An Early Iron Age Foundry at Kargat-4, Southwestern Siberia
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THE METAL AGES AND MEDIEVAL PERIOD DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2019.47.3.048-054 I.A. Durakov1 and L.S. Kobeleva2 1Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, Vilyuiskaya 28, Novosibirsk, 630126, Russia E-mail: [email protected] 2Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia E-mail: [email protected] An Early Iron Age Foundry at Kargat-4, Southwestern Siberia During the excavations at an Early Iron Age site of Kargat-4 in central Baraba, a foundry was discovered. The co mplex consisted of a melting-furnace in the center of a dwelling, and several utility pits. We give a detailed description of these features, their associated artifacts, and the archaeological context. Among the items from the infi ll are fragments of at least fi ve clay molds, three crucibles, drops of spilt bronze, a fragment of a nozzle, and bronze tongs. The casting-kit included three stone utensils—two whetstones and a hammer. All the molds were destined for casting-celts. The be st-preserved mold had two halves, which were found inside a dwelling (in a utility pit and at the entrance) and outside it. For each artifact a detailed description, the results of the analysis, and parallels are provided. The techniques of manufacturing molds and crucibles, such as those found at the site, are reconstructed. These are shown to have originated in areas situated west or southwest of Kargat-4. During the Early Scythian age, they were practiced in northern Kazakhstan and the Trans-Urals, and they were apparently introduced to central Baraba by people of the Bolshaya Rechka culture during the Bronze-to-Iron-Age transition, as evidenced by the Berlik and Krasnoozerka cultures. Keywords: Early Iron Age, Baraba forest-steppe, settlement, foundry, melting-furnaces, bronze-casting. Introduction the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences (today IAET SB RAS) led by N.V. Polosmak*. The most The settlement of Kargat-4 is located on a cape formed striking and extraordinary feature of the settlement was by the bank of the Kargat River and fl oodplain terrace an industrial complex for manufacturing metal products, of Lake Chicha, which in ancient times was a part of which consisted of a melting-furnace and several utility Lake Chany, 3.8 km to the west-northwest of the village pits. Therein, features of bronze-casting production of Zdvinsk, in the Zdvinsky District of the Novosibirsk were found, including fragments of clay casting-molds, Region (Fig. 1). The site was discovered in 1975 by crucibles, and drops of spilt bronze. V.A. Zakh (Molodin, Novikov, Sofeikov, 2000: 60) and was investigated in 1981 by an expedition from *The authors thank N.V. Polosmak for the opportunity to the Institute of History, Philology, and Philosophy of use her fi eld materials. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 47/3 (2019) 48–54 E-mail: [email protected] © 2019 Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences © 2019 Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences © 2019 I.A. Durakov, L.S. Kobeleva 48 I.A. Durakov and L.S. Kobeleva / Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 47/3 (2019) 48–54 49 Archaeological context of fi nds Visually, the settlement looked like a row of three shallow depressions located along the shoreline of Lake Chicha. According to pottery evidence, it was attributed to the Bolshaya Rechka culture of the Early Iron Age, representing one of the most western sites of that type. The settlement was dated to the 5th– 3rd centuries BC (Polosmak, 1987: 90). Two dwellings from the settlement have been investigated (Ibid.: 46–50). Traces of intense bronze-casting have been found only in dwelling No. 2. Dwelling No. 2 was a subrectangular pit oriented to the cardinal points (Fig. 2) and measuring 8.2 × 9.4 m. 0 240 km The walls were vertical; the bottom was even. The depth from the level of sterile soil was 0.25 m. The pit was fi lled with black sandy loam. On the eastern Fig. 1. The settlement of Kargat-4. side, a corridor-shaped exit 7 m long and 1 m wide was adjacent to the dwelling; its depth from the level of sterile soil was 0.3 m. Rows of post pits, which used to support the frame of the walls, were 0.15–0.25 m in diameter and 0.1–0.27 m deep. These were found along the walls of the pit in the dwelling and corridor. Two pits remaining from the supporting posts of the roof were in the center of the pit. The dwelling could have been a frame-and-post structure. Its fi lling contained a stone flake, two bone arrowheads, a horn clasp, an iron clip, and clay spindle whorls (Ibid.: Fig. 69, 2, 5–7, 77, 2–5). Traces of production activities were found in the form of slag, copper splashes, and also fragments of crucibles and casting-molds. The production complex consisted of a melting- furnace located in the central part of the pit, and several utility pits. The furnace was a rounded depression 0.85 m in diameter and 0.25–0.28 m in depth from the fl oor level, fi lled with calcined soil with inclusions of burnt bones and lenses of ash. A clay spindle whorl was also found in the infi ll (Fig. 3, 4). At the edge of the northeastern wall of the furnace, two drops of split bronze and 0 2 m another spindle whorl were found (Fig. 3, 5). The comp osition of the fi ndings suggests that the furnace 12 3456 had multiple functions: it was used not only for cooking and lighting, but also for melting metal and 78 9101112 fi ring technical ceramics. Notably, a large number Fig. 2. Bronze-casting area in dwelling No. 2 in plan view and in of spindle whorls (at least 6 items) were found cross section. in the bronze-casting area, while the neighboring 1 – sod layer; 2 – black sandy loam; 3 – whitish layer (mineral salts); dwelling No. 1 contained none. Since the opinion 4 – bronze tongs; 5 – fragment of a mold; 6 – drop of bronze; 7 – whetstone; about the connection of the spindle and thread with 8 – spindle whorl; 9 – accumulation of animal bones; 10 – ash; 11 – furnace; 12 – fragment of a crucible. the furnace and forge and metal-casting cult has already been suggested in the literature (Chindina, 2000: 271), it is impossible not to mention the presence Two pits fi lled with bones and located in the center of spindle whorls in priestly male burials of the Bolshaya of the dwelling were also a part of the bronze-casting Rechka culture (Troitskaya, 1987: 59–62; Troitskaya, complex. The fi rst pit was located 0.14 m east of the Borodovsky, 1994: 80). furnace; it was an oval depression elongated along the 50 I.A. Durakov and L.S. Kobeleva / Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 47/3 (2019) 48–54 was filled with black sooty loam with large lenses of ash. Fragments of ceram ics, animal bones, and a fragment of a mold for the casting of celts were found in the pit. On the territory of the bronze-foundry, items belonging to production equipment were discovered, including a fragment of a nozzle, bronze tongs, and fragments of at least fi ve molds and three crucibles. 1 2 Description and analysis of bronze-casting equipment Bronze tongs of the spring type were found at the fl oor level in the pre-entrance part of the dwelling. The tongs were 22 cm long and were made of a bent forged bronze rod, square in cross-section and measuring 0.4 × 0.6 cm 4 5 in the middle part. 3 0 2 cm Casting-molds included 12 fragments of not less than fi ve items. All of these were intended for casting-celts. Fig. 3. Finds from bronze-casting area in dwelling No. 2. Only the upper halves of two molds have survived. 1, 2 – stone whetstones; 3 – fragment of a stone hammer; One of these was int ended for the casting of celts 4, 5 – clay spindle whorls. with oval sockets (Fig. 4, 2). The size of the half was 4.5–5.5 × 2.2–2.4 cm. The thickness of the wall along the north–south and measuring 0.21 × 0.42 m with a depth upper edge of the socket was 0.5 cm. of 0.21 m. The second pit also had oval shape, and was Celts were also cast in the second mold. The imprint oriented west–east. Its size was 0.16 × 0.35 m. of a socket and a short sprue, square in cross-section, have The production complex also included the third been preserved (Fig. 4, 1). The size of the socket was pit fi lled with animal bones. This was located 1.14 m 4.0 × 2.2 cm. The length of the sprue channel was 1 cm; its northeast of the furnace. The pit had an oval shape cross-section was 0.6 × 0.3 cm. Both of the above molds elongated along the east-west axis. Its size was were made of clay with added organic material. 0.64 × 1.0 m; the depth from fl oor level was 0.23 m. A third mold has come down to us in the form of a In the metalworking of the Early Iron Age in Siberia, small fragment of the middle part of its body (Fig.