Specially made stone platforms in mountain fortresses in Northern Khakasia

Purpose: We aim at characterizing building techniques used to create mountain fortresses in northern Khakassia. Results: Khakass-Minusinsk Basin is known due to a large number of archaeological objects of different types and ages. Among them there are mountain fortresses which indigenous people called «sve». It is known that the fortresses were used in the Middle Ages and the early Modern period. Quite a number of fortresses were built at the confluence of the Belyi and Chernyi Iyus in the north of Khakassia. Perhaps they were intended to protect some very important object presumably located in the square made by the valley called Albany on the right bank of the river Chernyi Iyus. A similar situation can be seen in medieval Koguryo, where the capital Pyongyang was also surrounded by mountain fortresses located in strategic places in order to defend the capital, no matter whichever side the enemy could appear from. The Khakass people often used high and steep (usually rock) breaks on the slopes and tops of the mountains for defensive purposes. Artificial defensive stone walls, usually made of Devonian sandstone slabs, were created only in the areas of the mountains with a possibility of relatively easy access to the area. In some of these cases, the defensive walls were raised on the slopes of mountains and hills. In addition, the edges of cliffs were often parts of the slope. This created a serious inconvenience for the defenders, who could not feel confident during the battle without any stable foothold. In this regard, it is important to discover the ways and means by which the ancient builders converted a protected area, especially on the slopes, into a reliable surface for defense. In the course of our field research of 2012-2013 in the area of three «sve» - Onlo, Kyzyl Haya and Paas, we located specially made stone platforms built on the slopes. They had the appearance of a vertical wall outside with a flat area on the top. In all three cases, the platforms were situated at the perimeter of the defense line. Conclusion: During our field studies, we identified new materials connected with refinement of the terrain while creating «sve», which did not previously receive coverage in scientific literature. Built on the slopes of mountain fortresses, the stone platforms could serve only for the purpose of defense as other logical explanations of their presence in the difficult relief and on the outer perimeter of defense lines seem to be improbable. Thus, this technological reason supports the idea of a defensive purpose of such objects as «sve». This is an important contribution to studying military history of the peoples of Southern Siberia and Central Asia in different time periods including the Middle Ages.