Acesso aberto
Acesso está concedido
Somente assinantes
Nº 3 (2025)
ARTICLES
LITHIC INDUSTRIES OF THE MULTILAYERED UPPER PALAEOLITHIC SITE OF RAKHAT: CHRONOLOGY AND DYNAMICS OF DEVELOPMENT
Resumo
Active archaeological work of recent years in the foothills of the Northern Tien Shan (Trans-Ili Alatau) have revealed over ten Upper Palaeolithic sites here. The Rakhat site occupies a special place in this series. In 2018–2023, the entire loess layer of the site, 13 m thick, was uncovered by excavation over the area of ~ 60 m2. A total of 16 cultural layers were found at Rakhat. Almost all of them contain hearths, fire pits, carbon spots or calcinations. All cultural layers represent relatively short-term, probably seasonal, visits of residents. The total collection numbers 9267 lithic finds. The layers are grouped into three packs: layer 12 – end of the Early Upper Palaeolithic (~28,000–27,000 14C yr BP); layers 11, 10, 9, 8/1, 8/2, 7, 6 – middle Upper Palaeolithic (~25,200–23,300 14C yr BP); layers 5, 4/4, 4/3, 4/2, 4/1, 3, 2, 1 – beginning of the late Upper Palaeolithic (~20,300–19,300 14C yr BP). Between the last two packs, a hiatus was noted, associated with one of the unfavorable stages of the last glacial maximum (LGM). The site provides an opportunity to traces the emergence and transformation of various cultural complexes with characteristic lithic industries. This process took place under the conditions of climatic changes of the LGM period. Based on the site materials, on the one hand, the specific character of the Upper Palaeolithic cultural complexes was revealed, on the other hand, it was determined that the development of the Upper Palaeolithic of the Northern Tien Shan took place within a single cultural vector, characteristic of the western part of Eurasia.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):7–23
7–23
PALEOLITHIC OF EASTERN TRANSBAIKALIA: CULTURAL-CHRONOLOGICAL ASPECT
Resumo
Eastern Transbaikalia is a region characterized by mountain-taiga and steppe landscapes, the formation of which is due to the mountainous relief and sharply continental East Siberian climate. The region is located between the taiga mountains in the north, the Mongolian steppes in the south and the forests of the Amur region in the east. Unlike Western Transbaikalia, where significantly more Paleolithic sites have been identified, studied, and reliably dated by hundreds of absolute determinations, the region in question remains a «blank spot» on the Paleolithic map. Currently, there are 63 Paleolithic sites in Eastern Transbaikalia, most of which are poorly studied. The authors summarized a large array of historiographic data and proposed a periodization of the Paleolithic complexes in the region. A GIS database was also created, which made it possible to display all known locations, sites, settlements and workshops on a digital elevation model. The article presents the C14-datings obtained by the authors for the Sukhotino-4 site (layers 8, 10) and the Titovskaya Sopka workshop (layers 2, 2.1, 4), as well as new archaeological data on materials from the Sukhotino-16 site with surface assemblages and the multi-layered Titovskaya Sopka workshop (layers 2-4).
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):24–36
24–36
POLLEN INDICATORS OF HUMAN IMPACT ON VEGETATION OF THE UPPER KAMA VALLEY AREA (RUSSIA) IN THE STONE AGE WITHIN THE CHASHKINSKOYE GEOARCHEOLOGICAL AREA
Resumo
This paper outlines the first results of the pollen analysis conducted within the Chashkinskoye geoarcheological (the upper Kama valley, Russia). The analysis aims to identify human impact indicators in the peat bog and cultural deposits. The authors traced several palynological criteria across different archaeological epochs. The study revealed that only indirect pollen indicators of human activities associated with the weed-ruderals were typical of the Mesolithic and Neolithic/Chalcolithic periods. During the Stone Age, human influence on the upper Kama forests was local and related only to the environment of the ancient population.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):37-51
37-51
FIELD RESEARCH OF THE IRAQI-RUSSIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION AT THE SETTLEMENT OF TELL WADJEF IN SOUTHERN IRAQ (General characteristics of the settlement, its stratigraphy and elements of planigraphy)
Resumo
The article discusses some results of the research of the 2024 field season at Tell Wajef settlement in Maysan Governorate, southern Iraq, on the border of the Fertile Crescent zone and the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia. The excavations were focused primarily on the study of the settlement stratigraphy. The trench made across the northern slope of the tell revealed deposits of the Sumerian period and of the late period of the ceramic Neolithic. The syncretism of the material culture of the site is its unique feature resulting from its geographical proximity, on the one hand, to the alluvial plain of Southern Mesopotamia, and on the other hand, to the Zagros Mountains. While the material culture of the site is dominated by Ubaid features, there are significant traces of influences from the Zagros region.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):52-62
52-62
THE BABINO CULTURAL CIRCLE AND EUROPEAN MIGRATION. 2200 CAL BC
Resumo
The article focuses on the reconstruction of the migration from Central Europe and the Carpathian-Danube region to the steppe in the period of 2200 cal BC. As a result of the movement of these groups to Eastern Europe, where they came into contact with local late Catacomb cultures, the Babino cultural circle was formed, which included the Volga-Don, the Dnieper-Don and the Dnieper-Prut Babino cultures. This migration is evidenced by a number of innovations of European origin in the ritual and artefact complex of post-Catacomb cultural formations in the steppe and forest-steppe zones from the Danube to the Trans-Volga region. Their emergence was explosive in nature and occurred within a short period. The migration in question occurred during a sharp climate aridization, which led to an increase in sedimentation and a decrease in winter temperatures in the mountain and foothill zones of the Alps and Carpathians. This resulted in a shortage of winter pastures in these areas, which caused part of the European population to leave for the Eastern European steppe where the conditions for winter grazing were more favorable.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):63-78
63-78
METAL SMELTING AND CASTING AT CATACOMB SETTLEMENTS IN THE FOREST-STEPPE DON REGION
Resumo
The article analyzes evidence of copper-bronze casting at the Ksizovo 1 settlement of the Middle Don Catacomb culture in the context of materials similar in industry specificity and chronology in the forest-steppe Don region. The author characterizes in detail means of production documented with fragments of smelting bowls, nozzles and casting molds. The remains of casting in the form of oxidized melt splashes and inclusions on the smelting bowls were identified by the XRF method as low-alloy arsenic bronze. A comparison of the chemical composition data showed that the metal of Ksizovo-1 is similar to the metal of regional Catacomb sites and reveals signs of internal unity. The range and localization of the finds suggest that all of this is evidence of non-systematic production activity, which was conducted in a vacant area at the outskirts of the settlement in order to meet the needs for essential items. It is proved by the examples of individual smelting and casting tools found at a number of the Catacomb and Voronezh sites of the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. It is shown that, together with the materials of Ksizovo-1, they mark the initial period of bronze casting production in the region. The organization of this process corresponded to the domestic handicraft level and it was due to the peripheral position of the Don forest-steppe relative to the mining and metallurgical centres, the nearest of them located in Donbass.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):79–91
79–91
DYNAMICS OF PLOWING MOUNDS IN THE STEPPE ZONE BASED ON OBSERVATIONS AT 40-YEAR INTERVAL
Resumo
In 1984 and 2023, at a 40-year interval, area surveys were conducted in Kurganinsk District of Krasnodar Territory, twice covering 79 mound cemeteries of the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The measurements of the mound parameters were performed both times with comparable instrumental accuracy; the burial grounds are located in an arable landscape where agricultural use of the land was continuous. These facts made it possible to obtain statistically significant data for calculating the dynamics of the destruction of mound cemeteries by plowing. Frequency analysis of the measurement sample including 424 burial mounds identified two plowing scenarios manifested in the value distribution graphs: uniform plowing not aimed at intentional destruction of embankments, and intended leveling of burial mounds with a plough. According to calculations, the average rate of decrease in the height of burial mounds during uniform «unintentional» plowing is about 1 cm per year. Intended actions to destroy cemeteries with agricultural machinery increase this rate by three to seven times.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):92–107
92–107
ASSESSING THE POSSIBILITY OF GENOMIC STUDY OF CREMATED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SAMPLES
Resumo
Archaeogenetic study is dynamically improving the techniques for working with different categories of archaeological materials. Bone remains of humans and animals after the fire and high temperatures impact account for a significant proportion of osteological materials. The problem of whether they can be used in genetic research still has no clear answer. High temperature impact significantly aggravates the state of degraded DNA of the archaeological samples. A review of published studies of DNA of the bone from the fire indicate an extremely low probability of preserving endogenous genetic material. The authors studied materials of cremations form two Early Iron Age sites (Sarmatian burial mound near the village of Totskoye, Orenburg Region, and the ground cemetery of the Ryazan-Oka culture Gorodishche 2 in Ryazan Region). The studied samples make it possible to estimate the preservation of endogenous DNA depending on temperature. The previously published results and the authors' studies provide grounds to formulate basic recommendations for the methodology of assessing the preservation of DNA in bone remains. Publications without information on DNA estimation cannot be considered as a reliable source of valid paleogenetic data.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):108-122
108-122
NATURAL-ANTHROPOGENIC LANDSCAPES AND LAND USE SYSTEMS IN THE UPPER PSEL BASIN IN THE IST–2ND MILLENNIA AD (based on materials from the Kurilovka 2 settlement)
Resumo
The article presents the results of a multidisciplinary study of the Kurilovka 2 settlement (Sudzha District, Kursk Region), which made it possible to identify several stages in the development of the territory in the Upper Psel basin, in the north of the East European forest-steppe zone. During the last 2.5 thousand years, a broad-leaved forest was growing on the remnant of a low terrace above the floodplain, at the site area. In the early 1st millennium AD, it was probably cleared by the early Slavic population in a cycle of slash-and-burn agriculture. In addition to cultivating crops, in particular millet, the population conducted residential and economic construction and possibly practiced grazing in the studied area, however, the influence of the bearers of early Slavic traditions on the environment outside the habitation zone was insignificant. In the late 1st millennium AD, the settlement became uninhabited and the forest was restored. It was cleared again presumably in the 13th century AD. The next period of active development of the Upper Psel region covers the second half of the 17th–20th century, when the forest was totally cleared and the land plowed at a large scale. This led to the transformation of natural landscapes into agricultural ones and to noticeable changes in the ecosystems of the region.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):123-139
123-139
TO THE ISSUE OF STONE MOUNDS IN PRIMORYE
Resumo
The study of a new archaeological site — the Rechitsa 1 burial ground — has made it possible to approach the issue related to the interpretation of stone mounds in Primorye. More than 1,000 burials structured as stone masonry of various shapes and sizes resembling crypts made of flat stones were found on a separate hill. The study traced the stages of masonry construction with the identification of burial chambers and the sequence of mound formation. It was found that at first large stones were used to from the walls of burial chamber, into which the ashes of the deceased were placed, then it was covered with smaller stones and finally a mound embankment was formed. It was established that some of the mounds were surrounded by stone walls up to 0.5—0.7 m high and up to 1.5 m wide. The authors found that the site is a medieval burial ground with an area of about 29 hectares. Topographic survey made it possible to identify the central and peripheral zones of the object. 22 burials were investigated. The burial site with its characteristic features was determined as cremation of the deceased at a remote location with further placement of the ashes in the grave. Single mounds, group burials and platform burials were identified there. The site dates from the Jurchen period (12th—13th centuries AD).
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):140-152
140-152
TOMB OF PRINCESS ULIANIA OF UGLICH IN THE APSE OF SMOLENSKY CATHOLICONE FUNERARY VAULT OF MOSCOW NOVODEVICHY CONVENT
Resumo
The article presents the study of the tomb of the first royal nun buried in the central part of the apse in the funerary vault of the Smolensk Catholicon of the Moscow Novodevichy Convent. Princess Uliania Dmitrievna was the wife of Yuri Vasilyevich, the younger brother of Ivan the Terrible. After the death of Prince Yuri of Uglich, Princess Uliania, aged 28–29, took monastic vows and retired to the Novodevichy Convent, where she died on May 8, 1574. The article analyzes the burial installations of the princess and its archaeological context. The authors are the first in historiographic studies to reconstruct the biography of Princess Uliania (Alexandra as a nun) and her family life, the family ties of her kin with the Staritsky princely house, noble families, and to examine the reasons that influenced the choice of the Novodevichy Convent for the widow of Yuri Vasilyevich.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):153–170
153–170
TO THE 70th ANNIVERSARY OF P.G. GAYDUKOV
K YuBILEYu PETRA GRIGOR'EVIChA GAYDUKOVA
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):171-173
171-173
ON THE DATING OF AN OAK LOG FROM THE FORTRESS AT NOVGOROD (RYURIKOVO) GORODISHCHE
Resumo
The fortress at the Ryurikovo Gorodishche is one of the earliest fortification structures of the early Middle Ages in the North of Rus. The details of its construction were studied by the expedition of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS over a number of years. It was possible to establish that the timber-and-earthen fortifications consisted of two lines of gorodnya (log frame) located at different levels. In 2021, a well-preserved section of the fortress façade wall was uncovered in the lowest cusp part of the site. As a result, its design features were clarified and a significant number of samples were collected to determine the time of its construction with science methods. The dendrochronological method gave 847 AD as the date of the outer surviving ring of an oak log that was part of the fortification. Radiocarbon dating with AMS produced a modeled calibrated radiocarbon date of 837–979 AD (2σ, probability 95.4%) for the outer surviving ring of the same log. The dendrochronological date (847 AD) falls within this modeled calibrated interval of the radiocarbon date. If further investigations detect a tree ring corresponding to the radioactive emission event of 774 AD (Miyake) on the studied sample, it will be possible to specify the construction date for the Ryurikovo Gorodishche fortifications with an accuracy of up to a year.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):174-182
174-182
THE HOARD OF KUFIC COINS FOUND NEAR THE VILLAGE OF KHRUSHCHEVO-TYRNOVO
Resumo
The article introduces the hoard of silver kufic coins of the mid-870s found in the environs of the village Khruschevo-Tyrnovo in Ryazan Region. The author analyzes dynastic, geographic and chronological distributions of the coins. The study shows characteristic features of the hoard common to a number of the hoards from the Oka river basin with the similar way of formation as well as its peculiarities. Dirhams of the hoard minted at the Abbasid capital only slightly exceed the coins of Samarqand in quantity while the Middle East specimens, as whole, only slightly prevail over the Central Asian emissions. That is quite uncommon for the synchronous deposits of the Oka region. Another unusual feature is the presence of three rare dirhams in one hoard, which were minted by ‘Alid rebels at al-Muhammadiya in 250 AH. In addition, the coins with graffiti are analyzed, among which one specimen contains a whole set of marks including those that have analogies in the Don and Kuban runic alphabets. This fact is considered as an additional evidence of the arrival of monetary silver in the region in question along the Don trade route. The author comes to the conclusion about the importance of the hoard as a valuable source for studying kufic silver coin circulation in Eastern Europe and the Oka river basin and trade ties with Muslim Orient through the mediation of the Khazar Khanate.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):183-192
183-192
TWO FINDS FROM THE KNYAZHYA GORA FORTIFIED SETTLEMENT IN THE POLA RIVER BASIN
Resumo
During excavations at the Knyazhya Gora fortified settlement in the south-eastern Ilmen region in 1976, two objects were found within an assemblage dating back to late 1st millennium AD: a single-spiral temple ring and an item resembling a horseshoe-shaped fibula, but with a flat arc and spiral ends curled outward in the same plane. Both objects fall outside the general cultural and archaeological background of the region. They are separated from the main area of concentration of morphologically similar artifacts by hundreds of kilometers; moreover, several centuries separate the found objects from the time of their common occurrence. The available field records made it possible to clarify the archaeological context and dating of the finds. An analysis of analogies allows the author to assume that the emergence of individual single-spiral temple rings in the early Rus centres of the Ilmen, Upper Volga and Upper Dnieper regions is associated with the destruction of settlement structures in the Oka and Don interfluve at the end of the 1st millennium AD. The iron fibula-shaped object is supposed to be an element of a northern European ring-shaped pin.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):193-202
193-202
ON SEVERAL COUNTERFEIT WEST EUROPEAN DENARII FROM EXCAVATIONS IN VELIKY NOVGOROD
Resumo
The article discusses counterfeit West European denarii of the 11th century AD found during archaeological excavations in Veliky Novgorod. Among the numismatic finds of the 10th–12th centuries AD, foreign coins play a significant role, in particular West European denarii and their imitations. Many of these coins, upon closer examination, turn out to be made of an alloy of base metals or with a violation of the technology of manufacturing denarii. The author classifies such coins as counterfeits, which account for 25–30% of individual coin finds in Novgorod as recorded by the author. Based on the material from Novgorod excavations, the paper illustrates various technological methods used by forgers to make counterfeits. The article suggests prototypes that forgers used as a reference. Based on the considered numismatic material and its archaeological context, the author assumes that it is important that counterfeit money be taken into account when studying the monetary circulation of medieval Novgorod. The author concludes that the strategy for choosing prototypes for these counterfeits adequately reflects the composition of the monetary circulation in medieval Novgorod, counterfeits being considered as a vivid evidence of such circulation. The author admits that some of the counterfeits were made in Novgorod itself.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):203-209
203-209
SPHRAGISTIC FINDS FROM EXCAVATIONS AT THE RYURIKOVO GORODISHCHE BY NOVGOROD REGIONAL EXPEDITION OF ILMK RAS IN 2015–2016 AND THEIR CONTEXT
Resumo
In 2015–2016, during excavations at Ryurikovo Gorodishche, the Novgorod regional expedition of the Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS obtained a collection of five lead official seals and half of a blank for manufacturing those. The finds of four bullae belong to a group with images of saints on both sides, the fifth one contains an image of a saint on one side and a princely insignia (tamga) on the reverse. During the works, it was possible to uncover and study a section of rich in finds and well-stratified cultural layer, as well as part of the matrix complex, which accidentally remained unexcavated during the 1980s works at Gorodishche. Of extreme importance is the finding of one seal during the investigations in these unexplored strata. Other bullae were recorded on the shallows of the Siversov Canal or in a redeposited layer.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):210–220
210–220
SILK FABRICS AND GOLD-WOVEN RIBBONS FROM EXCAVATIONS IN STARAYA RUSSA
Resumo
The article publishes fragments of silk fabrics with gold embroidery and gold-woven ribbons found in excavation area XI in Staraya Russa, Novgorod Region, in 1971 (works of the expedition under A.F. Medvedev). An analysis of reports, materials from the archive of A.F. Medvedev, and research literature made it possible to determine the archaeological context, completeness, and supposed time of falling of these unique finds into the cultural layer. The author challenges the validity of the interpretation and distribution of the artefacts by compositions during their second restoration in 2013.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):221-230
221-230
LEAD INGOTS OF THE 14TH CENTURY AD FROM VELIKY NOVGOROD IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LEAD IMPORT FROM THE SILESIAN-KRAKOW PB-ZN DEPOSITS TO RUS
Resumo
The article presents evidence of the spread of products from the Silesian-Krakow mining region (Poland) in Russian lands. The objects of the study included a fragment of a hemispherical massive lead ingot and a cluster of lead drops found in Trade District of Veliky Novgorod, near the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior and the Znamensky Cathedral. The finds come from layers of the mid-14th century AD and represent high-quality lead raw materials (over 99% Pb). Their chemical composition and Pb isotope composition are identical to two intact massive hemispherical lead ingots of the first half of the 13th – first half of the 14th century AD found in Wrocław and Krakow. Based on the similarity of the Pb isotope composition of the Novgorod finds and Polish ingots, on the one hand, and on their identity in this parameter with the lead-zinc deposits of the Olkusz ore field, a part of the oldest Silesian-Krakow mining region of Europe, on the other hand, it can be concluded that lead raw materials arrived in Rus in the Middle Ages from Eastern Europe. The materials presented in the article significantly expand the geography of lead trade in the 13th–14th centuries AD and confirm V.L. Yanin's statement that the Hansa did not have a monopoly on the import of lead to Rus, since it could be imported by another Novgorod counterparty – Poland.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):231–246
231–246
NOVGOROD MASTERS IN MOSCOW IN 1479
Resumo
The article is an attempt to explain the chronicle record on the work of Novgorod masters in the construction of the roof of the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin in 1479. It is assumed that Novgorod masters were among the first to embrace the iron roof construction, which is why they were called to Moscow. This happened immediately after the conquest of Novgorod by the Grand Prince of Moscow in 1478. The author also analyzes chronicle records on iron roofs in Pskov in the 1460s. It is suggested that Pskov was an intermediary: initially, similar roof technology, which had arrived from German lands, was used in Pskov, later they began to construct iron roofs in Novgorod. It is from there that iron roof came to Moscow together with masters. Later, iron roofs became common for the Moscow state of the 16th–17th centuries.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):247-251
247-251
PUBLICATIONS
ORNAMENTS MADE OF ANIMAL TEETH FROM THE ZAMIL-KOBA 1 SITE IN THE CRIMEA
Resumo
The Zamil-Koba I site in the Southwestern Crimea was found and excavated by D.A. Krainov in 1935–1937. Two layers of the Stone Age were traced. The top layer belongs to the Murzak-Koba culture and dates back to the first half of the Boreal period. It produced three red deer incisors with grooves on the dental neck. The lower layer belongs to the Shan-Koba culture and dates back to the first half of the Allerod. Two pendants made of animal teeth were found in this layer. The first pendant is made of a red deer canine, with a hole drilled at the end of the root. Several geometrized images are engraved on the root of the tooth, traces of red paint are visible. Intensive wear indicates prolonged use of this pendant. The second pendant is made of the upper left fang of a female cave lion. The surface shows signs of processing and signs of wear typical for pendants. The end of the root and the end of the enamel are broken off along the grooves. After the root was broken, it was not disposed of, but was probably used as an amulet. Analogies to this artefact are unknown to the authors, although pendants made of predator fangs were widespread in the Late Paleolithic and Mesolithic of Eastern Europe.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):252-264
252-264
ARTISTIC METAL FROM THE MEDIEVAL BURIAL LADEYSKOYE IN THE MIDDLE YENISEI: A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY
Resumo
The paper considers a set of horseman's belt decorations – non-ferrous metal items after a fire impact, with characteristic decor. A comprehensive study that involved an analysis of the decor, morphology of objects, and manufacturing technology including the composition of the metal made it possible to assume the presence of two sets (one could have been a belt). The analogies come mainly from the Minusinsk Basin of the Sayan-Altai. The homogeneity of the decor in the main groups of the assemblage and the single geochemical base of the metal evidence that items were manufactured in a production centre (possibly in different workshops) with a single stable source of metal and a high level of casting craftsmanship. The low quality of the decor (taking into account the preservation) is the result of using replicas as matrices. The latter indicates the inaccessibility of the originals in the production centre. The general appearance of the assemblage, the decor, analogies and technological features give reason to attribute it to the end of the 10th–11th century AD.
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):265-278
265-278
CHRONICLE
K 80-letiyu VALERIYa SERGEEVIChA FLEROVA
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):279-280
279-280
K YuBILEYu VLADIMIRA YaKOVLEVIChA PETRUKhINA
Russian Archaeology. 2025;(3):281-283
281-283