Nikolay A. Krenke1,2,*, Aleksey V. Chernov3,4,**, Ekaterina G. Ershova4,***, and Ivan N. Ershov5,****

1Institute of Geography RAS, Moscow, Russia
2Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia
3Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow, Russia
4Moscow Lomonosov State University, Moscow, Russia
5Institute of Archaeology RAS, Moscow, Russia

*E-mail: nkrenke@mail.ru
**E-mail: av.chernov@mpgu.su
***E-mail: ekaterinagershova@mail.ru
****E-mail: ershovin@yandex.ru

Keywords: Gnyozdovo, paleogeography, paleo-riverbeds, spore-pollen analysis, settlements, hand-made, early wheel-made, late medieval pottery.

The article presents the results of 2016–2022 years’ activities in the western part of the Gnyozdovo ar­chaeological complex. The authors build a hypothetical model of the valley landscape dynamics and the position of the Dnieper riverbed in the Holocene. The research revealed traces of settling and economic activity confined to the Dnieper floodplain and the valleys of its small tributaries – the Olsha and Lub­nya. Based on radiocarbon dating and pollen analysis, it is assumed that, starting from the 5th century AD, agricultural development of the lower levels of the Dnieper valley in the Gnyozdovo area was in­tensive and, probably, continuous to the present day. It led to very strong disturbance of the settlement sites, which form a network as dense as the mound groups.

DOI: 10.7868/S3034577425040055