An Early Iron Age Dwelling at the Krokhalevka-11 Settlement in the Novosibirsk Ob Region

Abstract

This paper presents archaeological materials from a dwelling of the Bolsherechenskaya Culture, which was partially excavated at the Krokhalevka-11 settlement (excavations of the 2017 field season, northern part of the Upper Ob River region). The site has been known since the late 1970s. It contains cultural layers ranging from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. A significant part of the settlement area overlaps the Krokhalevka-5 burial mounds, which contain graves dating from the Neolithic to the medieval period. The dwelling remains represented a rectangular pit with a long entrance corridor, slightly deepened into the loess soil. The dwelling was constructed on the slope of a cape on the shore of an oxbow lake system, with the entrance facing the edge of the terrace. Interior details, including two hearth remains, two storage pits, and several postholes, are described. The hearths were located in the central part of the dwelling and represented two types: one on an earthen floor, another in a round pit. The latter was partially coated by clay. It has been hypothesized that the second hearth type was used for baking grain flatbreads (similar to a tandoor). The ceramics, structural features, and interior details correspond to the pottery and house-building traditions of the Bolsherechenskaya Culture of the Upper Ob region and the eastern part of the Baraba forest-steppe. Based on comparative analytical data, the period of the dwelling occupation is dated to the 6th–4th centuries BC.