Door openings and door panels from the houses at the Ust-Voikar site (the evidence of 2012-2016)

This article presents the data on the history of traditional house-building by the indigenous people living in the northern part of Western Siberia. The research is based on the evidence from the Ust-Voikar site in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, which used to be inhabited by the indigenous population of the Northern Lower Ob region. The fact that the habitation layer was in permafrost, ensured good preservation of structures at the settlement and made it possible to obtain a detailed picture of how various elements were arranged in traditional dwelling. The article describes the structural features of door openings and door panels of residential buildings. According to dendrochronological data, these structures were built from the last third of the 15th century to the mid 18th century. Structural features of 15 door openings which were analyzed, demonstrate stability throughout the entire period of settlement's functioning. Door openings were designed for setting up doors on pivot hinges. Thus, at the very least since the last third of the 15th century, doors on pivot hinges were a part of house-building tradition for the dwellers of the Ust-Voikar site. Nine door panels have been analysed. Their design shows significant resemblance to the design of door panels from the 12th-15th centuries, found in Novgorod excavations. The common features in door panels include the presence of pivot hinges, assemblage of planks for door panels fastened by rails placed in grooves, angled position of grooves, and extended length of the upper pivot finger. All these technological methods were basic for Russian wooden architecture. Incorporation of these types of door openings and door panels into the building culture of the indigenous people can be viewed as a result of the influence by the material culture of the residents of the European part of Russia.