Selek Fortified Settlement Of The Bronze Age In The Bashkir Trans-Urals (Study Results Of 2003)

Abstract

The paper features the information on Selek fortified settlement discovered in 2003 in the Bashkir Trans-Urals (the eastern foothills of the Irendyk ridge, on the left bank of the Urgaz river, the right tributary of the Ural River; in the Baimaksky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan according to the contemporary administrative division). According to its architectural attributes, the monument belongs to the so-called “Arkaim type” and dates from different periods of the Bronze Age (Sintashta, Alakul and Sargary cultures). It consists of two squares – circular and rectangular, marked with ramparts up to 1 meter high and 5-7 meters wide. Regarding the circular part, it is assumed that there were radially located dwellings (the so-called “residential walls”), and concerning the rectangular part, a linear layout of the internal space has been traced. Based on an analysis of the information obtained in the exploration shaft, a preliminary conclusion was made about the difference in timing between the circular and rectangular parts of the settlement. It has been shown that the area of fortified settlements of this type (the so-called “Country of towns”) should be significantly expanded to the west, and its western border should be drawn along the edge of the mountainous area of the Southern Urals. On the basis of a comparative landscape analysis, a justification of the attribution of the Bronze Age sites in this area to a narrow and highly humid strip along the eastern slope of the Irendyk ridge was identified, in terms of which they fundamentally differ from the later sites of the Early Iron Age located in mountain valleys.

Keywords

• archaeology
• bronze age
• sintashta culture
• alakul culture
• sargary culture
• fortified settlements
• monuments of the “arkaim type”