Pages: 311-326

The article publishes a unique complex of kilns dated by the late Middle Ages and meant for saltpeter-making, which is the main component of the black powder. The complex was studied by the authors in 2005-2006 within the western fortified section of the Belskoe settlement dated by the Scythian time (Dnieper’s forest-steppe left side, Vorskla River basin).
The materials are considered in the context of available data, first of all, written records, telling about saltpeter-making in Ukraine, where one of the main centers of saltpeter-making was located in Poltava region in 16th-19th centuries.
The archaeological evidence published here is a significant contribution to our knowledge of making such a strategic product as saltpeter.

Keywords: Saltpeter-Making, Ukraine, Middle Ages, Poltava region