The first known reference to Dregovichi is in the Primary Chronicle where they are listed among the twelve nations. By the 12th century they were assimilated into the main East Slavic peoples.
The Dregovichs left some archaeological monuments of the 9th and the 10th century along the Pripyat, such as the remnants of agricultural settlements and kurgans with incinerated bodies (unlike the kurgans of 11th–12th century with intact bones). One could find sepulchral structures that look like small wooden houses with span roofs.
The principal city of the Dregovichs was Turaw. Other cities included Slutsk, Kletsk and Drutsk, all in the territory of the modern Belarus.
The chronicles do not tell historians much about the Dregovichs. We only know that they had their own princely rule in the city of Turov. In the 10th century, the lands of the Dregovichs became a part of the Kievan Rus and later—the Turaw Principality. The northwestern part of the land of the Dregovichs became a part of the Polotsk Principality.
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Last updated on Thursday April 17, 2008 at 10:26:39 PDT (GMT -0700)
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