Podil in ancient Kyiv
Located between the Kiev mountains and Dnieper, Podil in ancient Kyiv, it is the Lower Town, inhabited by artisans and merchants, even in the ancient history of Kyiv played an important role in the economic and socio-political life of the city. The first mention of Podil in the annals dates back to 945. Here, in the mouth of the river Pochaina, there was a river harbor, which took the merchant fleets that marched along the Dnieper River. Here, half a century before the adoption of Christianity by Russ, there was the first Christian church in Kiev, the Ilyinsky Church. A significant place was occupied by Podil in the history of Kyiv and in subsequent centuries.
On Podil in 1972, at a depth of 10-12 m, unique objects were found: log houses and outbuildings, wooden piles, fences, sidewalks, wood products, birch bark, clay, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, glass. They date back to the 10th century. For the entire period of the archaeological study of Kyiv, such historical and cultural monuments were discovered for the first time. Their safety, as well as the depth of occurrence, amaze the imagination.
For many years the knowledge of scientists about Podil in ancient Kyiv was limited only to annalistic evidence. Archaeologically, this area could not be explored because of the dense urban development. Because of the lack of reliable data, historians were forced to be content with only assumptions. To confirm or to refute these hypotheses could only excavations. Only with their help it was possible to restore the external appearance of Podil of ancient Kyiv, to find out what the artisans living here were doing that they sold and bought at local trade, where trading yards and handicraft settlements were located, where the Kyiv shipyard was located and where the Pochayna trade court.
Such an opportunity appeared in archaeologists only in 1971 in connection with the construction of the second stage of the Kyiv metro. Already the first stage of the work brought an important discovery: in the pits laid in the Red and Post squares, scientists managed to fix a section of cultural strata that extend to a depth of 12-14 m. The characteristic molded ceramics found in the lowest sediments undoubtedly testified that and the Upper, princely, the city, and the Posad Podil in ancient Kyiv arose almost simultaneously. At the same time, the settlement of Podil began long before the first mention of it in the annals.
Several fragments of ceramics, obtained during the penetration of the last layer, allowed to pre-date it 11-12 centuries. Under it is a thick layer of sand left by the flood of 945. The thickness of the sand deposit is 3,5 m. Under the sand layer a new cultural layer. Its time is also 11th c. Depth about 7,5 m. Under the cultural layer - again sand. And suddenly on a light background - some dark spot! The dark spot narrows, its contours become rectangular. Burial! The bones of the skeleton, with the exception of the skull, almost decayed. At the neck of the deceased - girls 5-6 years old - there was a necklace of colored glass and pastel beads.
A clear alternation of dark and light layers on the cut (dark layers - the result of human life and activity, bright - sand) indicated that in the existence of Podil in ancient Kyiv there were repeated breaks due to the Dnieper floods. Ceramics of the 10th - early 11th centuries, lying at a depth of 8-9 m from the modern surface, confirms the conclusions of geologists that it was during this period in ancient Kyiv that floods occurred especially often. Periodic spills forced the ancient Podilians to leave their habitable places, rise higher, build or rebuild their estates.
In the excavation on the Red Square of the ancient Podil, the researchers found 13 log buildings, lying at different levels. Five of them constituted a single housing and business complex of the 10th century - the estate. It was surrounded by a wooden fence, consisting of oak boards with a width of up to 20 cm. Four logs were located along the perimeter of the estate, the fifth - apparently, the earlier one - a few fell out of the general plan. The preservation of the log cabins made of pine logs was amazing: towering above the ground for six to ten crowns, they were not like the buildings of a thousand years ago, but on the unfinished and unfinished buildings of our day. For ten centuries they did not even darken!
Dendrochronological analysis of log houses showed that these buildings on the Podil of ancient Kyiv date back to 913-1047. In the buildings and on the territory of the manor, archaeologists found many different items of utensils: a birch bark cup, a wooden shovel with burnt edges, carved wooden utensils, clay pots, a carved bone comb, a bronze needle, a glass figure for playing checkers.
In archeology excavations of dwellings have always occupied an important place. Housing - one of the main indicators of the level of development of the material and spiritual culture of society. Cottages and whole manors in the 1970s were excavated in many places of Podil. The number of discovered old log houses exceeds 60. Podil's excavations of ancient Kyiv gave undeniable evidence for the assertion: the citizens of the trade and craft center of Kyiv lived in the above-ground chopped houses, and not in semi-dugouts with adobe walls, as previously thought. Residential and farm buildings were located on separate plots of land - manors, which were a closed space. The area of such estates ranged from 300 to 1000 square m. The manors from the streets and among themselves were protected by fences.
According to scientists, in the 11-13 centuries. on Podil could simultaneously exist 4000 estates on which lived (with an average family of six people) 24 thousand inhabitants. The territory of Podil ancient Kyiv was about half of the total area of Kyiv, and the density of the population, he probably was one of the densely populated areas of the capital.
According to the ethnic composition of the population of Podol in ancient Kiev was quite colorful. In addition to the Slavs, lived "Latins" - that is, people from Western Europe, Syrians, Jews, Armenians. The fact that the colony of Armenian merchants was located exactly on Podol is evidenced by the remains of the Armenian church, discovered in 1975.
Such polyethnicity of the population, which was primarily engaged in trade, not only facilitated the penetration of cultural achievements of the West and East in Kyiv, but also left its imprint on the social and political life of the city.
