Research in the historical center of the town of Tara in 2019

The year of 2019 marked the twelfth season of archaeological studies in the historical center of the town of Tara. The article sums up the excavation results in the fortification area adjacent to the Tobolskaya fortress tower. Excavations at this site were carried out in 2009-2011 and in 2015-2019 and covered the total area of over 800 m2. Various structures have been discovered and studied, including household complexes as well as buildings of townwide and public function (fire tower, regimental chancellery, poorhouse, wine shop, and others). These works have made it possible to establish the town planigraphy and dynamics of its changes from the 17 th to the 19th century, and reveal architectural and structural features of the building system as well as living conditions of the Tara inhabitants in the fortified part of town. In 2019, the areas adjacent to the boundaries of the excavations done in 2018 (excavation pit 1) and 2015-2016 (excavation pit 2) were surveyed, which made it possible to unite the excavation pits into a single research area. The remains of a five-walled house with the ground floor deepened into the ground and structure of unclear purpose were found in excavation pit 1, located along the edge of the bedrock bank of the Irtysh River. Based on the collection of coins found in the cultural layer, the layer may be dated to the late 18th-mid 20th century. Excavation pit 2 revealed three building horizons of different periods. The earliest layer contained the remains of a cellar and pits for extracting clay, and was dated to the second half of the 18th century. The second layer contained the remains of a bathhouse and courtyard pavement, built in the mid 1920s and destroyed by the fire in the 1930s. The third building layer contained the posts remaining from fire tower which existed since the mid 1930s until 1964. In addition, in 2019, survey works were carried out at the site of St. Nicholas church and in northwestern part of the Tara fortress in order to identify prospective areas for excavations in the historical center of the town in the following years.