Tiahyn is a fortress from a little-known period of Ukrainian civilization when Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania created a fortification line along the Black Sea coast (end of the 14th – early 15th century). It opened a new page in the region’s defense architecture – constructing castle-type stone fortresses.
However, the fortress was important not only for defense. Being located at the intersection of trade routes between the East and the West, it played the role of a notable commercial port. The Tiahyn fortress stood at the corner of two worlds and was at the epicenter of important historical events. The fortress has seen a lot: the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus, and Žemaitija development, the Crimean Khanate formation, the Genoese commercial and political ambitions, and the Ukrainian Cossacks’ first campaigns.
The South Medieval Expedition of the Institute of Archeology of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine carried out archaeological research on Tiahyn in 2016–2021. It resulted in important discoveries in the history of Turkic peoples, Ukraine and Lithuania, and relations between various civilization centers of the East and West. The fortress layout and its dimensions were specified through topographical works which involved modern equipment types.
Tiahyn fortress area is 0.73 hectares in size. It was built of limestone. By layout, it belongs to the triangular Constantinople fortress type. The settlement area is 18 hectares.
Excavations were carried out along the outline of the fortress plan. As of now, 35 m of the southern and 10 m of the eastern walls have been opened, as well as a corner multi-tiered tower of a rectangular shape. Tower walls have been preserved up to a height of 1.75 m. The tower’s southeastern wall was adorned with a frieze decorated in the Seljuk style. A flooring board structure on the first floor was made from timber of the willow family (poplar/aspen). Fragments of a 15th-century bombard were preserved on it.
The fortress’ second-floor primary structure was supported by pillars, three pits from which were captured in the flooring. According to the architects’ calculations, this tower could be three-tiered, up to 9 m high.
In addition to artillery weapons (bombard, limestone cannonball), cold weapons were presented onsite. These were very typical for the 14th–15th centuries Lithuanian army: crossbow iron bolts.
The fortress was not only an object of defensive importance but also a trading port with a customs office at the crossing point. Large stone buildings were decorated with carved Seljuk-style columns.
A limestone slab with heraldry of Lithuanian-origin Christian families (perhaps from Vytautas’ entourage) is a unique find. It testifies to the castle on the Tiahynka River as part of the territories over which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania’s influence spread.
Tiahyn’s contacts also reached Poland from where come numismatic finds: billon denarii of Władysław Warneńczyk, the Kraków King (1434–1444), and silver coin of Sigismund I (1467–1548), the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the heir of Rus’.
Close ties with the Crimea are evidenced by different finds: dinnerware, in particular sgraffito ware, spread over a wide area from the Balkans to the Volga region; Juchid coins with the Kafin countermark, and of the 14th–15th centuries Crimean Khanate.
The Genoese influence (or contacts) are evidenced by coins with the Kafin countermark and fragments of a Genoese bombard. This 14th–15th century artillery weapon was found during excavations in the corner tower.
An iron mace is another mystery and at the same time an interesting discovery. It belongs to the 15th-century cultural layer and could be both a weapon and a kleinod (a sign of power) of the society’s highest ranks in Ukraine and Lithuania representatives. This is the first such find on the entire Black Sea coast.
Tiahyn Fortress occupies a prominent place in the list of monuments of national and international importance. The chronological and cultural belonging of the fortress and its artifacts complex testify to the need to continue archaeological research, conservation, and museification of this landmark of the southern part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Rus, the common historical and cultural heritage of Ukrainians, Lithuanians, and Crimean Tatars.
