Use of three-walled log houses in the fortifications of medieval Rus

The paper analyzes the use of a construction made from three-walled block houses which are rather rare in defense architecture. The overview of concepts offered by historians of architecture and warfare of the 19th-20th centuries is complemented by a critical review of their ideas. The latter were developed on the basis of some speculative notions and adherence to a schematic drawing in Laskvosky's paper. By contrast with their efforts, information on three-walled log houses (half-gorodnyas) that were actually used for construction of the timber-earthen walls was collected. The task of these log houses was to ensure that fortifications were incorporated into hill, ditch sides, etc. The genesis of this construction technique in the period of 700 years, i.e. from late 9th till 16th century, was traced.