Magnetometry of a Scythian Settlement in Siberia near Cicah in the Baraba Steppe 1999

Abstract

The legendary Scythians, controlling in the first millenium B. C. the vast steppes of Central Asia, were first described by Herodotus (5 century B. C.) as mounted nomads and feared warriors. This view was only little altered through the times until today. Even modern archaeology tries to verify this picture from antique times. Archaeological research nowadays is still considering the Scythians as nomads and concentrates mainly on the investigation of their burial buildings so called kurgans and on their admirable craftmenship and art style especially for metal work. Although one would think that these capabilities, the organisation and management of numerous people for constructing the huge kurgans, and the highly developed art style in metal work arc not likely for people living in the saddle. But the idea of searching for permanent habitations or settlements of the Scythians still would cause a mild smile by most scholars in the field of Central Eurasian archaeology. In the course of a joint project the Russian colleagues offered the opportunity for investigating a small fortified settlement of the Scythians which was recently discovered in the Baraba steppe south of Barabinsk in Southern Siberia near Cicah. Trial trenches excavated by the Russian archaeologists unearthed a grubenhaus inside a rather small ditched enclosure at the steep shore of a lake. Dating by typological reasons of the ceramics indicates a narrow spectrum in the 8"' and the 7 century B. C , which would be clearly Scythian period. It seems rather astonishing that there are still archaeological structures from the late Bronze Age or the Early Iron Age visible on the surface and well preserved, but the steppe seems to be almost resistant against erosion (Fig. I). In preparation of the planned excavation of the site at a bigger scale in 2000 the Department for Archaeological Prospection and Aerial Archaeology of the Bavarian State Conservation Office was asked for a geophysical prospection measurement in 1999.Thc Scythian site of Cicah, partly ploughed in the surrounding area, was also surveyed by field walking through our Russian archaeologist colleagues under Marina Chemyakina from the Siberian Academy, which resulted in a vast distribution of ceramics, stone tools and slags far beyond the ditched site visible on the surface. On the base of this distribution a 40 m grid over 400 x 120 m, laterly enlarged to 400 x 200 m (8 hectare) covering the whole area was topographically surveyed and marked by wooden pegs. I n s t r u m e n t s