Kyrylivska archeological site

Kyrylivska archeological site [Кирилівська стоянка]. An Upper Paleolithic archeological site discovered by Vikentii Khvoika on Kyrylivska Street in the district of Podil in Kyiv. It was excavated by Khvoika and Petro Armashevsky in 1893–1903. They found two archeological strata. The lower stratum, of the early Magdalenian culture, contained traces of fires, flint implements, piles of mammoth bones, some of them with ornamental carvings, and other animal bones. The most unique discovery was a mammoth tusk with complex ornamental carvings; the only similar artefact to be found in Ukraine was discovered in 2010 at the Obolonnia archeological site in the Chernihiv region. Approximately 9,000 sq m of the lower stratum of the Kyrylivska archeological site has been excavated to the depth of 20–22 m. This stratum is estimated to date back to ca 17,000 BC. The upper stratum, from the late Magdalenian period, yielded implements, the bones of bears, lions, wolves, and gluttons, and petrified coal. The bones were used to build shelters.

[This article was updated in 2020.]