Keava (Keava)
Hamlet close to Kehtna in Raplamaa. One of the group of streets named for stations on the Tallinn-Türi Kitsarööpa line. The name Keava comes from a 15th-C (or much earlier, sources uncertain) manor known as Kedenpäh, Kedempe (1410), etc., the earliest record of which is that of an uncertain attack by Izyaslav Yaroslavich, Grand Duke of Kiev and Novgorod in 1054, and a mishmash translation of осек Кедипив (osek Kedipiv), possibly suggesting a wooden defensive structure (осек) and confusing Кеди and пив for old Estonian words for ‘hand’ and ‘sun’. The Keava Hillfort predates this, with archaeological evidence identifying its use over at least the previous 500 years, constructed in 5 phases between the 5th and 11th centuries. It’s quieter now. See Lelle.
