Horbakivs’ke horodyshche (Horbakiv Hillfort)

Archaeological monument of national importance.

The hillfort is located on the eastern outskirts of the Horbakiv village of Babyn Territorial Community (Hromada), on the left bank of the Horyn River in the “Horodyshche” Isolated Terrain.

50.60859, 26.64663

11,6 km

The ancient fortification was built on the valley bank, which rises above the river floodplain by 5.0-5.5 m. The site is close to quadrangular shape, with rounded corners, measuring 60×55 m (the total area is 0.3 ha). The hillfort is protected by a rampart on three sides (except for the north-eastern river-facing side), that has the maximum height on the field-facing south-western side (up to 1.5 m), its height on the north-western side is 1.0-1.3 m, while from the south-east it does not exceed 1 m. The site is used for farming lands and gardens, while the inner slope of the rampart is destroyed during ploughing.

The moat is better traced on the south-western side, and on the east and west it is levelled by ploughing and weakly expressed in relief. The central part of the site is noticeably lower than at the edges. The modern entrance to the settlement is located on the south-western side, there is a gap in the rampart here. However in ancient times, the entrance most probably was arranged near the eastern corner of the fortification.

The material collected on the site contained single fragments of Slavic/Kyival Rus moulded vessels and pottery, hence the scientists determined the time of the fortress operation as the 9th – early 11th century.

Svieshnikov discovered the settlement in 1962 southward of the hillfort, on a narrow cape on the left bank of the Horyn River. B. Pryshchepa surveyed it in 1989. The scientists found ceramics of the 10th-12th centuries, materials of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages on the eastern slope of the river bank, on kitchen-gardens.

Historic reference: B. Pryshchepa (2016). Pohorynski mista v Х-ХІІІ st. (The Cities of Pohorynnia in 10th-13th Centuries). Photograph: Yurii Oitsius