Search

The article presents the results of studies carried out in the south-eastern part of the Bolgar fortified settlement in 2013. The Golden Horde objects belonging to different periods have been identified here. Since early coins make up more than 10% of the numismatic collection, this suggests that the site began to be developed already in the 2nd half of the 13th century. The pits in the southwest corner of the excavation can be attributed to this time. Unique are the finds of two dinars of the 12th century and the middle of the 13th century, belonging to the initial stage of the development of the area. А wooden house (structure No. 2) with a kang was built on the site within the period from the 2nd half of the 13th century to the 1230ies. Probably, the construction of three pits with large poles is related to the time of the wooden house, as well as, perhaps, a stockade. The building was destroyed by a fire. The next construction period is associated with a stone building (structure No. 1), soon erected on the place of the burned house. According to the coins found here, the stone building with a kang was built here no earlier than in the 1340s and functioned until the 1360s. The horizon of the building of a stone house is marked by layers of construction debris that filled the most of the pits on the excavation. The stone masonry of the building was almost completely taken and used as building materials, most likely already at the beginning of the 20th century, but the well-preserved contours of the foundation trenches, densely filled with lime and stone fragments, allow us to restore the layout of the building. The portal of the building, located on the north side, was decorated with two pylons, that were the base of the arched entrance, and a square construction, probably a turret, sided with the western one. The uniqueness of the building consists in an amazing combination of features of private residential and public architecture. After the 1360s, the site became desolate, and this wasteland was used as a cemetery: near the remains of a stone building the burials with fragments of its architectural details in the filling were found. The studied estate was related geographically with the quarter of the "Mongolian administration" at the Small Minaret, where dwellings with kangs were concentrated.

We present a rare insight into the biodiversity of a remote, mountainous area of central Asia and outline challenges to conserve the critically endangered keystone argali (Ovis ammon ammon L.), the largest subspecies of mountain sheep. Existing conservation is set in the context of competition with livestock grazing and disturbance by local pastoralists. We suggest how this pressure would increase as pastures become degraded by a future more arid climate. Focusing on the transboundary population, migrating between the Russian and Mongolian Altai over the Sailugem Ridge, we track historical population numbers. Due to increased protection, the argali's local population is currently growing. However, most argali populations live outside the protected areas where they are forced to compete for forage with livestock. Due to ever-increasing anthropogenic pressures, argali has almost reached the region's environmental capacity, so the number of local populations is decreasing. Consequently, even the current situation requires more areas of protection, and climate change will accelerate pasture degradation, thereby further increasing competition with livestock. We present various ways to predict the impacts of changes in climate, e.g., the "7 M's approach" and grazing pressure and then recommend additional conservation measures acceptable for the indigenous population of traditional pastoralists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to the well-studied West Siberian sector of frozen bogs in the Russian Arctic, the frozen mound bogs (so-called "palsas") on the highlands of Southern Siberia have not yet been studied, but they are suspected to be even more sensitive to ongoing climate change. This article provides the pilot study on palsa mire Kara-Sug in the highland areas of Western Sayan mountain system, Tuva Republic. The study focuses on the current state of palsa mire and surrounding landscapes, providing wide range of ecological characteristics while describing ongoing transformations of natural landscapes under a changing climate. The study used a variety of field and laboratory methods: the integrated landscape-ecological approach, the study of peat deposits, geobotanical analysis, and modern analysis of the chemical composition of water, peat, and soils. The study shows that highland palsa mires are distinguished by their compactness and high variety of cryogenic landforms leading to high floristic and ecosystem diversity compared with lowland palsa mires. This information brings new insights and contributes to a better understanding of extrazonal highland palsa mires, which remain a "white spot" in the global environmental sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]