extended abstracts - Geomorphic Processes and Geoarchaeology

Geomorphic processes and geoarchaeology
was not built on and was preserved almost in the same form in which the people of the
middle ages saw it. As the town stopped functioning and the territory became
agricultural – it triggered off the modern destructive exogenous relief forming processes –
landslides which reduced the settlement area by 6.0 % (4,5 ha from 72.0 to 67.5 ha) for
less than 700 years. Soil slip moved the cultural layer downhill western and northern
settlement area including the fortifications. Influenced by such a move the cultural layer
underwent different deformations (rupture, fault, disconformity, etc), all this made the
traditional archeological research of the cultural layer impossible.
Based on long-term research and experience in the geological and
geomorphological control of destructive exogenous relief forming process, engineeringgeological
work at historical territory, also aimed at paleorelief restoration and cultural
layer mapping, a new algorithm of tracking methods and cultural layer research in
landslides process is introduced below:
1) identification and detailed characteristics of the landslide bodies in which the
cultural layer seems to survive with the slightly disrupted stratigraphy;
2) compiling list of previous areas of archeological excavations which stratigraphy
of the cultural layer seems to be similar or close with one of the investigated
landslide bodies;
3) sequencing landslide bodies for the further research;
4) laying of engineering-geological tees on the landslide body transversely to the
slope's trend using the spared engineering-geological hand-held drill for the identification
of the cultural layer in the landslide body;
5) based on the drilling data, mapping of the cultural layer stratification depth on
the landslide.
The method and the drilling data should be verified by using archeological tracing
by a trench.
We have already published the detailed analysis of geological, geomorphological
and archeological studies of Staraya Ryazan settlement and its results and conclusions.
Figure 1. Scheme of the profile 1 according to the data of engineering-geological drilling
in the fourth generation landslides of the root border of the Oka river valley
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