UNFORTIFIED SUBURBS OF OLD CHERNIHIV

During its development Chernihiv underwent the several stages of formation: first the fortified parts was emerged, then the unfortified suburbs around them have appeared, which gradually grew in size and new defence lines were built. The process of urban growth has certain peculiarities and periods of its development. The events of 1239 became the boundary for the processes of city development. In this pёaper we will have a look at the directions of city growth on the territory of suburbs and beyond the fortifications of the city at the beginning of the 13th century. To a large extent, the understanding of Chernihiv suburbs depended on the time of revealing the sections of the cultural layer, their dating and location relative to the previously revealed sections of the suburb. The materials of archaeological research on the outskirts of Chernihiv are analyzed in the paper. The fortifications formed at the beginning of the 13th century covered 350 hectares of territory. According to the results of excavations the cultural layer of Kyiv Rus time was revealed outside the fortifications of Chernihiv. There are several sections of the cultural layer in the Desna River floodplain which should be considered as the traces of lower city development but not as separate rural settlements. Prior to the appearance of the fortifications, suburbs on the terrace of Desna were formed to the north, east and west of the fortifications of the surrounding city. Outside the suburbs, some items, cultural layer areas and numerous settlements were discovered. The paper makes an attempt to analyze the identified materials and to determine the boundaries of unfortified suburbs of Chernihiv. New research of the lower city of Chernihiv increased its area from 50 hectares (in 1984) to over 100 hectares (in 2019). In the middle of the 13th century Chernihiv occupied the area of more than 450 ha in total.