extended abstracts - Geomorphic Processes and Geoarchaeology

Geomorphic processes and geoarchaeology
explanation is that these "inconvenient" from the modern point of view elements of relief
formed a basis for the construction of houses and other buildings.
The economic structures were mainly created within the following two types of
landscape complexes: 1) valleys of meandering small rivers incised into the high bank of
the 3-rd river terrace and the valley slope (typical example is the town of Setun on the
Setun River, Busharino on the Setun River, etc.); 2) banks of the Moskva River within its
meanders, where the edges of high bank «close» valley segments about 1 km long,
forming a natural «theatre», in which the stage lies on the low floodplain, looked through
from the elevated site of fortified ancient settlement, while the «boxes» and «bottom rows
of the stalls» are situated on the natural landslides, where houses and other buildings were
constructed and economic activities took place.
The examples of such monuments upstream the Moskva River are the sites of
fortified ancient settlement Dyakovo, Dunino, Mamonovo, Kuntsevo, Spas-Tushino,
Golievo, Znamenskoye, Troitskoye, etc. The structure of such core area or landscapearcheological
complex includes the «external contour», i.e. the site of fortified ancient
settlement with walls and ditches, fenced fields on the near-edge part of the bank limited
by erosion forms (tops of small gullies); and the main economic zone, i.e. surfaces of low
terraces and landslides the rear parts of which adjoined the slopes of high bank. The
bottom level was formed by the floodplain grazing areas, as well as the locks and fishing
traps in the river.
The site of the ancient settlement Dunino is the only place in the Moscow oblast
where all the above-mentioned elements are archeologically revealed and could be
visually distinguished because the history of the area has contributed much to
their preservation.
In the Iron Age a typical feature of the settlement system in the Moskva River
basin was that specific «settlement-economic complexes» rather than fortified ancient
settlements (as it was thought earlier) were on the top of settlement hierarchy. Numerous
places where the cultural layer with ceramics, and sometimes even the remains of
dwellings, was accumulated are located too close to each other to be «independent» cells
of the settlement system (as, for example, the medieval settlements). They are situated
mainly on the surface of landslides or within the remnants of river terraces.
As a place for the main fortified settlement a steep-sloped remnant of high valley
outwash with the sloping surface was chosen by first settlers of the Iron Age. In our
opinion the remnant was probably formed by erosion and landslide processes which had
transformed the former valley outwash surface. As a result several remnants and
morphometrically close to them inter-network watershed «crests» had been formed within
the section of the Moskva River valley. Those habitats have the most suitable soils for
cultivation of those times with sufficient fertility, good water-air properties and early
terms of readiness for spring field work (these are among the «warmest» and «earlyready»
soils of the flat interfluves of the area). Therefore it is possible to get the
guaranteed yields of the majority of agricultural crops practically under any weather
conditions there.
It was not by chance that the remnant was chosen for the fortified ancient
settlement. Its area is optimum for the settlement; it has steep, almost vertical slopes 20-
30 m high. It is separated from the outwash surface by a narrow crosspiece dozens meters
wide. All this has considerably facilitated ground works during the construction of walls
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