8. GORNAL is an archaeological site of the Slavic and Old Russian time (late 8th – 10th centuries) near the Gornal Settlement (the Sudzhan District of the Kursk Region). It stands on the cape of the right bank of River Psyol. The site includes an ancient hillfort, a settlement and a burial mound. The hillfort of triangular shape takes about 3.5 hectares and is defended with a ditch and a shaft with wooden constructions. It is adjoined from the north with an ancient settlement that is about 3 hectares large. The burial ground nearby had about 300 barrows in the 19th century. In the late 20th century there were about 30 barrows left. The ancient settlement has semi-dugouts and above-ground structures with semi-buried floor. The residential constructions are up to 16 sq m large and belong to Romain culture. Gornal was the largest town of this area and the tribal centre that developed to the level of the early town type.

 

9. LIPOVICHSK was an ancient town that started growing admittedly in the Bronze Age. It has come down to us as the Lipinsky sit of ancient settlement in the Oktyabrsk District of the Kursk Region. Archeological excavations revealed traces of arable land cultivated in those bygone times. From the 6th till 3rd centuries BC it was inhabited by tribes that were under a great influence of the Scythians. In the same period the shaft was constructed from the field side of the cape, which the ancient settlement stood on. In the 9th century the northern part of the site was built up; the settlement was constructed in the manner typical for the Romain archaeological culture. In the 10th century the town was burned down by Prince Vladimir. 
 

An Old Russian town was taking shape in this area in the 11th -12th centuries. Though a small town, it had all the traits and infrastructure of a megalopolis of that epoch. In the 13th century the town was repeatedly burned, allegedly by Baty Khan.
 

According to one of the versions Lipovichsk was the capital of the Lipetsk (Lipovichsk) principality recorded in chronicles in the 13th century. The ancient fortified town was an outpost founded in the pre-Mongolian period on the southern lands of Russia.

 

10. KRAPIVENSKY is a site of ancient settlement, a multi-layer archeological monument located on the right bank of River Koren’ in the northwest suburb of the Krapivnoye Settlement in the Shebekino District of the Belgorod Region. It is a unique archaeological monument that has preserved remains of several archaeological cultures — from the forest-steppe culture of the Scythian epoch to Old Russian era. It was inhabited by the Scythians from the 5th century B.C. Approximately in the 9th – 10th centuries they were replaced by representatives of the Northerners tribe, one of the 15 tribes that comprised Kievan Rus’. The site of ancient settlement consists of a stronghold, a suburb, 6 open trading quarters and a burial ground.