The metal ages and medieval period. Рубрика в журнале - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
Woven, knitted, and wattled 17th–18th century textiles from Tara fortress, Western Siberia
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“Angular” and “Trestle” Forts in 17th to Early 18th Century Russia
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Written sources of the 17th century mention “kosoi” (angular or slanted) forts. F.F. Laskovsky of the Engineer Corps interpreted this term as referring to forts with walls made from inclined logs (palisades). This idea was generally accepted by the scholarly community. The architect S.N. Balandin, without offering any proof, claimed that the “kozelchaty” forts (from “kozly”, trestle supports) were a subtype of “kosoi” (angular) forts. The purpose of the present study is to test the conclusions of Laskovsky and Balandin using new evidence. As it turns out, neither the written nor archaeological sources support these versions. In fact, there is enough information to disprove both. The meaning of the word “kosoi” in the 17th–19th century Russian language suggests four hypotheses regarding the structure of walls of “angular” forts. Comparison of them reveals that the term “angular” referred to fortifications with nonstraight walls, those joining not at a right angle, as well as those that were triangular in plan view. The specific layout of “kozelchaty” forts cannot be determined due to the lack of evidence. Probably their walls actually rested on trestle supports—two supports made of two or three logs each, on which a horizontal log was placed. Such forts were common mostly in northeast Asia, where forests were scarce, and the ground was frozen or rocky, preventing people from digging ditches for log palisade walls.
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“Caster's cache” from Tartas-1, late Krotovo (Cherno-ozerye) culture, Baraba forest-steppe
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We describe two metal vessels, procured by looters and offered to D.G. Messerschmidt, who in 1722 traveled across southern Krasnoyarsk Territory. A bronze cup, judging by a description in researcher's journal and by the accompanying drawing, resembled Old Turkic specimens. However, the hunting scene engraved on its body suggests Chinese provenance. A silver vessel from the vestry of Fort Karaulny church is peculiar to 7th–10th century Sogdian toreutics. It evidently belongs to a group of vessels with polygonal bodies, specifi cally to type 1—octagonal. Having been manufactured in Sogd, polygonal vessels were exported to China. Chinese jewelers copied the form of “wine cups” and adorned them with traditional fl oral designs and various scenes. An octagonal silver cup with an Uyghur inscription, found in 1964 in a kurgan at a medieval cemetery Nad Polyanoi, was likewise manufactured by Tang artisans. Other polygonal silver cups are listed—heptagonal and sexagonal. It is concluded that vessels made of precious metals testify to stable trade relations that emerged in 700–1100 and connected Siberia with Sogd and the Tang Empire.
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