Kyiv City Council voted on June 21 to continue the excavations at the archaeological site on Poshtova Square, but didn’t order to stop the construction of a shopping mall at the site.
The archaeological site of the Kyivan Rus time was first discovered in 2014 during the preliminary stages of the construction of a shopping center.
The decision was not met with enthusiasm by archaeologists and activists, many of whom are now camping close to the site in protest.
They want the construction of the shopping center halted completely, and instead have a museum built on the site. The city council’s proposal did not mention any termination of the contract with the shadowy investment firm funding the construction, and so the shopping center is set to go ahead.
The excavations thus far have revealed a wealth of artifacts from the time of Kyivan Rus, the oldest being from the 11th century. Archaeologists managed to unearth human and animal remains, weapons, glass, ceramics, and customs seals from the ancient river port, as well as an entire street.
At first, the excavations were paid for by the investor that won the contract with the city to build the mall, Hensford-Ukraine. This is required by law when building in old Kyiv.
However, the findings of the site have proved inconvenient for the company’s construction plans, and so after three years of work, the archaeologists stopped being paid. Excavations have now been halted for nearly a year.
In an attempt to compromise, Hensford-Ukraine offered to allocate 100-200 square meters of the shopping center to the artifacts, most likely to be situated underground – but archaeologists point out that the site they have been excavating is over 4,000 square meters. It has also been estimated that so far, only a third of the total site has been discovered.
Moreover, they point back to the underground museum on Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square, which was destroyed in 2001, despite the fact that it preserved the remnants of the city gates, to be replaced with the Globus underground shopping center. Today, only the reconstruction of the Lyadsky Gates remains on the square above the shopping mall.
Archaeologists fear that the latest vote will simply pave the way for a similar situation. They are concerned that in the city council’s document, the word “museum” has been replaced by “public space.”
The Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko has said that there are no legal grounds for the termination of an investment agreement between the city council and the investor.
However, the City Council decision did support the creation of a new municipal conservation center, staffed by experts with international experience. Moreover, the proposal included the clause that no later than three months after the completion of excavations, an open, international architectural competition should be held for the design of a Museum of Objects of Cultural Heritage.
Sergiy Gusovsky, the head of the Samopomich party faction in the Kyiv City Council, plans to register a separate draft decision to initiate the termination of the contract with Hensford-Ukraine on June 25.
Gusovsky points to the ongoing war with Russia as a reason for the preservation of the site to be a priority. At a time when Russia continually attempts to undermine Ukrainian national identity, he believes that preserving Kyiv’s history is of national importance.
“We need to stop the tradition of disrespect to history and archaeologists,” Gusovsky told Ukrainska Pravda news website. “Because usually (it’s like) they are just getting under the developers’ feet.”
The issue has also seen support from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pavlo Klimkin.
On Twitter, he has used the hashtag #МузейНаПоштовій (MuseumOnPoshtova) to display his backing of the initiative, writing that “we have to respect ourselves and our history.”
In reaction to the latest decision of the city council, he wrote that the site is “a unique monument of the historical heritage of Kyivan Rus,” and all efforts must be made so that it does not disappear under concrete forever.
The building of a museum has impassioned local residents. In 2017, a petition on the Kyiv City Council website appealing to Mayor Klitschko to save the site and its artifacts reached over 13,000 signatures. The creation of a museum was also voted by Kyiv residents as the second-most popular idea for the public budget for 2018.
