The chronology of the Liventsovka-Karataevo fortress: from their North Caucasian origins to the military confrontation

The paper substantiates the chronological affiliation of the Liventsovka-Karataevo fortress located in the lower reaches of the Don River. The fortification consists of two parts, situated on two promontories separated by a ravine, and is a single settlement complex. The period of its existence is defined by a boundary between the Middle and Late Bronze Age. The first researches of the fortress date back to the 1960s, conducted under the supervision of S.N. Bratchenko. The initial comparison of the material obtained allowed the scientist to draw the lines of synchronization between the Lower Don fortress and North Caucasian monuments as well as to determine the time of existence within the framework of the Late Stage North Caucasian culture. Further research showed that the final stage in the life of the fortress was connected with its military defeat. The relative date of the event was determined as the second stage of the Baba culture. At the present stage of the development of scientific thought, various versions of the reconstruction of the fortress as a ruin exist; however, there is no summary work to establish the chronology of the complex in the light of the new discoveries. Contemporary archaeological studies of monuments in the North Caucasus and on the Northeast Black Sea coast have made it possible to consider both the formation of the fortress and its final existence from a different angle.