A tower was built using square bricks and stone in Berestye and Kamenets in 1276-1288 by order of Volyn Prince Vladimir Vasilkovich, who owned the Berestye lands, for the sake of protection against external enemies. It was mentioned in the Hypatian Codex, which says: “There was a gray pillar of stone in Berestye as high as that in Kamenets...”. The donjon tower in Berestye (20m high, 1.3m thick) and the Kamenets tower could endure attacks of stone-throwing machines. The Berestye tower served as the center of defense and a command post of the city for more than five centuries. It was dismantled in 1831 during the construction of the Brest Fortress. The Kamenets tower has survived to this day. It houses a branch of the Brest Oblast Local Lore Museum.
Dating back to the 13th century, the uniquely preserved Berestye settlement was discovered during archaeological studies in 1968-1980 under the guidance of Doctor of Historical Sciences Piotr Lysenko. Bright examples of everyday life, culture, highly developed crafts of the European city of the 11-13th centuries were revealed to the world.
The ancient stronghold was full of wooden houses. The floors in the houses, streets and passages were lined with thick planed boards made of coniferous trees. The jewelry found during the digs was attributed to the Dregovichi tribes. Among the finds were bracelets, rings, temple rings, kolts, pins, brooches, and beads. A boxwood comb with carvings in the form of the first 13 letters of the Cyrillic alphabet is the first and only known primer of that time in the territory of Belarus. The most valuable finds also include an expressive bone figurine of a chess king decorated with a circular ornament and a Christian bronze encolpion cross.
