The ancient caves on Voznesensky Uzvoz were recognized as monuments of local importance – what does this mean

The ancient caves on Voznesensky Uzvoz were recognized as monuments of local importance – what does this mean



The ancient caves on the Voznesensky Uzvoz in Kyiv, which were accidentally discovered in the fall of 2022, were included in the List of Cultural Heritage Sites of Kyiv. Now the object, which was under threat of destruction, will be able to receive protection and become a tourist attraction. UP.Zhyttia talked with Dmytro Perov, a Kyiv expert and preservationist, an expert of the Center for Urban Development, who was the first to report on the discovery of the Ascension Caves – what this status of a monument means and what is the next way to register a unique object that will allow it to be preserved and to investigate The ancient caves received the status of a landmark of local importance The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection of the KMDA reported on Facebook that the unique caves in Kyiv were granted legal status. “The Department of Cultural Heritage Protection entered the Voznesensky cave complex at Voznesensky Uzvoz, 25-27 to the list of cultural heritage objects of the city of Kyiv by type of archeology (order dated 03/08/2023 No. 13). It forms one of the largest in terms of the number of components and total length underground galleries of ancient cave complexes on the territory of our city,” they wrote in the post. They also added that now the caves will be studied in more detail by scientists. “In the future, painstaking work of archaeologists will allow us to determine the origin, purpose, dating and more detailed historical and cultural value of the Voznesensky cave complex,” the message said. What does this mean and what are the next steps? Dmytro Perov noted that such a step is important, since even last year there were several attempts to extend the development project of this land plot. “There were several votes of the Kyiv City Council – they failed, but still the draft decision passed from one session to another. And this happened 6-7 times in a row. Now all the questions about whether these caves need to be preserved and protected from development – probably removed,” says Perov. At the same time, he emphasized that this is only the first step for the legal protection of the monument. “Now the caves have been assigned the status of a newly discovered monument, which is the status of a candidate for the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. Therefore, we will wait for the decision of the Ministry of Culture. I hope that the ministry will act a little faster, because we have been waiting for the current decision for almost six months. Only then, when the caves will be in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine, we will be able to say that the authorities have finally decided that the object is valuable, it should be preserved, its potential should be used – primarily touristic, local history, and historical.” says Dmytro Perov. Kyivans discovered ancient caves on the Voznesensky Uzvoz. Photo: Dmytro Perov’s Facebook In October-early November last year, the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine worked in the caves, measurements were taken. The approximate dating is approximately the 14th-17th centuries, some elements were found – fragments of dishes from the Old Russian period. Dmytro Perov emphasizes that archaeologists will be able to conduct extensive research after the inclusion of the caves in the State Register. Read also: Sorrow of Pokorshchyna: how Ukraine is killing its history “Then it will be possible to continue researching this site and plan what to do with it next. During the Soviet period, there was an idea to make an open-air museum on Voznesensky Uzvoz, because the architecture was still preserved there. But, unfortunately, it so happened that in the 80s and 90s this architecture was brought to ruin. And then it was demolished. One house remained. Perhaps it can become some kind of mini-museum, where the historical construction of this street will be shown on the one hand, on example of one house that remained. And on the other hand, there will be an entrance to the caves, which have a much older, longer history,” says Perov. Kyivans discovered ancient caves on the Voznesensky Uzvoz. Photo: Dmytro Perov’s Facebook. The monument protector also emphasizes that it is now important that the Kyiv City Council rejects the territory development project. “Capital Real Estate” LLC registered the ownership of the dilapidated building. Read also: An ancient cave from the age of Kyivan Rus was found in the historical center of Kyiv “According to the law, if a project is registered in the city council, then there must be a decision on it. The fact that the project decision on development did not receive the required number of votes is definitely a good thing, obviously , there is a part of conscious deputies who did not vote, or voted against – thanks to this period of time, until the caves were not given a protective status – it was possible to stop this process of development of this area. But still, this project decision will not disappear – until it is resolved. So now a decision is needed to reject the development project of the site. Here, the issue is that a criminal proceeding has been opened, and it must be brought to some logical decision,” says Perov. Emphasizes that the people of Kyiv should monitor the situation and monitor further decisions regarding the caves. Kyivans discovered ancient caves on the Voznesensky Uzvoz. Photo: Dmytro Perov’s Facebook What preceded Activists in Kyiv found the ancient Ascension Cave next to an abandoned house in the historic center of Kyiv. The entrance to the caves was opened when the retaining wall of the house of 1798 collapsed. Dmytro Perov, an expert at the Center for Urban Development, informed about this. In a comment for “UP.Zhyttia”, he talked about the search for the cave and its first research. According to the archaeological context and existing analogues, it probably belongs to a rare variety of underground storages, which were used by the local population during military threats of the late Middle Ages. Animistic images of animals and graffiti of the late “Varyaz” period were found in the labyrinths of the cave. Kyivans discovered ancient caves on the Voznesensky Uzvoz. Photo: Dmytro Perov’s Facebook According to archaeologists, this is a cave with rock paintings from the time of Kievan Rus. It miraculously survived, but the construction of a new residential complex may destroy it forever. For several months, the Kyiv City Council has been actively lobbying for the transfer of the land plot to the developer. An abandoned, dilapidated building at 25 Voznesenskyi Uzviz is located on it. It was privatized, and now the site is planned to be put into operation.



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