Description of the attraction
Turov settlement is a unique archaeological site located on the territory of the town of Turov. In 1992-19993, archaeologist Pyotr Fedorovich Lysenko carried out excavations on the territory of the Castle Hill and discovered a vast ancient settlement and the ruins of a temple destroyed by the earthquake of 1230.
Even earlier cultural layers showed that under the temple are the remains of a pagan temple. The found pits filled with coal make it possible to make the assumption that near each idol of the pagan god the fire of unquenchable fires was maintained. In the middle of the temple there was a statue of Perun, then - Khors, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Makoshi and Simargl, then less significant deities were assigned.
After the arrival of Christians in Turov, the church was built on a pagan temple so that people would sooner forget the old gods. At the temple excavation site, ancient sarcophagi, the seal of Metropolitan Kirill, Turov stone crosses were discovered, which, according to an old legend, themselves sailed from Kiev to Turov against the river flow. Before the revolution, Turov's stone crosses were in plain sight and were considered miraculous, but Soviet officials did not come up with anything smarter than to flood the legendary floating crosses. In our time, it is not clear how they found themselves on the surface again.
The foundation of the temple suggests that it had very impressive dimensions: length 29, 3 m, width 17, 9 m.
A metal and glass pavilion was built above the excavation site, which protects the ancient ruins from the effects of the weather and creates comfortable conditions for tourists to view archaeological finds. You can go down the special stairs and walkways to take a closer look at the ancient laying of the foundation.
