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публикации о музее-заповеднике «Кижи»

стр. 93During last decades a number of studies were carried out in European part of Russia, including archaeological investigation of medieval rural settlements on regional and micro–regional levels, reconstructions of local settlement and administration patterns, their economy, surrounding landscapes on the basis of archaeological and natural- scientific data [survey: Макаров, 2008]. A characteristic feature of almost all of these studies is prevailing attention to Old Russian period settlements (up to the 13th century), problems of Slavonic colonization. In the North of Eastern Europe the studies of the kind are rare: far–away forest areas were colonized in another periods, in different natural and climatic conditions, with the use of specifically northern ways of mastering the territory.

In the basin of Lake Onego (modern South Karelia) archaeological investigations in the mentioned above directions were started in late 1980–s, interrupted in 1990–s and started again in 2000–s. The basic point for us was historians' thesis [Битов, 1962], based on the late 15th and the 16th centuries cadastre books information analysis: the most early and dense populated areas, the cores of colonization were centers of pogosts – administration, fiscal and church (parish) units. By now centers of five pogosts situated on the northern, western coasts of Lake Onego and Zaonezh'e peninsula, including Kizhi, are studied archaeologically [survey: Спиридонов, 2011].

Part 1 of the book is a catalogue of 20 medieval archaeological sites (Russian 'selische) investigated in the Kizhi pogost center. Parts 2–4 present an analysis and defining chronology of the obtained archaeological materials.

Seven sites were excavated (total unearthed area reached ca. 1000 sq. m), other investigated by pits (4–16 sq. m) and in four cases only by collection of artifacts on ploughed grounds. Layer of the most sites is not stratificated been mixed by later ploughing and building.

On six sites early medieval (in Russian archaeological division into periods it covers the centuries at the edge of the 1st and the 2nd Millenniums) assemblages were studied. In all cases they are situated in the bounds of later settlements. Five of them are tied to not high (1–3 m) sand coastal grounds, an exception is Vasil'evo 2 tied to loamy with stones and gravel ground on the west Kizhi island coast. Areas (sises) of the medieval assemblages are firmly fixed by excavations only in two стр. 94 cases (Vasil'evo 2 – up to 1000 sq. m, Navolok – only 30–40 sq. m). On Vasil'evo 2 approximately in the center of early medieval living area a stove remains out of clay and stones were found.[текст с сайта музея-заповедника "Кижи": http://kizhi.karelia.ru]

Later medieval period assemblages on the sites demonstrate more variety in topography and landscape preferences. Most of them are also tied to the island's coasts, but several situate on tops of the glacial sand- gravel and boulder hillock on the heights 4–9 m above lake level and at the distances up to 60–70 m from the shore. Two sites are situated on the rock. Areas (sises) of the later medieval assemblages on the sites differ from 200–250 up to 750–800 and 2500–3000 sq. m. On five settlements remains of stoves out of stones and clay or mainly out of stones were excavated. Other constructions traces on the sites are hardly definable (mostly pits in subsoil).

Chronological frames of the settlements were defined by finds and C14 determinations of coal (five in all on two sites). Early Medieval assemblages of only tree of six settlements included a few individual dated finds, in tree other cases they consisted solely of ceramics. The latter in tree assemblages is represented by fragments of both hand modelled rough vessels and potter's earthenware, in three others (two of them are isolated find on ploughed filds) – merely by hand modelled, made without potter wheel, ceramics. As a whole early Medieval assemblages in the micro–region are dated back to the 10th and the 11th centuries with possible correction of the upper date.

Later medieval assemblages on the sites as a whole are dated back to the 13th -17th centuries. The earliest of them is Vasil'evo 2 outstanding also by general amount of finds. Defined dates of individual artifacts and radiocarbon determinations for this settlement are presented in table 8. Vasil'evo 2 is a single one which allows to raise a question on continuty of early medieval and later settlement stages of the site. In all other cases in Kizhi micro–region (and wider – in investigated senters of pogosts in the Lake Onego basin) a gap between the stages is quite obvious. Nevertheless it is not so obvious for Vasili'vo 2, the authors state a lacuna in the finds, covering mostly the 12th century. Among other later Medieval sites only nearest by Vasil'evo 3 (in some 300 m across a bog) can be dated back to not later than the 14th century, the date is based on a single find of bead not strongly confirmed by other finds. The rest of the investigated settlements according to the finds were founded in the 14th – 15th, not earlier than in the 15th (majority) or in the 16th centuries.

Dates of settlements foundation are mainly or exclusively based on ceramics analysis, which is given much prominence in part 4 of the book. Fragments of approximately 800 vessels are used in classification. More or less big, statistically considerable pottery collections of five excavated стр. 95 settlements, not synchronous but partly chronologically linked, served as fulcrum, a foot–hold for classification. Pottery in the collections clearly divides into two groups – white ware and red ware – on the basis of steady correlation of technological and morphological indications, so that typological classification is carried out separately for the two groups. With the use also of external analogies the majority of red ware group (but rare shapes) is subdivided into five pot types, white ware group – into four types. The authors claim that worked out type and chronological scale of the 13th -17th centuries Kizhi pottery can nowadays serve as a standard for the areas surrounding Lake Onego.

In part 5 of the book the analysed above archaeological materials are considered as a source on the history of micro–region settling. The fist occurring question concerns how enough statistically representative are the archaeological sources, in other words how do the studied sites correspond to really existed settlements in exact period of time. From this point of view impartial assessment of the early medieval materials is hardly possible, but it becomes possible for later period in comparison with the 16th century cadastre books information. The latter, according to historians' conclusions, reflected a peak of settling the area in the Middle Ages. On Kizhi island itself, a core of settlement pattern, the books name 12 «villages», archaeologically 7 sites are studied (ca. 60 %); nearby on the island Kerkostrov the books mention 4 «villages» and all of them meet corresponding archeological sites (100 %). Following this approach obtained archaeological sources are representative enough to outline chronology, stages and dynamics of settling micro–region in early and later Medieval periods.[текст с сайта музея-заповедника "Кижи": http://kizhi.karelia.ru]

Identification of archaeological sites with «villages» of the 16th century cadastre books allows to define social and cultural status of Vasil'evo 2 – the oldest and the richest by finds site in the center of pogost. The site corresponds with the village «Big Courtyard» (Russian 'Bol'shoy Dvor) fist mentioned in 1582/1583. The name indisputably points that the settlement in Novgorod's independence times (before late 1470–s) was a center of patrimony (Russian 'Votchinaj. The exact owner is not mentioned, but in the 18th -19th centuries souses village Lukinschina (from the male name Luka) appear – predecessor of modern village Vasil'evo. All this allows to link the archaeological site with boy arm Luka Fedorovich, who is mentioned several times in 1470–s sources and really possessed land in Kizhi pogost. As V. L. Yanin proved, Luka Fedorovich derived from one of the eldest Novgorod boyar family Mikchalkovichi known from birch bark letters and other written sources starting from the 12th century. According to archaeological data center of Kizhi patrimony was founded approximately in the middle of the 13th century.

стр. 96In conclusion authors touch upon economic and cultural aspects of settling the micro–region. Early medieval assemblage studied in Navolok site is very much alike many other small temporary sites excavated by now in the Lake Onego basin. They are usually connected with initial stage of trade and hunting mastering the territory, traces of population involvement into the system of far international trade. In this respect expressive is even a single find of balance beam for weighing silver on Kerkostrov 2 site. Vasil’evo 2 assemblage of the same period with measuring up to 1000 sq. m and constant stove remains in the center of the early medieval living ground, it rather resembles rural settlements of more southern agricultural areas.

Decisive data on agriculture in the complex economy practiced by early medieval population of Kizhi micro–region were received in the course of palynological studies. They were carried out by N. B. Lavrova and I. N. Demidov in 2002–2003.The palynological evidence together with radiocarbon data from Kizhi and nearby Volkostrov islands showed that land cultivation began there ca. 1000 years ago or a bit earlier.