Medieval settlement Kupchegen-1 in altai
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2026.4.280.294Keywords:
archaeology, Altai, Middle Ages, pre-Mongol period, settlements, Kupchegen-1, paleoeconomics, economyAbstract
The article deals with the results of research at the Kupchegen-1 settlement, located in the Ongudai district of the Altai Republic. Emergency salvage excavations were carried out on the eroding part of the settlement. The site is relatively small, with a total area of approximately 0.1 hectares. In 2021–2022, 96 square meters were excavated at the settlement, obtained a significant archaeological collection. The bulk of the material includes fragments of animal bones (around 43,000) and pottery (around 3,800). Metal, bone and stone artifacts were found, including items related to horsе equipment (horseshoe, peg), weapons (armor plates, bow strap, quiver loop, arrowhead blank), tools (chisel, file, leatherworking tools), jewelry (beads, pendants) and household items (knives, fire lighter). Also unfinished artifacts, iron-smelting slag and bone-carving waste were discovered. Of particular interest is the discovery of the lower millstone of a hand mill, indicating agricultural activity. Furthermore, numerous irrigative canals are traced in the valley, some of which may have been used by the inhabitants that abandoned the Kupchegen-1 settlement. Cultural and chronological analysis of the materials discovered at the site dates the main assemblage to the final centuries of the I and the early centuries of the II millennium AD. In addition, the presence of solitary finds from earlier periods (Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age) was noted at the site.
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