<< Other Photo Pages >> Eski Kermen - Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle in Ukraine
Submitted by ivanjohnson on Wednesday, 17 February 2016 Page Views: 2522
Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Eski Kermen Alternative Name: Эски-КерменCountry: Ukraine Type: Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle
Nearest Town: Sevastopol Nearest Village: Ternivka
Latitude: 44.608505N Longitude: 33.740486E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle in Ukraine
Eski Kermen (Old fortress) is a spectacular rock-cut medieval fortress town in the western part of Crimea in Ukraine in the vicinity Bakhchisarai, approximately 8km east of Sevastopol.
Built on top of a table mountain 1,040m long and 170m wide, with 30m high cliffs, it is now one of the most visited rock cities of Crimea.
Founded in the late sixth century AD as a stronghold of the Byzantine Empire, it existed until the end of the fourteenth century. The history of the town is poorly known. It started as an insignificant fortress and settlement, but through gradual expansion the city increased its importance, the apogee being in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when the population was probably around 3000. In 1299 the city was ruined by the Mongols under the command Nogaj and never recovered its glory. In 1399 an army under the leadership of the Mongolian Edygeja destroyed the rebuilt village, which has remained uninhabited ever since.
Monuments
- Well-preserved fortifications of the 6th and 12th centuries.
- About 350 caves, carved into the rocks within the city and about 50 outside the city. Most of them were built in the 12-13th centuries as utility rooms, mostly pens for cattle, rarely cellars. A small part (15%) of the caves had defensive or sacred functions. There are many rock-cut tunnels and stairways.
- The ruins of a rock-cut basilica 24x13m from the end of the 6th century, considerably expanded at the end of the 11th century.
- A complex of tunnels/cisterns from the 6th century, made up of 6 sections of stairs with small platforms built for passing, and at the end, the 20m corridors lead to a natural cave, where water accumulates - apparently created by the end of the seventh century AD.
- The several churches carved into the rocks in the 12-13th centuries contain numerous frescoes, now very damaged by tourists.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
282m SSW 210° Eski-Kermen* Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle
4.1km WNW 283° Dolmens Inkerman 2nd Cardon* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
14.2km NE 50° Megaliths in the Alima* Ancient Palace
19.6km W 271° Chersonesus* Ancient Village or Settlement
35.3km ESE 118° Dolmens Of Oreanda* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
46.9km ENE 60° Dolmens Of Roman-Kosh* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
51.1km E 82° Cromlech Alushta* Stone Circle
78.7km ENE 63° Dolmens Of Krasnosyolovka* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
94.3km NW 324° Modern Stonehenge on the beach at Popovka Modern Stone Circle etc
228.0km ENE 68° Pantikapaion* Ancient Village or Settlement
229.4km ENE 68° Kul-Oba* Round Barrow(s)
235.0km ENE 68° Tsarsky Kurgan* Chambered Cairn
253.7km NNW 331° Kherson Cliffs* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
257.7km NNE 12° Oguz Burial Mound Round Barrow(s)
266.1km N 11° Kozel Burial Mound Round Barrow(s)
271.7km NNW 329° Olbia Ancient Village or Settlement
279.4km NNE 27° Melitopol Museum of Local History* Museum
283.7km E 82° Gorgippia* Ancient Village or Settlement
292.9km NNE 27° Kamyana Mohyla Rock Cut Tomb
305.7km N 8° Znamenskoye Round Barrow(s)
309.5km E 86° Vasilyevka 1* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
309.9km E 86° Vasilyevka 2* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
316.8km N 7° Mamay-Hora* Round Barrow(s)
318.3km NW 305° Tira (Ukraine) Ancient Village or Settlement
321.0km NW 314° Kuyalnik Temple Ancient Temple
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