HISTORICAL TOPOGRAPHY OF LUBECH IN 10th—11th CENTURIES

Abstract

The antiquities of Lubech of the 10th — the beginning 11th century are represented by cultural layer, fixed on large territory, burial assemblages and structures (residential, household, defensive) of this time, as well as finds of hoards and single coins.
 The complex of archaeological sites of Lubech 10th century consists of settlements, suburbs (posads) and burial mounds. Settlements are located along the edge of the indigenous terrace of the left bank of the Dnieper River (Lysa Gora, Zamkova Gora, Gorodische—1, settlement Monastyrische). Posads adjoining them from the east and south. Podil (down town) is located under the settlements, in the floodplain of the Dnieper river.
 From the north, east and south, the territory of the city was surrounded by burial mounds. In 1947 O. O. Popko recorded 6 mound groups which were located in the central part of the settlement (Dubret site), on Lysa Gora (Mokriivshchina site), northwest of the settlement, near the Dnieper floodplain (Chabotok site), in the northern part of Lubech, on Visokomy Poli (Kolovoroty site), east of Lubech (Duhivschina site) and in the southern part of the settlement, near the Podolnitsky Gora (settlement Monastyrische), in Kurgan site. In 2017—19, the remains of mounds near house of P. Polubotok were also archaeologically recorded.
 During the end of 19th — beginning 21st centuries in different mound groups of Lubech 39 burials 10th — early 11th centuries have been excavated. The diversity of burial rites in the mound groups of Lubech testifies of the variegated nature of the Lubech population at the initial stage of its existence.
 Residential and household buildings of this time are recorded at Zamkova Gora, Horodysche 1 and Lubechposad. Some of them contained the hand-made and wheel-made pottery of Romenska culture. At the settlement Zamkova Gora the residential buildings of the 10th century which consisted of one row of structure were found. Three dwellings with clay ovens located in the southern corners of the structures were discovered. Ovens were built either using clay rollers or stone. In all constructions the hand-made pottery of Romenska culture was dominated but some fragments of early whel-made pottery were also occurred.
 Two more residential buildings with Romenska culture hand-made ceramics were found at the posad of Lubech. The residential and utility buildings of the 10th century with the wheel-made pottery were also discovered. Some sites with the hand-made pottery of Romenska culture were partially excavated at the Horodysche 1.
 Hoards and individual finds of Arab coins and single finds of Byzantine coins of 10th — beginning of 11th century come from Lubech.
 Analyzing the archaeological material it can be concluded that Lubech probably originated at the turn of the 9th—10th centuries, and in the mid-10th century it was already the significant center of Eastern Europe.