The «Kremlin diet» of medieval Russian town (based on isotope data)

The study of social and economic details relating to the medieval Russian town is one of the most urgent tasks currently facing the archaeologists of our country. The use of up-to-date methods makes it possible to obtain new independent information essential for piecing together convincing sources for the reconstruction of life in medieval towns. Skeletal material was analysed from burials dating from the 11 th to the 17 th centuries from the territory of the towns of Dmitrov, Rostislavl and Moscow. Typical of the deceased assumed to be of high social status and buried in the central parts of the towns were high indices for nitrogen levels This phenomenon was linked with the high proportion of protein content in their diet. For individuals from other burials, lower levels of nitrogen were recorded. А hypothesis was formulated regarding the key role played by social factors when it came to formation of nutrition models in medieval Russian towns