Tiahin Fortress is currently closed to visitors, but you can see it, read about it – and even hold a piece of its history in your hands.
During the presentation of the illustrated book ‘Walls’ in Odesa at the PORT literary festival, Tiahyn Fortress was showcased in several formats. A separate section of the book tells the story of the fortress, its archaeological excavations and the people thanks to whom Tiahyn is becoming an increasingly well-known part of the history of southern Ukraine. Alongside the graphic novel, visitors could view a 3D-model of the fortress and imagine what it looked like, examine its spatial structure and literally ‘get up close’ to the monument, which today remains inaccessible to visitors due to russian shelling. People could also hold in their hands a replica of the mace found by archaeologists during excavations at Tiahyn in 2021. It was crafted in 2025 by a blacksmith from Kherson, Mykhailo Zaporozhets, a specialist in reconstructing artefacts from the Cossack era. Thus, an archaeological find, which usually exists only in photographs in a scientific publication or museum exhibition, was given the opportunity to become part of a personal experience.
This was precisely what made the presentation special: one could do more than just read about Tiahyn. One could see it in a three-dimensional model and feel it with one’s own hands.
The comic book, the 3D-model and the replica of the archaeological artefact together form a unique bridge to a site that is currently physically inaccessible. And they demonstrate that even in the midst of war, it is possible to research, recount and popularise the history of Tiahyn in modern and very vivid ways.
