Geophysical Investigations of the Bronze Age Andreevskoye Settlement in the Southern Trans-Urals (Russia)

Natalia Fedorova,Vladislav Noskevich

doi:10.24916/iansa.2020.2.1

Abstract

The settlements and cemeteries of the Sintashta – type (21st–18th century BC) are concentrated in the southern Trans-Urals steppe. The earliest stage of investigations was related to the decoding of aerial photos that allowed specialists to discover and identify the majority of the settlements. This report presents the results of a geophysical investigation at the Andreevskoye settlement, where we conducted micro-magnetic and ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys. Magnetic studies have provided new information on the structure of the fortifications and the number and location of houses in the settlements during their occupancy, as well as on the many wells discovered inside the houses. Drawing on our data, a new plan of the settlement was produced, more accurate than the one prepared solely from interpretations of aerial photographs. The settlement consists of multiple layers and is characterized by a complex configuration formed from three rectangular systems of defensive structures. We obtained GPR deep sections along three profiles, indicating the ditches and dwellings of the ancient settlement under sediments and the ruins of walls. Based on these data, we conclude that the depth from the modern surface of the earth to the occupation layer in the dwellings of the ancient settlement is approximately 50–70 cm. Our results provide archaeologists with reliable data that are necessary for the selection of excavation sites.

Highlights

At the end of the 20th century, vast settlements attributed to the Bronze Age (21st–18th century BC) were discovered in Russia, in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals (Figure 1) (Gening et al, 1992)
The internal space has a very structured organization and it is almost entirely occupied by standard buildings that are organized into regular blocks
The ruins of the Andreevskoye fortified settlement attributed to the Bronze Age are located on the left bank of the Sintashta River (7.7 km southeast of the Andreevsky village, Chelyabinsk region, Russia)

Summary

Introduction

At the end of the 20th century, vast settlements attributed to the Bronze Age (21st–18th century BC) were discovered in Russia, in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals (Figure 1) (Gening et al, 1992). Magnetic gradient surveys (Fassbinder, 2019), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) (Tsokas et al, 2008) and ground penetrating radar (GPR) (Conyers, 2016) constitute the most informative geophysical methods for conducting archaeological research. In Siberia, the magnetic gradient method developed by German geophysicists has been successfully applied at the Chicha settlement (Late Bronze Age) which covers an area 400×200 m (8 ha) (Becker and Fassbinder, 1999; Molodin et al, 2002). Geophysical studies of several Sintashta fortified settlements (Arkaim, Kamennyi Ambar, Konoplynka, IANSA 2020 ● XI/2 ● 139–147 Vladislav Noskevich, Natalia Fedorova: Geophysical Investigations of the Bronze Age Andreevskoye Settlement in the Southern Trans-Urals (Russia). The maps of magnetic anomalies indicate sites for further, moredetailed, study using archaeological and other geophysical methods, significantly reducing the risk of conducting blind excavations. The micro-magnetic gradient survey covered the whole territory of the settlement (200×240 m), while the GPR survey was conducted in several sections of the fortifications

Brief description of the Andreevskoye settlement

Micro-magnetic survey

Magnetic map and the reconstruction of the settlement plan

Ground-penetrating radar survey

Conclusion