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ARCHAEOLOGY OF KIEV 329"foundation" remains uncertain, although the pillar could perhaps be connectedwith the pagan cult. The date of the complex is uncertain, but it iscertainly much later than the usual dating given in recent standard works—probably the early urban phase in Kiev.In addition to the small number of sunken-featured buildings and thesacrificial spot, the moat cutting off the northwestern tip of theStarokyjivs'ka Hill is usually mentioned as part of an early center in Kiev(Kilijevyc 1982, pp. 27-28). The occurrence of some handmade pottery inthe fill of the moat has been taken as proof of the early date of thefortifications. As has already been pointed out (Callmer 1981, p. 33), theseobservations have little relevance to the question of the date of the moat andthe rampart. In some sections of the moat, brick fragments have been found(Tolocko and Hupalo 1975, p. 7). Since the use of brick could be dated tothe tenth century and since the fill is probably largely identical with therampart which, in turn, is the material thrown up during the construction ofthe moat, a late date for the moat could be proposed as well. Here a skepticalattitude toward the early dating seems appropriate.When we consider the extant evidence of eighth- and ninth-century settlement(except the last two decades), there are no indications of a continuouslyexisting fortified settlement with a considerable population on theStarokyjivs'ka. From excavations in both Western and Eastern Ukraine weknow how densely built with sunken-featured buildings these settlements,fortified and unfortified, often were—for example, Xotomel' andNovotrojic'ke (Kuxarenko 1957; Ljapuskin 1958). The total area excavatedon the Starokyjivs'ka Hill is considerable, so the negative evidence isimportant. Material from the Volyncevo phase is not distinct in Kiev, andthere are no imports from the Saltiv-Majaky culture. These imports are typicalof settlements dating to the late eighth and ninth centuries. There are,as yet, no early 'Abbasid dirhams from either of the Kiev settlements. Findsof dirhams and metal artifacts of the Saltiv-Majaky culture are characteristicof major settlements of the period—for example, Novotrojic'ke andOpisnja (Ljapuskin 1947, 1958).Castle Hill, or the Kyselivka, is a rather flat plateau standing ca.70-80m above the surrounding terrain. The slopes are quite steep, so itwas easily fortified. The only serious drawback was the dominant positionof the hills to the south in relation to the Kyselivka. Archers posted onthese hills could severely menace defenders of the Kyselivka. All the same,there are cultural layers dating to the eighth and ninth centuries over considerableparts of the hill. Pottery here is like pottery in the fill of the sunkenfeaturedbuilding excavated by Karger on the Starokyjivs'ka Hill in1939—mostly of the distinct Luka-Rajkovec'ka type (Sovkopljas 1957,