Memorial Complex of the Second Half of the 7th–8th Centuries at the Hillfort Near the Village of Gora Uslan

Abstract

The author discusses the structure which is stone mound. Inside it the remains of a campfire were found containing a complex of finds. The object was found on the hillfort near the village of Gora Uslan, located on the left bank of the Upa River, within the boundaries of the city of Tula. Due to the absence of human remains, this complex does not belong to burial sites, but is associated with memorial rites. On the basis of analogies, the complex of finds can be dated to the second half of the 7th–8th century. The buckle from the campfire has analogies in the mordovian burial grounds. The find of a miniature handmade jug is connected with the steppe antiquities. The handmade vessel found at the foothill of the mound is close to “Sakhnovka” type materials. Similar objects on the territory of the Oka-Don watershed and adjacent regions are not known. Structurally and functionally the most similar constructions are known in nomadic antiquities of the Samara Volga region of the 7th–8th centuries. The cultural syncretism of the published complex demonstrates of complicated the ethno-cultural situation in the region during the second half of the 7th –8th centuries.

Keywords

• archaeology
• tula region
• oka-don watershed
• hillfort
• 7th–8th century
• memorial complex