ИСТОРИЯ АРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ГОРОДИЩА ГУНДЕЛЕН-2

Abstract

The article is about the history of the archaeological examination of the Gundelen-2 site. The monument is situated on a high rocky ledge on the right bank of the Gundelen river, a tributary of the Baksan river, between the settlements of Zayukovo and Kendelen. The fortified hamlet is situ-ated in an important and strategically beneficial location, from which the entire adjacent river val-ley and the entrance to the Baksan canyon are easily seen. The town is located on a rocky ledge that runs north-south and is made of sandstone rocks, with steep cliffs on three sides: the southern, eastern, and western. On the northern side, where there is no natural protection, the settlement is protected by a number of fortifications - two ditches and a pair of ramparts. The size of the set-tlement in the widest place reaches 70 meters, and in length 220 m. The Gundelen-2 settlement is part of an archaeological monument complex that includes the Zayukovo-3 burial site and the Gundelen-2 rock catacomb burial ground (Fig. 1). The complex has been known since the 30s. XX century and has been visited numerous times by researchers over the subsequent decades, but serious study of the monuments did not begin until the 10s. XXI cen-tury.