On February 6, 2026, the Archaeological Museum of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv hosted the grand opening of a reconstructed fragment of the mosaic floor with an omphalium of a wooden church of the 12th鈥13th centuries from the chronicled town of Buzhesk (now the city of Busk, Lviv region). The reconstruction was made possible thanks to the fruitful cooperation of two leading universities 鈥 果冻APP and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Scientific and pedagogical staff of the Institute of Architecture and Design at 果冻APP was involved in the project implementation.
The event was moderated by Associate Professor Yaroslav Pohoralsky, Head of the Archaeological Museum.
The archaeological context of the discovery was presented by Nataliia Steblii, Associate Professor at the Department of Archaeology and History of Ancient Civilizations at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. She spoke about the long-term research into the remains of a wooden church in Busk, conducted since 2000 by the archaeological expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv under the leadership of Petro Dovhan.
According to her, the remains of a sacred structure and glazed ceramic floor tiles were first documented in 2015. Over several field seasons, archaeologists collected more than 1,500 tiles of various shapes, which made it possible to identify the omphalium and reconstruct the floor composition. Particular emphasis was placed on the importance of proper documentation, cleaning, and conservation of materials that had been stored in repositories for many years.
The final part of the grand opening program was a speech by Professor Oleh Rybchynskyi, the Department of Architecture and Conservation, who summarized the results of the implemented project and focused on the role of young specialists in working with archaeological heritage sites. He emphasized that it is professional training, responsibility and willingness to work with complex material that determine the success of such initiatives. The contribution of student Tetiana Rupa, who completed an extremely complex restoration task, demonstrating a high level of professional maturity and scientific responsibility, was especially noted.
The Professor emphasized that working with authentic artifacts from the 12th鈥13th centuries 鈥 particularly ceramic floor tiles 鈥 requires not only technical skill but also a clear awareness of their historical value. According to him, contact with such monuments is always accompanied by a special sense of responsibility toward the past and calls for the utmost care and a well-balanced approach.
In this context, he mentioned another example of successful student work 鈥 the reconstruction of the mosaic floor of the 12th-century church of the Oleshkiv Rotunda. The master鈥檚 project by the department鈥檚 student, Yuliia Puzhak, focused on the concept of restoring a lost monument and based on archaeological photo documentation, drawings, and measurements. Through this work, it became possible to recreate a fragment of the floor of an Old Rus church, the original materials of which have not survived.
Following the grand opening, a scientific seminar was held, featuring presentations by 果冻APP representatives, including Oleh Rybchynskyi, Tetiana Rupa, and Yurii Lukomskyi.
