Monastyryshche fortified settlement

Monastyryshche fortified settlement [городище Монастирище; horodyšče Monastyryšče]. A Slavic fortified settlement of the 8th to 10th century on the Romny River at the Monastyryshche landmark in Romny, Sumy oblast. Uncovered in 1901 and excavated in 1906 and 1924, the site yielded five semi-pit dwellings with clay ovens. Artifacts recovered in the course of excavations include elaborately decorated pottery, iron knives, bones of domestic and wild animals, and amulets featuring the teeth of animals (particularly bears). Ethnically, the inhabitants of the site are identified as Siverianians. Similar archeological sites have come to be known as ‘Romny fortified settlements,’ after the town in which Monastyryshche was found.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]