Lyubsha (Russian: Любша) is an archaeological site situated on the right bank of the
VolkhovVolkhov is an industrial town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated 122 km east of St. Petersburg, on the Volkhov River. Population: 46,100 , 46,596 .-History:...
, about 1,500 metres downstream from
Staraya LadogaStaraya Ladoga , or the Aldeigjuborg of Norse sagas, is a village in the Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Volkhov River near Lake Ladoga. The village used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries...
. As was established by the 1993 excavations, Lyubsha is the site of the earliest Varangian fort in
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, established in the first half of the 8th century, thus predating Ladoga. Its layout and dimensions closely resemble the contemporaneous
hill fortA hill fort is a type of fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages...
s of
Great MoraviaGreat Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe from the 9th century to the early 10th century. There is some controversy as to the actual location of its core territory...
.
The fortress was destroyed by fire towards the end of the 9th century.
Lyubsha (Russian: Любша) is an archaeological site situated on the right bank of the
VolkhovVolkhov is an industrial town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated 122 km east of St. Petersburg, on the Volkhov River. Population: 46,100 , 46,596 .-History:...
, about 1,500 metres downstream from
Staraya LadogaStaraya Ladoga , or the Aldeigjuborg of Norse sagas, is a village in the Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Volkhov River near Lake Ladoga. The village used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries...
. As was established by the 1993 excavations, Lyubsha is the site of the earliest Varangian fort in
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, established in the first half of the 8th century, thus predating Ladoga. Its layout and dimensions closely resemble the contemporaneous
hill fortA hill fort is a type of fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages...
s of
Great MoraviaGreat Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe from the 9th century to the early 10th century. There is some controversy as to the actual location of its core territory...
.
The fortress was destroyed by fire towards the end of the 9th century.
Constantine ZuckermanConstantine Zuckerman is a French-Jewish historian and Professor of Byzantine studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris....
connects its destruction with a conflict (
VadimVadim the Bold was a legendary chieftain of Ilmen Slavs who led their struggle against the Varangians and Rurik in the 9th century.According to the Nikon Chronicle, the Novgorodians broke into rebellion against Rurik, their ruler, but his Varangian druzhina managed to quell the riots and murdered...
's uprising) that marked the downfall of the
Rus' KhaganateThe Rus' Khaganate was a polity that flourished during a poorly documented period in the history of Eastern Europe...
. The Norse name of Lyubsha is unknown.
Immediately north of Lyubsha lies the village of Gorchakovshchina, which used to be a trading post at the head of navigation on the Volkhov, near its ancient entry into
Lake LadogaLake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:The lake's area is 17,891 km²...
.
Dmitry MachinskyDmitry Alexeyevich Machinsky is a leading Russian archaeologist. He lives in Saint Petersburg and works in the Hermitage Museum. Machinsky is particularly well known for having excavated Lyubsha and other Viking settlements along the Volkhov River...
ranks it, along with Ladoga and
AlaborgÁlaborg or Áluborg is the name of a Varangian fort mentioned in the Norse sagas about Halfdan Eysteinsson and Hrolf Ganger. The first saga indicates that it was possible to sail from Aldeigjuborg to Alaborg northward by sea, but a more rapid and practicable way was by land eastward...
, among the most important centres of the khaganate.