, native_name_lang = uk , alternate_name = , image = Хотівське городище 0012-3333.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Southern view of Khotiv and Khotiv hillfort , map = , map_type = Ukraine Kiev , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of the hillfort on a map of

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

, map_size = , altitude_m = , altitude_ref = , relief = , coordinates = , map_dot_label = , location = Khotiv,

Obukhiv Raion Obukhiv Raion () is a raion (district) in Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Obukhiv. Population: . On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Kyiv Oblast was reduced to seven, and ...

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast ( uk, Ки́ївська о́бласть, translit=Kyïvska oblast), also called Kyivshchyna ( uk, Ки́ївщина), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, w ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, region = , type =

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

, part_of = , length = , width = , area = inside the main rampart , volume = , diameter = , circumference = , height = , builder = , material = , built = 7-6 century BC , abandoned = 6-5 century BC or later , epochs = early

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

, cultures =

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

, dependency_of = , occupants = , event = , discovered = , excavations = 1948, 1965-1967, 2004, 2016 , archaeologists = , condition = partially ruined , ownership = partially private , management = , public_access = Yes , other_designation = , website = , architectural_styles = , architectural_details = , notes = Khotiv hillfort is a

of early

(

times, 6 century BC) in the village of Khotiv,

. The hillfort adjoins the southern part of

, namely Feofaniya Park. It occupies a rhombic

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

1000x700 m wide, bordered by valleys of the streams. All the plateau area, 31 ha, was surrounded with earth

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

, while the slope of the hill was fortified by a scarp with a

berm A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a border/ separation ...

and a moat beneath. The rampart, scarp and berm are well preserved on the western and eastern edges, and remains of the moat are much less conspicuous now. It is supposed that the hillfort had 3 entrances: in the northern, eastern and southern part of the rampart. Khotiv hillfort has the status of an archaeological monument since 1965.Постанова Ради Міністрів Української РСР від 21 липня 1965 р. № 711 "Про затвердження списку пам'ятників мистецтва, історії та археології Української РСР"
/ref> In 2007, official borders of the monument were cut down, and in 2009, the excluded areas became the place of house building. The northern part of the hillfort was demolished by building of a palace of Ukrainian billionaire Yuri Kosiuk. Later, the works began in the southern and eastern parts of the hillfort, which are planned for building too.

Exploration

The first scientific mention of the hillfort was made in 1848 by Ivan Fundukley, governor of Kyiv and notable historian. He mentions a local legend about some town which existed there. In 1864, the hillfort was briefly described by another student of local history, Lavrentiy Pohilevich. He reports this legend in more details: in ancient times there was a town with a castle of a prince named Siriak.Похилевич Л.И
Сказание о населенных местностях Киевской губернии. — Киев: Киево-Печерская лавра. — 1864.
nbsp;— С. 30-31. The locality around the hillfort is still named Siriakove, and the first recording of this name dates from 1465. In 1873,

Volodymyr Antonovych Volodymyr Antonovych ( ukr, Володимир Боніфатійович Антонович, tr. ''Volodymyr Bonifatijovych Antonovych''; pl, Włodzimierz Antonowicz; russian: Влади́мир Бонифа́тьевич Антоно́вич, ...

made more detailed description and drawing of the hillfort. He interpreted it as

Zvenigorod Zvenigorod (russian: Звени́город) is an old town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: History The town's name is based either on a personal name (cf. Zvenislav, Zvenimir) or on a hydronym (cf. the Zvinech, Zvinyaka, Zveniga Rivers) ...

, the fortress of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

known from chronicles.Антонович В. Б. О местоположении древнего Киевского Звенигорода // Древности: Труды Московского археологического общества. — М.: Синодальная тип., 1876. — Т. VI, в. 1. — С. 41—46. But archaeological data of 20th century refuted this idea. In 1917, a bronze

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

coin of 5 century BC was found on the hillfort during a botanical excursion. In 1918, fragments of Scythian pottery and some Slavic things dated from 8-10 centuries AD were found there.Добровольський Л. П. З минулого Хотівської околиці м. Києва /
Записки історично-філологічного відділу ВУАН. Гол. ред. А. Кримський. Кн. XII. — К. : Українська Академія Наук, 1927. — 364 с.
— С. 204—222. The first archaeological exploration of the hillfort was conducted in 1948 by the team from Institute of Archaeology in Kyiv headed by Ye. F. Pokrovska. They excavated 156 m² in the northern projection of the hillfort.Покровська Є. Ф. Хотівське городище /
Археологічні пам'ятки УРСР. — 1952. — Т. 4.
nbsp;— С. 12-20. Next expedition, headed by Ye. O. Pokrovska from the same Institute, worked in 1965-1967 and unearthed 508 m² in the vicinity.Петровская Е. А. Раскопки на Хотовском скифском городище в 1965-66 гг. / В кн.
Археологические исследования на Украине в 1965—1966 гг. — К.: Наукова думка, 1967. — Вып. І.
— С. 106—109.Петровська Є. О. Ранньоскіфські пам'ятки на південній околиці Києва / В кн.
Археологія. — К.: Наукова думка, 1970. — Т. XXIV.
nbsp;— С. 129—145. In 2004, northern and western parts of the hillfort (6.75 ha) were explored with micromagnetic measurements. It revealed location of several ancient buildings, some of which were unearthed.Ивакин Г. Ю., Дараган М. Н., Орлюк М. И., Кравченко Э. А., Куприй С. А
Геофизические и археологические исследования Хотовского городища скифской эпохи
// Археологічні дослідження в Україні 2003—2004 рр.: Збірка наукових праць / За ред. Н. О. Гаврилюк. — Вип. 7. — Київ: ІА НАН України; Запоріжжя: Дике Поле, 2005. — С. 400—405. Some additional measurements were made in 2009.Дараган М., Орлюк М., Роменець А., Бондар К
Інтерпретація даних високоточної магнітної зйомки в складі археологічної ГІС (на прикладі Хотівського городища скіфської доби)
15th EAGE International Conference on Geoinformatics - Theoretical and Applied Aspects. 10–13 May 2016, Kiev, Ukraine. In 2016, new excavations were made on the western side of the hillfort, on the rampart.Кравченко Е., Манігда О., Шелехань О
Хотівське городище: влаштування і інфраструктура
(доповідь на Міжнародній археологічній конференції «Освоєння простору: житло, поселення, регіон», 27-28 жовтня 2016 р., Львів-Винники). File:Хотівське городище, 1842.png, Khotiv hillfort (captioned as "Гора Городище" - "Mount Hillfort") on the map by General Staff of the Russian army, 1842. File:Хотівське городище - Антонович, 1879.png, Sketch of the Khotiv hillfort made by

in 1870s.

Finds

Like other

s of Scythian times, Khotiv hillfort had buildings only near the inner side of the rampart. The central area was empty and could be used for farming or for keeping of cattle, maybe during wars.Максимов Е. В., Петровская Е. А
Древности скифского времени Киевского Поднепровья
/ Под ред. Р. В. Терпиловского. — Полтава, 2008. С. 11-12, 39, 46, 53-54, 75. — 126 с. Discovered structures include dugouts and surface buildings with walls made of wood covered by clay. Fallen walls of several such buildings were excavated, some of them exceed 20 m in length. Some buildings had

stove A stove or range is a device that burns fuel or uses electricity to generate heat inside or on top of the apparatus, to be used for general warming or cooking. It has evolved highly over time, with cast-iron and induction versions being develope ...

s. Another notable object is an oval 1x1.5 m wide, paved with stones bearing marking of fire.Дараган М. Н., Орлюк М. И., Кравченко Э. А
Результаты геофизических исследований на Хотовском городище скифской эпохи
// Археология и геоинформатика. Вып. 4. Москва: Институт археологии РАН, 2007. The

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

from the hillfort include local and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

one. The latter was identified as originating from

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...

Klazomenai Klazomenai ( grc, Κλαζομεναί) or Clazomenae was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia and a member of the Ionian League. It was one of the first cities to issue silver coinage. Its ruins are now located in the modern town Urla n ...

and

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...

.Дараган М. Н. Античная керамика из Хотовского городища скифской эпохи /
Боспорский феномен. Проблема соотношения письменных и археологических источников. — СПб., 2005
nbsp;— С. 256—261. Other ceramic finds from the hillfort include spindle whorls of various forms, a sinker, and small balls and "

loaf A loaf ( : loaves) is a (usually) rounded or oblong mass of food, typically and originally of bread. It is common to bake bread in a rectangular bread pan, also called a loaf pan, because some kinds of bread dough tend to collapse and spread ...

s" which can be

votive offerings A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

. A broken stone dish and a fragment of a stone

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

or hammer, sling stones,

sharpening stone Sharpening stones, or whetstones, are used to sharpen the edges of steel tools such as knives through grinding and honing. Such stones come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and material compositions. They may be flat, for working flat edg ...

with a hole, bone handle of an unknown tool, beads made of lead and yellow glass, as well as other things were also unearthed. Bronze finds include a snake-like ring, pins, including nail-like ones, and

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

s of various forms.

Iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

objects include

knives A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

awls Awl may refer to: Tools * Bradawl, a woodworking hand tool for making small holes * Scratch awl, a woodworking layout and point-making tool used to scribe a line * Stitching awl, a tool for piercing holes in a variety of materials such as leathe ...

, pin and some arrowheads. Another notable find is a bone plate with a carving of a

panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **'' Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. *** Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in So ...

or a leopard in the Scythian

animal style Animal style art is an approach to decoration found from China to Northern Europe in the early Iron Age, and the barbarian art of the Migration Period, characterized by its emphasis on animal motifs. The zoomorphic style of decoration was used ...

. Size of the plate is 4.7x1.8 cm. It could be a part of a bigger thing, e.g. a spoon or a mirror handle. Associated ceramics and arrowheads indicate that it belongs to the end of 6th century BC. Such carvings are rare on Scythian bone things, although more common on metallic ones. Plenty of animal bones imply that dwellers of the hillfort bred domestic animals, predominantly

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

Pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s and

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s were also held. Dominance of horses differs Khotiv hillfort from other hillforts of

forest steppe A forest steppe is a temperate-climate ecotone and habitat type composed of grassland interspersed with areas of woodland or forest. Locations Forest steppe primarily occurs in a belt of forest steppes across northern Eurasia from the eastern ...

, which were dominated by cattle or pigs. Its inhabitants hunted wild

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

s, elks, bears and beavers, sometimes aurochs and hares. Sporadic bones of

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

es,

geese A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

s and

men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...

were found. Finds from the hillfort date from

times, approximately 6, or, according to other researchers, 6 to 5 century BC. It was probably founded by people called Scythians-tillers by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

. They were not Scythians in the strict sense, but they stayed under Scythian dominion and partially adopted their culture.Телегин Д. Я
Там, где вырос Киев. — К., Наукова Думка, 1982. — С. 71-78.
/ref> Founders of the hillfort were nonmigratory. They practised agriculture and animal breeding, especially horse breeding. Hunting played a big role. Trade with

Ancient Greek colonies Greek colonization was an organised colonial expansion by the Archaic Greeks into the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea in the period of the 8th–6th centuries BC. This colonization differed from the migrations of the Greek Dark Ages in that i ...

was less intensive than on other hillforts of forest steppe. It is explained by larger distance. File:Хотівське городище 0000-0004.jpg, Pottery File:Хотівське городище 0000-0005.jpg, Pottery File:Хотівське городище 0000-0002.jpg, Bronze and iron arrowheads, lead bead, sharpening stone, ceramic spindle whorl etc. File:Хотівське городище 0000-0001.jpg, Beast on a bone plate File:Хотівське городище 0000-0003.jpg, Bronze nail-like pins

History after Scythians

Written sources allow to trace history of the hillfort since 1465, when the last

Grand Prince of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes grand duke) was the title of the ruler of Kiev and the ruler of Kievan Rus' from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prince of Vladimir and ...

Semen Olelkovich granted it to prince Yuri Borisovich. After him, the hillfort consecutively belonged to several other people. In 1588, prince Matviy Voronetsky transferred it to the possession of

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra ( uk, Києво-Печерська лавра, translit=Kyievo-Pecherska lavra, russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Ea ...

, where it remained for almost 200 years. In 1786, during

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

reform of Catherine the Great, the hillfort passed to the use of Khotiv inhabitants. From this time, it was covered by fields and gardens. Agricultural works, which lasted on the hillfort over 200 years, did not ruin the fortifications, but damaged the

archaeological horizon In archaeology, the general meaning of horizon is a distinctive type of sediment, artefact, style, or other cultural trait that is found across a large geographical area from a limited time period. The term derives from similar ones in geology, ...

.Statement about the condition of archaeological monument of national significance "Khotiv hillfort in the borders of the fortifications of Scythian times" (based on the order of Kiev City State Administration from 17.05.2002 р. № 979). Ukrainian: Акт про стан археологічної пам'ятки національного значення Археологічного заповідника Хотівське городище в межах укріплень скіфського часу (на основі розпорядження Київської міської державної адміністрації від 17.05.2002 р. № 979).
Image
. 19.04.2007. In 1939, southwestern edge of the hillfort was damaged by a big landslide, and in the late 1960s, by building of a dam on the nearby Vita stream. The southern edge of the hillfort, already damaged by erosion, became fringed by more and more village houses.

Protection and building

Khotiv hillfort has the status of an archaeological monument since 1965, given by resolution of the

Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Рада Міністрів УРСР) was the highest executive and administrative body of state power of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, government (1946–1991). The c ...

. In 1979,

Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council ( uk, Київська міська рада, translit=Kyivska miska rada), also known as Kyivrada ( uk, Київрада), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The me ...

pronounced it one of archaeological reserves of Kyiv. In 2001, Government of Ukraine included the hillfort in the State registry of immovable monuments of Ukraine as an archaeological monument of national significance.Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України від 27 грудня 2001 р. № 1761 "Про занесення пам'яток історії, монументального мистецтва та археології національного значення до Державного реєстру нерухомих пам'яток України"
/ref> In 2009, this status was confirmed by a new governmental resolution.Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України від 3 вересня 2009 р. № 928 «Про занесення об'єктів культурної спадщини національного значення до Державного реєстру нерухомих пам'яток України»
/ref> Boundaries of the Archaeological reserve "Khotiv hillfort in the borders of fortification of Scythian times" were specified by

in 1979 and confirmed by

Kyiv City State Administration Kyiv City State Administration ( uk, Київська міська державна адміністрація, translit=Kyivska miska derzhavna administratsiia), is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, t ...

in 2002. These boundaries embraced the plateau with the fortification and adjacent slopes with total area of 48 ha.Розпорядження КМДА від 17.05.2002 р. № 979 "Про внесення доповнень до рішень виконкому Київської міської ради народних депутатів від 16.07.1979 р. № 920 «Про уточнення меж історико-культурних заповідників і зон охорони пам'яток історії та культури в м. Київ»
The map of the borders see i
Євсюков Т., Опенько І. Моніторинг особливо цінних земель із застосуванням технологій ДЗЗ та ГІС // Вісник Львівського національного аграрного університету. Сер : Економіка АПК. — 2013. — № 20(2). — С. 231-242
In 2007, Institute of monument protection research of the

Ministry of Culture of Ukraine The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy ( uk, Міністерство культури України) or MinCult is the main state authority in the system of central government of Ukraine responsible for country's cultural development a ...

made documentation for the archaeological monument where its area was restricted to 16.49 ha in central and western parts of the plateau. All the fortifications were excluded from the monument area. Approximately the same borders are stated in the development plan of Khotiv.Development plan of Khotiv village of Kyiv-Sviatoshyn Raion of Kyiv Oblast (Генеральний план с. Хотів Києво-Святошинського району Київської області)
In 2008, Khotiv village council transferred part of the land excluded from the monument to the possession of 5

building cooperative A building co-operative is a co-operative housing corporation where individuals or families work together to directly construct their own homes in a cooperative fashion. Members of this type of co-operative purchase building materials in bulk a ...

s for free. They received northeastern part of the hillfort (including all the eastern rampart with the scarp) and adjacent slope with total area 13 ha. After several years of splitting and resale, the land passed into the ownership of businessmen Victor Polishchuk, Liliya Rizva and Yuri Kosiuk. Parts of the hillfort which are in the possession of the former two owners are still intact, while Kosiuk's land became the site of an active building works.Будинок на кістках
"Слідство.Інфо". 26.06.2015."На курячих ніжках"
"Слідство.Інфо". 15.03.2017. The building on the hillfort began in 2009. Initially its customer was unknown, and an information board on the building site announced construction of a new entrance to Feofaniya Park.Загадка Хотівського городища: хто руйнує пам’ятку й навіщо?
УНІАН. 28 жовтня 2009. Gradually, a luxurious palace surrounded by terraces appeared there. As of 2016, the northern part of the hillfort (one of the richest in remains of ancient buildings and enclosed with the highest rampart), including its fortification, and the landscape of adjacent areas was demolished. According to Yuri Kosiuk, "the building which is built is built in a chasm, and it has nothing to do with the hillfort". Changes occurred in the other parts of the hillfort as well. As of 2015, all the eastern part of the plateau was marked as a land intended for building in the Public cadastre map of Ukraine. Many new privatized and leased land parcels appeared in the western and southeastern parts. In 2010–2012, a road stretched over all the southern part of the plateau. In the development plan of Khotiv, southern side of this road (named Parkova Street) is also intended for building. Several big erosion zones in the southern part and a small ravine in the eastern end of the hillfort were buried with soil. This ravine, according to Ye. F. Pokrovska, head of the first archaeological exploration of the hillfort, could be an ancient entrance. In 2013, Institute of monument protection research of the

made new documentation of Khotiv hillfort, approved by the Ministry same year. This document describes an archaeological reserve (with the same area as the archaeological monument on the 2007 scheme), an archaeological monument (approximately twice bigger, including all the plateau) and its protection zone (100–500 m wide). The palace was marked as a "dissonant building". In 2016, Institute of Archaeology of Ukrainian Academy of Sciences prepared one more documentation of the hillfort, where protected area includes almost 20 ha. It comprises the 16.5 ha from 2007 scheme plus the western border of the plateau with the rampart and scarp. Additionally, part of a buried erosion zone is included. In the same year, new borders were approved by Khotiv village councilХотівська сільська рада розглянула питання про межі "Хотівського городища".
ПравдаТУТ. 01.07.2016 and marked by red concrete pillars. Three stones with commemorative plaques and an information board were installed on the hillfort as well. Area of the archaeological monument stated on the board is 18.3 ha, and area of its protection zone (a strip along its western edge) is 1.04 ha. It excludes all the northern, southern and eastern parts of the hillfort (the latter still having a well-preserved rampart and scarp). The rest of the hillfort is planned for museumification.Археологічні дослідження на території Хотівського городища: підсумки 2016 року
Прес-служба НАН України. 9.03.2017. File:Городище на Київщині.jpg, Northeastern edge of the hillfort in 2009 (demolished next year). The rampart and traces of the moat are seen in the background and in the right. File:Скіфське городище Хотів поряд з парком 01.jpg, Southeastern edge of the hillfort in 2009 (still intact). The scarp and

are seen. File:Хотівське городище 0160-0890.jpg, Western edge of the hillfort (2016). The scarp and trace of the rampart are seen. File:Хотівське городище 0106-5410.jpg, The western scarp and adjoining hill, where an ancient entrance was situated according to some works (2016).

References

{{reflist Scythia Iron Age sites in Europe 6th century BC Obukhiv Raion Hill forts in Ukraine Iranian archaeological sites