Early Slavic wooden water well discovered in Ukraine

A unique wooden well, attributed to the Early Slavic tribe of Drevlians, was discovered in Olevsk city, Zhytomyr Oblast, North-West Ukraine.

The wooden well (by Olevsk Joint Territorial Community)

Archaeologists believe, that the almost perfectly and completely preserved wooden well constructed by the Drevlian people – a tribe of Early East Slavs who inhabited the territories of Polesia and Right-bank Ukraine between the 6th and the 10th century. The researchers date the construction to the 10th century. The find also provides proof that Olevsk was burnt in the 10th century, possibly during the unrest following the death of Prince Oleg of Novgorod. The ruler made the Drevlians pay tribute to Kiev, but after his death in 912 the Drevlians stopped paying. Oleg’s successor Igor attempted to reclaim the tribute from the Drevlians, who at that time paid it to the Varangian warlord Sveneld. Igor’s action was unsuccessful and he was brutally killed in 945. Igor’s widow Olga avenged her husband’s death by killing Drevlian nobility, burning their capital of Iskorosten and other towns, and eventually subjugating the tribe.

Overview of the site (by Olevsk Joint Territorial Community)

(after Olevsk Joint Territorial Community & 112.International)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.