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This article is an overview of the results of
archaeological surveys on Sakhalin Island in 2004 in the framework of
the Sakhalin II Project, which is an integrated oil and gas development project
on Sakhalin Island (Far East of Russia). The operator of the project is the
Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, Ltd. (SEIC). For the purpose of cultural
resources protection in the area of the Project’s direct or indirect impact, at
the design and construction stages of the Project specific measures were
provided. As a result of preliminary archeological research along the pipeline
footprint in 1998–2002, 68 cultural heritage sites were revealed, the majority
of which were archaeological sites dating from the Early Paleolithic period to
the late Middle Ages. Corresponding measures to mitigate impact of the
Project’s operations on the objects of cultural heritage have been undertaken,
including: re-routes, i.e. modification of the pipeline layout and access
roads; archaeological excavations; identification of protective zones for the
cultural objects, their fencing and safe keeping; archaeological monitoring during
the whole period of Project construction activities, etc.
In 2004 the SEIC Cultural Resource Contractor
arranged several archaeological expeditions including investigation of two
alternatives of the pipeline layout (where 16 archaeological sites were found);
salvage archaeological excavation of the Dzhimdan-5 and Nabil-1 ancient
settlements were carried out (five semi-underground pit dwellings were
studied). Archaeological monitoring was carried out for the majority of known
archaeological and historical sites. All known sites were included in the
alignment sheets, their location and description uploaded into the unified
database. Some archaeological sites, located in the immediate proximity to the
pipeline right-of-way, were fenced and included into the plan of obligatory
monitoring during construction operations.
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