Pekshevo is a Scythian culture Middle Don period hill fort, located near the modern town of the same name on the Voronezh River in Russia. The site was occupied between the 8th century BC and the first century AD.
Excavations recovered nearly 2,000 ceramic vessels, indicating a relationship to other similar sites along the Siem River such as Maritsa and Liubotin, which archaeologists have interpreted as a forest-steppe Scythoid cultural group. Other artifacts include bronze and iron pins, bone spoons, and effigy figurines of animals (mostly of horses) and humanoid shape.
Hill Fort at Pekshevo
The hill fort includes at least 31 houses within an area delimited by ramparts and a moat, built of wood and earth; a few human remains were found in the channels of the moats. The houses ranged between 2.6x3 meters to 4x7 meters. They were built either on the surface or slightly semi-subterranean, as circular or rectangular structures made of poles and wattle and daub. Between one to three open hearths heated each structure.
Pekshevo was excavated in the 1980s by the Scytho-Sarmatian Detachment of Voronezh University Expedition.
Source
This glossary entry is part of the About.com Guide to Hill Forts and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Medvedev, A. P. 1999 On the question of the origin of the Middle Don culture of the Scythian time. Anthropology and Archaeology of Eurasia 38(1):8-38.
