Serpent's Wall ( uk , Змієві вали, translit=Zmiievi valy is an ancient system of earthen

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour *Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), mi ...

( valla) located in the middle

Dnieper Ukraine The term Dnieper Ukraine (: "over Dnieper land"), usually refers to territory on either side of the middle course of the Dnieper River. The Ukrainian name derives from ''nad‑'' (prefix: "above, over") + ''Dnipró'' ("Dnieper") + ''‑shchyna' ...

(Naddniprianshchyna)Kuchera, M.
Serpent Walls (ЗМІЄВІ ВАЛИ)
'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. that stretch across primarily

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 invas ...

. They seem to be similar in purpose and character to

Trajan's Wall Trajan's Wall (''Valul lui Traian'' in Romanian) is the name used for several linear earthen fortifications ( valla) found across Eastern Europe, in Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. Contrary to the name and popular belief, the ramparts were not buil ...

situated to the southwest in

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of ...

. The remaining ancient walls have a total length of 1,000 km and constitute less than 20% of the original wall system.

History

According to legend, the earthworks are the result of ancient events when a mythical hero ( bohatyr), Kozmodemian (or Borysohlib), in order to slay a gargantuan Dragon (Serpent), harnessed it in a giant plow and furrowed. The Dragon (Serpent) bit the dust and left furrows, on both sides of which were immense banks of earth that became known as Serpent's Wall. The ancient walls were built between the 2nd century BC and 7th century AD, according to carbon dating. There are three theories as to what peoples built the walls: either the

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th ...

against the

Scythians 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 Cent ...

, or the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...

Oium Oium was a name for Scythia, or a fertile part of it, roughly in modern Ukraine, where the Goths, under a legendary King Filimer, settled after leaving Gothiscandza, according to the ''Getica'' by Jordanes, written around 551. It is generall ...

against the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

, or the

Early East Slavs The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for the Sl ...

against the nomads of the southern

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslan ...

s. In

Slavic culture This is a list of the cultures of Slavic Europe. * East Slavs: ** Belarusian culture ** Russian culture ** Ruthenian culture ** Ukrainian culture * South Slavs: ** Bosnian culture ** Bulgarian culture ** Croatian culture ** Macedonian culture ( ...

, the warlike nomads are often associated with the winged dragon, hence the name. On the right bank of

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...

between its tributaries

Teteriv The Teteriv () is a right tributary of the Dnieper River in Ukraine. It has a length of 365 km and a drainage basin of 15,300 km². In the underflow the valley of the Teteriv in Polissia on up to 4 km, the width of the river widens ...

and Ros the remnants of the wall create six lines elongated from west to east. One Serpent's Wall passed over the left bank of Dnieper and its tributary

Sula Sula may refer to: Places Norway * Sula (island), an island in Sula municipality, Møre og Romsdal county * Sula, Møre og Romsdal, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county * Sula, Solund, an island in Solund municipality, Vestland county * Y ...

. The 1974-85 explorations established that Serpent's Wall is a remnant of wooded earth fortifications built at the end of 10th and the first half of 11th centuries, smaller part in the 12th century, to protect middle

and

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

from

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პაჭ ...

and

Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...

Gallery

File:Змієві вали біля села Іванковичі.jpg, Vallums near village of Ivankovychi,

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 ...

File:Serpent's wall.jpg, Wall near village of Ivankovyche

References

External links

Photo documentary about the Serpent's Wall
by

Elena Filatova This article is about the cultural impact of the Chernobyl disaster, the world's worst nuclear accident to date. Overview The name ''Chernobyl'' has become synonymous with the concept of a nuclear energy disaster. Referencing the political dama ...

Landmarks in Ukraine Fortifications in Ukraine Walls Ruins in Ukraine Fortification lines History of Kyiv Oblast Linear earthworks {{Ukraine-hist-stub