This is the opening of a layer of earth in order to study the monuments of former settlement sites. Unfortunately, this process leads to partial destruction of the cultural soil layer. Unlike laboratory experiments, it is not possible to re-archaeologically excavate a site. In order to open the ground, many states require a special permit. In Russia (and before that in the RSFSR), “open sheets” - the so-called documented consent - are drawn up at the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences. Carrying out this type of work on the territory of the Russian Federation in the absence of the specified document is an administrative offense.
Basis for soil excavation
Land cover tends to increase in mass over time, resulting in the gradual hiding of artifacts. It is for the purpose of their detection that a layer of earth is opened. An increase in soil thickness can occur for several reasons:
Tasks
The main goal pursued by scientists when carrying out archaeological excavations is to study an ancient monument and restore its significance. For a comprehensive, comprehensive study, it is most preferable when it is completely opened to its full depth. At the same time, even the interests of a particular archaeologist are not taken into account. However, as a rule, only partial opening of the monument is carried out due to the high labor intensity of the process. Some archaeological excavations, depending on their complexity, can last for years or even decades. Work can be carried out not only for the purpose of researching historical monuments. In addition to archaeological excavations, there is another type of excavation called “security”. In accordance with the legislation, in the Russian Federation they must be carried out before the construction of buildings and various structures. Because otherwise, it is possible that the ancient monuments at the construction site will be lost forever.
Progress of the study
First of all, the study of a historical object begins with non-destructive methods such as photography, measurement and description. If there is a need to measure the direction and thickness of the cultural layer, sounding is done, trenches or pits are dug. These tools also allow you to search for an object whose location is known only from written sources. However, the use of such methods is of limited application, since they significantly spoil the cultural layer, which is also of historical interest.
Earth opening technology
All stages of research and clearing of historical sites are necessarily accompanied by photographic recording. Conducting archaeological excavations on the territory of the Russian Federation is accompanied by compliance with strict requirements. They are approved in the corresponding “Regulations”. The document focuses on the need to produce high-quality drawings. Recently, they are increasingly issued in electronic form using new computer technologies.
Archaeological excavations in Russia
Not long ago, Russian archaeologists published a list of the most important discoveries of 2010. The most significant events during this period were the discovery of a treasure in the city of Torzhok and archaeological excavations in Jericho. In addition, the age of Yaroslavl was confirmed. Under the leadership of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, dozens of scientific expeditions are equipped every year. Their research extends throughout the European part of the Russian Federation, in some parts of the Asian region of the country and even abroad, for example in Mesopotamia, Central Asia and the Spitsbergen archipelago. According to the director of the institute, Nikolai Makarov, at one of the press conferences, during 2010 the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducted a total of 36 expeditions. Moreover, only half of them were carried out on the territory of Russia, and the rest - abroad. It also became known that approximately 50% of the funding comes from the state budget, revenues of the Russian Academy of Sciences and scientific institutions such as the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and While the rest of the resources, intended for work related to the preservation of archaeological heritage monuments, allocated by investors-developers.
Research of Phanagoria
According to N. Makarov, in 2010 there was also a significant shift in the study of monuments of ancient times. This is especially true of Phanagoria - the largest ancient city found on the territory of Russia, and the second capital of the Bosporan kingdom. During this time, scientists studied the buildings of the acropolis, and found a large building, the age of which dates back to the middle of the 4th century BC. e. All archaeological excavations in Phanagoria are carried out under the direction of Dr. historical sciences Vladimir Kuznetsov. It was he who identified the found building as one in which state meetings had previously been held. Notable Feature of this building is a hearth in which a fire was previously kept burning daily. It was believed that as long as its flame shone, the state life of the ancient city would never cease.
Research in Sochi
Another significant event of 2010 was the excavations in the capital of the 2014 Olympics. A group of scientists, headed by Vladimir Sedov, Doctor of Art History and leading researcher at the Institute of Archeology, conducted research near the construction site of the Russian Railways terminal near the village of Veseloye. Here the remains were subsequently discovered Byzantine temple IX-XI centuries
Excavations in the village of Krutik
This is a trade and craft settlement of the 10th century, located in the forests of Belozorye, Vologda region. Archaeological excavations in this area are headed by Sergei Zakharov, candidate of historical sciences. In 2010, 44 coins minted in the countries of the caliphate and the Middle East were found here. Merchants used them to pay for furs, which were especially valued in the Arab East.
Archaeological excavations. Crimea
The historical veil of this territory is being lifted largely thanks to the research work that often takes place here. Some expeditions have been going on for many years. Among them: “Kulchuk”, “Chaika”, “Belyaus”, “Kalos-Limen”, “Chembalo” and many others. If you want to go to archaeological excavations, you can join a group of volunteers. However, as a rule, volunteers have to pay for their stay in the country themselves. A huge number of expeditions are carried out in Crimea, but most of them are short-term. In this case, the group size is small. Research is carried out by experienced workers and professional archaeologists.
Excavations without an open sheet are prohibited by the Law on the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments.
When excavating settlements, the main goal remains the most complete study of the historical process. Nai the best way The solution to this problem using the example of an ancient settlement is to open its entire area. But the complete opening of the monument area in most cases is a long-term task, often impossible during the lifetime of one researcher due to its complexity and labor intensity. Therefore, bearing in mind the excavation of the entire area of the settlement, the archaeologist must develop a specific work plan (for a certain period and for a given season), the main goal of which should be to clarify the nature of the settlement with the least expenditure of money and in the shortest possible time.
Such a plan should include the sequence of work performed. The primary task is to clarify the principle of planning of the settlement, its chronological boundaries and fluctuations in the size of the area. If the settlement is large, then at this stage of the study it is necessary to try to determine the nature of the strata in its individual parts and the chronological framework of the existence of these parts and the settlement as a whole. The tasks of the first stage of work also include excavating the territories adjacent to the settlement and identifying their relationships. Clarification of all these questions only illuminates to some extent historical destinies settlements, but basically it has the character of preparatory work for a comprehensive historical study.
When solving these problems and in subsequent work, the archaeologist is always faced with the task of historical research in the full scope of the problems and issues included in it. At the same time, with the help of excavations over wide areas, the development of the productive forces of a given society, its way of life, culture and other aspects of its life are studied. The immediate narrow specific task may be to fill some gap in our knowledge about the monument, to eliminate one of the “blank spots”.
General requirements for excavating a settlement. The reliability of information obtained from excavations largely depends on research techniques. The technique of opening a cultural layer is diverse and is not uniform even within the same object. First of all, it is determined by the degree of preservation of the monument, the cultural layer of which may be well preserved, but may be damaged by plowing, washing out, or completely blown out. The presence or absence of pits and excavations also influence the methods of studying the cultural layer; they depend on its thickness, differences in the soil (for example, the techniques used when opening loess strata are inappropriate when excavating sandy or ash strata), the degree of its moisture and other reasons.
The excavation technique must be thought out in advance. It is necessary to at least approximately know the conditions influencing the choice of excavation techniques. It follows from this that without a thorough examination of the monument and its detailed reconnaissance, it is impossible to begin excavations.
As was said, the types of monuments and the conditions of their occurrence are very diverse, but it is still possible to highlight General requirements, which must be observed when excavating any of them.
The first requirement is the mandatory study of all layers of a given monument. Once an excavation has begun, it cannot be abandoned; it must be brought to the mainland. Without a complete study of the cultural layers to the mainland, it is impossible to achieve complete coverage of all periods of the life of a given settlement. An archaeologist does not have the right to pay preferential attention to one or another layer; for him, all layers must have equal importance, otherwise gaps may form in his work, which will no longer be possible to fill.
The excavation area must be large enough to include structures of different types. It should be borne in mind that the thicker the cultural layer, the more difficult it is to increase the area of the excavation during the work (as they say, “to make an extension”), the greater the danger of turning this excavation at a certain depth into a pit. However, it should be remembered that with very large excavations, the possibility of continuous observation of the sections and the stratigraphy of the layers is lost, since the walls of the excavation move away from each other, which opens up the possibility of a significant change in the stratigraphy between them. It is impossible to lay an excavation of such a size that any structure would fit into it. The most rational excavations are those with an area of 100 to 400 m, and their sizes are determined for each specific case, since they depend on a number of reasons (the thickness of the cultural layer, the nature of the strata).
Preliminary study of stratigraphy. The choice of excavation site depends on the knowledge of the stratigraphy of the monument, since without knowledge of the order and chronology of the layers, the archaeologist digs blindly. Profiles, i.e., the view of the excavation wall or the edge wall, obtained by clearing the outcrops, and subsequently by clearing the excavation walls, give a description of the layers, their order, and reveal the environment in which things, structures and complexes lay. Hence the special significance of the profiles, which are, as it were, the passport of a given monument. Therefore, excavations most often begin from the place where the cultural layer is exposed, which makes it possible to navigate the stratigraphy of the monument.
Pits and trenches. But sometimes there are no such outcrops at the site, so its stratigraphy has to be studied by laying a pit or trench that cuts through all the strata. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that both pits and trenches are only the first sections of future excavations, which will be cut to them in the right direction as soon as the stratigraphy of the strata is studied. when the cultural layer in the pit is completely dug up or is not discovered at all. A single pit, and even more so a series of abandoned pits not deployed for excavation, spoil the monument and lead to its destruction.
In some cases, it is convenient to pre-mark the entire future excavation, a certain part of which should be set aside for exploration with a pit or trench. After this, the cultural layer throughout the excavation is exposed. The sizes of pits and trenches depend on specific conditions: in a loose and deep layer they can be larger, in a dense and shallow layer they can be smaller. The stratigraphy of a cultural layer 20 - 30 cm thick can be determined using a pit with an area of 1 square. m, but for strata with a thickness of 4 - 5 m, the dimensions of the pit increase to 64 - 80 sq. m. The width of the trench is usually no less than two and no more than four meters.
When laying a pit or trench and during their excavation, all the rules of ordinary excavations are observed, but with one significant amendment: the structures included in the pit
or a trench, are in no case destroyed, since with the small size of the area being opened, they cannot be more or less fully studied, even their nature cannot be reliably revealed.
At monuments whose cultural layer is saturated with architectural remains, pits and trenches are strictly prohibited (for example, in ancient cities, in multi-layered monuments of Central Asia). To clarify the stratigraphy of such objects, excavations are laid on them, often called stratigraphic ones. The disadvantage of such an excavation is that it is dug even before the nature of the layers is clarified; the advantage is that it has dimensions sufficient to study not only the order of strata and other issues of stratigraphy, but also the structures included in it.
In monuments that have an architectural skeleton, the excavation serves as a support for archaeological research. Architectural remains can be linked into a series of successive stratigraphic stages, and the task comes down to constructing these stages, dating them, characterizing them, etc.
When studying multi-layered monuments that do not have an architectural skeleton, the entire sequence of strata, and therefore the entire history of the settlement, cannot be understood without observing sections of cultural layers - profiles. Profiles serve as the basis for dividing strata into layers, for identifying certain structures, their connections and other details.
Contour trench. In the case of dense soil that provides stable vertical walls, and in case of poor preservation of the wood, the method practiced by A.P. Smirnov during excavations in Volga Bulgaria can be used as a first step in the study of the settlement. This method consists of excavations starting with a trench laid along the contour of the excavation. The trench is brought to the mainland, and its profiles provide a detailed description of the strata of a given monument, which makes it possible to determine the order and nature of the cultural layers along the entire perimeter of the excavation and to conduct excavations in strict accordance with the stratigraphy of the given site. At the same time, the rule remains not to destroy structures encountered in the trench until they are completely exposed in the excavation.
Shape and orientation of the excavation. The shape of the excavation and its orientation are not strictly defined and may vary depending on conditions. As a rule, each excavation is rectangular at the beginning, since this shape is most convenient for fixing things and structures. This, of course, does not mean that the contours of the excavation must necessarily be straight; they can be broken, but the angles of the breaks are usually straight.
If the orientation of the excavation is not determined by the peculiarities of the monument, the terrain or other reasons, it is most convenient to orient it along the sides of the horizon, using a compass or compass. In practice, this orientation is most often encountered. It should be noted that the compass gives accurate orientation away from modern settlements, but within the latter it is better to use Adrianov’s compass with a sighting device.
Excavation breakdown. The technique for setting up an excavation is as follows. In the selected area, the grass is mowed and the boundaries of the future excavation are determined by eye. In the corner that is located at the highest point, hammer a peg, place a compass or compass on it and sight the directions N - S and 3 - E, marking them with pegs and twine. The correctness of the resulting right angle is checked by the “Egyptian triangle”: if between the points located 3 m from the corner stake on one side of the future excavation and 4 m on the other side, the distance is 5 m, then the angle is right (3 × 3 + 4 × 4=5×5).
Fig.54. Checking the correctness of the division of a right angle with the “Egyptian triangle”
Using a staff and a level, the drawn lines are divided into horizontal sections, two meters each, ensuring the straightness of the breakdown using compass diopters, a compass, or two already provided pegs.
Then the compass is transferred to the last stake of each of the marked lines and the directions N - S and 3 - E are sighted again. The intersection of these lines gives the fourth corner of the excavation. The correctness of all three obtained angles is checked by the “Egyptian triangle”. The third and fourth sides of the excavation marked in this way are also divided into two-meter sections.
The corresponding pegs of the opposite sides of the excavation are connected by strings, and the intersections of these strings, as well as the ends of the two-meter segments, are leveled in relation to the highest point of the excavation (i.e., it is determined how much lower these points are located in relation to the highest). This subsequently makes it possible to determine the depth of any structure, spot or find from the surface. But for the convenience of readings, a conditional zero point is chosen, from which all depths are measured. Usually this highest point on
Rice. 55. Construction of a temporary and permanent reference point: I - conventional zero point, marked with a peg; II - a permanent benchmark, consisting of a concrete pillar or boulder buried in the ground, the top point of which is leveled, and a stake touching it and coming to the surface, which is also leveled; III and IV - temporary benchmarks made of stakes driven into the excavation wall and leveled
the contour of the excavation. Thanks to the general leveling, conventional readings can be easily converted into readings from the surface level in this place.
The temporary stake marking the zero point may be lost, so it needs to be duplicated by driving control stakes in two or three places, carefully leveling and recording their level, and taking measures to protect them from damage.
If the excavation is laid adjacent to the old one, you need to connect their zero points, i.e. determine how much higher or lower one of them is.
The excavation site is marked on the site plan and map.
Since the conditional zero point does not reflect the true altitude of the area above sea level, it is desirable to determine this ratio. For this “reference”, it is most convenient to use a leveling, polygonometric or trigonometric sign located nearby, and it is not necessary to know its absolute elevation, you can limit yourself to its number. For example, “the conventional zero point is 317 cm above leveling sign No. 427, located in such and such
direction and at such and such a distance.”
But such a geodetic mark is not always available near the excavation site. Therefore, the zero point often has to be tied to some detail of a monumental building located nearby, to the top of a hill marked on the map, etc. If these objects are also missing, then a concrete column is buried in the ground to a depth of 1-1.5 m (at worst - a large stone), the surface of which is taken as zero for all subsequent archaeological work in the area.
The position of the benchmark is accurately marked on the plan of the monument.
Eyebrows and butts. When the stratigraphy of a given site of a settlement is poorly studied, as well as in the case of large excavations, especially when the cultural layer is heavily pitted, in order to clarify the nature and order of layers in different parts of the excavation, additional profiles are often used, obtained by leaving control walls (edges) that divide excavation into two or more parts. Sometimes, as was the case during the excavations by V.I. Ravdonikas of Staraya Ladoga, instead of edges, “butts” (untouched earthen pillars) are left, which provide some opportunity to visualize the stratigraphy of a given excavation. Both the walls and the “butts” are subsequently dismantled in layers. The frequency of profiles depends on the degree of knowledge of the stratigraphy of the site, to which they are in inverse proportion: the less studied the stratigraphy, the more profiles it is desirable to obtain. For example, when excavating single-layer Trypillian settlements, additional profiles are rarely resorted to, since wall profiles are sufficient to study the stratigraphy of these settlements. B. A. Rybakov, during the excavations of Vshchizh, used a dense grid of mutually perpendicular control walls located every 2 m. A similar system of control edges was used by S. V. Kiselev during the excavations of Karakorum, and M. V. Talitsky used the profiling of primitive sites even after 0. 5 m.
However, during the excavation process, the edges and “butts” clutter up the excavation and, expanding downward, increasingly reduce its area. Therefore, sometimes it is convenient to draw
profiles after deepening, say, every 40 cm or 1 m, after which the drawn part of the edge is disassembled. This system allows you to relieve the excavation area and maintain its unity.
Grid of squares. For the convenience of describing and recording structures and material, the excavation is divided into smaller sections, otherwise it is difficult to determine in which part of it these shards or bones were found, and it is difficult to find this or that thing on the plan of finds. Typically, the excavation area is divided into squares with a side of 2 m. The grid of squares is divided even before the removal of the ballast layer, for example, waste rock at some Paleolithic and Neolithic sites. The square grid is oriented along the sides of the horizon, and its position is rigid, i.e. the corners of the squares should not shift horizontally, since otherwise the possibility of fixing the locations of structures, spots and finds will be lost. To divide the grid of squares, one string is stretched horizontally, passing through the middle of the excavation at a distance multiple of two (meters), and the second, perpendicular to it. The point of intersection of the strings is checked
sew and mark with a peg. Then, sighting with the eye the direction N - S in the alignment of the stretched string and the peg, stakes are driven in both directions from the latter every two meters. In the same way, line 3 - B is hung. In both cases, the driven stakes must be positioned strictly in a straight line, and the perpendicularity of the resulting base lines of the grid of squares is checked by the “Egyptian triangle”. The remaining corners of the squares are marked by sequential construction of the “Egyptian triangle” from each stake of the base lines.
The correct position of the square grid is checked as it goes deeper, no less than after removing every second layer in the same order as when laying out the square grid. Due to frequent use, the end stakes of the base lines, located at the very edge of the excavation, become loose and fall out. To avoid this, it is recommended to drive strong duplicate stakes at a distance of 1 m from the edge of the excavation (and with a thick cultural layer at a distance of 2 m) and when checking the correctness of the grid, use them rather than the main ones.
Each square receives a number ( Arabic numerals), and in numbering a certain system should be followed (always from north to south or from west to east). Further recording of finds occurs in squares (see Chapter 5). Using a numbering system in which a line of squares running from north to south is designated by letters, and a line from west to east by numbers, as experience has shown, is less convenient. If a grid of squares is divided on the excavation surface, the vertices of all corners of the squares must be leveled.
Excavations by layers. It is advisable to carry out excavations in layers, but the boundaries of the layers are unknown in advance. Sometimes precisely dated stratigraphic stages can be identified within a layer. For these reasons, archaeological excavations are carried out in horizontal layers. The smaller the thickness of the layer, the more details of the structure of the monument are revealed, or rather archaeological recording, but the slower the excavations occur. Archaeologists often dig in layers of 20 cm, but in cases where fixation needs to be more accurate, the thickness of the layer should be reduced. The thickness of the layer accepted for this excavation must be precisely maintained (for example, exactly 20 cm, and not 19 cm and not 21 cm). It is forbidden
allow the formation to be dug incompletely or - even worse - to a greater depth than established. In order to avoid “undershooting” or “overshooting,” you can make a mark on the stakes marking the squares to mark the thickness of the layer, and drive the top of the stake flush with the surface of the layer being removed. In addition, it is necessary to level more often during the digging of each layer. This, of course, does not mean that all 20 cm should be removed with one movement of a shovel; the layer can be removed by stripping, but the accepted thickness of the layer remains the basic unit of archaeological recording. It is better if the layer does not reach 2 - 3 cm, which will be cut off during stripping.
Excavations by layers make it possible to record finds within a narrow framework of depth marks, and then distribute them not only among layers, but also among tiers, if they can be distinguished.
Identification of finds. In order to identify finds located in the cultural layer, the excavator must dig the ground with thin vertical sections, carefully examine it, and only then throw it onto a stretcher. In wet or soft ground conditions, diggers work in pairs: one digs, the other rubs the ground with bare hands (without gloves, not with a stick). Every lump of earth is ground to know where the object felt by hand was found. This effective method, unfortunately, is only possible on soft ground; filling, for example, garbage dumps of ancient cities cannot be ground, since lumps of earth cannot be crushed by hand.
Horizontal surface excavation. Since the formation is usually (though not always) horizontal, the excavation surface should be leveled. This is done by removing one or more layers, top surface which is inclined, and the lower one is horizontal. However, such leveling is impossible and harmful if the cultural layer is thin (up to 60 - 80 cm), as well as with a strong slope of the area. In the first case, the layer is cut parallel to the surface of the excavation by stripping less than 20 cm. In the second, the excavation is divided into 3 - 4 sections and excavations are carried out using a “ladder” or (for example, in ancient cities Northern Black Sea region) along the slope with non-horizontal layers of normal thickness.
If different soils are found within the same layer, then in order to reveal their nature and origin, excavations are carried out along the soils with a decrease in the thickness of the section: first, the upper soil is removed everywhere, then the lower one. In cases where the thickness of the soil is greater than the layer, its excavation is carried out along the layers. If the soils can be dated, then the later layer is removed first, and then the earlier layer.
When digging up a layer, it is necessary that the cut of the earth being dug up is clean, not clogged with soil that fell from the shovel, i.e. the profile of the cut should be visible. Observation of the profile prevents the destruction of construction remains and other objects, as well as the omission of layers and interlayers that were not previously observed.
To identify soil stains, which may be traces of decayed wood or bones, a filled-in utility pit, or the remains of a fire or fire, the base of each layer must be thoroughly cleaned with light horizontal scraping with a shovel.
The excavation site should be kept neat. Its walls should be straight, level and steep, the base should be horizontal (it can also be stepped). There should be no uncollected waste soil in the excavation site, much less foreign debris (papers, shavings, etc.). If the soil is wet, then the water from the catchment pits must be pumped out in time.
The features of the cleaned surface of each layer are recorded on a separate plan. The plan should give a picture of the location of construction remains and finds, and also record the boundaries of any significant stains and deposits.
Before the appearance of structures and soil spots, the registration of finds occurs in squares. With the appearance of spots and structures, registration is often carried out within their boundaries (see Chapter 5), although the squares are preserved.
When the cultural layers are already known, the work is carried out taking into account these layers, but within each layer in layers. Although the layer is a mass, chronologically almost single, it can be divided into more fractional horizons, so it is impossible to remove the layer at once for its entire thickness. Opening up the cultural layer to its full extent is also unacceptable because layers and interlayers may appear in it that were not previously identified, and in this case they cannot be detected and studied in time.
When digging up the formation, the remains of all structures do not move from their place, they are carefully cleared and fixed. Such remains include: masonry, log houses, collapsed logs and boards, pavements and pavements, bedding, flooring, water pipes, drainage systems, rubble, etc. It is convenient to give each such structure a number under which it appears in diaries, drawings and other field work documents The insignificant thickness of the cultural layer requires detailed reconnaissance, without which the monument can easily be damaged.
It is better to start excavations from the outcrops of the cultural layer. If it is thin, the thickness of the layer should be reduced to 10 cm or less. Even when removing the turf, it is sometimes possible to determine whether the monument was inhabited at a later time: this is evidenced by ceramics, which are often enclosed in the turf layer. However, one should not think that this monument was inhabited continuously until the time to which the ceramics found in the turf correspond. Firstly, it could only be people visiting this monument at a later time. Secondly, even if this ceramics corresponds to residential layers, the continuity of settlement in a given place is often argued against by sterile layers that divide the cultural layer into horizons unrelated to each other. Therefore, for the timely detection of sterile layers, it is important to take into account any change in the color or structure of the cultural layer in a timely manner. It should be remembered that not every layer is sterile. The nature of the layer must be determined precisely.
Dugouts and half-dugouts. The term “dugout” usually combines buildings sunk into the ground up to the roofs or partially sunk into the ground, or even dwellings with a sunken floor. More precisely, all of these are half-dugouts. Semi-dugouts are perhaps the most common type of dwelling.
The most difficult moment in the study of half-dugouts is their search, especially if they are located in the cultural layer. In these searches, the reference points are the color spots, the difference in the structure of the filling of the half-dugout and the surrounding land, and the differences in the composition of the finds. Half-dugouts cut into the mainland can be easily traced. For example, such dwellings in Borshchev were discovered along a dark spot of filling on the light limestone background of the mainland. Each of them was a hole about 1 m deep, into which a frame was inserted, and the space between the frame and the walls of the pit was filled with small crushed stone or filled with clay. There were massive pillars at the corners of the log house. The discovery of the details of the structure of this half-dugout was facilitated by the relatively good preservation of the wood. If a semi-dugout partially extends into the mainland, its contours are marked with a light strip of earth taken from the mainland. This layer stands out against the dark background of the cultural layer.
The Polish archaeologist Golubovich was the first to draw attention to the fact that pottery shards are more often found near homes. By plotting each shard on the plan, you can identify the location of this dwelling.
The half-dugout is best seen in profile, so it is cleared either in halves or in more fractional parts. The semi-dugout has a characteristic “scaphoid” cut, which distinguishes a dwelling pit from a grain pit. All objects at the bottom of the semi-dugout are first cleared roughly, which ensures their safety. Then, when all the filling of such a dwelling has been removed, the final clearing of its bottom takes place, including the objects found, the fixation of which is given special attention. The half-dugout could be reached by steps cut into the soil or cultural layer.
Rice. 59. A - dugout spot (above); B - profile of the same dugout. (According to N.V. Trubnikova)
Mud dwellings. Clearing the remains of adobe dwellings located in soft soil, according to T. S. Passek, occurs in the following order. After identifying in general terms the contours or, as they say, the “spot” of the location of the building, excavations with a shovel are stopped and proceed to clearing the open monument. Clearing gives the appearance of an adobe dwelling at the moment of its complete destruction. It allows you to understand most of the most important details of the building, identifies the walls, the construction plan, finds out the construction periods, the purpose of individual rooms, the specifics of the equipment in each of them, etc. Clearing should not disturb a single piece of plaster, not a single shard - everything is left in place.
The uncovered monument is recorded. They sketch every piece of plaster, the remains of the building, and the equipment. To do this, use a drawing grid (see page 245). Since the remains of adobe Trypillian dwellings are often multi-colored and bright, colored pencils are used when sketching them. It should be noted that some parts of the home have a specific color. Thus, in Trypillian dwellings, the plaster of the bases of walls and partitions is yellow, slightly burnt; the slab plaster of the floor is brick-red; the slagged plaster of collapsed oven vaults is purple, with a greenish tint.
The uncovered remains are not only sketched, but also photographed many times, both in general and in detail. Dwellings are leveled, paying special attention to the leveling of its individual parts, and sometimes each piece of plaster. Finally, the diary gives detailed description discovered complex.
Next, disassembly of the opened object begins. It is the last stage of familiarization with the monument, a means of final clarification of its design features, layout, purpose of each component part, the nature of the inventory, etc. Disassembly gives the exact dimensions of the building as a whole and in its individual parts, it finds out how the partitions were built, whether there were whether there were pillars in them, in how many layers the ovens were built. Disassembly confirms or refutes the correctness of observations made during the process of uncovering the monument and its clearing. Of course, all these observations are recorded in drawings, sketches and notes.
Before starting disassembly, you need to establish its order. Many solutions are possible here depending on the nature of the monument. The dismantling of adobe remains is not carried out in horizontal layers or geometric areas, since such a method would mix various complexes, the structure of which is precisely subject to clarification. To find out general The dismantling of ruins is usually carried out in complexes.
T. S. Passek recommends starting to dismantle the adobe dwelling with the stoves - this is a pile of slagged coating of lilac tones with imprints of wood and vines, lying above everything. When disassembling, you need to monitor the nature of the coating being removed. To understand the design of the furnace, for its reconstruction, it is important to examine each fragment, establish its position in the home, determine where the wood prints are facing, where the collapsed arch of the furnace directly lies, its walls, etc. Similar observations are also important when dismantling vessels. It is important to know where the vessels were stored - on the floor or on a raised platform, what was stored in them, etc.
After dismantling the furnace roofs, their tiled floors, which are often multi-layered, are dismantled. First of all, it is necessary to identify the boundary between the floor and the floor, with which the floor often merges. There are signs that distinguish the floor and the floor, so you need to pay attention to the nature of the hearth slabs, their thickness, color, and degree of firing. The floor slabs are not touched, since the structure of the floor is determined after dismantling the furnaces, hearth, coating, various elevations, coating of altars and removal of vessels.
It is necessary to find out the basis of the walls and transverse partitions, in which there are often remains of the lower parts of heavily charred pillars. The design of the inputs and threshold is of great interest.
A Trypillian house consisted of two to five rooms, each of which had a fireplace, since such a house was inhabited by several families. During the disassembly process, they decide whether to disassemble sequentially, within each room, or layer by layer, immediately across the entire area of the home. Such dismantling means that in all rooms the collapsed vaults are first removed, then under the stoves, then the elevations are simultaneously dismantled, etc. It is impossible to dismantle a dwelling within the same elevation (same level). It is produced according to the functional purpose of certain complexes.
The construction technology of adobe dwellings and the materials from which they are built are varied. Wood and clay were used in the construction of the building. Clay was used in the construction of walls and partitions, in the construction of the hearth and floor, and in each case this clay has a special appearance, and sometimes a special color due to the different firing to which the dwelling was subjected. Therefore, observations should also be made on the nature, uniformity and degree of firing of the clay coating.
Of significant interest is the base of the walls of the building made of adobe rollers. You can begin disassembling it after removing the tiled floor of the home, which covers it in 2 - 3 rows. At the base of the walls of the dwelling, blocks of wood were laid, the imprints of which are discovered after removing and turning over the roller base and all large pieces of plaster.
All removed residues are laid out on the dismantling site. In this case, it is recommended to break large pieces of coating, since imprints of straw, leaves, branches, acorns and grains can often be found in them.
When dismantling a building, records are continuously kept, sketches are taken, photographs are taken, and drawings are made. You cannot limit yourself to drawing up just one plan; there must be several of them. For example, a construction plan is drawn up after clearing, after removing the first slab floor, and a plan for the location of the roller base. All these plans are complemented by sections.
There are also pillar houses, a type of which are mud huts. The frames of these houses are pillars, traced by the holes they leave. The pillars and stakes were braided with vines and coated with clay, which was sometimes burned. Patches of baked or soaked clay mark the remains of these walls.
Log houses. There are known houses whose walls consisted of a continuous row of vertical pillars (for example, at the Kamensky settlement). Their foundations were located in ditches, which can be traced during excavations. But more often the walls are made of horizontal logs, since the weight of the logs reduces the cracks that form when they dry. The remains of burnt structures are best preserved in the cultural layer. In this case, lightly burned and fully charred logs can be traced through charcoal layers. Using these layers, the direction of the walls and the entire layout of the building are restored. However, one must be careful in judgment here, since the logs could have rolled away during the fire.
The rubble of a burnt building requires careful clearing and careful study. It is the only material for the reconstruction of this structure.
It is much more difficult to examine the remains of a decayed building, from the lower crowns of which, at best, wood decay (rot) has been preserved, and more often only strips of darker earth on a light background. It is usually not possible to trace anything in chernozem soil.
In cases where the color of the remains of rotten wood merges with the background of the earth, in some cases it can be seen in photographs taken with various filters. This once again indicates the desirability of using photography as widely as possible during excavations. Sometimes layers that are invisible to the naked eye can be seen through sunglasses. It is better to have several pairs of glasses with lenses of different thicknesses and colors. (In order not to return to this issue, it should be noted that such glasses allow you to better see the earth layers in the profiles, which is important when sketching them.)
It happens that a log house was sunk 2-3 times into the ground. The daytime surface of the time of its death, as a rule, is determined by the level of the traced crowns, and in the case of the death of this dwelling in a fire - by the level of the fire layer. Finally, the daytime surface, taking into account the short duration of existence of each of these dwellings, can be determined from ceramics using the Golubovich method.
Some of the dwellings had rubble that is difficult to trace, especially if the building was built on a cultural layer. Sometimes this can be done if
the dwelling burned down: if there is a blockage, only the inner side of the adjacent log burns. From a burnt building, if the monument is at least 1000 years away from us, it is necessary to take coal samples for dating using method C (see appendix).
Traces of buildings on the mainland. A number of dwellings and other buildings can be traced only by the traces they left on the mainland. These are pits of dugouts, often almost entirely extending into the mainland, spots from pillars, along which sometimes it is only possible to trace a pillared building or a building with a roof supported on pillars. Therefore, exposing the surface of the continent is an important task, especially in settlements with a thin cultural layer in which buildings have left almost no traces. Thus, the structures in the Bereznyaki settlement were traced by P.N. Tretyakov along depressions 4-5 cm deep. Consequently, when reaching the mainland, the cultural layer must be separated mathematically precisely, without damaging the surface of the mainland.
Roof. When reconstructing a home, the most difficult thing is to restore the appearance of the roof. This is possible mainly through the support pillars that are opened inside the dwelling, or more precisely, through the holes (spots) left from them. When determining the purpose of such a pillar, you need to carefully compare all the exposed parts of the home, since these pillars may turn out to be supporting pillars not only for roofs, but also for partitions. If the wood is poorly preserved, it is difficult to restore the features of the roof from their rubble in the form of poles and boards precisely because these poles are not preserved. It may also be mentioned that roof debris and floor debris are difficult to distinguish. The roofs of medieval huts usually rested not on pillars, but on frames or rafters, and therefore did not leave traces in the ground. This means that such roofs can only be traced by their rubble.
Hearth. One of the most important parts of the home is the open hearth. Large stones were placed in the recess where the fire was lit, serving as a heat accumulator. The design of such a hearth is very interesting and requires a full study by accurately fixing the stones and other elements that make it up. When clearing the hearth filling, it is possible to find shards, bones and other household remains, which make it possible to determine the purpose of the hearth in a given dwelling. Clearing the hearth
pit makes it possible to obtain its profile. Finally, it is important to find out the degree of hardening of the soil under the outbreak, which allows us to indirectly judge the duration of the operation of the outbreak. In a similar way, open fireplaces that are not buried in the ground, which could only be in the center of the dwelling, are cleared and fixed.
The oven can have a different design. There are stoves made of cobblestones (“heaters”), adobe stoves with a frame made of twigs, and in some places stoves built of mud brick are known. It must be borne in mind that exhaust chimneys were not known until the late Middle Ages. In all cases, for the correct reconstruction of furnaces, it is important to determine the order of their destruction. For the convenience of the owner, the stoves were often placed on hills, or a hole was dug near the mouth of the stove. When disassembling the stove, you must comply with the same requirements as when disassembling the hearth. In addition, at the base of the furnace it is often possible to trace the remains of its supporting pillars. To the east of the Volga, medieval dwellings sometimes had kanas - clay chimneys that ran horizontally below the walls and served as couches.
When studying dwellings, the question of their simultaneity or multi-temporality often arises, which can be resolved by tracing the profile connecting these objects. In the simplest cases, half-dugouts at different times can cross one another.
It is necessary to strictly take into account the nature of the finds in each of the discovered dwellings, since these finds are important material for determining many aspects of the life of their inhabitants.
Household pits. Both inside and next to dwellings there are often utility pits, usually grain pits. Often the dimensions and even the design of the grain pits are similar to the dimensions and design of the semi-dugout pit, so you need to be able to distinguish them. If pits are dug in the mainland, then due to the drying of their filling, a crack with a width of 1 - 2 mm to 1 cm sometimes forms between the mainland and the walls of the pit. In pits open in the cultural layer, cracks are not observed, since the cultural layer has dried out to the same extent , as well as filling the hole. Grain pits are usually pear-shaped. In early times, the walls of pits in ancient settlements were lined with small stones, in later times they were coated with clay and lightly burned from the inside. Coating the pit walls
clay mixed with straw is found not only in ancient monuments. If such pits were dug in the cultural layer, then their upper part could not hold on its own, as in the mainland. In such cases, the upper part of the pit with a narrow neck was lined with stone. This crown is usually found fallen down. Huge vessels - pithoi - were often inserted into the pits, of which the lower third is usually preserved.
Pits in a cultural layer may not be distinguished by either color or structure; sometimes they are revealed only by the composition of the finds. The pits must be selected specifically, before removing the layer into which it goes. The filling of an open pit is selected according to layers - first from one half of it, then, according to a sketch of the profile, from the other.
When clearing a hole, it is important to establish its nature, i.e. whether it is artificial or natural, to identify what it was intended for (grain, garbage, water tank, dwelling, deep hearth, etc.) and how it was used (for example: abandoned grain pit turned into garbage). Therefore, the earth being removed is carefully examined. At the bottom of the pit it is often possible to find remains of grain and straw, which are taken and packaged in a special way.
Production leftovers. In some cases, metal slags, crucibles, metal ingots, iron clinkers, and even the remains of a furnace or furnace are found. Thus, during the excavations of Old Ryazan, V. A. Gorodtsov found a hole 0.5 m deep, 1 m long, 0.7 m wide. It was filled to the top with pieces of iron slag, and it was surrounded by black soil, “almost like coal.” This pit could not be a primitive metallurgical forge (the so-called “wolf pit”), because the process of melting iron required air blasting, traces of which were not found here. Most likely it was a foothill pit in which slag and coal accumulated.
Air blowing nozzles are a rare find. But even where there are many of them, they do not yet indicate the proximity of cheese furnaces. Two domnitsa were opened by A. L. Mongait in Staraya Ryazan. Their foundation consisted of cobblestones, not held together with mortar, and the walls and entire top were clay. Both forges were in indoors, one - in the ground, the other - in the semi-dugout.
It is recommended to leave the remains of production structures, as well as traces of production - slags, slags, nozzles on the "butts" until their relationship is fully clarified. This, of course, applies to the remains of not only metallurgical, but also any other production, as well as to accumulations of any objects that can illuminate new features in the characteristics of the settlement.
Pottery kilns, rare in Russian antiquities, are better known in ancient settlements, where they are characterized not only by the remains of ceramic furnaces, but also by fragments of molds for making terracotta figurines, stands for firing vessels and, of course, manufacturing defects - vessels and figurines damaged during firing.
In ancient settlements there are remains of wineries, which are platforms covered with lime mortar, on which grapes were pressed with feet (and later with a stone press). Next to the platforms there are huge stone boxes - cisterns, the walls of which are also covered with a layer of mortar. These tanks were used to collect grape must.
Rectangular tanks made of stone, also coated on the inside, were discovered - fish-salting baths. They are in stark contrast to the pear-shaped plastered water tanks.
Among the industrial complexes found in ancient settlements, mention should be made of flour mills, recognizable by their millstones, first rectangular, then round.
Wooden pavements. The tree is often preserved in the moist cultural layer. These are wood chips, individual logs and even wooden structures. Wooden pavements are especially typical for Russian cities, although they are also known abroad. They are an object of paramount importance and when clearing them, all rules for clearing wooden structures must be observed. Due to the fact that the surface of even well-preserved wood is fragile when removing soil from it, it is better to use the back of the knife. In this case, cleaning should be done not across the fibers, but along them. The tree is finally cleared with a broom and then with a stiff hair brush.
Much attention is paid to the study of pavement design. The latter usually consist of blocks laid flat side up on three (very rarely - two or four) longitudinal logs. To prevent the blocks from swinging, they are cut in accordance with the logs. The ends of the blocks usually lie freely, but sometimes they are secured in the grooves of the outermost logs. Such a construction is rare and, if found, occurs in the early layers. You need to pay attention to the wear and tear of the pavement surface, which may indicate busy traffic on the street. Usually, a new one was laid on one pavement that had not yet been worn out, as soon as a cultural layer grew on its sides, and it grew quickly. Dirt from the pavements was cleared off on both sides, so there is usually little cultural layer between the pavements, but if there is one, then the things found in it are important for dating the pavement.
Paved driveways often led from the street pavements to houses and estates, which helps to establish their connection. Their simultaneity can be established by the common layers underlying or overlying the remains of the house and the pavement. The complex of such structures and the cultural layer associated with them is the building layer.
Drains. Drainage devices were used to remove excess moisture. They began with water collection barrels, which are found during excavations for the remains of
mi buildings. The water collected in these barrels was drained using pipes, which consisted of halves of logs hollowed out inside and connected to each other. Wooden pipes were known back in Roman times, but they became especially widespread in Novgorod. Pipes from two or three neighboring houses were connected together in one wooden drainage well, from which a main pipe led, or these pipes were directly cut into the main without a well. This system of soil drainage existed in some cities until the 19th century, but later pipes were made from boards rather than from hollowed out logs. The pipe joints were insulated from the ground with birch bark or some other method.
When studying the drainage system, in addition to design features, you need to determine the slope of the pipes by leveling their ends and try to trace the holes in which these pipes lay. These two circumstances are the criteria that allow us to distinguish the drainage system from possible water pipelines. Water pipes should be inclined towards the home, drainage pipes - away from it. Water pipes are buried below the freezing line of the soil; for drainage pipes, the depth does not matter.
Log houses. Soil moisture precluded the possibility of constructing half-dugouts, so only log dwellings are known in settlements with high groundwater levels. The number of log houses being opened is very large, some of them are the remains of dwellings, others are outbuildings. Logs for log houses were taken with a diameter of 20 - 25 cm, since it would be cold in a house with thinner walls. The log house was first erected next to the old dwelling, which was then dismantled and a new log house was moved in its place. In order not to confuse the crowns when transferring it, they were marked with notches, which can sometimes be traced on the logs. The sizes of log houses vary widely, but the most common are log houses with an area of 15 - 20 square meters. m. In log houses opened by excavations, the predominant method is chopping in the log, in which the top log is placed in a specially cut recess at the end of the bottom log. In this case, small ends of the logs protrude outward, which does not happen when chopping with a paw, when the ends of the logs are hewn onto four edges and connected by these expanded ends. Other cutting methods are also possible, but they are very rare during excavations.
The daytime surface at the time of the death of the house is usually the level of the top log of the frame, since the crowns, covered with a cultural layer, preferred not to be dug up. In the event of a fire, the level of the daytime surface at the time of destruction of the house is determined by the layer of coal, the burntness of the crowns protruding from the ground, etc. Finally, the daytime surface of the time of construction is determined by the level of the floor, foundation or its substitutes, etc.
To insulate the house, it was necessary to caulk it, usually with moss. In some cases, the house was coated with clay.
Furnaces. Soil moisture in some cases led to the construction of huts on basements (with a low lower floor). The basement was used as a barn, and sometimes as a stable. The need to heat the room led to the need to fold the stove in the residential upper floor. The stoves located on the lower floors had supports - guards, which were not made for the stoves on the second floor. The stoves, as a rule, were made of adobe. If the house was not dismantled, but burned down, then the stoves can be traced in the form of clay stains. In pre-Mongol times, ovens were occasionally made of plinths - thin slab-like, almost square bricks. Typically, stones were used in the construction of stoves. It is important to find out the structure of the furnace hearth, its roof and exhaust hood. The stoves did not have pipes and were heated in black.
Windows and doors. The location of doors and windows is difficult to trace. The location of the doors can sometimes be indicated by a preserved threshold or pavement leading to it. Judging by the excavations in Brest, the threshold could be located very high, and the door was low. As for windows, especially portage ones, their place can only be judged on the basis of ethnographic analogies. From red (large) windows, sometimes the platbands - boards decorated with carvings - are preserved.
Stratigraphic stage. A complex of structures that existed at the same time, together with the cultural layer that grew up during their existence, is usually called a stratigraphic stage (or, in Novgorod terminology, simply a stage). It is possible to establish the simultaneity of structures, i.e., to identify the tier, only by careful tracing (in plan and profile) linking
their layers, pavements, individual logs, boards, etc. Therefore, one should not rush to remove the cultural layer adjacent to the structures. We must remember that the cultural layer is not a hindrance, but a means of studying the monument.
The basis for building tiers is most often pavements and pavements lying one on top of the other, connecting a number of buildings. Pavements are common in ancient cities. In Russian cities, wooden pavements play this role. Each pavement serves as the basis for identifying a special stratigraphic layer. This means that the number of tiers cannot be less than the number of pavements. At the same time, sometimes during the existence of one building the cultural layer can grow, so the building will correspond to two or three pavements, i.e. this building will correspond to several stratigraphic tiers. The concept of a stage is not the concept of a plane or surface; it also covers the known uneven thickness of the cultural layer.
The stratigraphic stage does not correspond to the horizontal strata being removed, but to the ancient topography of the area. A certain tier at one end of the excavation corresponds, for example, to the 20th layer, and at the other end to the 25th. Therefore, it is important to take into account all the layers, the position of all logs and boards, including pavement logs. The depth of both ends of these logs and boards and the depth of the surface of each layer are measured. Only on the basis of such measurements can each stratigraphic stage be accurately reproduced.
When constructing a tier, the level of various buildings should be taken into account, taking into account the terrain and the possibility of a terrace-like arrangement of the settlement. Buildings belonging to the same stratigraphic layer usually have the same material, texture, construction technique and construction time. However, some buildings were durable, for example stone temples, palaces, etc.
As a result of this kind of observation, the surface on which a variety of structures existed, connected into a single complex-tier, is established. Since the layers being removed do not correspond to the tiers (they either cut two or three tiers, or are laid inside one), these simultaneous complexes are restored primarily on paper. It must be borne in mind that the surface of the tier cannot be absolutely flat, just as any terrain is not flat; natural depressions and elevations must be taken into account when constructing the tier.
Each tier can be dated to a shorter period of time than the layer it is included in, so tiers provide a more accurate chronological scale than the cultural layers of a given excavation.
It is almost always possible to build tiers; the opportunity for such a construction cannot be missed.
Stone and brick buildings. Stone and brick buildings in antiquity and in Ancient Rus' sometimes they were placed directly on the mainland or on a cultural layer, which was the reason for their fragility due to uneven settlement of the walls. In order to avoid such settlement, the walls began to be placed on a foundation, and the foundation rested on substructures - special artificial bedding. Thus, in Olbia, a foundation ditch dug to the mainland was traced, filled with alternating layers of clay and earth, and each of these layers was saturated with ash.
The foundation of the building could rest at different depths. Since the frozen ground buckles, it is necessary that the foundation pit be dug below the winter frost line of the soil. They didn't find out right away. Often the foundation lay at a depth of 40 - 60 cm and consisted of small stones held together with clay. A building on such a foundation could not be strong. But structures with a powerful deep foundation are also known.
The foundation was laid out a little wider than the stone and brick walls standing on it, at the transition to which there is a small ledge. The stone foundation blocks were either not processed at all, or were trimmed, but less carefully than the stones from which the wall was built.
The material for the walls could be cobblestone, torn and hewn stone, burnt brick (its ancient Russian variety is plinth), and in the southern regions - mud brick.
In Greek times, masonry was done dry, without a binder mortar. In this case, the stones were carefully adjusted to each other, and sometimes fastened with iron clamps. Masonry on clay is less common. It was common in Roman buildings mortar with various impurities. Alternating layers of crushed stone and mortar are called Roman concrete in archeology.
The thickest walls of antiquity had two shells made of cut stone, the space between which was filled with stone rubble (cobblestones and stone fragments). Such masonry was also known in Ancient Rus', and the rubble was held together with cement (lime mortar with
various additives). To achieve a visual effect, masonry was used from alternating rows of stone, mortar and brick.
The floors in ordinary ancient dwellings were made of adobe, while in rich ones they were paved with stone slabs or covered with a mosaic pattern. In Ancient Rus', floors in houses were usually made of planks, and in stone buildings they were often lined with tiled tiles.
The walls of stone and brick houses are rarely preserved to great heights. Cases when it was possible to trace the remains of the second, and even more so the third floor, are rare. The upper floors have to be judged by the signs observed in the lower floor. Such signs may be powerful foundations, as well as the remains of stairs and window casings, since in ancient houses there were no windows on the ground floor. The ceilings survived mainly in Roman buildings.
Sometimes, especially in cases of frequent stone structures, for a complete picture of the relationship of the exposed objects, earthen pillars - “butts” - are left under the cleared remains and dug between them. The “butts” should have a sufficient area so as not to fall, but at the same time their area should be minimal so as not to clutter the excavation. Over time, the area available for excavations becomes insignificant and it is necessary to dismantle certain “priests”, having first dismantled the structures left on them. At the same time, later, less preserved and less important objects have to be sacrificed for more preserved and more important ones. The demolished “butts” are disassembled into layers, if they are small, and if they are large area- by layers. However, in a number of cases, for example in Russian cities, all the remains of wooden structures are dismantled and are not left on the “butts”.
To better imagine general form, the layout and nature of an open structure, you need to draw not only its plan (often even many plans), but also one or more sections.
The discovered rubble of stone and brick structures is cleared as usual, and then, depending on
the size of the blockage, one or more cuts are made perpendicular to its direction. These cuts allow the mass of the rubble to be established, which helps restore the original height of the collapsed wall.
Conservation of architectural remains. Sometimes the degree of importance of an object does not allow destruction and the object is not dismantled, and the ground under it is not dug up. To protect the building, wooden supports are constructed for masonry that threatens to fall. A good way to preserve masonry is to inject mortar into all its cracks and first wash out the soil there. At the end of the work, the building is either filled up (preferably with river sand), or a canopy or case is built over it to protect it from the sun and precipitation. Thus, a number of crypts in Crimea were filled up, the remains of ancient Russian churches in Kyiv, Smolensk, Tmutarakan were filled up, and a protective building was built over the sextant of the Ulugbek Observatory in Samarkand; the remains of the observatory have been turned into a museum.
In some cases, cultural layers and tiers can be established at the end of an excavation by tying together separate structures uncovered at different ends of the excavation. This reveals their sequence and, by individual links, reveals the entire chain of layers.
Dating of structures. Already during the excavations, the identified structures and their combinations can be dated. First of all, find out the relative date: which one
two structures (sometimes located at the same depth) are older. This can be done by observing, for example, that one of these structures is covered by a layer on which another is located, that the pavement going to the porch of one house is covered by the pavement going to the porch of another, that the remains of one structure cut the remains of another (for burials - one the grave cut across the second grave). This is a stratigraphic dating method, repeatedly verified from written sources. Thus, the excavations of A. V. Artsikhovsky in Novgorod revealed a stone defensive wall 3 m thick. During its construction, a layer of clay and rubble remained. In this way, the surface of the time the wall was built was determined. Everything that was found below this layer was older than the 14th century, since there were no glass bracelets above it. This means that the wall was built somewhere in the middle of the 14th century. The exact date was given by a chronicle reporting the construction of a defensive wall by mayor Fyodor Danilovich in 1335.
The absolute date is established by ceramics, things whose time of existence was established earlier, by coins, etc. It should be noted that a single thing does not give the correct date even in the case when the cultural layer is not disturbed by digging. This occurs due to the long existence of some things and especially applies to single coins, which sometimes exist for 200 - 300 years. But the combination of things, especially coins, gives the exact date. The time of burying a coin treasure is determined by the time of the latest coin included in it.
Based on the established dates of the structures, the chronology of the cultural layers outlined during the excavations is verified and finally established. Upon completion of the excavation work, it is necessary to check the correctness of the stratigraphic conclusions made during the excavation process, i.e., check the correctness of the division of strata and structures into cultural layers and stratigraphic tiers.
These are the general techniques that are possible when excavating settlements from different eras under appropriate specific conditions.
Mechanization of settlement excavations. It is worth dwelling on the possibility of mechanizing some excavation processes. There are no machines yet that could be used in the process of opening the cultural layer itself. The machine will not be able to report the remains of structures encountered, changes in the composition and color of the layer, distinguish unnecessary stones from beads made from this stone, birch bark letters from empty birch bark, protect things from breakage, and all this is extremely important in the process of archaeological research. Therefore, opening the cultural layer is possible only manually. Moreover, every lump of earth thrown from a digger’s shovel must be broken up and checked to see if there are any things in it.
But the release of the excavated soil from the excavation can and should be mechanized. Mechanization of this process makes it possible to save at least half of the working time, and sometimes more.
The most economical and convenient earth-lifting machine is a conveyor belt with an electric motor. At excavations, conveyors with a boom 15 m long are used. Raising the boom of these conveyors allows you to throw out soil to a depth of 5 m. The conveyor easily moves around the excavation and in most cases does not interfere with the excavation process. The conveyor is installed at the excavation site at the start of work and, moving it from place to place, soil is selected throughout the entire excavation area. The worked and examined earth is transported by stretcher to the conveyor. If the excavation is very large, then you can install a chain of conveyors, transferring the earth from one to another until it reaches the top. The use of small conveyors (10 and 5 m) for soil ejection is unprofitable due to the low boom lift. Upon completion of the excavation, removing the conveyor is not difficult, since it is disassembled into two or three parts, each of which is lifted out of the excavation separately.
The soil thrown upward by the conveyor can be removed from the edge of the excavation by the conveyor as well. A bulldozer and scraper destroy all objects in the cultural layer, so these machines are not used to remove the cultural layer. But it is advantageous to use them in order to move the discharge away from the edge of the excavation (at the same time, in order to avoid a collapse, they should not approach the side closer than 3 m). These machines are used to remove ballast during excavations of loess Paleolithic sites (see p. 208); they are used to clean the surface of a monument from bushes and debris, sometimes from turf (only with a thick cultural layer). In a number of expeditions these mechanisms are used
used when laying exploration and stratigraphic trenches (for example, when searching for burial grounds and even when exploring defensive ramparts).
Another type of mechanism is a skip lift, convenient for excavation depths of more than 5 m, when the conveyor cannot throw out soil unless it stands on a special “butt” or on scaffolds, which are sometimes specially built. A skip hoist consists of a box (“skip” is a box) with folding sides (like a car) with a capacity of 1.5-2 m. The box moves on rollers along a special log overpass. The overpass is reinforced with iron strips - rails with limiters for the skip rollers. The box is lifted along the trestle using an electric winch. The overpass can move and lengthen as the excavation deepens. The skip is loaded by conveyors, which receive earth from the stretcher.
It is very difficult to mechanize work in small excavations, because machines clutter them up. In this case, the excavations themselves become impossible. To avoid this, for small excavations of great depth, a lift with a Pioneer-type bucket can be used.
Installed at the corner of the excavation, it easily lifts a tub with a volume of up to 0.5 m without cluttering the excavation.
All of the listed mechanisms require that the sides of the excavation be free from the ground 1.5 -2.0 m from the edge, which is also necessary to prevent collapse.
An archaeologist sometimes has to deal with pumps. If the soil moisture is low and the excavation is shallow, you can use a “frog” type pump, which is installed at the edge of the excavation, and its hose is lowered into the excavation. At a depth of more than 4 m, using such a pump is difficult, and then you have to use an electric pump. In both cases, measures must be taken to prevent the pump from clogging with wood chips, stones and soil. This is achieved by enclosing the suction end of the hose in a box with gaps in the plank walls.
When using mechanisms with electric motors, a number of rules must be observed. Power management has the following requirements for power wiring. For the power line, a pole must be installed at the excavation site, on which there is a distribution board, including input fuses for each phase, a common switch and output fuses for each phase.
The distribution board must be enclosed in a box, lined on all sides with waterproof material (for example, roofing felt). The door of the box must be locked during non-working hours, and during working hours there must be a person on duty at the box to turn off the current in an emergency if necessary. Wiring from the switchboard to the motors is carried out with a four-core cable (three power cores, the fourth is zero) in vinyl chloride insulation (VRG type). The cable is laid on poles, without sharp bends. Conveyor and pump frames are connected to ground, the reliability of which is checked by an energy management technician. Each mechanism must have a starter (switch). The entire wiring system is checked by an energy management technician. Power supply to the pole is carried out by energy management installers. The expedition must have its own materials and equipment.
Safety precautions. In some cases, the walls of the excavation threaten to collapse. Walls made of sand, construction waste, ash, etc. are especially unreliable. Sometimes such
a layer in a strong wall creates a danger of collapse. Therefore, if the excavation walls are unreliable, all logs that need to be removed should not be cut down, but sawed out. From such walls it is necessary to remove protruding stones that create a danger for workers, etc. If the wall threatens to collapse, it is necessary to draw bevels by drawing its profile.
Narrow trenches used to explore the shafts can be secured with wooden shields, lining the opposite walls with them and driving spacer logs between them. However, this technique does not give results in sandy soil, when the soil “creeps out” from under the shields. In this case, the trench has to be expanded.
In addition to the general techniques suitable for excavating objects of the same type in settlements of different eras, it is possible to indicate a number of techniques for excavating monuments of each era, although all the options and cases encountered in this case cannot be specified, listed, or provided for.
Paleolithic settlements. Plain Paleolithic settlements include artificial dwellings made of mammoth bones and other structures, storage pits, hearths and other objects, the specifics of which determine the methods of excavation of these sites. During the excavation process, the archaeologist faces three tasks: firstly, detailed exploration of the settlement, secondly, the study of the cultural layer in plan and profile, and thirdly, the study of the base of the cultural layer, including the search for another layer and various pits.
The area of Paleolithic settlements is relatively large (up to 40,000 m2) and unevenly saturated with finds. To identify the boundaries of the settlement and its most important areas (dwellings, places where tools were made, fires), detailed reconnaissance is carried out using pits and trenches passing through the thickness of the loess, but not cutting through the cultural layer. The cultural layer of Paleolithic sites does not differ either in color or structure from the overlying and underlying rock and can only be identified as a horizon of finds. Therefore, pits and trenches are brought to the upper level of finds. Flint and bones found at the bottom of the pit must be cleared, and to protect them from drying out, covered with grass or paper and covered with earth. In this way, data is obtained on the level of occurrence and the saturation of the cultural layer in different areas of the site, which allows one to get an idea of its layout. Now you can break up the excavation.
When removing ballast (loess covering the site), great difficulties are created by the removal of rock, which should be removed beyond the distribution of the cultural layer. Since loess sites are often adjacent to ravines, it is most convenient to pour ballast into them with a bulldozer; sometimes the excavation is connected to the ravine by a trench. Such rough surveying of the rock by machines stops before reaching 30-40 cm to the upper level of the cultural layer.
After completing the rough survey of the ballast, the cultural layer is exposed to the level tall objects(these are usually large bones). When a cultural layer is exposed, they study the rocks that covered it, objects carried along molehills, and also monitor whether there is a cultural layer at the settlement of a later date.
Clearing is carried out with thin vertical cuts in one line along the entire length of the excavation. The verticality of the cuts reduces the possibility of scraping off
steaming bones that are often very soft and moist. Clearing in one line allows you to see the moving section of the strata and be guided by it and the things and complexes discovered during clearing.
When studying a cultural layer, the boundaries of its distribution in plan are specified, the lower boundary is probed both in places where cultural remains accumulate and on its outskirts. When dismantling the cultural layer, they do not disturb the ancient surface on which the settlement is based (the settlement floor), which is the object of study at the next stage of the study of the site. During the process of dismantling the cultural layer, large bones, stones and other things are cleared and left in place for later study and documentation of their position. The floor level of a settlement is determined by the level of occurrence of things found outside the accumulations of cultural remains, for example, far from dwellings, where there are few finds at all.
Since at the bottom of residential depressions in Paleolithic settlements there is a cultural layer, often painted with ocher or saturated ash, its presence makes it possible to spot the dugout in plan and easily find its bottom. Often bones were dug along the walls of dugouts, which served as a frame for the roof, and sometimes for the walls. Clearing dwellings should be done in the same way as clearing any recesses, that is, in parts, to get two or three cuts. To do this, for example, first one quarter of the dugout is cleared, then the other quarters in succession. You should not make the cut straight to the bottom - you may miss the opportunity to make other, more important cuts. Things that come across, and they are usually located at the very bottom of the home, are cleared first in rough form, and in detail - only after sampling the entire content.
Among the things found in a home, it is most difficult to identify those that got there after it was abandoned by its inhabitants. Random things like this, if not identified, can give the wrong idea about an open home. When dismantling Paleolithic dwellings, they use a method similar to that proposed by M.P. Gryaznov for studying the stone fences of mounds (see p. 158). In such dwellings, first of all, objects that have fallen from their place are removed, leaving undisturbed things and bones in place. This technique allows you to get a view of the home before its destruction begins.
The study of the cultural layer is completed by dismantling the storage pits and accumulations of the hearth mass. Storage pits are located in the dwelling; food supplies and valuable items were stored in them. It is more convenient to search for holes when finds have been removed from the dwelling (except those related to its construction). If the pits were located near fires, then the ash that fell into them colored the filling, and it stands out as a colored spot. Pits located outside the boundaries of the painted layer can only be detected by objects located at the bottom, some of which (for example, animal bones) slightly protrude above the floor of the site. Often the upper part of the pit filling is almost no different from the mainland. In this case, when clearing pits, you first need to find the filling of the bottom of the pit, where there are more cultural remains, and only then look for the walls. When clearing pits, A. N. Rogachev recommends, firstly, not to remove well-cleared and stratigraphically defined finds unless absolutely necessary, which is important for clarifying the overall picture through comparisons; secondly, do not disturb the continental edges of the pit (this makes it easier to identify its filling); thirdly, do not rush to make cuts to the entire depth of the pit, so as not to miss the opportunity to make other, more important cuts.
To clarify the history of the settlement, it is important to study the relationship of the exposed complexes. These may include dwellings, fireplaces, accumulations of kitchen waste, industrial waste, etc. It is important to find out whether these dwellings existed at the time when tools were being produced at a given place, whether fires burned in and outside the dwelling at the same time, or in different ways, whether all the fires burned at once or in turn, etc. All this can be established by tracing the overlap of some things on others, the location of things on the ash layers and vice versa, i.e., using the methods of isolating the tier (see p. 196 ). As a result, the site can be divided into 2-3 tiers, corresponding to 2-3 successive settlements. Inside these tiers, individual structures (for example, dugouts) turn out to have existed for more than long time, during which a number of complexes changed.
All found objects, even the smallest ones, must be left in place until the entire picture is completely revealed, protecting them from drying out. After clearing structures, complexes and individual objects, a description of the excavation is made and compiled general plan(usually at a scale of 1:10). Each hole, accumulation of kitchen waste, dwelling or other object receives its own description. When sketching them, it is convenient to use a drawing grid.
Only after description and drawing on the plan can things be selected and packaged.
The cultural layer is better preserved at the bottom of deep holes. Here it is most convenient to study the conditions for the formation of a cultural layer in a settlement.
When all objects have been removed, the entire excavation area must be dug to a depth of 20-25 cm; moreover, the dug up rock is removed, and the exposed surface is cleaned, as a result of which several more storage pits may be discovered that were not previously distinguished by color. In addition, objects dragged into burrows by animal shrews are also found.
For the final check, a network of control grooves is laid (to the depth of the iron part of the shovel) at a distance of one and a half to two meters from each other.
Most sites have undergone significant changes since they were abandoned by people. Therefore, during the excavation process, it is necessary to collect as much data as possible, which would allow us to restore the former appearance of the settlement and the surrounding landscape. Reconstruction of the landscape for the Paleolithic is of particular importance, since the natural environment of this era was sharply different from the modern one. Reconstruction can be helped by data from geology, paleozoology, paleobotany, and chemical analysis of the soil. It is important to identify any disturbances to the cultural layer caused by water and wind. In a number of cases, it is possible to establish that the site lay in the permafrost zone. This conclusion is led by the observation of the characteristic loosening of the cultural layer. Sometimes the layer partially floated in the direction of a slight slope of the terrain, and individual sections of the site moved. Cracks that were once filled with ice (so-called ice wedges) are often observed. For these observations, it is necessary to expand the excavation beyond the distribution of the cultural layer, as was the case, for example, at the Avdeevskaya site.
The Paleolithic sites of the Crimea, the Caucasus and Central Asia are characterized by the absence of artificial dwellings, which may be explained not only by the location of the settlement in caves or under a rock overhang, but also by the absence of mammoths in these areas.
Complex stratigraphy is typical for cave sites. Typically, cultural remains are mixed with stones that have fallen from the arch, arranged randomly, and sometimes forming a certain horizon within the layer. In some cases, a powerful collapse serves as the boundary of a settlement adjacent to it from the outside, and sometimes from the inside. In the latter case, the slope of the layers is directed towards the inside of the grotto. In the cultural strata there are layers washed over by water, for example, by a nearby stream that occasionally flooded the settlement. In some caves, the floor was originally stepped, but over time these steps were leveled by the cultural layer that had grown on them.
These examples show the complexity of the stratigraphy of cave settlements, the clarification and study of which is only possible with frequent profiling.
In some cases, excavations of cave sites begin with a pit measuring 2x2 m to preliminary determine the nature and alternation of layers. Often excavations begin with a trench 1-2 m wide, running along the cave, i.e. from its entrance into the depths. Excavations are carried out squarely, in horizontal layers. After studying the entire thickness of the cultural layer in a given trench, a new trench of the same width is cut to it. Thus, the researcher has a section of the cultural layer along its entire length, which makes it possible to judge the conditions of deposition of cultural strata, and therefore the things contained in them, as well as to observe, clear and record the complexes encountered.
If the layer is thick, the cave settlement is dug using ledges. In this case, the initial trench is brought to the depth of some horizon (for example, a characteristic collapse at a depth of 4 - 5 m), and extensions to it are made only to half of this depth. Then the original trench is sequentially deepened and cuts are made again along the previous boundaries of the trench.
In the cultural layer of cave sites, two areas are distinguished. The first is protected from damage by a canopy, and the stratigraphy here is reliable. The second one comes out from under the canopy, it is often washed away by water, the order of the layers is disturbed. The excavation must cover both areas. It is impossible to draw conclusions only on the basis of layers with preserved stratigraphy or, on the contrary, without checking the conclusions on an area with an undisturbed order of layers.
Water usually seeps through the canopy to the far wall of the grotto and brings with it dissolved lime. Here this lime precipitates and is deposited at the boundary of the far wall and the floor, enveloping bones and flints. Therefore, during excavations, such limestone deposits must be broken up.
Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Most Bronze Age sites are close to Neolithic alluvial and dune sites in terms of their conditions of occurrence, which determines the commonality of their excavation techniques.
Excavations are preceded by leveling the surface of the parking lot, which can reveal some features of its layout. Since the stratigraphy of the strata serves as a guide in the excavation process, it is best to start from the places where the cultural layer is exposed. If there are no such outcrops, then a series of pits should be laid at the site, which will make it possible to determine the boundaries of the cultural layer, its thickness and character. The role of profiling is also determined by the fact that only rare buildings of the Neolithic period can be traced in plan. The laid pit should be considered as the first section of the trench, and not as an independent expansion
coccyx. Therefore, it is advisable to at least preliminary outline a grid of squares.
When excavating Neolithic sites and settlements of the Bronze Age, you cannot limit yourself to profiling individual sections; you must have a moving profile in front of you. Movable trenches are most convenient for this. The basis of such a trench is two pits laid on opposite sides of the parking lot. By connecting them, a primary trench is obtained, the main task of which is to identify the stratigraphy of the site. Sometimes they don’t limit themselves to one trench and create a second one perpendicular to it. The width of the trenches is equal to the side of the square, i.e. two meters (half the width is also possible, i.e. 1 m), its length is limited by the intended dimensions of the excavation, i.e. the trench must cross the entire parking lot.
After sketching both profiles, standing in the opened trench, a second trench of the same width is cut to it using horizontal sections of the cultural layer. In this case, the rule of removing the cultural layer by layers is observed, but the thickness of these layers should not exceed 10 cm, otherwise a number of essential details in the trench and the layout of the settlement can be missed.
After opening the second trench, after sketching a new profile, a third trench is cut, then a fourth, and so on, until the entire intended excavation area or, keeping in mind the small area of Neolithic sites, the entire site, has been opened. Thus, no matter how large the excavated area is, no edges are left.
The cultural layer in Neolithic settlements is sometimes covered by a small layer of sterile strata - ballast. Its thickness is small, not more than 1 m. Usually the layer has a characteristic black color and reaches a thickness of 0.3 -0.6 m. The preservation of organic substances in it may vary. Most often, neither bones nor wood are preserved; only traces remain of them. In some cases, in the absence of wood, bones are preserved (Volosovo). Sometimes the tree is preserved, but the bones completely decay (Gorbunovsky peat bog). The cultural layer of dune sites preserves ceramics and, of course, stone.
During excavations, small finds (for example, fish scales) are found in abundance, requiring careful analysis and recording of both group and individual finds.
It is very difficult to trace holes in the plan; they are usually revealed in the profile. Dugouts can be so large that if the excavation is insufficient, they do not fit in it. After removing the ballast, a dugout found in the profile is cleared in sectors if it is round, and in sections so that its profile is visible if it is rectangular; otherwise it is easy to lose its boundaries.
When scooping out a dugout, observation of the profile is important, as it makes it possible to see deviations from the correct shape of the hole. If you neglect the profile, you can “create” geometrically correct dugouts, as has happened many times.
Clearing of things found in the dugout is carried out first in rough form, and finally - after it has been completely scooped out. The location of things is drawn and described.
Sometimes burials contemporaneous with them are found in Neolithic dugouts. Their clearing and fixation are carried out in the same way as when opening a burial in
dirt grave. Burials are also common on the site.
Each depression encountered in the profile or when removing the next layer is cleared and profiled.
Peat sites. The most difficult excavations are at peat bog sites, where work is hampered by the abundance of groundwater. A. Ya. Bryusov, who developed methods for excavating peat settlements, recommends starting with digging a well to pump out water. For a well, a place is chosen in the lowest part of the waterproof layer through which groundwater flows into a river or lake. It is not immediately possible to find this place under a layer of peat. The well must be large, for example 2X2 m. When digging a well, it is difficult to comply normal rules excavations, so this site has to be sacrificed for the sake of the settlement as a whole. A large well cannot be excavated without a smaller well located inside it, approximately 0.6X0.6 m in size, from which the abundant water is continuously pumped out or bailed out. A large well must be deep. Water can be pumped out of it using a “frog” pump, after first widening the valve hole so that liquid dirt does not clog it. This pump weighs about 100 kg, and if it cannot be left in the excavation site, it is easier to bail out the water with buckets.
Excavations are carried out in small sections (10 - 20 m), located first near the well, and then moving away from it towards a hill, so that the well serves as a water collector. Starting to dig new site, you need to leave a wall of 60 - 70 cm separating it from the old one. The earth is thrown into the old excavation, close to the abandoned edge, as a result of which an earthen dam is formed, protecting the new site from flooding. This way you can even dig near a river, leaving a lintel of 1.5-2 m and adding earth to it from the river side.
When excavating peat sites, there is a danger of bulging of the water-saturated walls of the excavation and its bottom. Both occur due to the pressure of heavy soil on the space vacated by the earth. When the walls bulge, it is sometimes possible to plug the holes that form in them. In the event of a wall collapse, the excavation must be expanded. But when the excavation depth is 1.5-2 m, the bulging threatens the lives of workers, and then the excavation has to be abandoned.
When the bottom bulges, you can try to fill up the gushing holes, but if it continues, the excavation is abandoned, since the workers may fall through.
To avoid failures, large excavations are not recommended. It is more rational to have small areas, between which gaps of 2 - 3 m are left. To anticipate and distinguish between real and imaginary dangers, you should know the process of formation of swamps. Since when the water level in the river rose, the site retreated from it, the oldest part of the settlement is usually located near the water. Therefore, before starting excavations, it is advisable to lay a long trench perpendicular to the river bank, which facilitates the choice of excavation site.
Due to the fact that when excavating peat sites you have to work ankle-deep in mud, horizontal clearing is impossible. Studying profiles also gives a little.
It is especially important to take layer-by-layer samples of peat, as well as underlying rock. There are a lot of types of peat, and their identification is possible only in laboratory conditions. The data obtained helps determine the age of the site and reconstruct the landscape. It is also necessary to take a sample for pollen analysis.
Samples are taken of the corresponding layers and interlayers available at the site, for example lake loam, sapropel. The time of their formation (climatic period) is determined by pollen. This data is transferred to the corresponding parking layers.
The transition from the lacustrine to the swamp phase is clearly recorded in the peatland sections.
Due to the fact that the cultural layer in the settlements is somewhat mixed (at least by people’s feet), this sample must be taken not only at the site itself, but also outside it. A. Ya. Bryusov took samples even 8 km from the site from a contemporaneous swamp with undisturbed strata. Comparison of these samples allows us to accurately determine the relative date of the site's existence.
The thickness of the cultural layer of peat sites is small. For example, in the Lyalovskaya site, a cultural layer of 2 - 15 cm lay under a layer of peat with a thickness of 80 to 112 cm. If the groundwater level allows, that is, if the layer being dug is not covered with water, you need to dig with horizontal cuts, otherwise - with vertical cuts obligatory inspection (by hand) of each shovel of discarded soil, which is necessary to fix possible things.
Excavations of peat sites make it possible to restore the life of ancient people with great completeness, thanks to the preservation of organic remains in the peat, from plant pollen to dwellings. The walls of the dwellings were often made of wattle and the roofs were made of birch bark. The houses rested on decks. In pile buildings, the decking rested on piles and rose above the soil. In buildings in swamps, log flooring was laid directly on the soil. Findings of things in these cases are concentrated on the floor or close to the house. When examining dwellings, it must be taken into account that their individual parts, after destruction, could move in the vertical direction up to 1 m or more. Excavations on drained peat bogs differ little in their methods from excavations at sites located on ordinary soil.
The excavation techniques described above are applicable when studying single-layer monuments. In the case of several layers, work must be carried out sequentially within each layer.
Trypillian settlements. The method of excavation of Trypillian settlements was summarized by T. S. Passek. The main requirement of modern field archaeological methods in relation to the settlements of the Trypillian culture is the obligation to study both an individual dwelling and the entire settlement as a whole.
An excavation set up to study the Trypillian dwelling must include it entirely. The location of this dwelling is clarified before excavation using a probe, which is stuck into the soil every 20 - 30 cm, and positive or negative results are marked with pegs (to which, for example, pieces of paper of different colors can be attached), and are also applied to the plan, where the depth is recorded occurrence of adobe remains. As a result, they get a fairly detailed idea of the location and contours of the dwelling, which makes it possible to begin laying the excavation.
Due to the fact that Trypillian dwellings occupy an area of up to 100-120 m (length 15 - 20 m, width 5 - 6 m), it is recommended to lay an excavation of at least 400 m. The excavation should include not only adobe remains, but also their immediate surroundings. The excavation and the grid of squares are oriented along the sides of the horizon for any orientation of the dwelling. Before starting excavations, the surface is leveled, which is necessary for constructing profiles and for measuring depths. After this, you can begin to remove horizontal layers of earth. Although the earth removed is ballast, the thickness of each layer is limited to ten centimeters, since the adobe remains usually lie shallow. In addition, in the excavated soil, if the dwelling is disturbed by plowing, interesting coatings and even things may be found.
At a depth of 30-40 cm, in some squares piles of plaster burnt to the point of slagging appear, sometimes with imprints of wood. These are collapsed oven vaults, lying above all other remains. With further deepening, the contours of the adobe site are first revealed, and the remains of the building must not be moved from their place, especially at its edges, since such a shift may distort the character of any structure. At the same time, areas where there were ovens, partitions, altars, the foundation of the building, etc. are preliminarily outlined. Then they begin to clear and dismantle the adobe remains.
When the dismantling of the remains of the Trypillian house is completed, the entire area under it is dug to a depth of 0.5 - 1 m. In this case, figurines, shards, and entire vessels may be found below the base of the house (for example, a sacrificial vessel filled with the bones of a sheep and a pig was found).
At the dismantling site, the removed remains are sorted and those that most clearly show the design features of the Trypillian house are selected, and material is also selected for display in museums. It is advisable to select characteristic fragments of each part of the house: hearth, floor, etc. Some of the material can also be taken from monoliths, for example, cruciform altars.
All of the above applies to single-layer Trypillian settlements. Multi-layered settlements are excavated taking into account their complex stratigraphy and in compliance with the rules for removing cultural layers by layer. When excavating multi-layered settlements, profiling is widely used to help identify dugouts, pits and other disturbances in the cultural layer. The methodology of their research is close to the methods of excavating fortifications and settlements.
In addition to the uncovered Trypillian dwellings, the space between them is also being explored. The search for the cultural layer in these areas is carried out using small (for example, 2X2 m) pits, and then, if necessary, it is explored over a wide area. Small dwellings, kitchen heaps and individual items may also be discovered here.
Fortifications. The concept of “fortification” unites monuments from different eras and territories. Therefore, the differences in excavation techniques are greater here than in other cases. These techniques are often due to the small thickness of the cultural layer and poor preservation of the tree. The latter is poorly preserved due to insufficient moisture in the cultural layer of monuments of this type, which are usually located on hills. Air penetrating
into the cultural layer, contributes to the rotting of the tree, and only traces remain of it.
The cultural layer on fortifications is often thin, and then traces of buildings on the mainland acquire special significance. In this case, it is best to make a large excavation and open the cultural layer with thin lines of squares, layers (for example, 10 cm) or sweeps. The mixed part of the cultural layer must be separated from the untouched part and each of them must be excavated separately. All pits are opened one spot at a time, finds from them are recorded separately for each pit, noting their stratigraphy. It is important to find out the purpose of the pits: dugout, underground, grain pit, garbage pit, etc.
Dwellings in the southern settlements were rarely built of wood, although wood was used in the structures; They are mostly dug in the ground, built of stone, mud brick or adobe. The methodology for studying all these structures is discussed in detail when presenting general excavation techniques.
A special feature of excavations of ancient settlements is the study of fortifications, most often represented by an earthen rampart and a ditch, or just a rampart, or several ramparts and ditches. The usual method for examining them is a transverse section. It is necessary to choose the most characteristic place of this cut - not in the smaller and not in the destroyed part of the shaft. It is advisable that the rampart and ditch be studied using one trench, which should connect the two elements of the fortifications into a single whole.
The width of the trench depends on the height and material of the shaft. For research purposes, a trench 2 m wide is sufficient, since it can easily reveal the structures located at the top of the rampart, in its thickness and at the bottom of the ditch. When studying a shaft embankment, its section is most important, for which the width of the trench does not matter. In this case, it depends only on the safety conditions of the diggers.
Excavation of the shaft is carried out across the entire width of the trench in horizontal layers. To speed up excavations, you can simultaneously start two or three excavations at different levels, connecting their zero marks and calculating the order of layers at the lower excavations. The layers in the excavations are counted from the top of the shaft. Thus, the trench takes on a stepped shape.
By removing the upper layers, the issue of the structures that stood on the shaft can be resolved. It could be tyn, traced by stains from logs, which need to be studied not only in a horizontal, but also in a vertical section. The latter (i.e., log stains) will help determine whether these logs were dug or driven in (which corresponds to the flat or pointed end of the log), as well as whether this tine was straight or oblique (i.e., slanted) and how it was secured logs (by jamming in the hole with stones, spacers, props, etc.).
Often, its internal structures protruded from the top of the rampart, forming additional obstacles for the enemy in the form of, for example, a log wall. At the same time, the base of the shaft was sometimes made up of taras, that is, interconnected three-walled log houses with a long outer span and short retaining walls. The main part of Tarasov was covered with earth, and the top protruded above the rampart in the form of a wall. The base of the rampart could also be gorodni, that is, log houses placed close to each other without windows and doors, covered inside with earth and stone. Gorodni were not always hidden by the embankment of the rampart,
they often represented independent species fortifications In the latter case, to protect against arson, they were coated with clay. But if gorodni and taras at one time rose above the rampart, now they are inside the rampart, since the structures protruding to the surface have collapsed and rotted. In some cases, the shaft was protected from sliding by fences embedded in its thickness. For the same purpose, the shaft was coated with clay, which could then be burned, and in later structures it was lined with cobblestones. All these structures can be traced when excavating the shaft, both in plan and profile.
When examining a shaft, it is important to divide its thickness into separate construction periods. This is easiest to do by studying its section, in which the history of its construction can be clearly traced. Sometimes it turns out that initially the settlement did not have fortifications, and they were built only after a certain time. In such cases, under the embankment of the rampart, a more or less thick, untouched cultural layer is often preserved, corresponding to the period in the life of the settlement when it was unfortified. Over time, the constructed rampart could prove to be insufficiently reliable protection, and it was enlarged. Then the semi-oval of the original shaft is visible in the profile. There are several such semi-ovals, if the fortifications were improved several times. In this case, the position of the ditch could be changed: the old, shallow ditch was filled up and a deeper and wider one was dug. This ancient ditch can be traced in the cross-section. In the section of the shaft you can sometimes see traces of repairs to the fortifications.
When excavating a shaft, you need to find out what its embankment is. This may be the mainland soil from the ditch, but often it is a cultural layer cut off on the inner site of the fortification, which provides indirect possibilities for dating the reconstruction of the rampart based on the things that are in the embankment. At the same time, it must be remembered that things found in the embankment of the rampart are often much older than it, since the cultural layer was cut off from the site quite deeply.
The cultural layer under the rampart must be examined using settlement excavation techniques. At the same time, it sometimes turns out that this is the only site on the site that was not disturbed by digging, and therefore, is especially valuable for elucidating the history of the settlement under study.
At a time when the settlement did not yet have fortifications, the cultural layer could have slid down the slope of the hill. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the slopes of the fortification, collecting lifting material, which can also help establish the time of construction of the fortifications. Sometimes under the shaft or on the slope there may be substructures that strengthen the soil and protect the shaft from sliding: tampers, washes, coatings, floorings, log houses.
An important point is the question of the place of entry to the site or the location of the gate. This place can be established in the direction of the road, sometimes meandering along the slope of the fortification, and sometimes going through the lintel in the ditch. At later settlements (Rus), the shaft at the entry point is built “overlapping”, when one end extends further than the other, without connecting with it, in a spiral, and the entrance is located between these ends of the shaft. This was done in order to keep the army storming the gate under flanking fire from the rampart. Moreover, everyone entering such a gate was facing the shooters with their right side, not protected by a shield.
The ditch is explored using the same trench that cuts the shaft. At the same time, it is important to know the first
Rice. 74. Special structures in settlements: a - accumulation of animal skulls in one of the pits at the Donetsk settlement; b - place of sacrifice of the Scythian time at the Belsky settlement, Poltava region. The dialing number for photographing is visible. (Photo by B. A. Shramko)
the initial depth of the ditch, which can be established by the level of the continent, clearly visible in the profile of the section. The ditch could be filled with water, the sources of which must be established, but it could also be dry. Often, at the bottom of the ditch, additional obstacles were erected for the attacking troops in the form of dug-in logs, in the form of sharp pegs driven in with the point upward, etc.
These obstacles forced the attackers to slow down, which made it easier for the defenders to hit them with arrows and stones from the height of the rampart.
Ancient cities. The techniques of ancient field archeology were generalized by V. D. Blavatsky. The ancient cities of the Northern Black Sea region often existed for over a thousand years. The boundaries of cities changed many times, expanding during their heyday and shrinking during their decline. Outside the city gates, where the necropolis was initially located, as the city expanded, residential neighborhoods grew, and in a city that suffered from an enemy invasion or other reasons, the place of residential neighborhoods was sometimes occupied by a cemetery. These boundaries should be clarified for each period of the existence of the ancient city. In some cases, it is not difficult to establish the location of the fortress wall, which, as a rule, ran along the border of the city, and then you can trace it along its entire length. However similar solution The solution to other problems in the history of the city stretches out for many years.
Establishing the boundaries of a city can occur in another way and comes down to clarifying the basic laws of its layout. Knowing this pattern, it is possible to approximately indicate the place where the fortress wall ran, where craft quarters, public buildings, etc. were located. Therefore, it is necessary to combine excavations of the city center with excavations of its outskirts.
The cultural layer of ancient cities is saturated with architectural remains, which can be connected into stratigraphic layers. This architectural skeleton
is the most reliable support for excavations of such settlements. In ancient cities the horizon is pitted, top level foundations and other remains facilitate the discovery of the day surface of these structures, but the safety of architectural objects varies and depends on the degree of pitting of the cultural layer by ancient and
new digs, i.e., depending on the number of holes. The number of pits varies from city to city. There are many more pits in Phanagoria than in Olbia. The holes cut into one another, and there are few undigged places. Under these conditions, the most reliable cultural layer is the layer located under an undisturbed architectural object, the safety of which is a guarantee that the underlying layer has not been dug up. Consequently, the task comes down to identifying such areas.
Since, for example, in Olbia the cultural layer is benign, excavations of this city are carried out over the entire area at once, i.e. the excavation and study of the cultural layer is carried out simultaneously with the study of architectural remains.
But excavation techniques change if the monument is pitted. The land filling the holes is devalued; observations made during its excavation are very preliminary and cannot be put into circulation without subsequent verification. Therefore, the filling of the holes is removed first. Since there are many pits, and there are much fewer undisturbed areas and they are determined by structures, these structures are left in the excavation on the “butts”. This is conventionally called the first stage of work. The second stage consists of dismantling the architectural structures left on the “butts”, studying them in detail and studying the pillars of earth located under them. These “butts” are sorted into stratigraphic tiers, which are established during the first stage of work. Dismantling the “priests” controls the conclusions outlined during the first stage of work, i.e., the assumptions made when removing the filling of the pits. Naturally, only those architectural remains are dismantled that interfere with further deepening and are preferably less interesting and less preserved. Important and intact buildings are not dismantled, even if this interferes with the study of the cultural layer right up to the mainland.
When uncovering architectural remains, you need to carefully study their most important features (see pp. 36 - 40) and record them in detail (see p. 264). Among the artifact finds, special attention should be paid to monuments of lapidary epigraphy (inscriptions on stone), sculpture, coins and other objects important in establishing chronology. Objects found in special conditions are very important - in wells, cisterns (lined pits for storing water, wine, for salting fish, etc.). in landfills and especially in craft workshops. These things can not only date, but also clarify the details of open structures. When dating, one should proceed primarily from mass material - ceramics, tiles, etc. Single coins and even amphora stamps often give an erroneous date.
It is necessary to note deviations from the usual correlation of finds. In ancient cities, shards usually predominate, especially sharp-bottomed amphorae, a lot of building remains, burnt brick, if it was used in construction in a given city, but little metal, glass, bones, and slag. Deviations from this center line may indicate special burial conditions, such as faults, that need to be identified immediately. Equally important are observations of organic remains, such as animal bones.
The territory adjacent to the ancient city should also be included in the plan for its archaeological research. An important object located in this area are city landfills. Their character is an indicator of the livability of the city, urban culture, and sometimes urban organization. Landfills are examined using settlement excavation techniques with the obligatory clarification of stratigraphy. In this case, we must try to establish the order and growth rate of the garbage layers. By studying landfills, they strive to establish their composition: kitchen scraps, city garbage from fires, industrial waste, manufacturing defects, etc.
Settlements of Central Asia. The technique of excavating settlements in Central Asia is complicated by the fact that multi-layered monuments with powerful cultural strata predominate here. Multi-layered monuments are rarely excavated to this day. Even cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara, in essence, were little affected by excavations. In excavated settlements, mainly the top layer is studied.
The largest number of settlements have been excavated in Khorezm, where excavations are often reduced to clearing buildings of sand deposits, and the study of cultural strata plays a lesser role. On the surface of these settlements one can note not only the remains of fortress walls and dwellings, but also indicate their internal layout. Therefore, when excavating such settlements, microleveling of the surface plays an important role, making it possible to clarify their layout. Leveling marks are taken every 50 cm. Experience has shown that it is possible to determine any room, room, or yard using these data. All these structures are united by certain architectural remains, for example, the level of one of the floors, which is taken as the zero plane. For each room, readings are made from some conventional point, the level of which is measured and known.
For such objects, an excavation of about 200 m in size, covering several rooms, is common. When excavating hard Central Asian soil, ketmen and tesha (adze-shaped hatchet) are usually used.
Due to the fact that the layout of the buildings is already visible from the surface, the grid of squares is not broken up here, and the registration of finds is carried out room by room. V.I. Raspopova draws the attention of archaeologists to the fact that the walls of rooms preserved to a height of 2 - 4 m create a deceptive impression of the homogeneity of the layer. But in each room there are ceramic complexes of different origins. V.I. Raspopova identifies the following complexes using the method of finding: from the floors; from the rubble of structures; from ash pans at hearths; from landfills formed after the premises were abandoned; from fillings and backfills associated with perestroikas. The correctness of identifying and understanding the layers can be checked by making one or two cuts through the room.
In order not to disturb the floor of the room, a pit can sometimes be punched through the sediment in order to establish the level of the floor or the horizon of the cultural layer.
The main difficulty of excavations in Central Asia is that the remains of adobe structures are covered with loess streaks, and the things found are also often made of clay. The criterion can be the difference in the density of clay structures, objects and loess streaks, which is significant in the case of clearing baked clay vessels and very small in the case of clearing mud bricks. Best results Clearing by vertical cuts with a cleaver or a knife allows the difference in density to be more easily felt by the hand.
The rubble of the roof and walls is cleared until loess streaks on the floor of the dwelling. Next, you have to identify the adobe brick of the floor, which is done by vertical cuts with a knife. It is especially difficult to identify the seams between bricks. Clearing the floor makes it possible to trace structures lying below its level, for example, utility pits, which are determined by the violation of the brickwork of the floor, the structure of the filling, and sometimes color. The walls of such a pit are often coated with clay.
Remnants of fire pits can be traced on the floor, which are revealed by the color of the soil - it is burnt and saturated with ash. If a hearth is detected, it is necessary to trace the boundaries of the hearth pit, which is determined by the difference in the structure of the surrounding earth and the hearth filling. Under the floor there may be various substructures that strengthen it, most often in the form of clay bases, the presence of which is established by small pits.
Given the dryness of the Central Asian climate, the remains of settlements contain wall paintings that require immediate fixation (see p. 260), as well as various organic remains in the form of wood, leather, etc. When clearing, one should remember the possibility of such finds, among which may also be written documents.
The multi-layered monuments of Central Asia are still receiving undeservedly little attention. Their research began even before the Great October Revolution socialist revolution, when Pompelli cut the Anau hills with huge trenches, V.A. Zhukovsky was digging Merv, and N.I. Veselovsky was digging Afrasiab. Some other multi-layered monuments were also excavated, but in small numbers and using insufficiently scientific techniques. This gap is still felt today, although a number of interesting works can be pointed out here, for example, the excavations by M. E. Masson of Nisa, G. V. Grigoriev Tali-Barzu, M. M. Dyakonov and A. M. Belenitsky of Penjikent.
When excavating multi-layer monuments at the first stage of work, the techniques that are used for excavating single-layer monuments remain in force. In both single-layer and multi-layer monuments, loess layers predominate. The buildings in these settlements were also built from loess, and this determines the first difficulty of excavations: it is necessary to discover loess in loess. The second difficulty is that the layers of loess strata usually do not differ from each other either in color or structure, and the main criterion for their identification is finds. Only in rare cases, for example at the site of Tali-Barzu, can one identify alternating layers that differ in color: ash-garbage and dark clay.
In some areas of Central Asia, due to the relatively large amount of precipitation (Samarkand region), in contrast, for example, to the dry climate in the Chardzhou region, loess is so strongly eroded that some layers of cultural strata are washed out and displaced (as was observed in Tali-Barzu) . This must be taken into account when dating.
Digs are distinguished by color only when they are painted with garbage. It should be noted that in the case of large excavations that go to the surface of the monument, they are well determined by the nature of the vegetation, which completely changes at the excavation site. Inside the layers, excavations are recognized by the change in the nature of the finds and the absence of construction remains.
The walls of Central Asian buildings, as a rule, were placed directly on the ground, and thus their lower level in most cases determines the daytime surface of the building. However, care must be taken here, since the possibility of fills and recesses cannot be ruled out. According to the observations of M.E. Masson, during the excavation process, it is possible to determine in advance the floor level by the characteristic nests of some bugs sometimes located in the walls, living at a certain distance from the floor of the building.
Identification of the construction periods of a building occurs by the reconstruction of its premises, structure, differences in the level of their day surface, which is primarily reflected in the difference in the level of their floors. Painted ash and debris layers and traces of fires can also help here.
If an adobe building was destroyed, its walls were not always leveled to the ground. The ruins of old buildings were filled with strong loess clay, which leveled the soil for new buildings.
The foundations of the fortress walls sometimes consisted of large clay blocks measuring, for example, 3X1X1 m. In other buildings, smaller adobe or baked bricks were used, the specifics of which were discussed above.
Old Russian cities. In choosing a method for excavating medieval ancient Russian cities, the determining factor is not their time, but the conditions of occurrence of archaeological remains. This means that those cities whose cultural layer is similar to the cultural layer of the ancient city are excavated using the same techniques. For example, there are no fundamental differences in the methods of excavating stone buildings of medieval and ancient Chersonesos. Dry bedding ancient city are studied using methods of excavation of ancient settlements and settlements. Of course, in all of these cases the most difficult option multilayer monuments. Below are the techniques for excavating cities with a wet cultural layer.
Many ancient Russian cities still exist today. Their researcher is constrained in choosing an excavation site: it is not always possible to lay an excavation where it seems most profitable; we have to reckon with urban development and the impossibility of stopping traffic; often excavations are carried out at the site of a future construction site in order to protect the cultural layer.
During the archaeological study of an ancient Russian city, the need arises to excavate it over wide areas. This requirement is due to the large thickness of the cultural layer and the large size of the estates, which will not fit into an excavation area of 100 or even 500 square meters. m. Since the excavation must be large, its location is carefully selected, since excavations are very expensive and funds cannot be allowed to be spent unproductively.
Throughout the entire excavation, the cultural layer is removed in horizontal layers, measured from one benchmark. But this does not mean that the same layer should be dug throughout the entire excavation. Sometimes it is necessary for one part of the excavation to be several layers ahead of the other.
An important obstacle to excavations can be late structures buried in the ground. These include the foundations of houses, garbage pits, wells and other similar structures, which indicate excavations that have disrupted the stratigraphy of some layers. These structures are registered on the plans of the corresponding strata. The diaries record late (and early) coins and other dating finds.
As a rule, in upper layers the tree can be traced only in the form of dust. The lower the excavation base goes, the better the tree is preserved. It should be recalled that we're talking about about cities with a wet cultural layer. Humidity is the reason for the preservation of the tree, which is isolated from the air by groundwater. The layers of the 17th - 20th centuries, as a rule, lie above the groundwater level and do not preserve trees. (In Novgorod the tree is no longer preserved in the layers of the 16th century.)
Often short dies were placed under the lower crown of the log house. Much less often, the corners of the log house were supported by vertical pillars or a group of pillars (chair). A stump with chopped roots or a large boulder was used as a chair. Sometimes the corners of some buildings rested on small log houses - ryazhi, cut into clapboards.
During the excavation process, it is necessary to distinguish utility rooms from residential ones. Often this difference is reflected in the design of the building. Residential buildings in Russian cities were never built from vertical logs. The size of barns and storerooms was smaller than the size of dwellings. Utility rooms usually did not have stoves, but it should be borne in mind that the stove in a living room is not easy to trace. The floors of utility rooms are less level than residential floors and are often made of slabs or poles.
Sometimes the nature of a building can be judged from the remains found in it. A layer of grain reveals a barn, layers of manure - chlez, etc. In this case, grain and other organic residues should be taken according to certain rules. Also by special rules Remains of hay, bast, fruit seeds, vegetable seeds (for example, cucumbers, etc.) are taken (see Appendix II).
The estates were separated from each other by fences made of vertically placed logs 15 - 20 cm thick. The remains of such a fence can often be traced. The upper ends of the logs usually correspond to the ancient surface at the time of the death of the tyn. Sometimes the fence line is made up of the remains of two or three or more similar fences, and one should not think that two fences existed at the same time - their breaks are usually located at different levels, and these remains are the remains of two fences that successively replaced each other.
When excavating ancient Russian cities, much attention is paid to elucidating the complex of buildings that existed at the same time, i.e., stratigraphic tiers. The tiers are drawn in the field. With immediate graphical fixation of the tiers, it is possible to avoid mistakes, the most common of which are placing a building (or the collapse of logs) in the wrong tier and not dividing the structure into tiers. In order to avoid these failures, it is necessary to check the simultaneity of structures by underlying or overlapping common layers, logs and structures, both in plan and in the profiles of the excavation walls. A good guide to establishing the simultaneity of structures is the layers of fires. An important control factor is the results of dendrochronological research of logs from various buildings, pavements, etc.
IN ancient Russian cities the remains of stone and brick residential buildings are extremely rare, and churches have been discovered through excavations in a number of cities. Brick and stone churches were usually built on dry sites, as they required reliable soil. However, the foundation of many churches was insignificant, and this in some cases, especially when laying the foundation above the soil freezing line, contributed to the rapid destruction of the building. Therefore, when studying such structures, it is important to trace the nature of the continent, the depth of the foundation, and the method of its laying. (Sometimes this is rubble stone without a binding solution; the voids between individual stones were filled with compacted clay.) It must be borne in mind that the foundation under the external and internal walls and under the pillars may be different.
It is also necessary to trace the most important features of the structure: size, thickness, laying of walls and pillars, compliance with the pillars of internal and external blades on the walls, etc. All this should be recorded in plans taken by the method of architectural measurements. The plan should be accompanied by two or three vertical sections and elevations.
When studying brick buildings, it is necessary to record the dimensions of the bricks (plinths), their configuration (patterned, i.e., shaped bricks are possible), the thickness and nature of the binding mortar (lime, cement) - all this is important for dating, clarifying the features of construction techniques, features production of building materials. To clean the surfaces of walls and other masonry, it is convenient to use an ordinary broom and brushes.
There may be stamps, signs, and drawings on the bricks, which also require fixation. Inside the buildings there are rubble of plaster with fresco paintings and graffiti.
Finally, the layer in which the building lies is important - the layer of its destruction, formed by the crushed remains of its upper parts. This layer can be cut through by later burials, which must be distinguished from early ones, committed during the period when the church was not destroyed. After all, burials near churches are common, and churches not surrounded by cemeteries are a rare exception.
The daytime surface of the construction of such a building is usually distinguished by construction debris: fragments of bricks, stones, remains of binding mortar, lime pits, etc. However, these remains could also have been left during the renovation of the building.
All of these questions are of interest to the researcher when studying the remains of fortifications uncovered by excavations, but one should also keep in mind the peculiarities of studying the remains of wood-earth fortifications, which are outlined above.
One of most important discoveries Soviet archaeologists is to establish the significance of ancient Russian cities primarily as craft centers. This conclusion follows from large quantity craft workshops discovered by excavations. These workshops can be judged by production residues in the form of raw materials, warehouses of finished products, tools, production waste, and especially by production defects. Thus, from the presence of sawed-off joints from identical animal bones, one can conclude about a bone-carving workshop, from the presence of krits and iron slags - about a forge, from curved shards of vessels that were not in use - about the failure of the potter when firing the dishes he made, and therefore - about the pottery workshop. Of course, the same is evidenced by the ruins of blacksmith's and pottery forges, ash pits with hair remains in which the tanner kept skins, pulp used to squeeze out vegetable oil, etc. All these remains require careful study to identify the details of production.
Of great importance for the study of pottery, as well as for dating, is the most widespread material in ancient Russian cities - ceramics.
A very common find is the remains of leather shoes, which are well preserved in damp soil. Although most leather scraps do not mark the remains of workshops, they are good material for studying shoemaking.
Along with the remains of leather shoes, the remains of bast and felt shoes should be studied.
In conditions of preservation of wood, urban layers are saturated with products made from this material. These can be the bottoms and plugs of barrels, tub rivets, parts of sleighs, boat frames, oars, shoe lasts, architectural details, wooden sculpture and other things. All of them require careful cleaning (after all, they are easy to break), fixation and skillful storage. On many of these things there may be carved inscriptions and individual letters, which have been traced more than once in Novgorod and other cities.
Open in Novgorod the new kind historical source - birch bark letters, also known in Smolensk, Pskov, Vitebsk and Staraya Russa. These important documents take the form of a birch bark scroll and are thus no different from the birch bark floats found in the hundreds. Therefore, each birch bark scroll must be carefully examined by a researcher. If letters are found on the birch bark during inspection, the scroll is sent to the laboratory for unwinding and preservation. Unroll a scroll without observing certain rules(see p. 258) is impossible, since it is easy to break.
Security archaeological sites . After the main types of archaeological monuments, the methods of their search and excavation have been considered, it becomes possible to consider the principles of protecting these monuments.
The issue of protecting historical and cultural monuments (and, among them, archaeological monuments) has been repeatedly raised in legislation. Currently, the Law on the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments, adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1976, is in force.
The main requirement of this Law is the protection of the monument from destruction and damage. Damage should be understood as any damage or change in its earthen layers. For an archaeologist, it is an elementary truth that damage to earth layers is a violation of stratigraphy, loss of the possibility of dating or distortion of the date, loss of the possibility of reconstructing structures, destruction of things or their damage, destruction of a burial, distortion of the appearance of the monument, this is ultimately the loss of the significance of the historical source by the monument and impossibility historical conclusions on his material.
Thus, the archaeological site must be protected primarily from all kinds of excavation work. These include: the use of mounds and fortifications for the extraction of sand, gravel, stone, and “chernozem”; selection of stone from ancient masonry; arrangement of cellars in mounds and ancient settlements; installation of geodetic and land surveying signs, pillars, fences, houses, sheds on the mounds; laying cables, gas and water pipes; laying roads along the territory of the monument; demolition of parts of the monument (for example, ramparts); backfilling the monument with soil (for example, ditches); planting trees and bushes; digging pits for fires (by hunters, tourists, pioneers), and finally, unauthorized excavations. Each of these actions, as well as similar ones, are serious crimes against the scientific study of the history of our Motherland and insult the memory and deeds of our ancestors. Therefore, all of the above and similar excavation work on archaeological sites is prohibited.
The instructions on the regime of protective zones provide for the prohibition of new development and redevelopment on the territory of the protected zone of the monument, and also considers it necessary to demolish later buildings that distort the monuments, interfere with their inspection or litter their territory.
But there is still no law or instruction indicating exactly what space on and around the monument these prohibitions apply to. Meanwhile, the question of the size of the protection zone of archaeological monuments, or, as they say, of protective zones, of their regime, is pressing.
Without pretending to solve the issue of protected zones, we can try to justify their size. The size and configuration of protection zones must be determined for each specific monument. They depend on the modern and historical topography of the area, the nature of the site (urban, suburban), the type of monument (parking lot, ancient settlement, mound, ancient mines, etc.), the era to which it belongs (Paleolithic, Neolithic, etc.).
For monuments with a cultural layer, the extent of which is unknown, the boundary of the protection zone should be at least 50 m in radius from the explored outcrops of the cultural layer. This figure was taken because a rare settlement is less than 100 m in diameter. This applies to settlements from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age inclusive.
For settlements (of all eras), the boundaries of which are defined, as well as for fields and vegetable gardens with traces of ancient cultivation of the land, the protection zone must be at least 25 m from the boundaries of such a monument. For settlements, this zone is measured from their boundaries.
The mound groups should be surrounded by a strip 50 m wide from the ditches of the outermost mounds, since possible plowed mounds with a diameter of 30 - 40 m will fall into this space (and perhaps even go beyond it). Therefore, the security zone here cannot be narrower.
For rock carvings, architectural remains (outside modern settlements), burial grounds, ancient roads and irrigation systems, the minimum size of the protection zone, calculated from the boundaries of the monument, is also 50 m. This is due to the unknown of the exact boundaries of architectural remains, the possibility of undetected graves in the burial ground, and the protection of rock carvings from stone breaking.
For dolmens, small single mounds, stone women and other structures where single graves or even small burial grounds are possible, we can recommend a security zone with a diameter of 15-20 m.
But in addition to the above factors that threaten archaeological monuments, there are other actions that are no less dangerous for these monuments; flooding as a result of the construction of dams on large and small rivers, large construction and earthworks (construction of factories, multi-storey buildings, railways and roads), placement of campsites and parking lots, tourist camps, quarrying and quarries, blasting, etc. All these works are prohibited within the protected zones, but they are also undesirable next to them. In these cases, the provision on regulated development zones should apply, the stripes of which should be several times wider than the protective zones.
It is prohibited in regulated development areas major construction and other actions just listed. These zones should be subject to the provision for the release of funds for the study of the monument by an enterprise that carries out work that threatens the monument in accordance with this Law.
The restrictions that exist for security zones do not apply in regulated development zones. You can’t build here, but you can plow, plant gardens, lay cables, in a word, all work is allowed except for major excavation and construction. The boundaries of these zones do not yet have exact dimensions.
The largest size of regulated development zones should be for monuments that are threatened by quarries, quarries, pits, etc. located dangerously close to them, as well as for monuments that must be ensured visibility. These are settlements of all eras, burial mound groups, ancient mines, rock carvings, ancient ramparts, burial grounds. The size of the regulated development zone in this case is 300 m, counting from the border of the security zone.
This figure can be reduced to 200 m for ancient roads, irrigation systems, and dolmens. For other single monuments, the recommended size of the regulated development zone is 100 m, measured from the boundaries of the protection zone. Security zones must be marked with boards with detailed restrictive inscriptions.
An archaeologist must fight for the preservation of antiquities, seeking punishment for those responsible for the destruction of monuments, conduct conversations with the population, give lectures, appear in the press, and create local actives of the Society for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments.
Archeology is a secondary profession that appeared in the game with the release of the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion. In this guide, we will try to teach you the basics of the profession. When starting to download Archeology, you need to remember that this skill will not bring real bonuses in the game. With the help of Archeology, you can dig up pets, toys and mounts, as well as some epic rags. However, the benefits from all these things are unlikely to exceed what can be obtained by pumping, for example. At its core, Archeology is a profession for fun and it is not at all necessary to master it - only if you really want to.
On the other hand, most epics that are mined using Archeology are bound to an account, which is good news. Once you dig up [Zin-Rok, Destroyer of Worlds], you can give it to your twink (if the sword is of the right class)... But, of course, first you need to dig it up. For your humble servant, for example, this idea was not a success.
Excavation sites
As soon as you study Archeology, specially marked areas will begin to appear on the world map - outwardly looking like a shovel. There are no more than 4 such places on each continent at a time and nothing can change this number. Also, once it appears in a certain location, the excavation site will remain there until you own it.
The number of zones and continents where excavation sites are displayed depends on the current character level and the level of upgrade of the profession. A level 77 player will see 16 excavation sites on the map, 4 on each continent (if the level of upgrade of the profession is sufficient). But a level 32 player will be able to see a maximum of 8 places of 4 in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms; In addition, they will be located in locations at level 25-35.
The peculiarity of the profession is that there is no competition here - for each player the excavation sites are unique and even if someone is nearby in the same place as you and with the same goal as you - don’t worry, he will dig his own , and you - yours and nothing else.
This is what the “shovels” and excavation sites look like on the map.
Research and fragments
Having studied the profession, in addition to happiness, you will also receive an additional spell in your spell book, called [Research]. You can use this skill only when you are directly at the excavation site. Immediately after using the skill, a research device very reminiscent of a spyglass will appear on the ground, pointed in a certain direction. The flashing light of the device determines the distance to the fragment.
How it works? Fly to the excavation site, press [Explore] and see what happens. A fragment appears - great, but most often a device appears indicating the direction with a flashing light: red, yellow or green. If the light is red, you can sit on the mount and ride a little in the indicated direction before Explore again. If the light is yellow, you need to drive less. If it is green, the fragment is very close - within 40 meters (you can walk there). In general, we follow the direction, explore and over time, having gotten used to it a little, you will be able to dig up fragments 3-5 times.
Once you make a discovery, you receive a fragment belonging to one of the 10 races of Azeroth. Fragments are tied to zones. Each excavation site, in turn, has three fragments attached to it - you won’t be able to dig up more - you can’t dig up less, otherwise the site won’t appear in another location on the map.
Below is a list of races, fragments of which will become available as the profession is upgraded:
- 1-300 - Eastern Kingdoms and Kalmdor: Fossils, Night Elves, Trolls, Dwarves
- 300 - Outland: Draenei, Orcs
- 375 - Northrend: Nerubians, Vrykul
- 450 - Uldum: Tol'Vir
A greedy archaeologist's research tool.
Artifacts
Once you receive your first fragment, you will automatically begin a research project that will eventually become an artifact. The number of fragments for each artifact is different - it requires from 25 to 150. Once you have accumulated enough fragments, you can click the “Collect artifact” button in the profession window, which will finish the current project. If there are more fragments than needed, they will not go anywhere, the next study will simply begin. Unfortunately, you cannot control the process of obtaining a project based on artifacts - the system, although based on the skill level, is random and... what comes out, comes out.
In short, waiting for the right research project on a coveted artifact can be a daunting task. Sometimes, when you are lucky, it happens quickly, and some cannot wait for what they want at all and give up this activity after 2-3 weeks of trying.
Sometimes, when you loot a fragment, a “tablet” - [Troll Tablet] - drops into your inventory, with which you can add as many as 12 missing fragments to the project. But this can only be done if the project has an appropriate slot. The more complex the project, the more such slots can be used. There are 1, 2 or 3 slots.
Upgrading archeology
I’ll say right away that using a set of addons makes it easier to download a profession. You will need: GatherMate2 and Archeology Helper, after setting them up the right way(with the HUD turned on), sometimes you can guess a fragment at the excavation site even by the red light, 1-2 times.
And finally, the best way to level up the Archeology profession is to explore excavation sites and accumulate fragments until you raise the skill to 50. After 50, the level of the profession from excavations will stop growing - that’s when you can start Collecting artifacts. For each artifact you collect, you will receive 5 skill points for your profession (15 for rare ones), regardless of what race of artifact you are researching. You can level up Archeology to 525 in about 25-30 hours.
At the beginning of October last year. And, of course, the archaeologists were not found at the site. Work was suspended and the excavation site was mothballed for the winter. The roads were then eaten away by seasonal thaw, greasy village mud squished underfoot, and the puddles reflected the bright blue autumn sky. The path up the mountain to the mounds was quite difficult. At the top of the ridge, rusty, frost-touched grass stretched along the roads. The air was clean and fresh, there were beautiful blue and hazy distances on the horizon. Part of the mound was razed by a bulldozer, and the excavation site was leveled with earth. There were several large boulders lying nearby. I didn’t understand their purpose then, and only learned about it on my current visit. This time we were luckier - we were able to meet and get acquainted with the participants of the archaeological expedition led by Konstantin Chugunov, which is conducting excavations in the Altai Territory on behalf of the State Hermitage (St. Petersburg). Konstantin Vladimirovich told a lot of interesting things about the work of the expedition, its findings, and the life of the people who lived in these parts. But first things first.
I already wrote about the village of Bugry in my last post. Now I’ll just say that this is a small village in a remote corner of the Rubtsovsky district, far from civilization. Only 219 people live in it - that's 66 households. The places in the area are very beautiful. The slightly hilly terrain of the pre-Altai plain creates beautiful landscapes that unfold into majestic steppe panoramas. There are a couple of rivers and lakes rich in fish. Small birch groves running down to cozy banks complete the picture. In our region, the village is famous for the fact that in its vicinity there is a large mound complex of the Scythian-Sarmatian period - several so-called “royal” mounds, the age of which is estimated at approximately 2300 years.
The Bugrinsky burial ground was discovered and recorded in the corpus of monuments of the southwestern regions of the Altai Territory by local archaeologists a long time ago - since the 80s of the last century. Altai archaeologist Alexey Alekseevich Tishkin proposed starting excavations on the Bugrinsky mounds. It was planned to open two mounds from the mound group. The expedition of the Altai State University decided to tackle one of them, and the expedition of the State Hermitage decided to tackle the other. And so they did. Excavations began in 2007. At the moment, the group led by Tishkin has already completed its work. There were many interesting discoveries and finds, including the discovery of fragments of the mummified body of a young woman whom locals nicknamed “the princess with painted nails.” In fact, flakes of varnish were found in the mounds, but they had nothing to do with the mummy’s nails, but rather were fragments of various utensils that were placed in the burial.
The State Hermitage expedition led by Konstantin Chugunov chose the largest “royal” mound for its research. Its diameter is about 75 meters, height is about 4 meters. But it was chosen not even because of its size, but because it was located on the edge of a plowed field (the rest of the mounds are located right in the middle of the plowing). This was convenient, since I did not want to grass the crops, and besides, it was interesting to explore the territory adjacent to the mound. Monuments of such large sizes have not yet been studied in our region, and scientists, in addition to the finds themselves, were interested in the structure of such structures. By the way, in this regard, the expectations of archaeologists were completely justified. Around the mound, the remains of a ditch with a diameter of 115 meters and a depth of 2.5 meters were found. It was found that the above-ground part of the structure consisted of soil specially brought here and was strengthened with river silt. Also found were six fallen stone steles the height of a man, which had once stood upright. Similar structures made of vertically standing stone steles were often practiced by nomads in mountainous areas (for example, in the vicinity of the Altai village of Sentelek there is an archaeological complex with 17 steles installed in one row), but this is the first time this has been seen on the plain.
This is what the steles of the mound complex in Sentelek look like (photo www.charysh.info).
As I already said, the upper, above-ground part of the mound was previously demolished by a bulldozer to the ground level. Then the manual excavations began. Like many years ago, they do not involve the use of any technology. There is only one tool - a simple shovel. After all, the work is almost like jewelry, everything is done gradually, step by step, so as not to damage, destroy or miss anything interesting find. The excavation site looks like a stepped pit, which gradually expands in depth and width.
The leader of the expedition, Konstantin Vladimirovich Chugunov, is a well-known person in archaeological circles not only in our country, but also abroad. He is a senior researcher in the Department of Archeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia of the State Hermitage, custodian of the Siberian collection. Corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute. Konstantin Vladimirovich - scientist-practitioner. He devotes a lot of time to field work, and writes scientific articles and monographs based on the results of excavations. He gave lectures at the Krakow Jagiellonian University, Tomsk State University, etc. In addition to the Bugrinsky burial ground, Konstantin leads a project to study the Chinge-Tey mound complex in the Turan-Uyuk basin of Tuva, in particular, work on the royal mound Arzhan-2. The main interests of the scientist are the archeology of the Late Bronze Age, Pre-Scythian and Scythian times of Central Asia and Southern Siberia. In addition to all of the above, Konstantin Vladimirovich is also an excellent storyteller. He talks so captivatingly, interestingly, in detail about the excavations, about the culture being studied, about the people who lived here - that you begin to see it all as if in reality.
The members of the expedition are mainly volunteers from St. Petersburg, who came here at the call of their souls and do not receive a penny for their work. These are people of various professions, ages and walks of life. In the photo - a St. Petersburg schoolboy, artist, history teacher at school. There is even a theater director among the group members.
People come here to see places they have never been to, learn something new for themselves, gain fresh impressions, meet interesting people, and get away from civilization. Someone spends their vacation lying on the beach by the sea. And someone goes with archaeologists to touch history.
But let’s return to the subject of the expedition’s activities. The photo shows excavations of the central grave of the burial. As a rule, there were several graves in the mound. In the center lay the most noble person - a leader, military leader, or priest, and next to him were his associates and servants. The question arises - what kind of people lived here two thousand years ago, when there was no village of Bugra, no nearby towns, no well-worn roads? Only hills, endless steppe with wind-driven waves of feather grass and flowering herbs. Now it is almost impossible to say exactly what those tribes were called. This requires written sources, but this people did not have a written language. It is known that these were nomads with the so-called Scythian-type culture. Their culture is studied mainly from the monuments that they left behind - that is, mounds. Large mounds can contain a huge layer of information, since the elite of society buried in them were carriers of cultural, trade and other connections. All cultural achievements of that time were concentrated in these monuments.
How did these people live? The land was not cultivated then as it is now; the main occupation was nomadic cattle breeding. It provided everything the tribe needed to live - meat, milk, wool, skins, felt. They rode horses and masterfully mastered horse riding and archery skills. When one pasture was exhausted, they migrated to another. Since they often had to change their habitats, the nomads had well-developed military affairs. Indeed, with such a way of life, clashes with other similar nomadic groups are not excluded. The tribes that lived in the local steppes were very powerful - their rich burials testify to this.
Large boulders and pieces of wood were recovered from the depths of the mound. I have already written about similar boulders that lay near the mound on our first autumn trip. The inside of burial chambers was lined with such stones. Then, pine log houses were built inside the stone structure. What’s interesting is that the mounds are located in the middle of the steppe, and there are no places nearby where one could take stones. Consequently, they were specially brought from a long distance. The closest place where granite boulders could be mined is a gorge. It is located at least a couple of tens of kilometers from here. Using only the draft power of horses, the nomads brought stone blocks from somewhere weighing sometimes 300-400 kilograms! In addition, inside the mound in the littered underground passages The remains of levers made from birch trunks were found, with the help of which centuries ago graves were robbed - granite blocks were broken out of powerful stone deposits in graves. But more on that later.
Unfortunately, the mounds from the Bugrinsky burial ground were repeatedly plundered - in ancient times, and in the 18th century, at least. Therefore, rich collections of gold jewelry and jewelry, as in other places (for example, in Tuva) were not found here. But for scientists, discoveries of this kind are not so important. More important are finds that are of scientific value and can shed light on the life of the peoples of that time, their cultural contacts, and level of development. For example, in this mound, varnish flakes from Chinese-made lacquerware were discovered. At that time, lacquerware was made, according to written sources, for the Chinese Imperial Court. How did they get to the steppe nomads? Perhaps these were military trophies from long campaigns or diplomatic gifts. A big surprise was the discovery in the mound of small fragments of a glass bowl, apparently of Western manufacture. Glass was then made in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. Such finds indicate extensive contacts of nomads both with the east and with Western countries. In addition, a number of other unique finds were found, such as miniature figurines of warriors made of wood and having sharpened bases. They could decorate, for example, an altar. Fragments of iron weapons and horse equipment, fragments of jewelry and gilded details of clothing embroidery, etc. were found. Artifacts discovered in the Bugrinsky burial mound complex have already been presented at an exhibition in the Hermitage. By the way, the findings of Alexei Tishkin’s expedition were transferred there.
The two photos below show some fragments found in mound No. 4 by the expedition of Alexei Tishkin, as well as individual illustrations of the excavations of the mound (from the article by A.A. Tishkin “The significance of archaeological studies of large mounds of the Scythian-Sarmatian period at the Bugry monument in the foothills of the Altai”).
The following photo shows individual finds from mound No. 1, discovered by the expedition of Konstantin Chugunov (from the article by K.V. Chugunov “Burials of the “golden people” in the tradition of the nomads of Eurasia (new materials and some aspects of research).
This is probably the place of the head of the expedition :)
The student in the photo carefully sorts through the soil removed from the excavations. After all, there may be small fragments of valuable finds.
Women work on the expedition equally with men - they dig holes in the same way. Hard work, under the scorching July sun. Archaeologists, as a rule, start working from the very early morning, at sunrise, and work until 11-12, until it is too hot. Then a day break - rest in the camp. And another couple of hours of work in the late afternoon, when the sun is already starting to go down. On rainy days, of course, no work is carried out. The soil here is clayey, everything immediately floats away, and digging becomes simply dangerous.
After examining the excavation site, we went to the archaeological camp.
It is located in a picturesque location on the shore of a small oxbow lake, under the shade of a birch grove. Several colorful tents scattered along the slope, an improvised camp kitchen, a common table under a canopy. There is everything necessary for field life - gas cylinders, an electric generator. They go to the city for groceries.
We found several women in the camp. Some of them then went to the excavation site.
Here is one of the tents.
In the photo - Bazhena Kutergina, restorer of the glass and porcelain section of the Hermitage.
The "headquarters" tent is a place with a work desk where the head of the expedition works - summarizes the results of excavations, writes articles.
Excavations on the mound have been ongoing for more than 8 years. This season is most likely the penultimate one; the main work has already been completed. Upon completion of the research, the monument will be given its original appearance - the above-ground part will be restored. In a couple of years it will be overgrown with grass, and the mound will be “like new” again. I would like the Bugrinsky archaeological complex to become a full-fledged tourist site - it would be nice to restore the vertical steles, make a photo exhibition of finds in a local club, photo reconstruction of the internal structure of the monuments, information stands. Place signs so that those interested can drive up to the mounds. But all this is just wishes for now... And the Bugrinsky mounds are just nameless mounds in the steppe.
Continuation
Ukrainian collectors of ancient antiquities are waiting for new arrivals on the illegal antiques market. On July 31, near Zmeiny Island in the Black Sea, unknown persons plundered a Greek sailing ship that sank in the 4th century BC. About it reported the website "Mouthpiece of Odessa" with reference to the head of the Odessa club of underwater archeology “Navarex” Alexander Tereshchenko, who in 2011 with a group of divers discovered a sailboat.
According to the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences, about a thousand archaeological sites are looted every year in Ukraine. This is not difficult to do: out of 60,000 such objects, only 400 are protected by the state.
Kiev collector Yuri Pokrass says that the number of illegal finds has increased hundreds of times over the years of independence. “From the 1880s to 1991, archaeologists found three copies of coins from the times of Kievan Rus. They were considered the greatest rarity. Behind last decade“More than 1,000 of them were found,” he gives an example.
How much can you earn from selling archaeological monuments? Forbes wrote that the cost of ancient coins that have reached us in the amount of several tens of thousands of pieces can start from 50 hryvnia. But the price of coins preserved in single copies can reach several million dollars. How rare the treasures from the looted sailing ship were is unknown.
Most often, black archaeologists use metal detectors as a tool. Mikhail Potupchik, head of the cultural heritage protection sector of the Vinnytsia Regional Department of Culture, says that in the early 2000s there were three metal detectors in the entire Vinnytsia region. “Now every village with a population of 300 or more has 2-3 detectors,” says Potupchik. According to him, today a simple device can be purchased for 300 hryvnia. More advanced models – in the range of $500-1000.
Treasure hunters sell the bulk of their finds in Kyiv markets, in antique stores and via the Internet. There are favorite gathering places for rare art dealers in Kyiv. On weekends, lovers of antiquities gather in the park near the Nivki metro station and in the Expoplaza trade and exhibition center of the Levoberezhnaya metro station. But the most valuable finds, of course, are not sold at such markets.
On June 8, at the International Exhibition Center in Kyiv, during the All-Ukrainian Antiques Exhibition, which is held once a month, Forbes spoke with one of the black archaeologists (“diggers”). “We have about 3,000 kopars in the Vinnytsia region,” says Vasily. “The villages are very ancient, if at one end of the village one person is digging, then at the other there is another person walking around with a metal detector.” IN good year earnings can be $10,000, but most earn two or three times less.
After talking with 20 archaeologists, collectors and management of cultural and historical reserves in Ukraine, Forbes compiled a list of places that suffer most from the greed of black archaeologists.
Crimea
Ancient and medieval necropolises
The most famous find: Taraktashsky treasure (about 2000 coins of the 4th century), Simferopol treasure (328 gold and silver jewelry).
Crimea is a real “granary” for both archaeologists and their illegal opponents. According to the Republican Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, on the territory of Crimea there are 5,600 archaeological monuments included in the state register.
The pace at which black archaeologists “work” is amazing: only since the beginning of 2013 they managed to plunder burial grounds from the Middle Ages near the villages of Tankovoye, Zalesnoye and Khoja Sala (Bakhchisarai district), and the Taursky burial ground near the village of Rozovoye (Alushta).
With. Malaya Kopanya, Transcarpathian region
Burial grounds
The most famous archaeological find: Torques - a gold necklace weighing 0.5 kg.
The popularity of the Malokopany Dacian burial ground is explained by two reasons - poor protection and a “range” of choices for black archaeologists. This burial ground is located on five hectares of land, there are dozens of burials in which archaeologists have found weapons, ceramics and jewelry.
The huge area makes it difficult to protect the burial ground, and there is a high probability that burials that have not yet been excavated by “white” archaeologists can be found.
With. Gordeevka, Vinnytsia region
Ancient burial grounds
The most famous find: gold jewelry from the Gordeevsky burial ground.
In 2008, a scandal broke out in the Vinnytsia region: two men tried to sell excavated jewelry - a bracelet, gold upholstery for a bowl and a necklace with a total value of about 1 million hryvnia. They stated that the valuables were dug up in their grandmother’s garden.
The examination showed that the decorations are identical to finds from the Gordeevsky burial ground - an archaeological complex of more than 40 mounds, one of the main historical and cultural monuments of the Vinnytsia region. After the arrest, the men abruptly changed their testimony: they inherited the valuables. From the same grandmother. The “diggers” were not only released, but also their valuables were returned, regardless of the outcome of the examination.
By the way, in Vinnitsa itself, on the pediment of the Southern Bug Hotel on August 5, a banner offering metal detectors for rent was still proudly hanging.
Chernihiv region
Burials from the times of Kievan Rus
The most famous find: objects from the Black Mogila mound.
Chernihiv region is also popular among illegal diggers. As Sergei Laevsky, director of Chernigovsky, says historical museum them. Tarnovsky, in the region, in all places where one can even assume the presence of valuables, hundreds of micro- and full-fledged pits have now been drilled.
And if micro-pits are not so bad, then full-fledged ones destroy the cultural layer and destroy the very possibility of learning about the origin of many objects, not to mention the material damage.
vicinity of Slavyansk, Donetsk region
The most famous find: a gravestone with cult symbols, a settlement from the times of the Khazar Kaganate.
There are more than 8,000 mounds in the steppes of the Donetsk region. The average period of burials is about 3-5 thousand years. In such burial grounds you can find not only ceramic samples, but also funeral gifts, as well as jewelry and household items made from valuable metals. All this makes the mounds a tasty morsel for plunderers.
More recently, near one of the mounds in the Leninsky district of Donetsk, black archaeologists were found at work, but before they managed to get to the burial itself. True, such cases are few: as a rule, many excavation sites are found already plundered.
