Archaeological survey at the Gilevsky reservoir (Altai krai) in 2020

In 2020, the Zmeinogorsk Team of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the SB RAS identified and surveyed ten locations with archaeological evidence on the shores of the Gilevsky Reservoir (Altai Krai). The most numerous surface finds of the Paleolithic were made in four locations on the left shore of the reservoir. The collection offinds from this area amounted to more than 200 stone artifacts, including cores and tools, as well as several pottery fragments mainly from the Early Bronze Age. Lithic artifacts - two smallflakes in the same geological layer at the same level - were found in situ in one location. The typological appearance and raw material composition of the artifacts obtained in situ and from the surface, combined with the stratigraphic position of the finds, suggests that all evidence belonged to a single complex associated with the Mesolithic/Neolithic. Archaeological survey in 2020 showed great potential capacity of the area near Gilevsky Reservoir in terms of searing for new archaeological sites including those of the Paleolithic. A representative collection of artifacts from different periods was obtained, and presence of materials of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic in this part of Altai Krai was confirmed. Based on the evidence obtained, it may be suggested that this territory was inhabited by the carriers of the Sibiryachikha variant of the Altai Middle Paleolithic. Previously, the artifacts of the Sibiryachikha culture were found only in cave sites in mountainous areas. The analysis of the distribution of Stone Age artifacts along the shoreline of the reservoir suggests that their greatest concentration is currently associated with the surviving sections of ancient high shore of the Aley River, where the present-day shoreline of the reservoir is in the closest proximity to the flooded riverbed.