HARVARD UKRAINIAN STUDIES - See also - Harvard University

328 JOHAN CALLMERAmong the constructions connected with the later, pre-urban phase ofsettlement on the Starokyjivs'ka, the sacrificial place, the so-called kapysce,found by Xvojka in 1908 and reexcavated by Karger in 1937, has played amore important role. The existence of an early, monumental sacrificialplace has been a chief argument for the reconstruction of the pre-urban settlementin Kiev as a great center. According to Xvojka, construction at thetime of the first excavation had the character of a "foundation consisting ofgray sandstone slabs of different sizes and shapes" (fig. 4). These stoneswere set on clay and formed an elliptical figure, 4.2m long and 3.5m wide.In each direction there was a rectangular outshoot. At one side of this foundationparts of a clay floor were preserved. Close to the foundation therewas also a "pillar" of considerable size, made of clay, ash, and charcoalsuperimposed on each other in many successive layers. Numerous animalbones were found nearby (Xvojka 1913, p. 66). This remarkable "foundation"Xvojka believed was a pagan sacrificial place. Many scholars havedated it quite early, to the eighth or ninth century (Karger 1959, p. Ill;Tolocko 1970, pp. 48-49; Kilijevyc 1982, pp. 34-35). There are, however,some problems with both the interpretation of the construction and itsdate. First of all, Karger showed in connection with the reexcavation of thestone construction that Xvojka's drawing had not been very accurate. Inthe published drawing of the kapysce, the general shape is a very regularoval and the offshoots are also very regular. In fact, the shape was morerectangular than oval, and in two cases the offshoots were more vague.Karger, however, does not doubt the interpretation of the construction as asacrificial place (1959, pp. 110-11). The pillar of clay, ash, and charcoal isas curious as the foundation. It must have been a construction similar to anashpit excavated at 3 Volodymyrs'ka Street in 1975 by the Kiev ArchaeologicalExpedition (Tolocko and Borovs'kyj 1979). In that case, the ashpitwas probably connected with a pagan place of worship. The ashpit "pillar"in Xvojka's trench is not clearly connected with the "foundation."The top level of the pillar, for example, is considerably above the level ofthe stone construction. Recent work on the earliest tenth-century stonearchitecture has brought to light some sections of a building or buildingsthat are conspicuously similar to the "foundation" of Xvojka (Xarlamov1985, p. 110). This similarity has been rightly stressed by the excavator,who has carefully suggested a close connection between the building andthe "foundation." The same type of handmade pottery, it should be noted,was found in a layer beneath both. It should also be remembered thatXvojka observed a floor of white clay in the vicinity of the foundation(Xvojka 1913, p. 66). Clay floors were more likely inside buildings thanoutside them. It must be concluded that the interpretation of the