Russian archaeologists this summer will carry out excavations at the site of a little-studied ancient settlement of the 9th-10th centuries near the village of Davydovo, Tambov region. The expedition participants will have to study what the fortress was like from the side of the Serp River and try to find out why the ancient settlement perished. This was told to TASS by the candidate of historical sciences, archaeologist Sergei Andreev.
"Davydovskoe settlement is a key archaeological site in the Tambov region, since almost all the epochs of antiquity are represented there on a small area, its cultural layers are incredibly rich in artifacts of the late Eneolithic, Scythian period, the Middle Ages. The settlement itself is the remains of a burnt down ancient Mordovian border fortress, which was built and destroyed the same number of times during a military attack. The task of our summer expedition is to answer questions related to the functioning of this fortress, the presence of its fortifications on the river side. We want to understand how these fortifications changed, "the agency's interlocutor said.
According to him, the first surface excavations of the settlement were carried out back in 1905, a hundred years later an archaeological expedition of the Tambov State University (TSU) named after I. G. R. Derzhavin. Bronze decorations, iron tools and ceramics of the ancient Mordovian culture were discovered, the remains of dwelling and outbuildings of different eras were investigated. It was established that the fortress was burned down in the 11th century, but what kind of conflict occurred here is not clear, given that the Slavs and Mordovians who lived here existed quite peacefully with each other.
Andreev noted that new research will allow historians to answer many questions, as well as subsequently recreate a 3D model of the ancient fortress at all four stages of its existence. History students of TSU are expected to take part in the excavation.