THE CHERNIHIV SIVERIANS

Abstract

Issues considers the emerging of East Slavic cities is one of the main challenges for contemporary Medieval studies. This challenge refers mainly to Polians, Drevlians, Severians and other tribes and tribal unions which are mentioned in some of Kyiv Rus manuscripts. The paper deals with the description of localization and finding in Chernihiv city the artifacts defined as the ones belonging to Romenska culture, which, in historical studies, identified as Severians (who was mentioned by Primary Chronicle).
 Some scholars (e. g. P. Tolochko), accept the hypothesis of Slavs (from Primary Chronicle) having had the cities. The others (e. g. Yu. Yu. Morgunov) are skeptical to this claim. Some historians (namely, A. V. Kuza) debate on series of material evidences — the empirical facts referring to some of inhabited localities which used to be Old Rus city of the period of feudal period. However, the major part of Severian centers showed no differences from other Old Rus centers, and their socio-topographical components looked in a similar way — mainly represented by the nexus of dytynets and posad. This is the core of skeptical theory, who, however, forget about early Slavonic and Kyiv Rus cities and centers are urban organisms existed not synchronically but diachronically — in the two different epochs: the former existed in times of prehistoric societies collapse, while the latter may be considered as «epiphenomenon» of early Slavonic centers, which inherits them culturally. Some Severians centers (such as Lubech, Snovsk or Radychiv) exceeded by fortifications area even some Old Rus cities. Severians tended to choose high terraces as dwelling places, which is exemplified by Novgorod-Siverskiy, Snovsk, Lubech and in Chernihiv particularly.