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ABSTRACT. Excavation of the Schurovo archaeological site, located on a ~12-m river terrace, has revealed 3 occupation periods: 1) as a dwelling site of the Migration period (4th-5th centuries AD); 2) as local burial mounds (termed "houses of the dead" in Russian); 3) and as a ground burial period, which left a cremation layer directly on the ground and is now covered by the Little Ice Age overbank alluvium. The latter 2 periods contain few artifacts, which makes radiocarbon dating more appropriate for establishing their chronology. The burial mounds were dated to the mid-6th to mid-7th centuries AD. The accumulation of colluvium in mound ditches points to a rather long (at least a century) pause between the construction of burial mounds and the appearance of ground burials. Dates from the cremation layer (ground burials) span a wide range from the 8th to 13th centuries AD. As the younger dates do not correspond to regional historical and archaeological contexts, we believe them to be "rejuvenated" due to their long exposure before burial to the young alluvium. The ground burials are dated to the mid-8th to mid-10th centuries AD, the so-called "dark ages" in the Moscow region characterized by very few archaeological data. An isolated ancient branch of the Oka River near the archaeological site was radiocarbon dated and found to be active until the mid-10th to later-12th centuries AD, meaning that it was likely used as a local harbor on the transit river route throughout the site's occupation.

The article describes the results and the methodology for determining the initial presence of wares containing cellulose in the Vyatichi funeral ceremony in the Middle Ages in the natural zone of the southern taiga, Moscow region. Cellulose is a high molecular weight polymer. Cellulose (in other words – fiber) contains up to half of all the organic carbon of the biosphere, therefore, the prevalence of various microorganisms utilizing cellulose is quite high. In addition, the prevalence of this trophic group of microorganisms significantly complicates the diagnosis in archaeological contexts, since it’s necessary to understand the total number of these microorganisms on different depths in certain soil types and certain climatic zones. To overcome this difficulty, we conducted a two-month experiment to determine the rates of decomposition of the added cellulose substrate by soils from the adjacent structures of cremated burials using method, providing results comparable with published data. For the first time, there was made an attempt to identify soils of cremated burials with an increased content of cellulose, by analogy to microbiological methods of identifying keratin-containing substrates of ancient burials. The presence of cellulolytic microorganisms was identified by counting of colony forming units after planting on a solid nutrient environment – soil agar enriched in carboxymethyl cellulose. The object of the experiments was soil samples from medieval burials with cremations. Comparisons were made with the background soil of the same age as cremations (XII century), which have been developing according to the zonal type on the kurgan mound nearby to cremated burials. Three sites with maxima activity were revealed, according to the archaeological context. The article continues the cycle of experimental planting of trophic groups of microorganisms for the purpose of indicating substances that entered the soil at different periods of time, from antiquity to the Middle Ages, and have been utilized by microorganisms up to nowadays.

Darovoye Estate is the place where F. M. Dostoevsky spent his childhood (1832–1836). The article analyzes the results of excavations in the central part of the Darovoye estate carried out in 2005–2020. The dating of remnants of buildings, complexes (mainland pits), as well as the entire lens of the cultural layer as a whole is considered. Based on the collection, which includes coins, stamps on glass and porcelain objects, ceramics, objects made of non-ferrous metals and iron, the author concludes that there were two main periods of development of the estate within its modern borders. The first refers to the mid-18th — early 19th centuries, the second covers the second half of the 19th — first half of the 20th century. An analysis of the ceramics collection allowed us to identify the types of ceramics characteristic of the 1820s — 1830s. The author concludes that the time period between the Napoleonic Wars to the 1850s is not represented in the present collection and suggests that during the “Dostoevsky period” center of the estate was located outside the current museum borders.