Tarkhansky Ostrog of the 17th−18th centuries: directions of search and the beginning of research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to report on the process and results of locating the Russian fortress of Tarkhansky Ostrog of the 17th–18th centuries on the basis of information from written sources and cartographic materials directly related to the location of the site. The objectives of the research included preliminary identification of the presumable remains of the object by means of reconnaissance (20 sq. m) archaeological excavations and the use of geophysical methods (magnetometer mapping with Gem Systems GSM-19WG). This paper considers the information from chronicles, cartographic and written sources of the end of the 17th–19th centuries about Tarkhansky Ostrog, situated at the confluence of the Tura and Tobol Rivers in Western Siberia; the key milestones of its search, undertaken by our research team, and its prospective location and identification are reported. The basis of the investigation was formed by scanty written information about Tarkhansky Ostrog and by the cartographic materials of S.U. Remezov, as well as archaeological reconnaissance works carried out in modern times in the area of confluence of the rivers in the Yarkovsky district of Tyumen Oblast. G.F. Miller was mapping the Russian fortress to the place of the Tatar settlement of Tarkhan-kala, not far from the mouth of the river Tura, on the southeast side of Tobol. According to his description, the fortress was founded in 1628 and represented a citadel with a wooden fence and two turrets. P. A. Slovtsov wrote that Trakhansky Ostrog “at the mouth of the river Tura” was founded in 1631. Following the extensive analysis of the descriptions and cartographic materials, and as the result of the terrain analysis, an ancient butte (250 m ´ 40 m) of a suplra-floodplain terrace was discovered in 2020 on a floodplain inundable during seasonal floods to the southwest of the village of Tarkhany. It corresponds with the description of Yatman hill given by G.F. Miller; even today some traces of, seemingly, “Kuchum’s outpost” can be seen on this height. In the southern part of the butte, we carried down a 4 m ´ 5 m reconnaissance dig. The cultural deposit yielded scanty fragments of the Koptyaki Culture, Late Bronze Age, and Medieval ceramics, although mainly represented by shards of crockery manufactured on a potter’s wheel. Of the artefacts, a clasp knife, a brass thimble, a lead bullet, a gun flint, a lead strap seal, and a silver kopeck of Tsar Fyodor III Alekseyevich have been found. All the articles are dated to the 17th c., with the exception of the lead seal which belongs to the 19th c. With a high probability, we assume that the butte is associated with Tarkhansky Ostrog, although one can only talk about its decisive identification after large-scale archaeological investigations.

Keywords

• western siberia
• lower tobol river region
• confluence of tobol and tura
• tarkhansky ostrog
• written sources
• cartographic materials
• field research