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Due to the widespread use of natural science methods in archaeological research, the study of intramural burials of the Bronze Age is becoming more relevant. The paper presents for the first time the results of an anthropological analysis conducted on materials obtained on the territory of the settlement of Shagalaly II (Zerendy district, Akmola region, Republic of Kazakhstan). Based on the results of archaeological and anthropological research, the burial materials given in the article are interpreted and divided into several categories. Structural and comparative analyses revealed the following types of intramural burials on the territory of the settlement: special burials, building sacrifices and the reuse of existing burial structures. Burial complexes in settlements make it possible to reconstruct the religious and ideological views of the population of the Bronze Age.

This paper concerns the research works on the Golden Horde sites in the North-Eastern Caspian Sea region. In this regard, the reports on archaeological excavations of different time periods carried out on the monuments of Saraychik, Zhaiyk, Zhalpaktal and Aktobe-Laeti of the studied region were reviewed. The analysis of the obtained results of archaeological excavations on the monuments form the basis for determining the direction and goals of further research and therefore does not lose its relevance today. The purpose of the paper is to compile the history of the study of the monuments of the North-Eastern Caspian Sea on the basis of archaeological research results. The results of the study of the monuments in question were subdivided into three stages. The main results of the excavations were determined, focusing on the research activities carried out at each of the monuments.

The paper addresses the issues of dating of Ostolopovо village in the Republic of Tatarstan. The settlement was located in the central part of the Volga Bolgaria and was connected with the large cities of this state. Since 1955 it is destroyed by the Kuibyshev reservoir. The settlement was investigated in 1969 by Kazan archaeologist T.A. Khlebnikova. She was convinced that the settlement arose in the 10th century, possibly at the end of the 9th century, and existed until the 12th century. In 1991, E.P. Kazakov expressed an opinion that this settlement originated not earlier than the second half of the 10th century. The purpose of this paper is to draw a conclusion about the time of emergence of this settlement. For this, artifacts were used, collected from the 1980s to the 2000s from the destroyed cultural layer, and the excavations at the settlement, carried out in 1997–2017 by K.A. Rudenko. Artifacts of several categories have been studied. These are products made of glass, stone, iron and non-ferrous metals. Of interest are the glass beads made in the Middle East, which were widespread in Volga Bolgaria in the 11th – 12th centuries. Very rare items discovered on the settlement include a glass ring and bracelet made in Byzantium dated the 11th century, a miniature lapis lazuli pendant of the same time period, and fragments of a glass lamp and a perfume glass bottle made in Syria or Egypt in the 11–12th centuries. Items related to the population of the Kama region – the ancient Mari and Udmurts – were revealed. These are personal hygiene items and jewelry. Other discovered items are Arab coins of the Buwaihids (Buyids) issued in the late 10th – early 11th centuries. In addition, a large number of iron artifacts associated with the Askiz archaeological culture of Southern Siberia were found. They were dated from the second half of the 11th century to the first half of the 12th century. Thus, an analysis of the artifacts revealed that Ostolopovo settlement did not appear earlier than the end of the 10th century. It actively developed in the 11th – early 12th centuries.

Introduction. The available methods of assessment of bearing capacity by deformations of foundations mainly take into account single static loads of short duration or cyclic loads with unchanged values during the whole period of operation. The effect of cyclic loading of non-stationary regimes on the behavior of soil bases is practically not studied. In this connection, the research was carried out to develop a method for calculating the settlement of the bearing capacity of clay foundations under block cyclic loading.Materials and methods. To achieve the purpose of this paper, experimental studies of clay foundations in triaxial compression and tray test devices, as well as theoretical studies to determine the bearing capacity and settlement of clay foundations under different loading regimes were carried out.Results. On the basis of existing calculations of bearing capacity and settlement of foundations and the study of the behavior of clay soils under cyclic loads, the equations in compact form are obtained, which make it possible to take into account the peculiarities of deformation of clay soils significantly reducing the complexity and accuracy of the calculations. The development of methods for calculating the bearing capacity and settlement of clay foundations under block cyclic loads is at a sufficiently high level.Conclusions. A method for calculating the bearing capacity of clay foundations under block cyclic loading is proposed and an engineering method for calculating the settlement of clay foundations is developed, based on the method of layer-by-layer summation, which takes into account the simultaneous change in the spatial stress-strain state and mechanical characteristics of soils in the process of mode block cyclic loading.

The paper analyses the relationship between the growth of the transit infrastructure and the developments in Tilsit in the period 1514 to 1552. The place of Tilsit in the competition between the merchants of Gdansk, Königsberg and Kaunas for the transit of goods by the River Neman is discussed. The paper reveals how, due to the geo-political circumstances, Königsberg managed to establish itself and to subordinate Tilsit to its trading system. It examines how and why Tilsit turned from being an outer castle settlement (Flecken) to the first town established in the Duchy of Prussia. The dynamics of the growth of the number of inns in Tilsit, their ownership, and the official and family relationships of the owners are examined, as is the weight and the role of innkeepers in the process of Tilsit turning into a town.

The Tasmola Culture of Central Kazakhstan, dated to the 8th–5th centuries BC, was discovered more than half a century ago by M.K. Kadyrbaev. He studied dozens of kurgans, on the materials of which he characterized the mortuary rites and funerary equipment of the new culture at a high professional level. On the basis of the materials from the burial sites, he for the first time considered the features of the economic activity of the population of the Saka period in Central Kazakhstan. Recent materials, including those obtained from the settlements, make it possible to largely extend the existing conclusions and assumptions of those years. At the settlement of Abylai, located in the territory of the Karaganda Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, six seasons of archaeological excavations were carried out in 2016–2021. First results of the traceological analysis of stone tools from this site have already been published by the authors. In this paper, we report the results of the traceological study of a new series of stone tools from the Abylai settlement. In 2021, 254 stone objects were examined, functions of 202 of which were determined. As the analysis showed, 185 tools were used in various economic areas. The remaining 15 items were identified as kitchen utensils; there was also one mortar for grinding paints and one small altar (‘credence’), which is very often found in the burials of this culture. The 185 tools are divided into 5 classes, each of which belongs to a certain area of economic activity (ancient industries). Among those, 92 articles (49.73 % of the total number) are tools for the earthworks. Fifty articles (27.03 %) belong to the class of grinding tools. These are pestles and upper and lower grindstones, which were used for grinding plant products. Next 26 tools (14.05 %) were used in the processing of skins (tanning industry). Thirteen tools (7.03 %) were used in metalworking, including the work with iron products. Four tools (2.16 %) were used to process bone and wood. Among the results obtained, of a particular importance are the finds of numerous hoes and grating tools, as well as tools for metalworking, on which traces of iron surface are clearly identified. In addition to the whetstones, used for dressing knives and other iron objects, the new series of tools contains stone anvils, on the working surface of which some iron scale preserves.

Copyright of Journal of History / Habaršy Tarihi Seriâsy is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of the article is to systematize and conceptualize the similarities between the paleo-ethnographic culture of the Yakuts and the Xiongnu of Central Asia, and to assess the possible ways of their appearance and incorporation into the new environment. In addition to the published data on this topic, the main source for the preparation of this paper was authors’ field archaeological material, collected during many years of expeditions. Among the materials of the Yakut Culture, a group of objects, the origin of which is associated with the Xiongnu-Xianbei time, includes some motifs of the traditional Yakut ornament, as well as artifacts — fragments of a compound bow, whistling arrowheads, Wushu coins, burial structures, etc. The earliest finds of these types of articles come from the cultural layers of the settlement of Ulakhan Segelennyah on the Olekma River, dated to the period within 110 BC — 350 cal AD. It is believed that the Xiongnu-Xianbei community was formed at the end of the 2nd — beginning of the 3rd c. AD after the fall of the Xiongnu Empire under the blows of warlike Mongol-speaking Xianbei. We conclude that in the Middle Ages the ancestors of the Yakuts had direct or indirect cultural ties with the Xiongnu. This could happen in the way of the resettlement of a small group of Xiongnu or Xiongnu-Xianbei to the north, or, more likely, it was the result of contacts between the Xiongnu or the ancestors of the Yakuts during their residence in the south of Siberia in the Early Middle Ages. The broadcasting of Xiongnu cultural traditions through the tribes of the Tashtyk Culture of the Minusinsk depression, with which, according to some researchers, the ancestors of the Yakuts once had active ethnic and cultural contacts, is also possible. In the Yakut Culture, the southern elements turned out to be in demand, as evidenced in particular by the funerary structures of the Yakuts in the Late Middle Ages. In the Lensky region, there was a further development of products of the indicated types, which led to the formation of a peculiar appearance of the traditional culture of the Yakuts.

Introduction. Starting from the early Iron Age, the high root bank of the Belaya — downstream from its confluence with the Sim River and virtually to the Ufa Peninsula — was serving a natural barrier that separated the local tribes from nomadic populations who would sporadically penetrate into the left-bank flood pastures. It is along this barrier line that a group of sedentary settlements (hillforts of Okhlebinino I, II, Akberdino I-III, Shipovo, Monchazy) was discovered and identified as those of the Kara-Abyz culture. Supposedly, this advance warning system was still functioning in later periods too, i.e. the pre- and Golden Horde eras, and was somewhat related to antiquities of the Chiyalik archaeological culture. Goals. The work aims to introduce into scientific circulation archaeological materials from the Iron Age and the Late Middle Ages obtained as a result of repeated examinations and explorations at the site of Monchazy located 40 km southeast of Ufa in the lower reaches of the Sim River. The article provides data on the cultural layer of the monument, its defensive structures, introduces analogies to the found metal products, and reveals their cultural and historical aspects. Results. The results obtained indicate the site of the monument was used by both the Kara-Abyz population of the Southern Cis-Urals in the early Iron Age and the late medieval ‘Chiyalik’ residents. The paper also notes that this territory (the middle reaches of the Belaya between the mouths of the Bir and Sim rivers) was a transit area for carriers of Kara-Abyz ceramics with sand admixtures, while carriers of the Chialik culture quite often used fortified promontories of earlier eras (fortified settlements of Kara-Abyz, Bazhino, Ufa I, Ufa II). The publication also provides a broad historical cross-section of the eras (early Iron Age and Late Middle Ages) in relation to the territory on the right bank of the Belaya River. The work also provides data on the archaeological environment near the hillfort of Monchazy. The rather extensive archaeological materials make it possible to conclude as to the difference between ceramic traditions among the population of the Kara-Abyz archaeological culture. It is also noted that nomadic groups of Kipchaks that arrived in the territory of the settlement could have been included in the cultural environment by sedentary carriers of Chiyalik ceramics who professed Islam

Introduction. Tell Sabi Abyad is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Balikh basin, located about 30 km south of the Syrian-Turkish border. It consists of four mounds excavated in different seasons. The excavation was initiated by a Dutch archaeological expedition that started on 1986 and finished in 2010. It was led first by Professor M. Van Loon and then by P. Akkermans. Methods and materials. The research was based on the results of archaeological excavations, published by the excavation team. The historical reconstruction method was used to study the materials of the site. Results. The study of excavation materials of the Tell Sabi Abyad monument made it possible to identify the cultural layers, which revealed religious buildings, dwellings, farm buildings, as well as other traces of the long-term human presence. The paper describes chronological layers and the amount of artefacts at different periods. The research made it possible to acquire new facts that can clarify the existing knowledge about Northern Mesopotamia of the Neolithic era. Conclusion. The study of the monument showed that the houses were built on stable towering platforms, had a regular residential character, and involved bricks, clay, wood, and cane. Most of the houses had a rectangular layout and were connected to each other by small openings (doors). There were also houses with roof entrances. In addition, circular buildings, the tholoi, were found. In the late chronological layers, the era of Halaf culture, the tholoi were widely used not only as places of worship, but also for housing and food storage.

The paper is aimed at the publication of semi-dugouts and a dugout investigated at Samosdelka settlement of the 9th−14th centuries located in the Lower Volga. Two semi-dugouts dating back to the early and middle periods of the settlement's existence were shallow rectangular pits. Their walls had a frame structure: one of the walls was composed of poles plastered with clay, and another one had the space between the poles laid with unfired brick. Analogies to these buildings are located in the Don part of Khazar Kaganate and in Volga Bolgaria. The structure of the 12th century it is also interesting because a large hoard of lead ingots was found inside. A large dugout of the late period had a depth of more than 2 meters. Its walls were lined with fragments of fired bricks. The large number of reconstructions indicates that the dugout existed for a long period of time. The composition of the finds suggests that its inhabitants were wealthy people, and a craft workshop could have been located in the dugout. The building has no complete analogies.

The paper features the problem of selection of Golden Horde era sites located in the area neighbouring the town of Majary in the territory of the Middle Kuma valley. The bulk of information about the sites is mostly contained in archival documents relating to the 16th – 18th centuries. At present there is information about 9 sites. The locations of five of them have been discovered. Two sites could possibly be locations of the towns of Majary-al-Jedid and Karakogun, which are known due to numismatic and written sources. The medieval climate and landscape in the region allowed to a certain extent cultivating the Kuma river valley, prone to seasonal flooding. Permanent settlements in the area neighbouring Majary could have been founded in the Upland of the Kuma river valley or the terrace areas above the flood plain in the Kuma river valley or the Kuma tributaries. The areas of the estuaries of the left and the right tributaries of the Kuma river seem promising for the search of Golden Horde era artefacts of everyday life. The sites (“Orlovskoye-1”, 13th – 14th centuries, “Preobrazhenskoye-1”) which are situated in the neighborhood of the Madjary hillfort could relate to the rural area around Majary. Specification of a number of sites situated in some distance from Majary requires a more precise definition.

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper for the first time publishes the Iron Age materials discovered as a result of archaeological research near the Raşcov village in the Middle Dniester left-bank region. A small site with a total area of 66 m² was investigated during the fieldwork. Constructions and artifacts, including fragments of hand-shaped pottery were found during the excavations. Among the discovered objects there are the remains of two archaeological structures. One of them, most likely was a dwelling structure, and the other was a household pit. The finds represent a fragment of an anthropomorphic figurine, two spindle whorls, and a well-preserved iron knife with a deer antler handle. Other finds are an assemblage of hand-shaped pottery, which includes fragments of pots, bowls, and cups. An urn found in situ together with human bones should be singled out among the hand-made pottery as the most significant find. Thus, the analysis of the material collected during the excavations showed that a new settlement of the Iron Age and a burial ground adjacent to it (?) were discovered in the surroundings of the village of Raşcov. The pottery assemblage from the site indicates its belonging to the Getae culture and, together with the discovered funerary urn, dates back to the 5th-3rd centuries BC.

This paper presents the results of stable isotope analysis of the Saka period population of Central Kazakhstan. The analysed materials originate from 37 sites of the Tasmola Culture which is presently dated to the 8th – 5th c. BC. The sample include 31 humans from 31 burials and 6 animals from three settlements and three burials. Human isotopic results are widely scattered both in δ13C, and in δ15N ratios from the cemeteries of Koitas, Taldy-2, Akbeit and Karashoky. The obtained data suggests the presence of millet in Central Kazakhstan in the beginning of the Early Iron Age, either as agricultural crop or imported product. The findings of a small quantity of millet and barley grains in the cultural layer of one of the Tasmola Culture settlements supports this hypothesis. These findings represent the first phase of the research. A more representative series of samples, including faunal, is needed for a more comprehensive investigation of the topic.

The paper addresses the historical topography of the medieval Kasimov – capital of Kasimov Khanate (mid-15th – late 17th centuries). The stages of archaeological studies are analyzed. The results of archaeological studies in 2008–2018 are presented. The historical sites of the medieval town are localized. The Stary Posad area is associated with the original location of the town of Kasimov in the Khan's period, also known as Gorodets Meshchersky of the 14thth – first half of the 15th centuries. No layers or items related to the period of the reign of Qasim Khan in the mid–15th – early 16th centuries have been identified in the area of the Khan's Court. The establishment of the cultural layer in the Khan’s court area occurs not earlier than the mid-16th century during the rule of Khan Shah Ali. The continuity of the development of medieval settlements is traced from the Kasimov archaeological complex (Zemlyanoy Strug settlement, Dorofeevo Pole village) to Gorodets Meshchersky (the 13th – first half of the 16th centuries) and the Khan's capital. The authors archaeologically established the time period of the establishment of the historical core of the medieval town, and the development stages of its areas.

The authors of the paper consider the investigation results of settlement the Ikshozero I which was opened in South-Eastern Karelia in 2018. The monument contains materials of the Neolithic and Eneolithic with comb-pit and rhombus-pit ceramics (IV–III Millennium BC) and a set of original women's jewelry made of non-ferrous metal during 11th –12th centuries. Some jewelry products were typical for the Baltic-Finnish population of the North-West of Russia (bronze suspension with pendant and "rider on a snake", key-amulet, glass beads, iron knife, others (pendant in the form of a shield boss with suspensions), pendant with "pearl" ornament, etc. – for the Finno-Ugric cultures of the North-East. The combination of objects in one archaeological site in a sparsely populated area testifies the ethnic-cultural contacts of the population in the economic development of the Northern lands and the creation of new waterways. According to the authors, from a scientific point of view these findings are valuable as archaeological markers of the almost unexplored territory of Eastern Karelia.

Two mirrors which were unearthed in 2016–2017 on the Nur-Tukhum archaeological complex are analyzed in the paper. The first finding is represented by a fragment of a Chinese bronze mirror of the TLV type, originating from the Xiongnu burial, the second one is a round metal mirror from a medieval dwelling. The T-, L- and V-shaped signs, as well as images of fantastic creatures are fixed on preserved fragment of the ornamental field of the Chinese mirror. The mirrors of this type are dated by 1st –2nd centuries AD. The main ornamental field of the second mirror is filled with images of dragons of the air and water elements. The artifact differs in its characteristics from similar mirrors by the absence of a cone-loop in the center of the product and an eight-arched frame on the inside of the rim. Such mirrors are dated from the 13th – 14th centuries. The authors describe the mirrors, the technology and chemical composition of products, a chronological justification, and also reveal the semantics of images.

The paper introduces into scientific circulation a collection of coins made of gold, silver and copper, discovered during the archaeological study of the settlement “Ekonomicheskoe” of the Crymsky district of Krasnodar region. In 2018, rescue excavations of the settlement were carried out by a joint archaeological expedition of the Research center for the preservation of cultural heritage (Saratov), The Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov, Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (Kazan) and the Mari State University (Yoshkar-Ola). The analysis of nine coins identified copper coins of the Bosporus Kingdom, “Taman denarii”, revealed barbaric imitations of the Roman denarii of Marcus Aurelius, as well as a rare type of stater of Aspurgus 27 AD.

Number of new materials of ancient settlements from Shu-Ile mountains and ridge of Ile Alatau are introduced in into scientific circulation in the paper. Data on location and structure of settlements of the Early Iron age are summarized on the basis of investigations, conducted on the territory of Jetysu by various expeditions of the A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology. The issues of reconstruction of the Early Iron Age house building`s traditions in different climatic zones are considered. They were depended on processes of economic and cultural development of the population of the region. The author found that settlements of farmers were concentrated mainly on the exit of the gorges and valleys of big rivers. And the ancient cattle breeders occupied steppe mountains and semi-deserts, as well as gorges and high plateaus. Economic and cultural relations and mutually beneficial trade with the population of Central and Eastern Kazakhstan and Central Asia contributed to the growth of the population of Jetysu during this period. As the result it led to the development of all ecological niches of the region.

The paper deals with the introducing into scientific circulation the results of an investigation of a medieval dwelling, revealed by the authors during a survey of the Xiongnu cemetery. This cemetery has been included into the Nur-Tukhum archaeological complex studied in 2015 in Western Trans-Baikal region (between the Selenga and Chikoi rivers). The dwelling was semi-subterranean type with stove heating. As a result of the excavations, the collection of metal, bone and wood artifacts was obtained. The materials are dated back in a wide chronological range, 14C radiocarbon dates show that the dwelling functioned in the 14th–15th centuries AD. In historical and archaeological terms, this period is considered “dark” in the history of Buryatia (Western Transbaikalia). It is clear that further investigations of this site are needed to obtain data on the architectural and planigraphic features of the settlement, the definition of the reciprocal links between its structural elements and the new archaeological collection to correlate with the available materials of the burial monuments, which will allow a clearer interpretation of the monument in the historical and chronological context.

In the paper, the Crimean routes of professor of Kazan University K.S. Merezhkovsky are systematized, together with the discoveries he made, the locations of the objects of archaeological heritage found by him are specified, and the results of the researcher’s two field seasons are summed up. Konstantin Sergeevich Merezhkovsky is traditionally considered to be a discoverer of Stone Age sites in Crimea. However, his activities during two field seasons also involved a number of other monuments related to the Early Iron Age and Middle Ages. After discovering the primeval sites on the territory of France and Germany, K.S. Merezhkovsky, inspired by the discoveries of European scholars, tried to find the Russian counterparts of European antiquities. His choice quite rightly fell on the foothills of the Crimean Mountains and the Mountain Crimea proper which abound in natural cavities quite suitable to serve as abodes for the Stone Age people. K.S. Merezhkovsky’s field studies permitted to not only reveal new archaeological monuments, collect a large number of finds and remains of extinct animals, but also ascertain the fact of human populations in epochs more distant than as was presented in biblical history. Also, it is this researcher who has the right to be called the first archaeologist of such important Crimean Middle Age monuments as the Aluston fortress, the “cave towns” of Bakla, Eski-Kermen, the caves of Tysiachegolovaya and Kholodnaya. Eventually, K.S. Merezhkovsky managed to find or for the first time to conduct archaeological studies on 14 significant objects of archaeological heritage, a number of which now are the objects of federal significance.

This paper is aimed at presenting the preliminary results of a study carried out in the Zolotoe 1 settlement in 2018. This territory was inhabited twice in the late Bronze Age, first by the representatives of the Alakul culture and then by those of the Alekseevka-Sargary culture. The focus of this research was on the topographic features of the site. An additional objective consisted in the description and interpretation of newly discovered archaeological materials and buildings. The Zolotoe 1 settlement is located on the shores of Lake Zolotinskoe near the Zolotoe village, the Polovinsky district of the Kurgan region. This place attracted our research interest because of its specific location. In contrast to the currently known sites featuring similar artefacts, which are located along the high banks of the Tobol and Ishim rivers and, less frequently, in the floodplain, this settlement is situated along the shores of the lake system in the Tobol-Ishim interfluve. A depressed land area in the north-eastern part of the settlement located at a distance from the village was selected for the study. Prior to excavation, an electromagnetic scanning of the site surface was performed with the purpose of refining the parameters of the search area. It is established that the remains found in the site are likely to be associated with the Alakul period. These include the remains of a building (ostensibly, a shed, judging by the absence of a pit and the presence of a series of pillar holes) and those of a fireplace, (supposedly) wells, fragments of ceramics and tools. The latter are shown to be located towards the western and eastern parts of the discovered shed. The artefacts are similar to those discovered in other sites of the Alakul culture. The Alekseevsk-Sargarinsky building horizon is also represented by the remains of a ground construction, fireplace lenses, bronze items and the fragments of vessels. The characteristic ornamentation on the latter has enabled the attribution of this complex. Therefore, our study of the Zolotoe 1 settlement has provided additional information about the specifics of the settlement of the Alakul and Alekseevka-Sargary groups. It is established that the area of their economic activity included not only river lines, as has been previously thought, but also remote lake systems. The features of the discovered buildings may indicate the seasonal nature of the settlements. This assumption can be confirmed or refuted by a more detailed study of the collected material and further research in other parts of the site. The continuation of exploratory studies along the coastline of numerous lakes in the Tobol-Ishim interfluve seems to be a promising research task.

The archaeological monuments of the Primorye of the Jurchen culture of the Jin Empire periods (1115–1234) and the Eastern Xia state (1215–1234) are analyzed in the paper. In 1215, the commander Pusian Wannu created the Jurchen state of the Eastern Xia. Primorye became part of it. Pusian Vannu had to settle in Primorye and control the sea and land routes of communication. By now, 34 mountain fortifications have been recorded in Primorye. The uniform fortification and planning standards of mountain fortification structures have been revealed by the excavations. The mountain fortified settlements were built on the spurs of Sikhote-Alin. Their shafts repeated the morphological structure of the spurs. Layouts of these mountain settlements are not closed to the river. This seems to be due to the grazing of horses. The author analyzes the fortification details: ramparts, walls, towers, gates, warehouses, stone cores, redoubts on the example of the fortified settlement Sibaigou. Most of the mountain settlements are single-layered. The single-layered mountain fortifications are divided by the author into two groups: 1) used, 2) unfinished. Multy-layered mountain fortified settlements: Ananievskoe, Lazovskoe, Novogordeevskoe, Kunaleyskoe contain two construction strata. The lower horizon has been referred to the Jin Empire, the upper one – to the Eastern Xia state. It has been established that dwellings of the lower horizon were not destroyed. Consequently, they were abandoned by the population in a calm environment. A new mountain fortified settlement was constructed on this place by East Xia. Many of the upper horizon dwellings were burned but not looted. On the author’s opinion, the artefacts from the upper stratum of Anaievskoe hillfort have the analogies in the Mongolian layer of Karakorum.

The paper features materials obtained as a result of studying Ardinskoe hillfort in 2013. It provides characteristics of the defensive structures and the rampart structure, and analyses the ceramic complex and material items. In the context of this material, the article considers the issues of chronology and the place of the settlement among the ancient Mari monuments of the second half of the 1st millennium A.D. – first half of the 2nd millennium A.D. The author concludes that the original defensive structures were erected in the middle and second half of the 1st Millennium A.D. Subsequently, the moat was deepened, the rampart was extended, and wooden structures above the rampart were erected or renovated. The primary settlement territory in the 2nd Millennium A.D. was probably the ground section of the foreland. According to the obtained material, the settlement does not fall outside the scope of known medieval sites of the Mari Volga Region.

The paper summarizes the results of a geo-chemical study of the soil samples collected from the ashy layer (zol’nic) at the Bronze Age settlement Streletskoye I in the Southern Trans-Urals and from the nearby natural deposition. The site is located on the left bank of the Ui river in Chelyabinsk region, Russia. The data on the distribution of phosphorus, potassium, calcium, manganese, sulfur, iron, titanium, rubidium, vanadium, cobalt, zinc and strontium are considered. The comparison demonstrates that concentrations of such elements as phosphorus, calcium, manganese, sulfur, rubidium exceed background values 2–3 times, while levels of potassium, iron, titanium, vanadium, cobalt, and strontium are below background values. At the same time, humus of buried soil underneath the ashy layer demonstrates highest values that exceed the usual one 2–4 times. The statistical analysis (t-statistics) supported the conclusion of very different proportions of elements between the cultural layer and the natural soil deposition, except for vanadium, cobalt, and strontium. There are two zones of element accumulations within the cross-section of the cultural layer, which are the ashy layer and the humus horizon. The conducted analysis contributes to the understanding of the subsistence strategies and craft. The high levels of phosphorus, potassium, calcium, possibly sulfur and zinc suggest the dominance of livestock breeding. The pre-sence of pottery production indicated by concentrations of manganese, iron, titanium, rubidium, strontium, vanadium and cobalt which could come with raw materials (clay) and broken ceramics. The discovered ashy layer is interpreted as a midden where wastes were repeatedly burned. Thus, layers of ash are complex objects that accumulate information of the economic activities and are unique for each ancient settlement.

The paper analyzes ceramics from Bolshoy Log-I settlement, located in the south of Western Siberia. The data of technical and technological analysis are presented. The research revealed the use of different material sources and different kinds of feedstock: silty and natural ferruginated clays. The recipes for molding masses were identified. The most common recipe was «feedstock + chamotte + organics» and «feedstock + chamotte + organic solution».During the study of vessels morphology, two forms were revealed – jars and pots. Vessels were ornamented mainly by stamping or dragging. The most common frieze types are vertical herringbone, flutes and grooves. Meander and triangle patterns are less common, which distinguishes these vessels from funeral vessels. Ornamentation and technology of Bolshoy Log-I ceramics are similar to the ceramics from Kargat-6 settlement near Barabynsk, which leads to the suggestion about Adronovo population migration from Tobolsk region, and their leaving the Kargat-6 and Bolshoy Log-I sites.

The paper first introduces into the scientific circulation the new data on the open pottery workshop in the Eastern Aral Sea region, which was part of an industrial complex. The results obtained at the monument largely enhance our understanding of the level of development of material culture and production technologies in the ancient delta of the Syr Darya in the last third of the 1st millennium BC.

The Andronovo settlement complexes of the Upper Ob are studied extremely weak. In this regard, the results publications of the settlements research are important for further study of the Bronze Age history. This work is devoted to analysis of material obtained during excavations in 1952 under the leadership of Gryaznov M.P. at Andronovo settlement Slyapovo in the Upper Ob. Excavation materials are stored in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum, they are represented by a bone implements, bronze, stone, clay products. In this paper particular attention is aimed to the most massive category of finds — ceramic complex. Representative selection (451 samples) allowed to divide the complex in two groups: Andronovo (predominant) and Late Bronze. For Andronovo group was provided the analysis of the ornament and form of the vessel. The methodical base were works of Genning V.F., Rudkovsky I.V., Tkachev A.A. and Tkacheva N.A. It has been revealed 16 ornamental motives. Basically it was vertical herringbone, horizontal grooves and horizontal «herringbones», ranks of the pit depressions. Rarely encountered the lines, short diagonal lines, vertical zigzag and ornaments in geometric style (triangles, «ducks», meanders). The vessels decor was performed in various techniques of the ornament applying, but the most common was a smooth punching stamp, large and small comb. There were two main forms of the vessels from the settlement — cans and pots. Also were revealed the laws in the form of the vessels and ornaments correlation. On the base of the provided analysis were marked the features of the settlement dishes. Accounted ornamental schemes allowed to compare the Slyapovo site with another settlements of the Andronovo culture of the Upper Ob. Topographic data with the founded artifacts allowed to attribute the site to the temporary settlement type. Common features of the settlement Shlyapovo gave the possibility to date the complex within a broad framework of existence of the Andronovo culture in XV–XIII B.C.

The relevance of the research is caused by the need of quality of engineering-geological survey for construction in constrained urban environment. Quality research is ensuring the reliability of existing residential and industrial foundation, is a resource-saving, minimizes the volume of capital expenditures for reconstruction of buildings and structures caught in the zone of influence of new construction. It is necessary to determine the required soil parameters for later use in numerical simulation, it is a very important component of ensuring the quality, reliability of estimation of stress-strain state. The main aim of the research is to study the pattern of stress distribution, deformation at the base of a new building in dense areas, to compare the amount of precipitation of buildings and structures, obtained by various methods, to identify deficiencies of methodology for determining the parameters used in numerical simulation. Methods of the research: analysis of domestic and foreign experience; determination of soil strength parameters on bibliographical and archival sources; collection, systematization and analysis of available geological information; compiling the model of soil mass; calculation of strains by the layer wise summation and numerical modeling of the stress-strain state of a subgrade with the mechanical properties defined in various ways; mapping the simulation data and traditional calculations to SP 22.13330.2016 with the observations. Research results. The paper considers local lithotechnical system of interaction «foundation-soil» in the conditions of dense development on the territory of Moscow. The authors have compared the data on foundation deformation obtained in simulation with the observations and with calculations by the method of layer-by-layer summation. Mathematical calculations were carried out using both the table values of the parameters of soil mechanical properties and the ones experimentally determined at site. For more reliable results mathematical modeling requires data stabilometric test, especially to pay attention to the development of national standards to determine the Poisson's ratio, coefficient of lateral earth pressure and the angle of dilatancy.

The paper attempts to make a detailed analysis of residential structures of the population relating to the Chernoles culture in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers. Vestiges of dwellings were found on 23 unfortified settlements. All the sites, except the Early Chernoles settlements of Bol'shaya Andrusovka I, Bol'shaya Snytonka IV and Mikhalkiv I, as well as the lower layer of the Subbotovo settlement, were associated with the late stage of the Chernoles culture. In all on the sites of the Early Chernoles culture there were found 17 semi-dugouts and one dugout. On settlements of the late stage 70 surface dwellings, 10 semi-dugouts and 11 dugouts were identified. In general, the analysis provided an opportunity to compare dwellings referring to the early and the late periods of the Chernoles culture based on such data as the location of dwellings, their shapes, sizes, designs and interior condition. The main result is an identification of common and distinctive features in the construction of houses of the Chernoles culture bearers. The comparative analysis of dwellings made it possible to trace the major stages in the development of homebuilding at the Chernoles population and revealed similarities and differences between dwellings belonging to the early and the late periods of the Chernoles culture. On the other hand a weak source base (no publications) leaves unresolved a number of topical issues. Nevertheless, the importance of research lies in the fact that the dwellings as an important category of archaeological sources allow to study various aspects of life of the Chernoles population.

The concept of diagnostically significant layers within the filling of medieval buildings foundation pits has been suggested in the article. The term “diagnostically significant layers” has been proposed to define the layers with specific morphological, chemical and microbiological properties that had been forming in the filling of pits as a result of certain processes. This paper presents a systematization of Different diagnostic layers have been systematized in the article, and their composition, properties and conditions of formation are described. The study was conducted on the Dmitrovskoye-2 and Kruzhok medieval sites (Moscow oblast). The proposed concept can serve as the basis for retrospective analysis aimed at the following trends: layer properties –mechanism of its formation; initial material – its participation in building functional operation.

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