Arkaim
| Аркаим (Russian) | |
 Shown within European Russia
Shown within European Russia
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| Location | Bredinsky District, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia |
|---|---|
| Region | Kazakh Steppe |
| Coordinates | 52°38′57.34″N 59°34′17.194″E / 52.6492611°N 59.57144278°ECoordinates: 52°38′57.34″N 59°34′17.194″E / 52.6492611°N 59.57144278°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| Area | 2 ha (4.9 acres) |
| History | |
| Periods | Bronze Age |
| Cultures | Sintashta culture |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Gennady Zdanovich |
| Ownership | Public |
| Public access | Yes |
Arkaim (Russian: Аркаим) is an archaeological site situated in the Southern Ural steppe, 8.2 km (5.10 mi) north-to-northwest of the village of Amurskiy and 2.3 km (1.43 mi) south-to-southeast of the village of Alexandrovskiy, in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, just north of the Russian/Kazakhstan border.
The site is generally dated to the 17th century BC. Earlier dates, up to the 20th century BC, have been proposed. It was a settlement of the Sintashta culture.
The site was discovered in 1987 by a team of Chelyabinsk scientists who were preparing the area to be flooded in order to create a reservoir, and examined in rescue excavations led by Gennady Zdanovich. At first their findings were ignored by Soviet authorities, who planned to flood the site as they had flooded Sarkel earlier, but the attention attracted by news of the discovery forced the Soviet government to revoke its plans for flooding the area. It was designated a cultural reservation in 1991, and in May 2005 the site was visited by President Vladimir Putin.
Although the settlement was burned and abandoned, much detail is preserved. Arkaim is similar in form but much better preserved than neighbouring Sintashta, where the earliest chariot was unearthed. The site was protected by two circular walls. There was a central square, surrounded by two circles of dwellings separated by a street. The settlement covered ca. 20,000 m2 (220,000 sq ft). The diameter of the enclosing wall was 160 m (520 ft). It was built from earth packed into timber frames, and reinforced with unburned clay brick, with a thickness of 4 to 5 m (13 to 16 ft). and a height of 5.5 m (18.04 ft). The settlement was surrounded with a 2 m (6 ft 7 in)-deep moat.
There are four entrances into the settlement through the outer and inner wall with the main entrance to the west. The dwellings were between 110 to 180 m2 (1,200 to 1,900 sq ft) in area. The outer ring of dwellings number 39 or 40, with entrances to a circular street in the middle of the settlement. The inner ring of dwellings number 27, arranged along the inner wall, with doors to the central square of 25 by 27 m (82 by 89 ft). The central street was drained by a covered channel. Zdanovich estimates that approximately 1,500 to 2,500 people could have lived in the settlement.
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Wikipedia