The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

archaeoloGIcal expeDItIons archaeoloGIcal expeDItIons
The copper imitations of Late Kushan coins found on the
floor in the rooms suggest that the facilities were operational
during the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Exploration works on the street to the east of the complex
which ran past the dungeon and led to the arch showed
that the entrance to the Citadel had been reconstructed
at least thrice.
In the South Suburb, part of a mihrab was unearthed in the
building which served as local mosque in the late 10th –
early 11th century; clay-and-gypsum coating was preserved
in situ on both sides of the mihrab niche. Other fragments
of the panel found on the floor nearby were decorated
with a carved geometric and plant ornament and colourful
frescoes; the fragments were stabilized and transferred
to the local museum.
Restoration works were performed on previously excavated
facilities, i.e. Tower 8 in Shahristan II as well as the minaret
and column bases in an early temple located inside the
citadel.
KraSnaya rechKa excavaTionS
Head of unit: А. Torgoyev
Archaeological excavations on the Krasnaya Rechka site
were continued jointly with the expedition of the Institute
of History and Cultural Heritage of the Kyrgyz Republic
National Academy of Sciences. The works were
conducted on three areas, two of which were located
within the so-called south extension and the third one in
Shahristan II.
The most interesting results were obtained in the south extension,
which includes a complex of buildings with a high
triangular hill identified as a Zoroaster temple.
A wall in the south extension was sectioned; like other
walls on the site, it was constructed using the khantu technique
from separate clay ribbons placed into the frame.
upper dvina expediTion
Head of expedition: Boris Korotkevich
Archaeological excavations were conducted in the south
of the Pskov Region in Anashkino, Borokhnovo and
Mikhailovskoye. The works in Anashkino continued the
activities launched in 1991. The occupation layer was
found to contain materials from the Late Bronze (late
2nd – early 1st millennium B.C.) to the mediaeval period
(9th – 10th century). In 2010 the edge of the flat ground
and the slopes were examined for surviving ancient layers
and traces of ancient defence structures. As a result,
new data were obtained on the use of the site during the
first half of the 1st millennium B.C. and at the end of the
Paikend Citadel. South-west sector. “Barracks”.
Room 5 (khumkhona storage facility)
The building history of the wall was limited to just one
period. Apparently, the wall quickly became unnecessary
and was used for burials. In the past season, a burial with
a small Tyurgesh coin lying near the head was unearthed.
The most interesting results were obtained in the course
of exploratory works on one of the hills within the building
complex with a triangular hill in the middle. A detached
building with massive adobe walls was discovered. The unearthed
area shows that the building was surrounded
by corridors and may be identified as a Buddhist temple.
The area near the entrance was found to contain small
fragments of an unbaked clay sculpture which formed part
of the headdress of a Buddhist character.
On Shahristan II, stratigraphy and excavation works on
residual twelfth-century structures (destroyed by fire)
in the top building layer were performed.
1st millennium A.D. Works in Mikhailovskoye became necessary
as the land with the ancient site was bought by a private
owner. The cultural layer was damaged on the slope
along the whole of the site by a fence built around the
plot. The expedition cleaned up the edge of the terrace
resulting from the construction. Traces of previously undetected
ancient defence moats were found together with
the cultural layer that contained artifacts dating from the
Early Iron Age. In Borokhnovo, exploration works were
started on the mediaeval defence structures dating back
to the middle or late 1st millennium. A large area with remains
of a defence wall or levee running along the edge
was unearthed. The works are scheduled for completion
in the next year.
ancienT ruSSian expediTion
Head of expedition: Sergei Tomsinsky
Inspection of the conserved 2009 excavation pit on the site
of Vasily III and Ivan IV’s residence in Aleksandrovskaya
Sloboda (Aleksandrov, Vladimir Region) was performed;
the topography was clarified of the residual palace structures
outside the Dormition Convent (the Tsar’s Court)
awaiting further field research. The location of at least
one large structure was identified which formed a single
planning pattern with the building remains explored
in 2005–2009.
TranSKuBan expediTion
Head of expedition: Yuri Piotrovsky
Exploration works continued on the Eneolithic settlement
of Meshoko located on the south of Kamennomostsky village
(Adyg Republic) dating from the late 5th – early 4th
millennium B.C. Stratigraphic works were completed on
Pit VII to explore the site’s lowest layer (light-grey humus
loam) reaching 1 m in thickness. As a result, a large
collection of artifacts was obtained dating from the early
period of Meshoko. The most significant observations
can be made from the pottery ornaments. Apart from
stick-on decorations, the ceramic material found in the
lowest layer bore pearly patterns most typical of the pottery
retrieved from the top layer (dark-grey humus saturated
with rubble), indicating certain cultural succession
between the two main layers. A large number of shale
bracelets were found. The retrieved flint tools included
arrowheads and inserts chipped on both sides, as well
as scrapers. The most common stone tools retrieved were
flat objects sharpened by chipping on both sides (stone
knives). In addition, remains of a cob floor were found at
the depth of about 2 m at the border of the lowest level
and the buried soil; most of the flooring remains outside
the area explored.
Archaeological exploration was restarted on the Kostromskoi
Mound (Division Kurgan 1) near Severny Khutor, Mostovsky
District, Krasnodar Region. Although the mound,
explored by N. Veselovsky in 1897, has long been considered
a definitive Early Scythian monument, our knowledge
of the burial structure, funerary ritual and inventory is still
incomplete. The current height of the mound is 4 m; the
diameter is 45 m. The 2010 pit (gross area c. 480 sq. m)
included a large segment of Veselovsky’s trench, in the
previously unexplored part of which an artificial pad
was unearthed, partly sectioned by Veselovsky’s trench.
An oval pit sized 1 × 1.2 m, filled with 18 horse sculls was
located at the north edge of the pad; on the south, the upper
parts of two burnt pillars were found. On the surface
of the pad, fragments of three radially arranged burnt
Kostromskoi Mound, seen from the west
102 103