Climate and natural risks of the settlement of Yuzhno-Ussuriysk fortress area

Cultural layers and a paleosol of a Late Medieval settlement as proxies of environmental change and anthropogenic influence – A case study of Tula Kremlin, Russia

TamdrupRoyal residence and memorial church in a new light
 Tamdrup has been shrouded in a degree of mystery in recent times. The solitary church located on a moraine hill west of Horsens is visible from afar and has attracted attention for centuries. On the face of it, it resembles an ordinary parish church, but on closer examination it is found to be unusually large, and on entering one discovers that hidden beneath one roof is a three-aisled construction, which originally was a Romanesque basilica. Why was such a large church built in this particular place? What were the prevailing circumstances in the Early Middle Ages when the foundation stone was laid?
 The mystery of Tamdrup has been addressed and discussed before. In the 1980s and 1990s, archaeological excavations were carried out which revealed traces of a magnate’s farm or a royal residence from the Late Viking Age or Early Middle Ages located on the field to the west of the church (fig. 4), and in 1991, the book Tamdrup – Kirke og gård was published.
 Now, by way of metal-detector finds, new information has been added. These new finds provide several answers, but also give rise to several new questions and problems. In recent years, a considerable number of metal finds recovered by metal detector at Tamdrup have been submitted to Horsens Museum. Since 2012, 207 artefacts have been recorded, primarily coins, brooches, weights and fittings from such as harness, dating from the Late Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. Further to these, a coin hoard dating from the time of Svein Estridson was excavated in 2013.
 The museum has processed the submitted finds, which have been recorded and passed on for treasure trove evaluation. As resources were not available for a more detailed assessment of the artefacts, in 2014 the museum formulated a research project that received funding from the Danish Agency for Culture, enabling the finds to be examined in greater depth.
 The aim of the research project was to study the metal-detector finds and the excavation findings, partly through an analysis of the total finds assemblage, partly by digitalisation of the earlier excavation plans so these could be compared with each other and with the new excavation data. This was intended to lead on to a new analysis, new interpretations and a new, overall evaluation of Tamdrup’s function, role and significance in the Late Viking Age and Early Middle Ages.Old excavations – new interpretationsIn 1983, on the eastern part of the field, a trial excavation trench was laid out running north-south (d). This resulted in two trenches (a, b) and a further three trial trenches being opened up in 1984 (fig. 6). In the northern trench, a longhouse, a fence and a pit-house were discovered (fig. 8). The interpretation of the longhouse (fig. 4) still stands, in so far as we are dealing with a longhouse with curved walls. The western end of the house appears unequivocal, but there could be some doubt about its eastern end. An alternative interpretation is a 17.5 m long building (fig. 8), from which the easternmost set of roof-bearing posts are excluded. Instead, another posthole is included as the northernmost post in the gable to the east. This gives a house with regularly curved walls, though with the eastern gable (4.3 m) narrower than the western (5.3 m).
 North of the trench (a) containing the longhouse, a trial trench (c) was also laid out, revealing a number of features. Similarly, there were also several features in the northern part of the middle trial trench (e). A pit in trial trench c was found to contain both a fragment of a bit branch and a bronze key. There was neither time nor resources to permit the excavation of these areas in 1984, but it seems very likely that there are traces of one or more houses here (fig. 9). Here we have a potential site for a possible main dwelling house or hall.
 In August 1990, on the basis of an evaluation, an excavation trench (h) was opened up to the west of the 1984 excavation (fig. 7). Here, traces were found of two buildings, which lay parallel to each other, oriented east-west. These were interpreted as small auxiliary buildings associated with the same magnate’s farm as the longhouse found in the 1984 excavation. The northern building was 4 m wide and the southern building was 5.5 m. Both buildings were considered to be c. 7 m long and with an open eastern gable. The southern building had one set of internal roof-bearing posts.
 The excavation of the two buildings in 1990 represented the art of the possible, as no great resources were available. Aerial photos from the time show that the trial trench from the evaluation was back-filled when the excavation was completed. Today, we have a comprehensive understanding of the trial trenches and excavation trenches thanks to the digitalised plans. Here, it becomes apparent that some postholes recorded during the evaluation belong to the southernmost of the two buildings, but these were unfortunately not relocated during the actual excavation. As these postholes, accordingly, did not form part of the interpretation, it was assumed that the building was 7 m in length (fig. 10). When these postholes from the evaluation are included, a ground plan emerges that can be interpreted as the remains of a Trelleborg house (fig. 11). The original 7 m long building constitutes the western end of this characteristic house, while the remainder of the south wall was found in the trial trench. Part of the north wall is apparently missing, but the rest of the building appears so convincing that the missing postholes must be attributed to poor conditions for preservation and observation. The northeastern part of the house has not been uncovered, which means that it is not possible to say with certainty whether the house was 19 or 25 m in length, minus its buttress posts.
 On the basis of the excavations undertaken in 1984 and 1990, it was assumed that the site represented a magnate’s farm from the Late Viking Age. It was presumed that the excavated buildings stood furthest to the north on the toft and that the farm’s main dwelling – in the best-case scenario the royal residence – should be sought in the area to the south between the excavated buildings. Six north-south-oriented trial trenches were therefore laid out in this area (figs. 6, 7 and 13 – trial trenches o, p, q, r, s and t). The results were, according to the excavation report, disappointing: No trace was found of Harold Bluetooth’s hall. It was concluded that there were no structures and features that could be linked together to give a larger entity such as the presumed magnate’s farm.
 After digitalisation of the excavation plans from 1991, we now have an overview of the trial trenches to a degree that was not possible previously (fig. 13). It is clear that there is a remarkable concentration of structures in the central and northern parts of the two middle trial trenches (q, r) and in part also in the second (p) and fourth (s) trial trenches from the west, as well as in the northern parts of the two easternmost trial trenches (s, t). An actual archaeological excavation would definitely be recommended here if a corresponding intensity of structures were to be encountered in an evaluation today (anno 2016).
 Now that all the plans have been digitalised, it is obvious to look at the trial trenches from 1990 and 1991 together. Although some account has to be taken of uncertainties in the digitalisation, this nevertheless confirms the picture of a high density of structures, especially in the middle of the 1991 trial trenches. The collective interpretation from the 1990 and 1991 investigations is that there are strong indications of settlement in the area of the middle 1991 trial trenches. It is also definitely a possibility that these represent the remains of a longhouse, which could constitute the main dwelling house. It can therefore be concluded that it is apparently possible to confirm the interpretation of the site as a potential royal residence, even though this is still subject to some uncertainty in the absence of new excavations. The archaeologists were disappointed following the evaluation undertaken in 1991, but the overview which modern technology is able to provide means that the interpretation is now rather more encouraging. There are strong indications of the presence of a royal residence.
 FindsThe perception of the area by Tamdrup church gained a completely new dimension when the first metal finds recovered by metal detector arrived at Horsens Museum in the autumn of 2011. With time, as the finds were submitted, considerations of the significance and function of the locality in the Late Viking Age and Early Middle Ages were subjected to revision. The interpretation as a magnate’s farm was, of course, common knowledge, but at Horsens Museum there was an awareness that this interpretation was in some doubt following the results of the 1991 investigations. The many new finds removed any trace of this doubt while, at the same time, giving cause to attribute yet further functions to the site. Was it also a trading place or a central place in conjunction with the farm? And was it active earlier than previously assumed?
 The 207 metal finds comprise 52 coins (whole, hack and fragments), 34 fittings (harness, belt fittings etc.), 28 brooches (enamelled disc brooches, Urnes fibulas and bird brooches), 21 weights, 15 pieces of silver (bars, hack and casting dead heads), 12 figures (pendants, small horses), nine distaff whorls, eight bronze keys, four lead amulets, three bronze bars, two fragments of folding scales and a number of other artefacts, the most spectacular of which included a gold ring and a bronze seal ring. In dating terms, most of the finds can be assigned to the Late Viking Age and Early Middle Ages.
 The largest artefact group consists of the coins, of which

The landscape of the Azores Islands (Figure 1) is one of the most deeply transformed among oceanic islands, as most of their preanthropic forests have been replaced by other vegetation types introduced from elsewhere (Dias, 2007). This has been considered a large-scale unintentional ecological and biogeographical experiment on the assembly of island biotas and ecosystems (Rull, 2021). These transformations are known to have been caused by the Portuguese colonizers who occupied the archipelago in the mid-15th century (Dias, 2007), but whether they were the first settlers and the main anthropization agents is currently under debate. The discussion is focussed on two main points: the earliest human settlement and the first large-scale landscape transformation (anthropization) across the archipelago. Raposeiro et al. (2021) contended that the Azorean archipelago was settled by the early Middle Ages (700–850 CE), much earlier than the Portuguese occupation in the 15th century. According to these authors, the earlier colonizers would have been the Norse, and their discovery would have been facilitated by anomalous northeasterly winds and warmer temperatures. These conclusions were based on multiproxy analyses from lake sediments, which Raposeiro et al. (2021) interpreted as a widespread and irreversible transformation of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Extensive deforestation by logging and fire for cereal cultivation, as recorded by pollen and charcoal analyses, and livestock grazing, as documented by the presence of spores from fungi living in the dung of herbivores and faecal lipids characteristic of these animals, would have been the main disturbances. These authors proposed that the Azores landscape was already deeply and extensively modified when the Portuguese colonized the archipelago. Elias et al. (2022) disagreed with this view, arguing that the evidence provided by Raposeiro et al. (2021) is insufficient to deny the written historical records documenting a 'pristine' landscape with dense native forests before the Portuguese arrival. The critique by Elias et al. (2022) was based on a number of methodological and interpretation points, including dating issues and alternative explanations for the occurrence of pollen from anthropogenic plants, faecal lipids and the natural (volcanic) or anthropogenic origin of fires, as recorded by sedimentary charcoal. These authors did not deny human presence before Portuguese contact, but they doubted that these earlier settlers deeply transformed the Azorean landscape in the way proposed by Raposeiro et al. (2021). Finally, Elias et al. (2022) considered the proposal of the Norse settlement an undemonstrated but 'intriguing possibility'. Raposeiro et al. (2022) replied to these comments and reaffirmed their former conclusions. However, these authors admitted that a number of questions remain open and need further work. They also seemed to relax their former conclusions about the settlement timing and the origin of early settlers. Indeed, they concluded that their multisite and multiproxy analyses '…strongly suggest that people had already occupied the Azores Archipelago and altered the "pristine" landscape before the official arrival of the Portuguese', with no mention to a potential Medieval settlement by Norse cultures. In this paper, I briefly discuss these contrasting views based on my own palaeoecological experience in the archipelago, where I have collaborated with Raposeiro, Elias and their co-workers in the past (Rull, Connor, et al., 2017; Rull, Lara, et al., 2017) but have not participated in the recent papers discussed here. The raw material for this discussion is the evidence furnished by Raposeiro et al. (2021), as Elias et al. (2022) did not provide new data. First, it should be highlighted that the evidence provided by Raposeiro et al. (2021) covers, for the first time, the whole archipelago and uses a wide arrangement of proxies useful for integrative climatic, ecological and anthropogenic reconstructions. This should be able to provide a first approach to a holistic view of the Azorean archipelago (Figure 1). This said, some aspects of the Raposeiro et al. (2021) reconstruction not raised by Elias et al. (2022) will be analysed here in more detail, with the only aim of contributing to identifying potential issues to be addressed by future studies, as suggested by Raposeiro et al. (2022). Raposeiro et al. (2021) presented their results in a synthetic fashion and the detailed outputs of their analyses are unavailable, as they have not been published elsewhere or displayed in the supporting material. For example, in the case of landscape anthropization, a major point of the debate, pollen records are the critical evidence, but only summary diagrams are provided, which hinders detailed reconstructions of vegetation change and comparison with other similar records. Particularly significant is the lack of differentiation within forest categories, especially between native and introduced forests but also in other vegetation types. In one of the records (Lagõa Azul, São Miguel Island), this separation is possible (Figure 2) because the detailed pollen diagram was published some years ago (Rull, Lara, et al., 2017), but in others, this cannot be evaluated with the information provided. The same occurs in all other palaeoecological records, but detailed raw evidence remains unavailable for checking. Readers unaware of fundamental aspects such as these are unable to evaluate the reliability of interpretations, and this might be valid for other proxies. The solution is obvious: publish the detailed records for each proxy and their corresponding interpretations. Another issue is the inaccuracy of some representations, including the cereal—Cerealia, not 'Cerealea', as repeatedly stated by Raposeiro et al. (2021)—pollen, one of the most important proxies for anthropogenic impact. Indeed, in the same Lagõa Azul record, rye (Secale) pollen is represented only in the 13th century in the form of scattered occurrences, but it truly occurred between the 13th and 19th centuries (Figure 2). Additionally, other cereal pollen, such as wheat (Triticum), are omitted by Raposeiro et al. (2021) but were actually present in a continuous and consistent fashion from the 13th century to the present. If correctly represented, cereal pollen trends would have strongly supported the interpretation of pre-Portuguese cultivation, which makes these omissions particularly significant. The lack of detailed diagrams in records from other localities prevents us from knowing whether these inconsistencies are more general, including other sites and proxies. Of the five records utilized by Raposeiro et al. (2021), only two, from the Corvo and Pico islands, extend back to 600 CE, whereas one begins in 900–1000 CE (Corvo) and the other two, from São Miguel and Terceira, start in 1300–1400 CE (Figure 1). Therefore, whatever the evidence for human settlement, these records are insufficient to demonstrate that the whole archipelago was settled before 900 CE, as only two records from central and western islands are available before that date. Additionally, the only significant forest decline recorded before 900 CE corresponds to one of these records (Pico), whereas the other is too small to be interpreted in terms of forest clearing (Corvo). In summary, the evidence for general landscape anthropization before the arrival of the Portuguese is insufficient. The most significant deforestation events took place between 1200 and 1400 CE, as recorded in the other three sequences from Flores, Pico and São Miguel. The only pre-900 CE deforestation documented in Pico coincided with the first consistent evidence for fire (charcoal and polycyclic aromatic carbon), along with a tephra layer and a local peak of faecal lipids attributed by Raposeiro et al. (2021) to the presence of livestock, as wild herbivores were absent prior to human settlement. Both coprophilous fungi, a grazing proxy, and coprostanol, a faecal lipid present in herbivores, humans and other omnivores, were absent until the 11th–12th centuries. Under these conditions, it is not possible to attribute the documented fires to either volcanic activity or human influence. Therefore, the only potential evidence of human impact before these dates remains debatable. Again, widespread evidence for human presence is more consistent across all islands analysed between 1200 and 1400 CE. Therefore, these dates emerge as the best candidates for human impact in the archipelago, although the intensity of landscape modification was not comparable to that occurring after Portuguese occupation (Rull, Lara, et al., 2017). Finally, the palaeoclimatic simulations utilized by Raposeiro et al. (2021) to infer the origin and the navigation routes of the purported early settlers between 700 CE and 850 CE do not correspond to this time period but to a later phase (850–900 CE), with no overlap with the period of interest. Therefore, inferences about Norse people coming from northern Europe as the early colonists are unwarranted (Rull, 2023). Even in the case that the palaeoclimatic reconstruction utilized coincided with the time interval of interest, this would not constitute a proof for the Norse arrival to the Azores at those times, but just a hypothesis to be demonstrated with future studies, where archaeological and anthropological evidence—which is absent in the Raposeiro et al. (2021) study—must be essential. In summary, according to the data provided by Raposeiro et al. (2021), the first consistent evidence of widespread anthropogenic impact on the Azorean landscape seems to occur in the 13th–14th centuries, roughly a century before Portuguese contact, as formerly proposed by Rull, Lara, et al. (2017). This does not deny the 'intriguing possibility' (Elias et al., 2022) of more ancient settlements, but additional evidence is needed to support this proposal. This evidence should be sought in new records containing pre-1200 CE sediments, especially in the islands of Flores, Terceira and São Miguel (Figure 1). Pioneering palaeoecological works by Connor et al. (2012, 2013) documenting widespread anthropogenic impact only after the Portuguese arrival were fundamental for unravelling the ecological history of the Azores Islands, but new and consistent evidence on former human occupations is emerging that cannot be disregarded. The work by Raposeiro et al. (2021) is very useful in that, contrary to the opinion of Elias et al. (2022), it provides strong and widespread support for pre-Portuguese human colonization of the Azores archipelago and the ensuing landscape impact (Rull, 2023). However, whether this human occupation took place in early Medieval times by Norse people, facilitated by favourable climatic conditions, remains undemonstrated. The author is grateful to Rui Elias and an anonymous reviewer for constructive and helpful comments. No funding was received specifically for the development of this paper. No new data have been used in this paper. No permits have been required for the development of this work. The author declares no conflict of interest. Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

The archives and archaeological materials from excavations in Vyshgorod in 1936 are analysed in the paper. This year the large-scale excavations were conducted on the territory of the old city: near the church of st. Borys and Hlib, two sites in the northeast part of the hillfort and few trenches in different parts of the town.
 The obtained results correlate with the reports of the narrative sources and indicate the significant development of the city in the period from the 11th to the mid-13th century. The rapid development of the city occurs at that time: the mausoleum of Sts. Borys and Hlib (explored in 1935—1936) becomes the main architectural dominant of the city area. A city square with dwellings and outbuildings were located around the church. The analysis of the archival materials and artefacts from the excavations in 1936 made it possible to clarify and re-examine the allegations established in the works of the mid-20th century.
 The author proves that discovered objects have different chronology. For example, dwellings, outbuilding, pits and sacral building of the 11th—13th centuries are pit 1 (site 1), the foundations and remains of the walls of the church of Sts. Borys and Hlib (site 1; site W) and oven 1 (site 4). The ones dated by the middle of the 11th and the 12th centuries are building 1 (site 1) and pit 1 (site 4). Structures of the 12th and 13th centuries are pit 2 (site 1) and oven 1 (site 4); of the second half of the 13th—14th centuries are building 1 (site «W»), building 1, pit 2 (site 4). Finally, dated by the 17th—19th centuries are building 2, burials 1, 2 (site 1) and burials 1—19 (site 4). The cultural layers and objects exclusively of Kyiv Rus time were found on the territory of suburbs (pottery furnaces 1 and 2 in a trench at the south of the hillfort; burials 1—3 in trenches on the territory of the Doroshenko estate).
 In general, the obtained results confirm and at some moments substantially detail our knowledge on the historical development of the city during the Middle Ages and Modern times.

Research on medieval shoemaking allowed for the identification of several structural and stylistic types of Pomeranian footwear. In the 12th–14th century in Pomerania there were no products actually directly derived from ancient traditions. One of the most important stages of this type of production in the Early Middle Ages was the transition from single-piece footwear to complex forms with the soles and upper parts sewn together. Along with the dynamic widespread use of multi-piece products, new sewing techniques allowing the maker to hide the stitches inside the footwear also quickly developed. It not only improved the footwear’s appearance, but also it made it more impermeable to water. The typical varied nature of activities carried out within a single household does not rule out the existence of a separate shoemaking craft supplying customers. From the late 11th to the mid-12th century changes occurred that significantly influenced the further development of this branch of production. A variety of additional footwear elements of both construction and aesthetic nature quickly became popular. In the late 12th and early 13th century it had already become the norm to stitch binding on the inside of a shoe lace hole to protect it from wear and to use a heel stiffener to strengthen the back of the quarter. In the second half of the 12th–early 13th century the dominant form was footwear with a low, ankle-high quarter, fastened by a single shoelace. Mid-high products of a quarter covering the ankle and extending over it became more common. In the mid-13th century, apart from the diversity of the product range, clear signs of quality and aesthetic changes are evident. They are evidence of a larger social diversity amongst consumers. About the mid-13th century the design innovations introduced in the 12th century were consolidated, while the look and shape of individual components of footwear was changeable. The features of shoemaking in the later stages of the Middle Ages were slender, pointed, strongly profiled soles. There are also soles composed of two or three parts as well as more multi-layered ones. In the youngest stages of the Middle Ages additional elements on the bottoms of shoes were noted: outsoles and heels. Their shape and manner of fastening is evidence that they were made deliberately during the production of new footwear and not during its repair. Essentially the same in terms of the design, the shoe uppers differed in quarter height, shape and design and complementary inserts, the manner of fastening, the width of the opening of the shoe, decoration and other minor features. Quite clearly, especially in the second half of the 13th–14th century, there was a division between everyday or working footwear and the enhanced aesthetic value that can be associated with festive attire. At this time the number of children’s shoes produced also significantly increased. At least some part of the changes taking place in Pomeranian shoemaking in the 12th century, especially in its second half, can be associated with the adoption of Western fashion patterns. The canons of costume formed in this century survived for nearly two and a half centuries, until about the mid-14th century. Medieval leather working was not limited to footwear. In materials from excavations it is difficult, however, to detect furriers’ products and costume elements made of thin grain leather (cloaks, hoods, leggings, headdress or robes). The presence of furrier products in the case of archaeological finds is confirmed only by z Products made from grain leather are mainly belts, various cases and bags, gloves, and sometimes identifiable parts of weaponry. The most evident differences between leather products from the early and the late Middle Ages are the sheaths. About the mid-13th century specimens with specific iron fittings with a long ferrule began to appear. They soon replaced traditional fittings of non-ferrous metals. The fashion for decorating the sheaths’ edges by cutting geometric patterns into their lower parts became popular. The smallest stylistic variability is evident in pouches. To the southern coast of the Baltic Sea res novae arrived relatively quickly, although a more noticeable boom took place in the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century. Changes perceptible in the style of Pomeranian leather products in the second half of the 13th–first half of the 14th century may result from the standards included in guild statutes, strictly regulating the scope of activities and quality of products.oological analyses.

Piniginiai lydiniai – tai vienas svarbiausių šaltinių, iliustruojančių prekybos pobūdį Lietuvos valstybėje iki pradedant kaldinti monetas. Tačiau tiek pusapvalės lazdelės formos lietuviškų ilgųjų (literatūroje vadinamų, kapomis, monetiniais lydiniais, grivinomis, rubliais), tiek kiek vėlyvesnių trikampio pjūvio lydinių dažniausiai būdavo aptinkama atsitiktinai, ne archeologinių tyrinėjimų metu. Lietuvos teritorijoje devintajame dešimtmetyje buvo žinomos dvidešimt keturios lietuviškų ilgųjų (Michelbertas, 1989, p. 31) ir aštuonios (viena abejotina) trikampio pjūvio lydinių radavietės (Duksa, 1981, p. 121–122). Pastarąjį dešimtmetį, ypač suaktyvėjus dažniausiai nelegalioms paieškoms naudojant metalo ieškiklius, piniginių lydinių ar jų fragmentų aptinkama kone kasmet. Informacijos apie šiuos radinius galima rasti interneto svetainėse, tačiau į mokslinę apyvartą ji įtraukiama labai retai. Kai kurie aptikti lydiniai pateko į muziejus. 2004–2005 m. Lietuvos banko muziejus nusipirko du pusapvalės lazdelės formos lydinius iš Kulautuvos (Kauno r.) lobio, du iš Kauno r. ? lobio ir devynis pusapvalės lazdelės formos lydinių fragmentus, rastus Kauno, Jonavos, Šakių rajonuose (Numizmatika, Nr. 6, p. 180, 182, 183, 1–2, 4–5 pav.). Tačiau paprastai tikslesnė šių radinių radavietė ir suradimo aplinkybės lieka neaiškios. Vieną pusapvalės formos lydinio fragmentą 2005 m. yra įsigijęs Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus. Šis fragmentas buvo atsitiktinai surastas Jakštaičių kaime (Kaišiadorių r.) (Numizmatika, Nr. 6, p. 200, 16 pav.). Dvylika pusapvalės lazdelės formos lydinių iš Upytės (Panevėžio r.) lobio 2005 m. įsigijo Trakų istorijos muziejus (Numizmatika, Nr. 6, p. 244, 2 pav.). 2002 m. Kalnelio k. (Joniškio r.) gyventojo sklype aptiktas pusapvalės lazdelės formos sidabro lydinys pateko į Joniškio istorijos ir kultūros muziejų (Vasiliauskas, 2005, p. 319). [...]

Soils of an Early Medieval (4th–6th Centuries) Settlement in the Middle Tobol Region and their Paleogeographic Implication

The city of Mychesk (Mychsk) is mentioned by the Hypatian Chronicle in the episode of the chase of Halich Prince Volodymyr Volodarovych for Prince Iziaslav Mstyslavych during his raid in 1151 to Kyiv occupied at that time by Prince Yurii Dolhorukyi.
 In the middle of the 19th century E. Rulikovskyi and L. Pokhilevych, having based on local legends, localized Mychesk on the territory of Mykgorod — a suburb of Radomyshl (today the part of city). The remains of the fortifications (ramparts and ditches), located on the peninsula at the influx of the Myka river into the Teteriv, were considered as the rests of Mychesk. For the first time, they were examined and described by V. Antonovych in the late 19th cent. Most of the researchers such as M. Hrushevskyi, A. Kuza, V. Misiats agreed with this version of Mychesk localization.
 In 1973 and 1985 M. Kuchera has made the survey on the territory of that peninsula and dug the prospect holes on the territory of Mykgorod fortifications. As a result, no artifacts and cultural layers dated to Old Rus period were found on the site or adjoining territory. The researcher considered this site to be the remains of a fortified churchyard in the Late Middle Ages.
 In 2009 and 2011 the additional researches of Mykgorod were made by the authors of the paper. The artifacts of Old Rus period have not been discovered. Instead of that fact, in 2011, numerous fragments of pottery dated to the middle — the second half of the 11th century and at the 12th—13th century were found in the central historical part of the modern city. Artifacts were located on the high terrace of the left bank of Myka river, in the garden of school # 3 and on the neighboring backyards. Huge cultural layer was obsereved in the prospect hole, the lower horizons of this layer are well preserved and provide the findings of ceramics dated to the middle — the second half of the 11th century.
 In the autumn of 2019, the authors carried out the rescue exploration on the school territory caused by construction of the school water and sewer system. In the communication trench the cultural layers, its capacity and current state of preservation were traced. The remains of three objects destroyed by modern machines were also recognized, they are dated to the Old Rus period. The ceramics dated to the 10th—18th centuries was collected.
 It should be noticed that in 2011 and in 2019 the fragments of plinth (a Greek brick) were found on the surface and during exploration. For the first view it can be dated to the late 11th — the first third of the 12th cent. These findings ought to show the existence of the stone church in Mychesk at the Middle Ages.
 Thus, the question of localization of the annalistic Mychesk consider to be fundamentally resolved. To form the complete scientific understanding of this Old Rus city we need further special historical and archeological research.

Wpływ zmian litologii i morfologii dna doliny Mrożycy w Brzezinach na rozwój zabudowy miasta od średniowiecza do współczesności

The subject of this research paper is religious medals in Lithuanian archeological material that had been found during archeological excavations in Lithuania during the period of 2009–2019. The abundance and variety of religious medals found during archeological excavations as of yet has not been studied. In general, the extent and diversity of these finds in museum collections has not yet been systematically assessed. The main methodological problem that derived this research to be done is the lack of papers written about this subject not only in the field of archeology but in other fields of research as well. There is only a small number of articles analyzing religious medals. This archeological material is a little-known source of history of Lithuanian culture, and systematized data on these findings would be useful for archeologists to date and describe other findings found during the archeological excavations.
 The main goals of this research paper are to introduce the historical evolution of religious medals; determine main finding sites of religious medals in Lithuania; determine main types of religious medals, found during archeological excavations in Lithuania; analyze and interpret religious medals found in Lithuania; determine their prevalence and development.
 The main findings of this research. A total of 241 religious medals have been analyzed in this study, that are kept in several different museums in Lithuania. Due to the rapidly increasing amount of this kind of archeological material available for research, it can be concluded that there is a great potential for further study into religious medals. The first religious medals were made for the miraculous paintings of the Virgin Mary. Religious medals began to be produced in Rome, Italy, and spread successfully around the world and prevailed in the Christian Europe. During archeological excavations, religious medals are found in cemeteries in churches and near them (11 sites), in burials of old cemeteries – 12 sites, in church and monastery complexes (where religious medals had been found in burials in the territory of monasteries) – 3 sites, and residential type sites (where medals had been found outside of burials) – 51 sites. A total of 77 sites were analyzed in this research. In the typology, religious medals have been grouped into 7 main types: medals of Jesus Christ; medals of the St. Virgin Mary; medals of Holy Orders; medals of Saints; medals of Sobriety fraternities; medals of monograms and “non-specific” medals. These types, if needed, were then broken down into smaller subtypes. The majority of religious medals in this research are of 19th century – 52, of 17th century – 24, 18th century – 24, 18th–19th century – 5, 19th–20th century – 32, 20th century – 9. The earliest ones, found in Lithuania, are from the year of 1625. Religious medals were made using two types of technology – they were minted or cast. Mostly made of copper alloy. There are known medals made in Lithuania of Lithuanian goldsmiths and there are known imported medals from Russia (17th–18th/19th centuries), Italy (17th–18th centuries), Spain (17th–18th centuries), Austria (18th– 19th centuries) and Poland (19th–20th centuries). The highest number of medals were found in burials near churches, least – in city’s cultural layers.

A comparative analysis of a number of cultural layers of different ages and buried arable horizons was carried out in order to determine the contribution of climatic changes and stages of existence to their properties and characteristics. The chronology of three successively located cultural layers is: 1150 years (cultural layer 3), the beginning of the 13th century (cultural layer 2) and 1220–1238 years (cultural layer 1) reflects a climatic rhythm lasting about 100 years – the period of transition from the climatic optimum to the Little Ice Age. The chronological series of two arable soils is represented by soils plowed in the early Iron Age (III–V centuries AD) and the early Middle Ages (X–XI centuries), that is, the climatic rhythm is about 700–900 years. The morphological, micromorphological, microbiomorphic and basic chemical properties of soils are considered. It is shown that the accumulative sedimentation processes of residential stages of territory formation, being formed under the influence of two processes – natural and anthropogenic, fully reflect both of these processes. And turbation processes characteristic of arable soils neutralize climate dynamics, reflecting only the anthropogenic factor (for example, the application of certain fertilizers, watering fields, etc.).

During the excavation of an early medieval lakeside settlement at Fonyod-Belatelep, Balaton (7th-9th century A.D.), remains of cultivated and wild plants were found in the culture layer. The main cereal crops of the Avar culture were Hordeum, Triticum and Secale. Panicum also played an important role. In addition to the cereals, 13 species of fruit trees were present. It appears that fruit cultivation survived from Roman times into the early medieval period.

Medieval music generally refers to western European music between the late 8th and early 15th centuries, although topics concerning Christian liturgy and plainchant reach further back into history. The Latin-Christian realms considered here include Britain ranging from England to St. Andrews, Scotland, the Frankish Empire from France to central Europe, the Spanish territories of Galicia, León, Castile, and Catalonia, the Mediterranean region, Sicily, and the Italian peninsula. Questions of how the music of these peoples was composed, conceived, performed, and preserved during this lengthy period are as many and diverse as the backgrounds and interests of those seeking answers. During the early Middle Ages, music was transmitted orally and the churches of different regions had distinctive liturgies and chants. With the unification of the Christian Church under the Carolingians around the turn of the 9th century, chant came to be written down, early musical notation serving as a memory aid. The relationship of Frankish and other regional chant repertories to that of the papal city of Rome, various attempts to regularize Western plainchant, and the music theory that developed to comprehend it are among the most extensively studied topics of chant scholarship. Religious songs other than chant were also sung, often outside of Church services, in Latin or such vernacular languages as Galician, German, Czech, English, Italian, and Hebrew. Numerous love songs were written in Old Occitan, French, and German. Starting in the 9th century, polyphonic arrangements of chants called organum emerged. In the 12th century, one encounters polyphonic settings of strophic Latin poems called versus and conductus. Sacred polyphony was by then performed at a number of centers, although the organum and conductus composed for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in the late 12th and early 13th centuries were the most widely disseminated and stylistically influential genres of their time. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, new genres of polyphonic composition emerged, notably the motet, various French and Italian secular songs, and Mass Ordinary movements. Instrumental music had existed since earliest times but it came to be notated only in the late 13th century in the form of monophonic dance tunes. Most composers of medieval sacred monophony are unknown except for certain authors of hymns, sequences, and chants. The courtly troubadours, trouvères, and Minnesänger are however often identified in manuscript song collections. By the 12th century, composers of polyphony like Leonin and Perotin were known and praised.

In the announced article, the author continues to examine the history of education and enlightenment in Europe from the times of ancient Greece and Rome to the present day. With this publication, the author tries to draw attention to such a topic as the Intellectual Renaissance and the emergence of Universities in Europe during the "High" Middle Ages (12th–13th centuries). The article attempts to address the following questions: 1) to highlight the features of the Intellectual Renaissance of the 12th century; 2) to reveal the importance of Paris in inheriting the ancient heritage for Europe; 3) to show the place and role of Chartres and the Chartres spirit of scholarship in European intellectual life; 4) to present the role of the monastery in Sito and the Cistercians in the intellectual "fermentation" of the time; 5) to highlight the teaching activities and scientific views of Pierre Abelard, the first European intellectual-professor without a university degree; 6) to reveal the scholastic method of knowing God, the world, and man; 7) tell about the emergence of the artisan-intellectual and his workshop (workshop); 8) describe the founding of the first university corporations in Europe in the 12th – 13th centuries – Bologna, Paris, Oxford and other cities; 9) tell about the higher school of philosophy and law in Constantinople (Pandidakterion); 10) describe the state of education and enlightenment in Russia in the 12th–13th centuries. The university, which emerged in the 12th – 13th centuries as a guild corporation of masters and their students – “universitas magistrorum et scholarum” with its own law and academic freedom, had the right to unhindered movement of professors and students across European countries without borders (“peregrinatio academica”), enjoyed the unhindered right to strike for violation of its corporate rights and freedoms, including the right to freely move to another place of teaching and learning (secesio), had the right “ubique docendi”, according to which a university graduate, awarded the academic title of doctor, could lecture not only at his own, but also at any other university he wished to move to, while the professor lived off the students’ tuition fees and fees for diplomas of academic degrees. Starting from the 12th century, educated people, especially in cities, became a visible sign of medieval Western Europe. The decisive credit for this belonged to the Intellectual Revival and the Universities.

The Early Medieval period in Europe sees the start of the formation of the land boundaries which are today considered modern Europe. This is a period of great change throughout Europe. Most significantly the Roman Empire is collapsing (Drack, 1979). The ‘Romanisation’ of the region is heavily studied and relatively well understood as it appears to be for the rest of Europe (Flutsch et al. 2002). However the withdrawal of the roman administration of the region is less well studied, until recently, very little in the way of evidence for early medieval period settlements were available. Settlement sites were largely unknown until the work of Marti (1996, 2000) and Windler et al. (2005). This was in part perhaps to do with the less visible archaeological finds, wooden buildings, small and disparate settlements. This lack of information was further hindered by the paucity in historical sources in the region. Although, a large body of evidence of the early medieval peoples in the region of North West Switzerland exists, data mostly derives from the excavation of grave finds and burial sites (Martin 1991). This study looks at rural life from the hinterland of Basel in the Late Roman and early Middle Ages (4th – 12th Centuries) through the archaeozoological data. The main points to take from my study are firstly that different site types; urban, rural and castle (high status) seem to have consistently different patterns of the three main domestic species through time and across a wide geographical range. The changing stature of cattle from the late Iron Age to high medieval is also something that has an interesting progression with increases in stature during the Roman period and a decrease thereafter. Previous work by Breuer et al. (1999) touched on the subject when comparing Roman material to that of later sixth/seventh Century material from Scheitheim. Whilst these results showed a decline from the Roman cattle to the early medieval, the results produced here suggest a more complex stepwise decrease in the cattle size from the fourth Century onwards. Each step can be accounted for by a major change in the structure of society at the time. Firstly, the departure of the Roman administration and military from the area, the second change occurs with the influx of Frankish and Alammanic tribes from the Eastern banks of the Rhine. The last change observed in the data in the eighth/ninth Century which could coincide with the uptake of the manorial system. The third topic is the attempt to follow meat supply in an urban context, namely Basel which during the later periods of the study has material from low status areas, craftsmen and high status areas. These show interesting patterns although this part was no more than a first step. This work then clearly shows that there are differences both between and within the different site types and archaeozoology can clearly help in the understanding of settlement dynamics in complex societies, even with the absence of written sources within many of the periods and places studied in this work. This can occur through the study of husbandry and agricultural practices but also the social history of a site or region.