The article presents a ceramic scale of cooking pots from Pereyaslavl Ryazansky of the 12th-18th centuries. The chronology of the pottery is based on the statistical and typological analysis of 17,140 rim fragments from the Zhitny excavation site in the Kremlin. To generalize it the researchers studied a sample of 149 whole forms, full profiles and the most representative large fragments of vessels obtained from excavations throughout the town (the Kremlin, Ostrog (stockade town), the upper and lower posads (quarters) and those stored in the Ryazan Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. This analysis made it possible to significantly expand and clarify the existing typology of cooking pots from Pereyaslavl Ryazansky. In order to simplify the identification of the established types, they were linked to Koval and Strikalov's ceramic scales by the shape of the rim.
The article discusses coin finds made during archaeological excavations conducted by the Institute of Archaeology RAS in 2019-2021 on the territory of the Grand Public Garden of the Moscow Kremlin. The main research object of the excavations were the foundations of the Old and New Prikazy (administrative bodies) buildings from the second half of the 16th-17th century and a cultural layer rich in finds deposited next to them. A total of 193 Russian coins and a fragment of a West European counting token were found. Only four of them date back to the 15th century, while all the rest were issued between the 2nd third of the 16th century to the 1620s in various minting centres of the Russian state (Moscow, Tver, Veliky Novgorod, and Pskov). The composition of the real money supply circulating in the centre of the capital during this period is of particular interest. The published collection provides valuable data on the history of Moscow monetary circulation during the Tsarist period, especially the 17th century, including the era of the monetary reform of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1655-1663).
Modern archaeogenetics studies extensive datasets of materials as well as individual people. Individual studies typically aim to identify a specific historical person. Of special interest is the study of individuals lacking historical records, while the archaeological context of their burials suggests their high social status. The complex study of such a burial is the goal of this article. The archaeological study of the Pereslavl-Zalessky Cathedral and surrounding area (headed by Vl.V. Sedov) was conducted in 2020. The white-stone sarcophagus and a burial in it were uncovered in the northern part of the Cathedral. The burial in sarcophagus No. 5 belongs to an individual of high status. This is evident both from its location within the cathedral and from the very fact that a white-stone sarcophagus was constructed for this person. Sarcophagus No. 5 can be dated to the 14th-15th centuries AD, i.e. before the emergence of true anthropomorphic sarcophagi which have rounded or rectangular shoulders on the outside. The skeletal remains, which are well preserved but incomplete, belong to a man aged about 50 with signs of age-related changes. The results of genomic analysis showed a mixed origin of the individual. This may be the result of marriages between persons of genetically different population, which is typical for medieval elites. The most likely origin of his ancestors, based on the results of the analysis of autosomal markers and mtDNA, may be associated with the Alanic groups and the medieval population of the western Balkan Peninsula. The probable close family marriages of his parents that were identified during the study are common for the aristocracy.
The article presents the results of a study on the collection of plant seeds obtained during rescue archaeological excavations at the Malmyzh 5 site located in the Lower Amur River. The 2021 study covered the remains of 22 pit dwellings of a long-term occupied settlement of the Iron Age Poltse cultural tradition, dated by C-14 to the first half of the 1st millennium AD. Using the water flotation technique, almost 250 liters of soil from deposits of nine objects (eight dwellings and a rubbish pit) was investigated producing 27 samples. A total of 1242 seeds were obtained in 25 samples. Of these, 702 seeds (56.5% of the collection) belonged to cultural plants. Among them two species of millet were identified: 547 pcs. belonged to foxtail millet and 155 pcs. - to broomcorn millet. Gathering plants were represented by 410 specimens belonging to 11 taxa, corresponding to 33.0% of the collection. The weedy plants were represented by 83 seeds from 14 taxa. Remains of cultural millet were found in all eight dwellings studied with flotation and in the rubbish pit. The seeds of foxtail millet are numerically predominant among cultigenens. The quantity, ubiquity, and frequency of millet remains demonstrate the importance of both millet species for the settlement population. At the same time, the low density of millet seeds in settlement deposits, together with the reconstructed size of the settlement and the long period of its existence, as well as relatively small area of land potentially suitable for farming, led to the conclusion that agricultural products were not the main component of the population's diet. The location of the settlement, numerous finds of fish bones and specialized fishing tools clearly demonstrate the significant role of river fishing for the dwellers of Malmyzh 5.
The paper focuses on the study of a unique archaeological complex of cremation sites (ustrina) found in the southern suburb of Tauric Chersonesus in 2021-23. During the excavations, 342 sites of 1st-2nd centuries AD were identified. An analysis of their design, stratigraphy and location features allowed establishing spatial patterns and possible cult practices associated with the cremation ceremony. Special attention is paid to the technical aspects of the construction and operation of ustrina, including the availability of blowouts, as well as the reuse of individual sites. The article examines the material evidence of the funeral ritual, including ceramic vessels, jewellery, and elements of the funeral costume. The archaeological material from Chersonesus is compared with similar sites in other provinces of the Roman Empire, which makes it possible to identify both common Roman traditions in the organization of necropolises and regional peculiarities. These studies confirm the existence of a cremation tradition in Chersonesus, which developed under the influence of Roman funeral practices. The results obtained are important for reconstructing the social and ritual context of cremation rites in ancient Chersonesus and clarify the understanding of the funerary traditions of the Roman era. Further study of the necropolis and its infrastructure will allow for a deeper understanding of the dynamics of cultural influences and the evolution of ritual practices on the periphery of the Roman Empire.
