Nearby Territories Research Articles

Hygienic assessment of the carcinogenic risk to the health of the population of the industrial district of Samara due to atmospheric air pollution

The article presents the results of a study assessing the possible risks of the population living in one of the districts of the city of Samara. The object of the study is the Kuibyshev district of Samara. The high anthropogenic load of the district is formed by enterprises of the oil refining and petrochemical industries, enterprises for the production of metal structures, sewage treatment plants, construction facilities, as well as intensive traffic flow. The initial information for assessing public health risks was the data obtained during the analysis of ambient air samples, as well as the results of calculations of the dispersion of pollutant emissions to nearby territories from the leading industrial enterprises of the district and mobile sources. The research was carried out in several stages. At the first stage, we identified the main sources of ambient air pollution, took into account the terrain, wind directions, and the nature of pulse operation of a number of leading sources. At the second stage, 6234 studies of ambient air samples taken in the Kuibyshev district of Samara, were conducted, priority substances were identified, and carcinogenic hazard indices (HRIc) were calculated. The data obtained indicate that the risks to public health are primarily formed as a result of atmospheric pollution with substances such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfuric acid, sulfur dioxide, a mixture of hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide, benzene. The main pollutants forming the level of the total carcinogenic risk to the health of the Samara population are hexavalent chromium and benzene. The total carcinogenic risk to the health of the population of the Samara region with a high degree of anthropotechnogenic load during the study period belongs to the 2nd range of reference boundaries and is characterized as acceptable, however, with the simultaneous presence of various pollutants in the air, an unfavorable background of combined effects on the body is created, which can lead to the formation of a certain pathology in the population.

Before the Dressel 20: pottery workshops and olive oil amphorae of the Guadalquivir valley between the Late Republic and Augustan-Tiberian times

Abstract The Baetican Dressel 20 is probably the most widely diffused amphora of the Roman period, found in large quantities throughout all the Roman and nearby territories. It is the most powerful evidence of the importance of the olive oil trade for Roman society and of olive oil's extraordinary production in the Baetican countryside. This wide diffusion of the amphora and, in some ways, its ubiquity at many archaeological sites, have hindered the study of the early stages of Baetican olive oil production and diffusion. The protagonists were not these spherical containers, commonly stamped up until the late 3rd c. CE, but previous models that evolved rapidly after their origins in Late Republican times. In this paper, we aim to analyze not only the formal characteristics and evolution of these peculiar and still unstandardized containers, but also other aspects linked to their production, as well as the scope of their diffusion.

Ecology and abundance of a relict population of the bush cricket Saga pedo in the Northern Apennines, Italy.

The expansion of forest cover and intensification of agriculture represent the main threats to the bush cricket Saga pedo, currently listed as Vulnerable globally by the IUCN and included in Annex IV of the European Union Habitats Directive. Gathering information on its ecology and population size is challenging due to its low abundance and localized distribution. Additionally, the elusive and cryptic behavior of this species reduces the likelihood of its detection, potentially resulting in population underestimations. Thus, in this study, we aimed to (1) estimate S. pedo population size in relation to environmental variables and prey availability and (2) predict abundance of S. pedo in our study area for future monitoring in nearby territories. We found that the population of S. pedo in our study area consists of 197 (±115) individuals with a detection probability of 21.01% (±11.09). Detection probability of S. pedo further decreases on windy days. Moreover, we found that the investigated population of S. pedo occupies suboptimal areas, as highlighted not only by the predicted abundances but also by the association between S. pedo and other subfamilies of orthoptera that are ecologically very distant from our target species and mostly linked to mesophilic biotopes. Most of the individuals we observed are concentrated in small clearings completely within wooded matrices and therefore isolated from each other. Based on our results, it is possible that forest expansion toward open meadows represents the main threat to this population, transforming the clearings and xeric meadows (to which S. pedo is linked) into small and fragmented patches that are suboptimal and insufficient to host viable populations.

The efficiency assessment of short-term maximum flood level forecast methodology in the upper and middle course of the Tsna river

A significant rise in water levels in the rivers during the spring flood and the release of rivers to the floodplain is the main danger in this period for nearby territories and people living there. This phenomenon can lead to flooding of large areas, significant economic losses, environmental damage, and threaten the health and life of local residents. Such negative consequences of high floods are typical for the Tambov region rivers, which indicates the need to develop an effective system for forecasting and preventing maximum flood levels. The climatic changes that have taken place over the past few decades, which are also reflected in the rivers’ water regime, show the need to modernize existing forecasting methodologies. In this paper, the authors have demonstrated the results of the effectiveness assessment of the existing methodology for short-term forecasting of the maximum flood level on the Tsna River at two gauging stations (“Kuzmino-Gat” and “Tambov”). Calculations were made using modern data in accordance with this methodology and a comparative analysis was carried out with the calculations of previous years. Based on this analysis, an assessment of the flood levels forecast methodology accuracy was given. According to the study results, it was found that the existing methodology for short-term forecasting of the maximum flood level on the Tsna River is largely ineffective nowadays with regard to modern conditions of spring flood runoff formation. In the analysis of the Kuzmino-Gat gauging station, the values of the maximum flood levels obtained by the reanalysis method according to the tested methodology using modern data showed significant deviations from the actual observed values. At the same time, for the operational forecast of maximum water levels at the Tambov gauging station, it is possible to use the correlation dependence with the observed water levels at the Kuzmino-Gat gauging station, as before. The correlation coefficient with modern data was 0.96. The authors have highlighted the main drawbacks of the existing methodology and made suggestions for improvement, in particular, what factors need to be analyzed in order to clarify the forecast.

Udokan hearth of mineral resources: Factors shaping the quality of atmospheric air

The consequences of the impact of mining and ore processing industries on atmospheric air are acutely negative. Polluted atmospheric air entails a significant environmental risk to human health. The identification of factors that negatively affect the air quality of a mining enterprise and nearby territories actualizes the problem under consideration. The object of the study is the territory of the Udokan hearth of mineral resources. The subject of the study is the factors that shape the quality of atmospheric air. The purpose of the study is to analyze the negative effects of the main factors determining the ecological state of atmospheric air in the conditions of the Udokan hearth of mineral resources. The methodological basis of the research is the complex, structural, factual principles and approaches. The work uses general research methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization), as well as private scientific - factor analysis, which is understood as a method of complex and systematic study of the interaction of factors on the magnitude of performance indicators. The main factors shaping the ecological situation of the study area are identified: climatic, qualitative and quantitative indicators of polluting emissions. The necessity of constant monitoring of the state of the atmosphere for the development and implementation of a set of measures to reduce the negative impact of polluting emissions into the atmosphere is justified. Conclusions. The practical uniformity of the chemical composition of harmful emissions during the implementation of the main technological processes of mining and mining processing industries makes it possible to develop preventive measures to minimize the negative consequences of the development of mineral deposits in the mine atmospheric space.

ОПЫТ ВЫЯВЛЕНИЯ НЕСАНКЦИОНИРОВАННЫХ СВАЛОК ПОСРЕДСТВОМ АНАЛИЗА СПУТНИКОВЫХ СНИМКОВ В РЕСПУБЛИКЕ КАЗАХСТАН

The autonomous non-profit organization «Center for Research and Solutions of Environmental Problems Ecopathology» conducted research of the territories of the city of Kostanay to identify unauthorized landfills of solid municipal, construction and other waste using the «Visual satellite search for illegal landfills» method in 2023. According to the methodology adapted for use in the Republic of Kazakhstan, 40 unauthorized landfills with a total area of more than 19 thousand m2 were identified in Kostanay and nearby territories. The paper presents an adapted algorithm for «Visual satellite search of illegal landfills», analysis of the results of the research and effective pollution prevention measures

Study of the degree of restoration of two-component self-healing briquettes based on iron- and carbon-containing waste

The recycling of iron and carbon-containing wastes in the metallurgical cycle is an urgent task in the Russian Federation and the world as a whole. Various wastes during storage occupy large areas (in the Russian Federation ‒ up to 4 million hectares) and are a source of adverse effects on the environment and the health of the population of nearby territories. In the Russian Federation, only waste from metallurgical enterprises has accumulated about 1 billion tons and its amount continues to grow. In addition, due to storage at waste disposal sites, this technogenic raw material falls out of production chains. Prolonged waste disposal leads to a decrease in the content of valuable components. The utilization of iron- and carbon-containing wastes requires its preliminary preparation, in particular, the agglomeration of finely dispersed materials. One of the methods of agglomeration is briquetting. Briquetting allows the creation of self-healing metallurgical briquettes, consisting only of waste as iron-containing material, reducing agent and binder. The important characteristics of self-healing briquettes are the degrees of its reduction to Femet and Fe+2. In this paper, two-component briquettes were studied, consisting of a waste from metallurgical production ‒ dust from an electric steel-smelting shop (dust from an electric furnace shop) as an iron-containing material and a waste from sugar production ‒ molasses acting simultaneously as a reducing agent and a binder. The content of molasses in two-component briquettes was 5, 10, 15, 20 % wt. The briquettes were calcined in an oxidizing atmosphere at temperatures of 700 and 1100°C until gassing was completed (about 15–20 min.). The degrees of iron reduction for all briquette variants were higher at 1100 °C. The highest reduction degree was obtained when the content of molasses in a two-component briquette was 20 % wt. and amounted to 10.75 % wt. for Femet, and the reduction degree to Fe+2 was 76.82 % wt. The obtained results do not allow us to recommend such briquettes for use in steelmaking, however, its can be considered as an additive to the blast-furnace charge in the presence of an available raw material base. Changing the temperature and time regime and the gas atmosphere during the reduction of briquettes can expand the possibilities of its application in metallurgical production

THE FEATURES OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOR ROAD REPAIR OR RECONSTRUCTION

This study formulates some of the actual problems that arise during engineering and geodetic survey for designing road repair and reconstruction. An analysis of the regulatory requirements currently in force in Ukraine for carrying out this type of work has been carried out, it has also been concluded that at present they do not keep up with the latest technologies. Studied publications describing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Classified navigation satellite receivers are installed on UAVs, for the purpose of determining coordinates. Particular attention is paid to the installation on the carrier of geodetic class navigation equipment using kinematic GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) technologies, such as RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) and PPK (Post-Processing Kinematic). These technologies allow us to determine the spatial coordinates of the centers of photos at the time of photographing with centimeter accuracy, which greatly simplifies the adjustment of digital photogrammetric models and increases their accuracy. But the most important advantage is a significant reduction in field surveying, which makes them less expensive and more efficient overall. In the course of the study, it was found that in conditions of limited access to nearby territories, insufficient stability of the results of determining the centers of images can affect the final quality of products. For cases where the maximum achievable accuracy is at the limit of the possibility of photogrammetric technology, the removal of the most critical elements is proposed to be combined by combining aerial photography technologies with ground technologies. The road’s hard surface surveying can be performed by ground geodetic methods (tacheometric or GNSS), and by modern laser scanning. At the same time, the adjacent territory, regarding the shooting of elements of which less stringent requirements are established, can be worked out by aerial photography. In further studies, it is necessary to determine the conditions for achieving the maximum accuracy of UAV photogrammetry. Keywords: aerial photography, photogrammetry, geodetic survey, reconstruction of highways.

Filtration in canals with an earthen bed and new methods of slope stabilization

The relevance of the study lies in the theoretical substantiation of water losses for filtration in canals with lined and earthen bed. Loss of water resources negatively affects nearby territories due to rising groundwater and waterlogging and waterlogging of nearby territories. The elimination of irrigation water losses contributes to improving the efficiency as well as the effectiveness of irrigation measures on the irrigated areas. The object of the study is the irrigation canals of Saratov region. method of empirical knowledge, which served as a synthesis for theoretical analysis of the literature by deductive method, was used in the study. The theoretical method included abstracting, abstracting and quoting general and special scientific works of scientists on the given science-intensive direction. The work used mathematical and statistical methods to obtain and establish quantitative relationships between the phenomena under study. Generalized data on water losses from canals in earthen and lined channels have been obtained by means of using generally known formulas of G.K. Riesenkampf and technical code (TKP 45-3.04-8-2005) in calculations.

Technical protocols of heritage preservation from risk and vulnerability analysis. The case of the vernacular architecture of Quingeo (Azuay, Ecuador)

The vernacular architecture of the rural Parish of Quingeo (Azuay, Ecuador), and therefore, the buildings of its parish downtown, are affected by globalization, neglect, and the scarcity of management and technical preservation tools led to their deterioration. This background motivates the analysis, identification, and prioritization of risks and vulnerabilities of this architecture, taking three priority cases of study; wall stratigraphy, the risk analysis matrix, and the principles of preventive preservation, as tools little applied in rural built heritage, but are very useful to understand the evolutionary process, and improve the protection and enhancement. The results obtained determine three types of specific protocols; 1) monitoring and control, 2) periodic maintenance, and 3) management. Such instruments are viable as a strategic axis for nearby territories, such as Quingeo.

Применение спектральных водных индексов на хвостовом хозяйстве Дарасунского рудника по данным дистанционного зондирования Земли программы Landsat

At present, the problem of ensuring the environmental safety of tailings dumps and dams holding them is acute in the mining cluster not only in Russia, but also in the world. Stale tailings located in a hydraulic structure are man-made deposits and are considered as an object of development in the future. Therefore, the formation of a database of the areas of the water mirror of the basins of the cascade of tailings for a long period of operation is an urgent scientific problem. It is important to analyze and predict potential threats to the city-forming mining enterprise and nearby territories. This problem can be solved by using geoinformation systems and multispectral data. The object of the research is a complex of tailings dumps’ cascades of the Darasunsky mine. The goal is to provide spatio-temporal assessment of the areas of the water mirror of the basins of the tailings dumps’ cascade of the Darasunsky mine for the period from 1997 to 2022 in order to predict environmental safety. The research objectives are the following: assessment of the environmental situation at the Darasunsky mine; selection of the optimal method for decoding the water surface; collection and formation of an archive of remote sensing data; calculation of spectral indices and retrospective analysis of changes in the water surface area of the tailings of the Darasunsky mine; forecast of emergency situations of lithospheric, hydrospheric, airborne, biological pollution. A spatio-temporal assessment of the areas of the water mirror of the basins of the tailing dumps’ cascade has been made to assess the use intensity of these structures with the construction of graphs of changes in the areas of the water surface over a 25-year period. Thanks to the division of the tailings storage into cascades, it has become possible to locally determine the filling of 4 tailings sections with tailings pulp. The data obtained allow monitoring for the rational use, conservation, stopping the operation of hydraulic structures (in particular tailings dumps), their impact on the environment. The use of spectral water indices according to the remote sensing data of the Landsat program will allow predicting and preventing emergency situations at the tailings dump, which has been in operation for many decades, to prevent the overflow of water over the crest and body of the enclosing dams.

Sharing economy in the smart city development

The concept of the sharing economy developed in the last decade is vastly underestimated. The study aims to substantiate the potential of the sharing economy in the development of smart cities. Based on a bibliometric analysis of research publications, it is shown that the concepts of the sharing economy and smart cities intersect in such areas as sustainable development, digital technologies, and the development of public goods. Three regression models have been built. We prove that the key parameter for the development of services of the sharing economy is the availability of free and fast access to the Internet. The development of some services, in particular, carsharing, was found to be dependent on the size of the city, which explains the expediency of its development only in large cities and nearby territories. It is also shown that the impact of bicycle rental services, as well as digital platforms of the sharing economy does not depend on the city size and can be used to develop the public goods sector, as well as ensure sustainable development, respectively. In conclusion, using the case of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, we demonstrated that the development of these services was not stable.

Дистанционное слежение за орланами-белохвостами из Забайкалья, Россия: миграция, зимовка, летнее пребывание

Дистанционное слежение за орланами-белохвостами из Забайкалья, Россия: миграция, зимовка, летнее пребывание

Пространственное развитие Дальневосточного макрорегиона: роль городов

The article deals with the issues of the Far-Eastern macro-region spatial development in the context of the Strategy for Spatial Development of the Russian Federation, within which a special role is assigned to the cities. To determine their impact on the nearby territories and the macro-region development level, a comparative assessment of the socio-economic development of municipalities of subjects of the Russian Federation that are part of the Far Eastern Federal District was carried out. Despite the fact that cities make a significant contribution to the regional economy, they have a limited impact on neighboring territories. To identify the reasons for the weak spread of agglomeration effects, an analysis of the city’s spatial location, their contribution to the regional economy was made, and the corresponding conclusions were drawn. Assessment of possible results of the ongoing state policy aimed at the growth centers is given. Possible directions for making managerial decisions and their consequences for the spatial development of the Far-Eastern macro-region are given.

СЕДИМЕНТОГЕНЕЗ КАК КРИТЕРИЙ КЛАССИФИКАЦИИ ОЗЕР ВОСТОЧНО-ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ РАВНИНЫ И ПРИЛЕГАЮЩИХ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ

The article studies lake sedimentation on the East European Plain and adjacent areas. Lake sediment formation is researched in detail in paleolimnology. The main aim of the present study is to describe the features of lake sedimentogenesis on the East European Plain and to identify classes of lakes in accordance with the types of sedimentogenesis. PaleoLake Database, created for the analysis, contains paleolimnological information about the bottom sediments of lakes of the East European Plain and nearby territories. We analyzed 216 lakes located in different climatic and geological zones, for which the most complete information had been collected: lithostratigraphy, age and thickness of bottom sediments, lake coordinates, water depth etc. Claster analysis of the collected data identified three main types of lake sedimentation for the East European Plain. (1) Sedimentation of large deep-water lakes (minerogenic sedimentogenesis of the Pleistocene). The bottom sediments are represented by minerogenic sediments, mainly clays and silts. (2) Sedimentation of isolated lake basins (mineragenic-organogenic sedimentogenesis of the Pleistocene and Holocene). The main feature of the lithostratigraphy is the presence of three main sediment sequences: minerogenic sediments formed in a large reservoir, transitional deposits formed during the isolation, organic deposits of a shallow basin. (3) Sedimentation of lakes located outside maritime transgressions and regressions (organogenic sedimentogenesis of the Holocene). The bottom sediments of such lakes are mainly represented by gyttja.

Штампованная керамика средневековой Сугдеи

This article presents the first-time analysis of the stamped ceramic ware (“Stamped Monochrome Green Ware”) from the Golden Horde Period discovered in all the years of archaeological researches of mediaeval Sougdaia. Although there are publications of the pottery kilns where this ware was produced, the collection itself was not introduced into the scholarship before. Nevertheless, this collection is one of the most representative for the Crimean peninsula. In total, there are 84 glazed and non-glazed fragments, including archaeologically complete forms, and 10 qalyp matrices. From the morphological features, there are reasons to establish five main types. Three of them divide into two variants according to the functional purpose. Two types more are so far isolated vessels with no analogies among the materials of Taurica and nearby territories. Each of the selected types contains vessels of two technique groups. Relief designs form seven main elements, combined into seven main ornamental compositions with several variants. According to the archaeological contexts represented mainly by stratigraphic horizons featuring wide chronological framework, the stamped ceramics of Sougdaia dates from the fourteenth to the first half of the fifteenth century. It is not possible to distinguish the complexes from the first quarter of the fourteenth century. The distribution area of stamped ware and, above all, the most representative collections of Solkhat and Azak have been analyzed. The sources from which this ware came to the Crimea have been repeatedly analyzed. Among them could be Khwarazm, which is still disputed by some experts, and the territory of Transcaucasia.

Regional variability of the mean and extreme characteristics of the present meteorological regime of the eastern part of the Baltic Sea catchment

The features of the regional heterogeneity of the modern meteorological regime are assessed, as a refinement of existing estimates of large-scale climate changes – for the eastern part of the Baltic Sea catchment on the example of the Leningrad Region and nearby territories of neighbouring subjects of the Russian Federation (northern part of the region), as well as the Zapadnaya Dvina catchment within the Republic of Belarus (southern part of the region). Significant differences in surface air temperature and snow water equivalent (hereinafter referred to as snow storage) were revealed for the winter period, with similar precipitation, more intense interannual and long-term changes in the southern part of the region. The common feature for the region is the presence of a significant correlation of the long-term January – March atmospheric circulation indices variability only with the variability of surface air temperature, as well as minor differences in the number of anomalous years with similar anomaly amplitudes. Surface air temperature has the greatest contribution to the long-term variability of snow storage everywhere, which is most pronounced in the south of the region. The turning points in the long-term variability of surface air temperature coincide in the north and south of the region, the turning points in the course of total precipitation do not coincide. The number of anomalies (exceeding the standard deviation) in the long-term series of characteristics in the northern and southern parts of the region differ little (9–12 cases in the positive and negative ranges of values) in the absence of coincidences and the similarity of the amplitude of the anomalies. The range of values of extreme threshold values (extreme percentiles) of surface air temperature in the north of the region is lower than the range of values in the south, the variability of small percentiles exceeds the variability of large ones; the rate of long-term increase in average temperatures is accompanied by a significant increase in small percentiles in the north and large percentiles in the south of the region. The values of extreme threshold values of precipitation and their standard deviation vary little across the territory; positive trends in maximums and negative trends in minimum thresholds are small, consistent with a slight increase in mean total precipitation. According to the spatial distribution of average values of snow storage, the values of their extremely small and large threshold values in the north of the region are higher than in the south; in the north of the region, the values of percentiles in the interval 1985–2002 stand out as the lowest.

Stećak Tombstones as a Source for Research on Mediaeval Bosnian Elites

The term stećak (pl. stećci) is used in the Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian languages to refer to mediaeval monolithic tombstones from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well from the nearby territories of Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. Their number is estimated at between 50,000 and almost 70,000. The earliest preserved stećci come from the 12th century, whereas the latest date to the beginning of the 16th century. Their forms vary, but most often they have the shape of a slab, vertical or horizontal monolith, or stylized cross. Some of them have images – engraved or carved in low relief – representing, e.g., weaponry, people, animals, genre scenes (hunting, fighting, dancing), various symbols and ornaments, and – very seldom – short inscriptions. In the past, they were attributed to the followers of the Bogomil heresy or the stock-breeding Vlachs, they were also regarded as original products of the mediaeval Bosnian population – created independently from external influences and models, as a sign of the revival of the traditional Slavic pagan beliefs dating back to the times of the Indo European community. According to the currently prevalent assumption, stećci – with their forms and symbols – fit the broad trend of European sepulchral art referring to the ethos of chivalry and Christianity, but at the same time they were a means used to manifest the distinctive character of the local elites and groups aspiring to be included in them. The images present on stećci – especially genre scenes and heraldic motifs – are an invaluable source of information about the culture and life of local elites in mediaeval Bosnia.

Patterns of sex-biased dispersal are consistent with social and ecological constraints in a group-living cichlid fish

BackgroundSex-biased dispersal is a common and widespread phenomenon that can fundamentally shape the genetic structure of the social environments in which animals live. For animals that live in and move between social groups, sex-biased dispersal can result in an asymmetry in the degree of relatedness among cohabiting males and females, which can have strong implications for their social evolution. In this study, we measured the relatedness structure within and across groups of a wild population of Neolamprologus multifasciatus, a highly-social, shell-dwelling cichlid fish endemic to Lake Tanganyika, East Africa. In total, we genotyped 812 fish from 128 social groups at 20 microsatellite loci. Neolamprologus multifasciatus live at high densities, and also experience strong ecological constraints on free movement throughout their habitat. At the same time, they exhibit sex differences in the degree of reproductive competition within their groups and this makes them an excellent model system for studying the factors associated with sex-biased dispersal.ResultsSocial groups of N. multifasciatus consist of multiple males and females living together. We found that cohabiting females were unrelated to one another (Lynch-Ritland estimates of relatedness = 0.045 ± 0.15, average ± SD), while males shared much higher, albeit variable, levels of relatedness to other males in their groups (0.23 ± 0.27). We uncovered a pronounced decline in relatedness between males living in separate groups as the spatial separation between them increased, a pattern that was not evident in females. Female dispersal was also markedly constrained by the distribution and availability of nearby territories to which they could emigrate.ConclusionsOur results indicate female-biased dispersal in N. multifasciatus. Our study also highlights how the spatial distribution of suitable dispersal destinations can influence the movement decisions of animals. We also emphasize how sex-biased dispersal can influence the relatedness structure of the social environment in which individuals interact and compete with one another.

Rural Settlement in Iron Age Cessetania (Northeastern Iberian Peninsula)

Recent research has demonstrated the importance of rural settlement in the Iberian culture, although there are still few rural sites explored in depth. ‘Rural settlement’ is the term we use to designate the small habitation sites or agricultural structures that became common from the Middle Iberian Period (450–200 bc) onward; such sites constituted the basis of a hierarchical settlement system characteristic of societies developing towards archaic states. These settlements consist of one or two buildings together with silos and/or artisanal features. The main difficulty in studying such sites is their poor preservation. They are usually located on flat areas suitable for cultivation, and research has traditionally prioritised the study of larger sites. In this study, we revise the data from previous investigations in the territory of ancient Iberian Cessetania and present the results of recent research, paying particular attention to the Rabassats site. We compare these rural settlements to those in other nearby territories in the Iberian area as well as in the wider Mediterranean context. Detailed analyses of the remains of rural sites show a greater complexity than is often assumed and suggest that a variety of small settlements, from an economic and probably also from a social point of view, should be included under the generic heading of ‘fourth order’.