Borodovskiy A.P.
Filling the ditches as a source for the reconstruction of the ecology and life of the population of the Umrevinsky prison of the 18th century
This article dwells upon the analysis of filling ditch parts of the Umrevisky Ostrog in the 18th century as sources of the environmental events and economic activities. In the course of archeological research, several parts of such land defensive fortifications that were especially well preserved as originally framed were identified. They were referred to the first stage of the Umrevinsky Ostrog construction, i.e. the first decades of the 18th century. The study of the dimensional peculiarities and trapezium-shaped profile of ditches of the Umrevinsky Ostrog allowed putting forward a suggestion concerning a type of field fortification hand tools used during construction in the 18th century. Based on the data of multi-year experimental and archeological studies, an initial period of the ditch filling was reconstructed in kind. It corresponded to the first decades of existence of the ditch as a defensive fortification. Besides, it was established that taking into account that ditch profiles are similar the processes of filling thereof recorded in stratigraphic sections are obviously different. Judging by the fact that the peculiarities of ditch filling in the archeological sites are one of the indicators of natural phenomena and man-caused impacts, several interpretations of establishment of their stratigraphic peculiarities were suggested. They include an array of factors determined both by destruction resulting from dilapidation of wooden defensive fortifications of the ostrog and by economic activities related to cattle breeding. Besides, one considered a probability of reflection of traces of large-scale forest fires that took place in the north of the Upper Ob region in the stratigraphic characteristics of the Umrevinsky Ostrog ditches. The osteologic discoveries in the middle part of one of the filled corners of the Umrevinsky Ostrog ditch testified to beef cattle breeding, products of which were described in the written sources of the second part of the 18th century concerning the Umrevinsky Ostrog. In the aggregate, filling of land defensive fortifications (ditches) of the Umrevinsky Ostrog of the 18th century is one of the most information-bearing archeological facilities containing data on different environmental phenomena and economic activities. This information significantly supplements rather limited written sources concerning the Siberian ostrogs of the 18th century.
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