Architectural Features of Ostrog Tyn Walls in the Cities of Siberia and the Far East in the 17thand 18thCenturies

In the 17th and 18th centuries, tyn walls were used to fence defensive fortifications, churches, barns, private courtyards, as well as prisons.To correctly interpret attribution of the archaeological remains of tyn walls to certain structures, it is necessary to identify their characteristic features. The purpose of the study is to reconstruct the design of the tyn prison fences. An architectural and functional approach has been applied to achieve this goal. The source base is represented by materials of archaeological excavations, as well as data from written and graphical sources. It has been established that prisons with tyn fences existed only in large administrative centers, within the boundaries of fortress or posad walls. They were almost the largest complexes of buildings in the city (up to 1000 sq. m.), being located near administrative buildings. These prisons had a two-part structure, i.e., the tyn-enclosed space was divided into two parts by the tyn partition wall. In one of them, prisoners were kept in a special hut, while in another, an investigation was underway. The tyn height ranged from 4.2 to 8.4 m. Archaeological features of the prison tyn walls have been established. The main one is the depth of the tyn groove, which ranges from 1 to 2.9 m, significantly exceeding that of defensive fortifications (approximately 0.7 m). This may be due to the need to prevent the creation of underground passages. An additional archaeological feature of the prison tyn wall implies adjacent logs put into the groove to prevent the formation of cracks between these logs. The article discusses in detail the structure of an underground passage discovered during the excavations at the Tobolsk ostrog. A hypothesis is made regarding the circumstances of construction of that underground passage, and prisoners’ detention conditions and their subculture are being reconstructed.