Rescue archaeological excavations at the Sarapulka site: new archaeological object of the Verkhneobskaya culture at the Inya river

In the Fall of 2019, rescue excavations were carried out at the Sarapulka site located on the border of the mountain taiga and steppe zones of Western Siberia (Moshkovsky and Toguchinsky Districts of Novosibirsk Region). The largest part of the site will be destroyed by the construction of a bridge across the Inya River (right tributary of the Ob River). The main part of the archaeological site (1792.27 m2), located on the eastern edge of the first river terrace, was investigated. Numerous traces of anthropogenic impact were found at the site. Over a dozen archaeological contexts demonstrate the appropriating economic activities of the population of Verkhneobskaya Medieval culture and presumably, the carriers of the tradition of combed pottery of the Bronze Age. The chronological range of the site was expanded and was dated to the earlier period of third millennium BC - late first millennium AC. During archaeological excavations, the boundaries of this object of archaeological heritage were established with more precision resulting in the increased area of the site. The lithologically expressed cultural layer was discovered in the central part of the site. Archaeological finds were not numerous; as a rule they occurred in a scattered manner. Collapsed vessels or large fragments of pottery were rare. Utility pits with charcoal fragments and spots of calcined soil, possibly associated with smoke shops for preserving the food procured by hunting, have been discovered. These structures should still be dated by the remains of wood fuel. Pottery evidence from the excavation area can be attributed to the Verkhneobskaya archaeological culture of the Early Middle Ages and combed pottery tradition of the Bronze Age. The toolkit is represented only by a stone arrowhead which cannot be used for establishing an accurate date. Distribution patterns of some objects at the site have been identified. Osteological findings were more common on the southern slope where the inhabitants of the site might have butchered the carcasses acquired by hunting. Main structures in the ground, such as utility pits and lower parts of ancient smoke shops were located in the central and northern parts of the archaeological site.