In the city of Ostroh, developers dug the territory near the lower castle of Ostrozki princes, where there was probably a tomb of Ostroh old age and Colonel Jana-Wilhelm Rottarisha. The employee of the Center for the Study of the Heritage of the Princes of Ostrozhsky Mykola Bendyuk informed about it.
The construction site was surrounded by a high fence, and for three days the equipment destroyed the cultural layer, preventing archaeologists from. According to Bendyuk, all this happened directly through the road from the administration of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve, which is suspected of conspiracy.
Archaeologist Alexander Bondarchuk, an employee of the reserve, was not allowed to the place of work, although the presence of a specialist is mandatory under the law. Despite the assurance of the Rivne Regional Department of Culture, that "no works are being done", in fact the land was actively exported to the outskirts of the city.
Bendyuk, together with archaeologists, went to the place of discharge of the earth and found the remains of historical artifacts among garbage - human remains, fragments of ceramics, hewn stone, icon of the XVIII century. All this is probably parts of the destroyed tomb and ancient construction.
According to preliminary data, the burial could belong to the Rottarusha, who died in 1728 and was located only 10 meters from the church. Princess Ostrozka and her cousin Konstantin Ostrozky could be buried in the same part of the city.
"Developers have used a recurring scheme throughout Ukraine. They finance research into a small site, get permission to work only in this territory - and dig all over the site, ignoring the requirements for the rest," Bendyuk said.
Ostroh's archaeological heritage under threat
Ostrog is known for its rich history. In July 2024, archaeologists discovered a fragment of the ancient shaft of the XI century, Trypillian pits with vessels of the X century and the foundry of the seventeenth century in the city center. The depth of the cultural layer here reaches more than three meters.
In October of the same year, near the Ostroh Academy formed a failure that opened underground mazes and unique forged doors of the seventeenth century. The dungeons in the city center have three levels, but due to constant development, truck movement and lack of proper protection, valuable historical layers are at risk of final destruction.
