mainstream of his scientific activity in Siberia. During 1893-1896, he directed the work and took part in the commissions for the study of sources of water supply of migrant sites in Kainsky, Mariinsky and Tomsk regions, as well as the city of Tomsk. Hydrogeological studies were published in separate books. In the summer of 1893 G.O. Ossovsky started the archaeological researches in Siberia. In the beginning there was a trip to the Altai mountains in search of the caves. The area between Barnaul and Solonovka along the rivers Barnaulka, Kasmaly and Kulundy was investigated and also the trial excavation in the caves on the river Charysh was made. The same year G.O. Ossovsky researched several medieval burial mounds near the village of Shigarka on the river Yaya. The main archaeological work in Siberia was conducted by G.O. Ossovsky in the autumn, after the completion of the hydrogeological studies. In September, 1894, he excavated burial mounds of the early Iron Age (bolsherechenskaya culture) and the Middle Ages (vengerovskaya culture) of Baraba. The research materials were published in the Reports of the Imperial archaeological Commission. In the autumn of 1895 and 1896 respectively G.O. Ossovsky conducted the reconnaissance and excavations in Mariinsky forest-steppe. He marked with areas of barrow groups in the area of forest- steppe from Mariinsk to Achinsk. In the area G.O. Ossovsky unearthed 7 burial mounds of the early Iron Age (tagarskaya culture). In Siberia G.O. Ossovsky continued to work with archaeological materials from Eastern Galicia. He finished his major five-volume archaeological work "Prehistoric monuments of Poland", and also a monograph on the study of the caves of the South-Western edge of European Russia and adjacent areas of Galicia. G.O. Ossovsky didn't have the time to publish the results of the Siberian excavations. The Tomsk period of his biography and the scientific contribution to the study of Siberia require further study.

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