Городниця над Дністром – невідоме місто княжої доби у Галицькій землі

Abstract

Early Medieval materials from the complex of sites near the village Horodnytsia, Horodenka district, Ivano-Frankivsk region are analyzed. These sites are represented by hill-fort, cemeteries and numerous finds that are kept in museum collections of Lviv, Krakow, Warsaw, Vienna and in private collections. The hill-fort in Horodnytsia was discovered in 1876 by W. Przybysławski and described in detail by I. Kopernicki. The site is classified as a complex one – it occupies four localities and has a well-preserved system of fortification ramparts and ditches. It is supposed that original settlement was built during Hallstatt period and during Early Middle Ages its ramparts and ditches were additionally strengthened and the largest locality of the hill-fort was divided by a large rampart and ditch into two parts. I. Kopernicki and W. Przybysławski studied the territory of the hill-fort by excavation pits of 5×1 m and found only separate finds. In the late 30th of XX century the hill-fort was studied by Lviv archaeologist M. Smishko. He made a section of the rampart and found two burned buildings of ХІІ–ХІІІ centuries with the skeletons of killed adults and children. Traces of several settlements were recorded around the hill-fort, also barrows and under-plate cemeteries were investigated there. The barrow cemetery, which includes 16 mounds, can be dated to XI–XII centuries. It is related not to the hill-fort, but to earlier settlement in Horodnytsia. Instead, the under-plate cemetery (26 burials), located between the foot of the hill-fort and the right bank of Dnister River, was synchronous with the hill-fort. In addition to ordinary burials, rich female ones, typical for urban centre were found. It is possible that another under-plate cemetery, situated on the left bank of Dnister River in Zhezhava (now Zelenyi Hai, Ternopil region), is related to the hill-fort. All artifacts found in Horodnytsia belong to different categories of archeological sources, most of them are typical for urban settlements. According to its external features, the settlement fully corresponds to cities. Its area of 6,12 hectares, presence of cemeteries and traces of settlements witnessed about existence of the largest and most strategically important point in this part of Upper Dnister region between annalistic Halych and Vasyliv. The name of the modern village also carried urban tradition. Burning of the hill-fort and extermination of its inhabitants probably occurred during the Mongol invasion to Halych land in the end of 1240 – beginning of 1241. Analysis of the results of excavations and finds from Horodnytsia demonstrates that in Halych land, in addition to the cities known from chronicles, there were urban settlements that are not mentioned by written sources. Key words: Horodnytsia, hill-fort, cemeteries, archaeological finds, Mongolian invasion, written sources.