MOSCOW, November 27 Archaeologists of the Siberian Federal University (SFU, Krasnoyarsk) discovered previously unknown cultural monuments of ancient tribes inhabiting territories on the northern border forest-steppe of the Krasnoyarsk Territory at the turn of the new era, the university said.
The remains of dwellings and production sites used for blacksmithing, fragments of ceramic dishes with a specific ornament, jewelry (buttons and beads made of clay, as well as a glass bead with gold foil that came to the territory of modern Siberia from the eastern regions of the Roman Empire) were found during summer expedition by university students and staff.
“We worked for the first time in the valley of small tributaries of the Angara, in the middle reaches of the Usolka River near the city of Kansk, Krasnoyarsk Territory. The discovered archaeological complex, called Glinny, is located on a small flat hill (mane),” said Ksenia Biryuleva, a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Archeology of Yenisei Siberia.
According to her, two sites were found intended for the manufacture of various things from iron, as well as a space with a dwelling buried in the ground.
“”This part of the monument dates back to the 3rd–4th centuries AD, when the great migration of peoples was almost completed. In the distance, complexes of much more ancient origin were discovered, approximately 6th–3rd centuries BC – they were probably left by other, earlier settlers of these places “, Biryuleva noted.
The dwelling discovered by the researchers was a small depression in loose sandy soil. Wooden supports were erected around the circumference of the pit; scientists plan to study the remains of the structure using radiocarbon analysis and dendrochronology methods, a science that makes it possible to accurately date various monuments using wood rings.
The supports, in turn, were covered with birch bark and a “roof” made of turf. In the center of the dwelling there was a fireplace, used for warmth and cooking. Also found on the site near the dwelling were iron arrowheads, fragments of clay vessels and the remains of another large fireplace, which apparently served for household purposes. This housing design saved residents from frost, and in general it is characteristic of the indigenous peoples of the Yenisei Siberia.
This is the first discovery of artifacts of this period on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, scientists emphasize. But it will most likely not be possible to establish who the inhabitants of the “earth house” were, the researchers specify. Funeral rites, common in the 3rd–4th centuries AD in the territory of the Yenisei Siberia, involved cremation – unburned bone fragments are very rare, so anthropologists can only guess what these settlers looked like and what ethnic group they belonged to.
“In addition to utilitarian things, people of this culture used various combs for braiding hair, wore beads, including those made of frosted glass with gold foil. They undoubtedly kept their homes clean – we found practically no bones of animals whose meat was used for food. Most likely, all the waste was burned,” added Biryuleva.
Archaeologists suggest that the discovered objects make it possible to compare the found settlement with the so-called Yazaevsky period of culture (named after the village of Yazaevka on the right bank of the Yenisei). The main craft of the ancient Siberians of this period, obviously, was blacksmithing – multiple fragments of hammers and other tools were discovered in the excavation.
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