Shpanivs’ke horodyshche (Shpaniv Hillfort)
There is a diagrammatic layout of this hillfort on the map of the General Staff of the Red Army dating back to 1939 (topographic survey of 1884). O. Kozhushko discovered the monument in 2014 and surveyed it at the same time.
Archaeological monument of national importance
The hillfort is located northward of the Shpaniv village in the forest, on the high right bank of the Ustia River.
50.68548, 26.24173
8,7 km
The hillfort occupies a cape that rises 20 m above the river floodplain. The site is oval with the sizes of 25×35 m, surrounded by steep slopes on the west and east. At the same time the site is protected by two arched ramparts on the north field-facing side. The inner rampart is up to 2 m high in the central part, it can also be traced along the western edge of the site, nevertheless this section is significantly damaged by military trenches. The outer rampart is formed between two arched moats up to 1 m deep, the height of this rampart from the bottom of the inner ditch is 1.0-1.2 m. The inner moat is dug only on the field-facing side, and the outer moat continues along the eastern slope by 2.5-3.0 m below the level of the hillfort site in the form of a terrace up to 2.0-2.5 m wide. The arrow of the cape is oriented to the south-east, it is separated from the hillfort site by a ledge up to 1 m high that is basically a narrow gentle descent, which was probably the road to the fortified site in ancient times.
The black humus soil on the site has a thickness of 0.5-0.7 m; there are fragments of moulded vessels and flint products of the Bronze Age.
Historic reference: B. Pryshchepa (2016). Pohorynski mista v Х-ХІІІ st. (The Cities of Pohorynnia in 10th-13th Centuries). Photograph: Yurii Oitsius
- Number of Hillforts: - 3
- Number of Springs: - 1
- Number of Attractions: - 9
- Number of Monuments: - 3