Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 38 (3) 2010

Annotation:  Three Scenarios of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition. Scenario 1: The Middle to Upper Paleo Chronology and Periodization of Upper Paleolithic Sites in Mongolia Projectile Points and their Implications The “Malta Realism”: On Interpreting Siberian Anthropomorphic Figurines from the Upper Paleolithic Private Collection of Seima-Turbino Bronzes from the Irtysh: The Tragedy of a Unique Site Destroyed Sargat Burial Sites in the Middle Irtysh Area: A Gender Analysis The Archaeological and Geophysical Study of Defense Works Yenisei Kyrgyz “Forts” in the Russian Reports of the 17th Century and the Archaeological Reality The Wusun in Northeastern Central Asia Eighteenth Century Trends in the Development of Buryat Clothing Field Trip by B.N. Gorodkov and G.M. Dmitirev-Sadovnikov to the Vakh River Valley in 1913 A Comparison of the Medieval and Modern Populations of the Novgorod Region, Based on Facial Reconst The Origin of the Late Medieval Population of the Novgorod Republic (13th–16th Centuries), Based on   

The Archaeological and Geophysical Study of Defense Works

M.G. Ivanova and I.V. Zhurbin.

The following article discusses a methodology of the study of earthworks based on the combined application of archaeological and geophysical methods. This methodology enables scholars to identify archaeological objects which are not exposed to the earth’s surface, to reconstruct their shape, and to determine their geometrical parameters. Archaeological excavations provide an opportunity to correlate observed anomalies with real objects. The fi nal step within this methodology involves building a three-dimensional reconstruction of defense works based on geophysical data. The effectiveness of this approach has been demonstrated through the archaeological and geophysical study of Idnakar which is one of the largest medieval, fortifi ed settlements in the Kama region.

Keywords: Defense works, survey, shape, structure, Idnakar fortifi ed settlement, geophysics, three-dimensional reconstruction, defense systems.