Chern on the Prut

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Chern

Черн
Plan of the ancient hillfort
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Alternative name	Chern on the Prut  (English) Черн на Пруті  (Ukrainian)
Location	Chernivtsi
Region	Chernivtsi Oblast
Coordinates	48°20′06″N 25°53′37″E / 48.33500°N 25.89361°E / 48.33500; 25.89361Coordinates: 48°20′06″N 25°53′37″E / 48.33500°N 25.89361°E / 48.33500; 25.89361
Part of	Ukraine
History
Builder	Yaroslav Osmomysl
Founded	1150s
Site notes
Condition	Only ramparts remain, declared to be "Archeologic Monument"

Chern on the Prut (Ukrainian: Черн на Пруті; Old East Slavic: Чернь на Прутѣ) was a Ruthenian (Rus') hillfort located in the south of the Galician Principality. Nowadays it is also known as "Lenkivtsi hillfort" (Ленківецьке городище).

Etymology[]

The name of the settlement supposedly comes from the fact that the walls were made of dark logs, smeared with local chernozem. In the distance, the mound looked completely black.^{[citation needed]}

Location[]

Chern was located in the Prut - Dniester interfluve, on the border of the north-eastern slopes of the Carpathians and the western part of the Khotyn Upland. The hillfort is located in the north-western part of modern Chernivtsi, within its Lenkivtsi microdistrict, not far from the highway and railway to Lviv.

Historical background[]

In the first half of the 12th century in the lower reaches of the Danube there began to accumulate refugees from various lands as well as adventurers. Quite often these people, uniting in groups, committed robberies and attacked Russian cities. The center of the concentration was the river Bârlad and the settlement in place of modern city of Bârlad near it. Hence the name of the people Berladnici, and the area south of the Galician principality was known as  [ru]. In addition, it was there that Prince Ivan Rostislavovich of Zvenigorod had setteled after an unsuccessful attempt to capture Halych (1144).^{[citation needed]}

Present-day Chernivtsi is located on an area that was inhabited by White Croats and Tivertsians by the 9th century; it became part of Kievan Rus'. Its fortifications in defense against the Bârlad land were built by Yaroslav Osmomysl in the 12th century on the left bank of the Prut, and its part was the hillfort of Chern.^[1]

Foundation[]

In 1153, Yaroslav Osmomysl became the Galician prince.^[1][2] Realizing all the danger from the Berlad land and Ivan Berladnyk, Osmomysl decided to strengthen the approaches to Halych. For this purpose, on the southern border of the Galician principality in the same year, the settlement of Chern appeared.

This settlement is mentioned in the "" as "Chern on Prut". Scientists believe that the excavated site near present-day Chernivtsi dating to the 12th century and Russian chronicles' "Chern on Prut" be one and the same.^[3] After the 6,000-strong army of Berladniks led by Ivan Berladnyk was defeated in 1159, the period of conquest of the rebellious region by the Galician principality began. Chern continued to actively develop as a watchtower of the Berlad trade route from the capital of the principality of Halych to Maly Halych (Halych on the Danube). The settlement of Chern was founded in the second half of the 12th century.^[3]

Development[]

Protected from the north by the impassable swamps of the Bagna tract, the settlement consisted of three main parts: a fortified detinets (where the military-feudal nobility was concentrated), posads (where artisans and small traders lived) and settlements (where farmers worked). The fortifications consisted of several ditches filled with water, a wooden fence and a five-meter-wide earthen rampart. During the enemy attack, the steep clay slopes were watered. It was almost impossible to climb them under a hail of stones.

In the center of the detinets was a large house with a basement, which probably belonged to the governor. Various artisans, who made up the bulk of the population, lived on the territory of the posads. And the settlement, where mostly farmers lived, was owned by the Lenz family, from which, in fact, the name of the settlement comes - Lenkivtsi (Ленківці; Lențești). The settlement is mentioned later in the chronicle on February 23, 1488, under the name "Lentsevich village" (Ленцевичове село). Chernovetskaya volost was gradually formed around this settlement.

Destruction[]

The exact time when Chern was destroyed has not been established. According to researchers, this happened during the struggle of the Kingdom of Poland and the Principality of Moldova for the Shipin land (Шипинська земля; Țara Șipenițului) (late 14th - early 15th). However, it is also claimed that the settlement endured until no further than the middle of the 13th century, when it was destroyed by the Mongols.^[1] Indeed, it is said to have been destroyed in 1259.^[3]

The center of the parish was temporarily moved to the Chechun (Tsetsyn) fortress (Цецинська фортеця; Cetatea Țețina), and the parish became known as Chechun.

Residents of Chern and the volost ("Chernivtsi people") founded a new city (Novyi Chern) - Chernivtsi - on the right (safer) bank of the Prut.

Excavations[]

Research of the hillfort began in the 19th century. Minor excavations were carried out under the direction of  [de; pl; ro; ru; uk] of Chernivtsi University. He attributed the construction of the rampart to the 17th century, referring to the fact that the system of fortifications of the settlement included pentagonal bastions (the remains of one of them have survived to this day). However, later excavations showed that the earthen rampart of the settlement was only completed in the 17th century. The first earthen rampart was built in much earlier times, the ramparts having been built in the 12th century.^[3] In the 17th century two bastions were added to the embankment, and the embankment itself was raised to a height of 3.5 m and expanded to 15–20 m.^[3]

Beyond the mound were found posads measuring 1000 x 300–400 m. Remains of above-ground log cabins complete of clay klins were also excavated. Further, "typical early Russian ceramics, iron products (household items, weapons, tools), glass and metal ornaments, objects of Christian worship, etc. were found."^[3]

Excavations also showed that in the past there were other settlements around Chern's site, which together with it formed a larger community.

Current state[]

In ancient times, the shaft around the mound had the shape of a regular oval, elongated from south to north, which surrounded on all sides a site with a diameter of 80 m.^[3] In front of the shaft there was a defensive moat, up to 3.65 m deep and 14 m wide.^[3] Defense and housing cages were added to the defensive moat in front of the shaft.^[3]

During the construction of the road in the 19th century the southern part of the shaft was demolished. Today, the remains of Chern are a massive, horseshoe-shaped earthen rampart covered with grass. Properly arranged, the object received the appropriate status: of settlement/ Archaeological site, and is protected by the state.

References[]