#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Not far from present-day Kansk, ancient tribes lived at the turn of the new era. Previously unknown monuments of their culture were discovered by archaeologists from the Siberian Federal University (SFU).
Among the finds there are the remains of ancient dwellings and forges, fragments of ornamented ceramics, clay buttons and a glass bead with gold foil that came there from the territory of the Roman Empire, according to the SFU website.
“We worked for the first time in the valley of the Angara’s small tributaries, in the middle reaches of the Usolka river near the city of Kansk, Krasnoyarsk region. The discovered archaeological complex, called Glinny, is located on a small flat hill (mane)”, Ksenia Biryuleva, a senior researcher at the Yenisey Siberia Archeology Laboratory, told the agency.
She noted that experts discovered two sites where various iron objects were made, and a dwelling buried in the ground.
“This part of the monument dates back to the 3rd–4th centuries AD, when the great migration of peoples was almost completed. In the distance, complexes of much more ancient origin were discovered, approximately 6th–3rd centuries BC – they were probably left by other, earlier settlers of those places”, Biryuleva noted.
The discovered dwelling was a depression in the soil, along the circumference of which wooden supports were erected. The surviving remains of this structure will be studied using radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology methods, which allows fairly accurate dating of time using wood rings.
The top of the supports was covered with birch bark and turf. In the center of the home there was a fireplace for warmth and cooking. Near the dwelling, iron arrowheads, fragments of pottery and traces of another large fire were found – probably for household needs. The main occupation of the ancient inhabitants of those places was probably blacksmithing, since many fragments of blacksmithing tools were discovered in the excavations.
As experts note, the design of the found dwelling is quite typical for the indigenous peoples of the Yenisey Siberia. However, this is the first discovery of human traces of this period on the Krasnoyarsk region territory. Unfortunately, most likely, it will not be possible to find out who exactly the inhabitants of this settlement were, since at that time the dead were burned, and it will not be possible to obtain enough information from the burials.
“In addition to utilitarian things, people of that culture used various hair combs and wore beads, including those made of frosted glass with gold foil. They undoubtedly kept their home clean – we found no bones of animals whose meat was used for food. Most likely, all the waste was burned”, Biryuleva said.
According to scientists, the found settlement may date back to the Yazaevsky period of culture (the name is given by the name of the village of Yazaevka on the right bank of the Yenisey).
Follow us on Telegram, VKontakte.
Text: Victor Borodin, Photo: Severny Gorod MC’s archive
