THE EARLY HORIZON OF THE KUSHMANSKOE (UCHKAKAR) FORTIFIED SETTLEMENT, IX-XII CENTURIES

Abstract

The article considers the early chronological horizon of one of the key archaeological sites of the Chepetskaya archaeological culture - the Kushmanskoe (Uchkakar) fortified settlement. The paper highlights the issues of the features of the occupation layer of the early settlement, its dating, the characteristics of the identified structures and the material culture are given. The early medieval settlement on the territory of the Kushmanskoe (Uchkakar) fortified settlement was limited by defensive structures consisting of a wood-earth bank and a ditch. They defended a settlement with an area of 6-10 thousand sq. m. The occupation layer of the early settlement had a small thickness of 0.2 m. Several structures were identified in it and investigated by excavation, two of which are the remains of ground buildings, another is a stone laying of an unclear purpose. The material culture of the early horizon allows us to determine the time of the existence of an early settlement within the IX-X centuries. It ceased to exist after the destruction of defensive structures, the ruins of which partially blocked the occupation layer of the early settlement. The cultural layer of the late chronological horizon on this site of the settlement was formed already on the surface of the ruins of defensive structures of the early period. A small area of the early settlement, defensive structures, features of its occupation layer allow us to hypothesize: it was a refuge for people of another nearby fortified settlement - Kushmanskoe III settlement.