Chronicle Kozelsk. Issues and stages of archaeological investigation

Abstract

The article is devoted to the history of archaeological investigations of the ancient Russian town of Kozelsk, destroyed by Batu Khan in 1238. The problem of the annalistic town localization arose in 1992, following the first large-scale excavations in present-day Kozelsk – a regional center of Kaluga oblast. It is basically connected with inaccessibility or poor preservation level of the 11-13th-century cultural layer due to present-day building activities. The results of the works annually held here since 2010 are presented. Nowadays, the cultural layer of the Ancient Rus’ period has been revealed on a large area in modern Kozelsk historical zone. The data obtained make it possible to reveal the general features of the ancient Russian town structure and topography. According to a preliminary conclusion, in the course of most recent excavations (2013–2014), the remains of 11-13th-century Kozelsk citadel fortifications have been revealed. Conclusions about the dating of burnt wooden structures obtained by means of archaeological methods are confirmed by radiocarbon dates.

Keywords

• Ancient Rus’
• annalistic town of Kozelsk
• localization
• topography
• citadel
• fortifications.