THE INFLUENCE OF NATURAL FACTORS ON THE CONDITIONS OF EXISTENCE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN THE ASTRAKHAN VOLGA REGION IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Abstract

This article analyzes the influence of Caspian Sea level fluctuations on the distribution of medieval archaeological sites in the Volga Delta. Drawing on archaeological research from recent decades, the author critically examines E.M. Pigarev’s monograph and proposes a more detailed method for correlating archaeological layers with historical hydrology. The central object of the study is the Samosdelka settlement, identified with the cities of Itil and Saksin. Using this example, the stratigraphic data (including fire and flood layers) are analyzed in detail and linked to key historical events: the Kipchak raids of the 11th century, the Mongol conquest of 1236/37, and subsequent Caspian transgressions. The author demonstrates how dated flood layers discovered at Excavation Site No. 2 allow us to refine the chronology of sea level rise in the 13th – 14th centuries. The methodology tested at the Samosdelka settlement is also applied to the Left Bank Samosdelka settlement and the Semibugry archaeological complex (the settlements of Maly Kostyube-1 and Baraniy Bugor). This allows the author to hypothesize a migration of political and economic centers from the central part of the delta (active during the Khazar period of the 8th – 9th centuries) to its higher western part (the Samosdelka settlement) due to the rise in the Caspian Sea level in the 10th century. Specifically, the author substantiates the hypothesis that brick structures at Maly Kostyube-1 were dismantled and the building materials were transferred to the Samosdelka settlement for the construction of a fortress. The article emphasizes the need to consider local adjustments (the difference in sea and river levels at a given site) when using paleohydrological data and outlines directions for future research, for example, at the Moshaik settlement.