Archaeological Observations in a Section of the Cultural Layer of the City of Tomsk in 2020

Abstract

This article describes the results of rescue archaeological works at the site of archaeological heritage “Section of the cultural layer of the city of Tomsk on Altaiskaya St., 6, second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries,” in the area of constructing apartment building. The site is located in the central part of Tomsk (historical region) on the left bank of the Ushaika River (right tributary of the Tom River). In the course of archaeological observations, fundamentally new information on stratigraphic and planigraphic context of the site was obtained. A collection of archaeological objects (831 artifacts), including fragments of pottery, porcelain dishware, earthenware, meta dishware and glassware, leather and birch bark shoes, metal tools, jewelry and household items, coins, glazed and unglazed clay tiles, and cast-iron gravestone was collected in the destroyed cultural layer. The complex of things dates back to the period from 1830 to 1910, and enriches our understanding of various aspects of everyday life in Tomsk at that time. During archaeological observations, areas of undisturbed cultural layer at that site of archaeological heritage have not been found. As a special type of archaeological field works, archaeological observations make it possible to successfully employ the entire set of methodological tools available to archaeologists, focus on archaeologically promising sites, and accelerate works on unpromising or ruined areas.