Libmonster ID: U.S.-1793

Introduction

The topic of methods of excavation of monuments located in the permafrost zone, or in the permafrost zone, opens up significant prospects for the exchange of opinions and experience. The cryolithozone is very extensive and, in addition to the Arctic and Subarctic, is found on the territory of Mongolia, Northern China, and Kazakhstan. In its southern limits, it does not have a continuous distribution and is represented by spots of different area, thickness, and origin [Geocryological Map of the USSR..., 1997; Circum-Arctic Map..., 1997; Yershov, 2002; et al.], growing from south to north from the first tens to hundreds of meters in the high-altitude regions of the planet (Fig. 1).

Permafrost rocks are usually associated by most archaeologists who are not directly involved in working in the permafrost zone with seasonally frozen soils, which can be observed everywhere in winter. It should be noted that this is not the best analogy. The difference between them is enormous, and the main difference is the presence of a large amount of moisture in permafrost rocks.

Permafrost rocks are extremely diverse; an extensive literature is devoted to their study and classification. But even if, as a result of practical work, an archaeologist has obtained an idea of a particular type of permafrost deposits, extrapolating this knowledge to the totality and variety of phenomena and situations hidden behind the concept of permafrost is illegal.

In the practice of field archaeological research, we often encounter small "spots" in individual structures or mounds. Thus, the difficulties experienced by M. P. Gryaznov [1950] during excavations in Pazyryk and N. V. Polosmak [1994] during excavations of mounds on the Ukok plateau are well known. The features of permafrost under the burial mounds were studied during the excavations of the Berel group mounds in Kazakhstan (Gorbunov, Samashev, and Seversky, 2000). In this connection, it is concluded that its possible artificial (human-related) origin is possible and it is suggested that the conditions similar to natural kurums, in which clusters of injectable sediments are formed, are intentionally formed in mounds with stone mounds.- loose ice, to create favorable conditions for the long-term preservation of the deceased (pre-embalmed).

In fact, the experience of working in permafrost conditions is much broader. Within our country, there is an experience of excavations in Yakutia [Kashin and Kalinina, 1997; Mochanov, 1969, 1977], on the Yamal Peninsula [Gone to the Hills, 1998], on the Chukchi Peninsula [Gusev, Zagoralko, Porotov, 1999; Dneprovsky, 2002], in the north of Western Siberia [Belov, Ovsyannikov, Starkov, 1981]. All specialists working in the permafrost zone, in one way or another, are faced with the need to take into account the influence of permafrost sediments on their location

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Fig. 1. Map-scheme of permafrost distribution on the territory of Russia (according to [Kudryavtsev, Kondrat'yeva,

Romanovsky, 1978] with some simplifications). 1 - zone of oceanic permafrost with saline waters cooled below 0°C; 2-zone of shelf permafrost; 3-9 - area of northern permafrost. Continuous permafrost with average annual rock temperatures (t m) and thickness (T); 3-t m below -13°C, T > 800 m; 4-t m -11... -13°C, T 400-600 m; 5-t m -9... -11°C, T 400 - 600 m, in mountainous areas of 1,000 m or more; 6-t m -7... - 9°C, T 300-500 m, in mountainous areas up to 600-700 m; 7-t m -5... - 7°C, T 200-400 m, in mountainous areas up to 300-500 m; 8-t m -3... - 5°C, T 200-400 m; 9 - t m -1... - 3°C, T 100-300 m; 10-12 - southern permafrost area: 10-massive island permafrost (70-80 % permafrost) with t m 0... -2 °C, T up to 100 m (in Western Siberia up to 200-300 m). t m of thawed soil 1... 0°C; 11-island permafrost (40-60%) with t m 0... -1°C, T up to 50-70 m (in Western Siberia up to 100-200 m), t m of thawed soil 2... 0°C; 12 - sporadic permafrost (5-30 %) with t m 0... - 0.5°C, T up to 15-20 m (in Western Siberia up to 100 m), t m of meltwater 4... 0°C; 13 - area with deep seasonal soil freezing and rare snowfalls; 14 - zone of relict permafrost; 15 - zone of rocks with cryopegs, T 200-700 m; 16 - zone of sharp transition from t m 0 ... - 15°C and below, T 0-700 m and more; 17-boundary of syngenetically frozen sediments with re-vein ice; 18 - boundary of the underwater permafrost zone, t m 0 ... - 12°C, T 0-300 m.

archaeological materials. This was noted, for example, by N. N. Dikov [1977] and L. P. Khlobystin [1998]. In the course of my work in various regions of the Arctic, I also gained some experience in excavations under similar conditions, for example, at the Tiutey-Sale sites on the Yamal Peninsula*, Oleniy Ruchey in the central part of the Taimyr Peninsula (Pitulko, Kasparov, and Anisimov, 2004),

* Pitulko V. V. Report on exploration in the Yamal Peninsula, L., 1995. The manuscript. - Archive of IA RAS; also known as. Excavation Report-

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in Western Chukotka (Pitulko, 2000), as well as on other monuments. These expeditions mainly aimed to study the Holocene Stone Age and earlier monuments by opening up a wide area and gradually clearing the thawing sediments. The thickness of the sediments studied in the course of these surveys is usually insignificant, reaching in some cases 2 - 3 m (more often-within 0.3 - 0.7 m). The effectiveness and full feasibility of this strategy in such conditions can be considered proven.

These jobs were quite difficult. In the conditions of continuous permafrost distribution, the difficulties associated with organizing excavations increase many times. The first significant experience of their implementation was obtained during the excavations of Zhokhovskaya (De Long Archipelago to the north of the New Siberian Islands) (Pitulko, 1998)and Yanskaya (northeastern Yakutia). [Pitulko et al., 2004; et al.] sites. In the course of studying these unique world-class archaeological sites, a significant arsenal of methodological techniques has been developed that make it possible to successfully conduct research of monuments in the cryolithozone.

Prior to my work on Zhokhov Island (1989) and the Yanskaya Parking Lot (2001), I had virtually no experience working in high-ice deposits of the ice complex, which have a significant thickness. As far as I know, archaeological excavations in such conditions were conducted only once, in the early 1970s, at the Berelekh site (Yakutia) (Vereshchagin, 1977). This monument was discovered during the research of the place of mass death of mammoths, the so-called Berelekh mammoth cemetery. The Berelekh camp site was eroded from the MP-800 monitor, which developed a pressure of 8 atmospheres (Vereshchagin, 1977, Fig. 4; Mochanov and Fedoseeva, 1996, p. 219, photo without number). The consequences of working in this way are disastrous for any object.

To what extent these methods were used to work in the Berelekh parking lot is unknown, however, some of the difficulties experienced are evidenced by some comments of Yu. A. Mochanov: "... only the thawed outer ledge of the terrace can be practically disassembled. But here, as soon as you reach the ice veins, the layers begin to thaw intensively and collapse or spread out in a thick mass along the frozen slope. It is almost impossible to dig this mass, as the shovel gets stuck in it" [1977, p. 86]. From myself, I can add that in such a mass, everything gets bogged down; on a thawing slope, it is almost impossible to move safely, stand, work with a trowel.

Summing up the intermediate result, we can conclude that the experience of excavations obtained during archaeological work in the cryolithozone is minimal. In addition, it is not universal due to the specific conditions of a particular monument. When studying each such object, as well as when excavating caves, it is necessary to develop a methodology that is most appropriate to local conditions.

The phenomenon that the household term "permafrost" has been assigned to is extremely diverse, due to both the composition and origin of permafrost deposits in specific areas. Accordingly, the methods of excavation are necessarily diverse. Within the framework of this work, the peculiarities of the method of excavation of Stone Age monuments located in the cryolithozone are considered.

Influence of cryolithological characteristics of sediments on the reliability of identification of archaeological materials

Permafrost or permafrost is defined as any sediments whose temperature is below 0°C, humidity does not exceed the humidity of unfrozen (film-bound) water at a given temperature, including ice, which cements mineral particles and fills voids, pores and cracks in the rock. These include both dispersed (clastic, sandy, clay, and peat) and fractured or weathered igneous, metamorphic, and cemented sedimentary rocks. Above-ground (river, lake, sea, glacial, etc.) and underground (buried, re-vein, injection, segregation, formation, etc.) accumulations of ice and snow are considered as monomineral rocks, and ice is considered as a specific mineral (Yershov, 2002, p. 11).

An essential characteristic for solving archaeological problems in permafrost conditions is the thickness of the seasonal thaw layer (STS), which can vary from 0.2 - 0.3 to 1 - 5 m depending on the composition of sediments, the course of external temperatures and the exposure of the site. Nako-

the site of an ancient settlement on Zhokhova Island in 1989; Report on excavations of the Zhokhovskaya site in 1990-Archive of the Institute of International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences; On. Report on the search undertaken in the lower reaches of the Pegtimel River and on the Aachim peninsula. - Archive of IA RAS; also known as. Report on archaeological research undertaken in 2001 on Zhokhova Island and in the lower reaches of the Yany River. 2002; Report on archaeological research undertaken in 2002 on Zhokhova Island and adjacent islands, as well as in the lower reaches of the Yany River. 2003; Report on archaeological research undertaken in 2003 on Zhokhova Island and adjacent islands. 2004; Report on archaeological investigations carried out in 2004 on Zhokhov Island and in the lower reaches of the Yany River. 2005; Report on excavations of the Zhokhov and Yanskaya sites in 2005. 2006. - Archive of the IA RAS.

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2. Excavations in permafrost deposits at the Zhokhovskaya site (2005, section along the L1 line, view from the south). The ice-rich culture-bearing stratum is underlain by the remains of Sartan PJLS and is dissected by Holocene vein ice.

3. Plan of the surface of a re-vein ice deposit at a depth of 3 m (according to [Vtyurin, 1975]). 1 - ancient ice (ancient generation of PLW); 2 - young ice (young generation of PLW); 3 - permafrost (torn ice loess loam); 4 - points of measurement of occurrence elements.

However, the most important parameters are the ice content of frozen sediments (volume content in sediments of this type) and polygonal fracturing of PLF of various genesis (Fig. 2).

The deposits of the so-called ice complex that are characteristic of the Yano-Indigirskaya and Kolyma lowlands and the New Siberian Islands are the most difficult both for understanding and for conducting archaeological excavations [Romanovsky, 1977; Are, 1980; Tomirdiaro, 1980]. These are complex in composition and genesis, or polygenetic, deposits. They are characterized by high ice content (the presence of ice in loose sediments, the content of which reaches 50-70 % or more) and the presence of one or more generations of thick re-vein ice, forming polygonal lattices, inside which soil pillars are enclosed (Fig. 3-5). Both the pitch and power of the cores can be different. For Sartan PZHL of the second terrace of the river. The average polygon size is 5 x 5 m, with a core thickness in the upper part (width) of 3 - 5 m and a vertical thickness of more than 20 m.

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Permafrost sediments were formed during cold climatic epochs. Their development is characterized by cycles of agradation (growth) and degradation (thawing) in warm periods. The upper part of the sections of such deposits is destroyed or disturbed due to the development of thermokarst lakes, the area of which is tens of square kilometers, the incision of temporary watercourses, the migration of riverbeds, etc. Thermokarst in the late Pleistocene and Holocene made the most significant contribution to the formation of modern relief features in the lowlands and in the valleys of large rivers. For example, in the north of Central and Eastern Siberia, the typical landform is the Alases, which are vast flat-bottomed basins formed as a result of the drainage of thermokarst lakes (Fig.

4. The main types of re-vein ice (a-epigenetic; b - repeated epigenetic; c - syngenetic ice veins), their morphology and relationships with host sediments. 1 - ice veins; 2-frozen deposits.

5. Permafrost strata and their structure, a-correlation of levels with ancient (syngenetic) and modern (epigenetic) freezing (terrace-floodplain, respectively); b, c-schemes of syngenetic and epigenetic veins in vertical cross-section (according to (Romanovsky, 1977)): b-syngenetic, b - epigenetic.

6. Schematic diagram of lacustrine-thermokarst processing of ice complex sediments (according to Tomirdiaro, 1980).

1-lake ice and water; 2-moss-vegetation cover; 3-shallow-water deposits and solifluction-biogenic syngenetically frozen modern deposits of the alas complex; 4-epigenetic young growing wedge-shaped ice veins; 5-syngenetic late Pleistocene fossil ice veins; 6-subaqual pseudomorphoses along frozen veins; 7-less icy sediments underlying edoma ancient deposits; 8 - epigenetically frozen non-repositioned, but deeply thawed, primary deposits of the plain compacted in the suspected talic; 9 - border of the suspected talic.

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The ice complex that makes up the northern marginal lowlands of Eastern Siberia was destroyed by the thermokarst process over a significant area after about 15 thousand years AGO.Therefore, it is difficult to expect the discovery of a significant number of archaeological sites dating back to the last (Sartan) glaciation in these territories.

Each of the stages of development of permafrost strata (both in the process of their growth and degradation) contributed to the formation of section elements and, most importantly, was accompanied by the formation of young (relative to the age of the strata) sediments embedded in them. At the same time, young sediments were formed with the participation of both young sediments (for example, alas) and material coming from the sides of thermokarst basins and other erosive forms. Consequently, sections of frozen strata (especially in their upper parts) may contain older organic remains that do not correspond to their age and are used in the practice of studying Late Quaternary deposits for absolute dating purposes: wood, bone, allochthonous peat, as well as cultural material (Pitulko, 1998).

This circumstance, as well as cryogenic deformations of crop-bearing horizons, as well as features of the material distribution (its migration and orientation in space under the influence of cryogenic processes) is very important to keep in mind when working with the section. Thus, both the composition of frozen sediments, the temperature profile and the structure of the section in their current state, and the climatic events that took place in the past, after the formation of horizons containing cultural remains, have a serious impact on the methodological methods of studying monuments located in the permafrost distribution zone.

When excavating monuments in permafrost conditions, it is necessary to take into account the thickness of the overlap of cultural horizons with ballast, as well as the mechanical composition and ice content of sediments. The strategy and tactics of work are largely determined by the exposition of the site where the excavations are supposed to be carried out. Finally, the rate of thawing, which depends both on the lithology of sediments and their ice content, and on the exposure of the site, its illumination, and external temperatures, is of crucial importance for excavation work. It should be emphasized that in all these parameters permafrost deposits are very diverse, and this determines the range of conditions and strategies of excavations that are planned to be carried out at such sites.

Thus, these factors affect the organization and methodology of excavations to varying degrees:

virtually no impact (if the cultural layer of the monument is entirely located within the STS);

they affect a small part of the exposed section of sediments (if excavations are carried out on a monument, the cultural layer of which lies just below the bottom of the STS);

they require fundamentally different, special techniques (in the case of organizing excavations on monuments, the layer of which is covered with powerful non-thawing ballast deposits).

According to modern concepts, permafrost deposits may contain horizons with cultural remains of the last 30-40 thousand years and a pronounced predominance of Holocene objects of different ages. Accordingly, a significant part of them can be found in low-thickness frozen strata (consisting mainly of river sediments, represented by stream and floodplain facies), rather loose, with low-thickness PLL, i.e. in modern deposits of the floodplain, high floodplain and the first terrace, or in the upper sediments of the second terraces. In the latter case, they are highly likely to be located either within the STS or in frozen sediments near its base. However, even here there are possible variants in which the features of the occurrence of a culture-containing horizon create extremely difficult conditions for its study [Ibid.; et al.]. But in general, the excavation of a monument, the cultural layer of which lies in such conditions, is the easiest case, since the frozen horizon, the temperature of which is close to 0°C (-1... -2°C), will thaw quite quickly. The limitations are determined only by the thickness of the overlying sediments and the total thickness of the studied sediment thickness; they will determine the pace of these works (primarily overburden) manually, as well as the need for drainage. In methodological terms, such works almost do not differ from the generally accepted practice [Position..., 2007].

The sediments of the second terraces, formed at the end of the Karginsky time and in the Sartan cryochron, contain cultural remains of the corresponding age and are characterized by a significant thickness (up to 20 m), high total ice content, and thick PLL (3 - 5 m and more), with a vertical thickness of tens of meters. Excavation of such a monument is technically very difficult, as evidenced by the experience of work at the Paleolithic Yanskaya site*. As far as I know, this is the only example of successful implementation of such works.

To conclude this section, it is necessary to emphasize once again that permafrost deposits of-

* Pitulko V. V. Report... 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006. - Archive of IA RAS.

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Research areas are extremely diverse both in terms of their genesis and current state. Their influence on many aspects of archaeological research in the permafrost zone is twofold. On the one hand, this is a favorable factor that determines the safety of genetic material, as well as objects made in ancient times from wood, bone, tendons, and leather. However, the same conditions lead to damage to objects, cause a change in their shape or their direct mechanical destruction due to significant deforming loads (for example, the appearance of specific fractures of mammoth bones and tusks, tusk splinters) or frost cracking. On the other hand, this is a serious limiting factor, which dictates the need to develop a proper strategy in relation to each object under investigation during excavations. As a factor that causes deformation of cultural horizons (due to both cryogenic processes and degradation of permafrost strata during warm periods), permafrost conditions are particularly difficult to understand sections and the results of applying a set of natural science methods, especially radiometric methods of absolute dating.

The basis for successful work on the monument, the cultural layer of which lies in permafrost conditions, is a detailed fixation of the elements of the section, extracted material and samples by modern means in three-dimensional coordinates, detailed photographic fixation and participation in the work of a qualified geologist or geocryologist. To the greatest extent, this applies to monuments of the Paleolithic era, especially of the pre-Spartan age. In the course of work on them, it is important to study the section and reconstruct the development of the relief and natural conditions in the parking area, as well as the microstratigraphy of the monument, the cultural layer of which has been in the permafrost layer for many millennia.

Finally, it should be remembered that the presence of archaeological material in permafrost conditions does not guarantee its "insiteness", since previously thawed deposits can be frozen again. An in situ state for the archaeological material of Paleolithic sites is possible only in the presence of primary cryotextures located in the section of the frozen horizon.

Methodology of archaeological excavations among long-term deposits

The general principles of conducting archaeological excavations of Stone Age monuments are well known [Koltsov, 1983; Position..., 2007]. Much attention is paid to the methods of excavation of specific monuments of the Paleolithic period in monographs (Amirkhanov, 2000; Prirodnaya Sreda..., 2003; Paleolit..., 1982). In general, they are invariant. In the cryolithozone, as in any other geographical area, the first stage of work requires performing a standard set of preliminary operations, which include (1) photographing the monument plan and (2) a detailed plan of its surface; (3) setting or selecting a reference point, relative to the height of which it is intended to measure heights when fixing archaeological material and structures; (4) network breakdown in 1 x 1 m increments with the possibility of its development within the entire monument; (5) orientation of the excavation site to the cardinal directions.

Further operations are also standard and generally accepted. There are (1) overburden operations (removal of ballast), followed by (2) examination of the cultural layer using fine excavation tools (knives, trowels, brushes) with (3) mandatory and detailed recording (including photographing) at all stages of the excavation, as well as (4) washing or sieving material of the cultural layer (soil collected during its clearing) on a 2-mm screen made of galvanized steel mesh.

The significance of the latter operation in excavations in permafrost conditions is particularly high. The practice of its application shows that the size of the frame installed on the washing table should not exceed 70 x 70 cm. In some cases, when the layer is saturated with plant detritus, it is necessary to clean the washed fraction by overflowing in order to remove the suspension from the macro-residues, which prevents the analysis of washing; at the same time, too wide a grip is inconvenient. It is most convenient to transport the soil for washing in relatively small buckets, preferably 10 liters. Washing allows you to capture small and minute units of material (flakes, flakes, small fragments of bone, bone remains of microteriofauna and small objects, such as beads, lumps of paint). A low-pressure gas pump with a capacity of up to 200 l / min is most convenient for organizing flushing. This procedure is used everywhere in the excavations of Stone Age and much later monuments, including medieval ones (Zakharov, 2001).

Any archaeological excavation is a destructive method of research (no part of the cultural layer can be excavated twice), so the requirement of careful fixation of the material both on the plan and in the section is fundamental. Moreover, when conducting excavations of monuments in

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in permafrost conditions, the value of this operation increases many times.

Modern topogeodetic equipment allows solving this problem quickly, with high accuracy, determining three-dimensional coordinates for any point or unit of material and storing this information in electronic form. A database containing three-dimensional coordinates of objects and elements of the section (as well as structures discovered during excavations), processed using GIS technologies, significantly expands the possibilities of planigraphic analysis. The material collected during washing receives a group coordinate within the square, the coordinates of the corners of which are also presented in the database.

Photofixing should be performed at each stage of clearing the frozen horizon. It should be borne in mind that this operation in permafrost conditions has some special features. It is best to do it in the middle of the day with diffused light. When the photographed surface is directly illuminated, numerous glare spots appear, reflected by ice inclusions and water, which immediately covers the cleaned surface with a thin film. This doesn't happen in diffuse light. Before shooting, the cleaned surface should be doused with water and allowed to be prepared for 10 to 15 minutes. This will emphasize the color and texture of the surface. In some cases, the only option is to shoot within a minute after rolling.

The set and sequence of actions taken during excavations of archaeological sites in the cryolithozone generally do not differ from the standard ones, but due to the specifics of the host deposits described above, they have special features, for example, operations are supposed to be performed that are not applicable anywhere else. These procedures are dictated by the specific conditions of occurrence and the condition of the monument.

The main content of such works is: 1) organization of defrosting and its control by the method of clearing the cultural layer with a thin excavation tool, 2) combating the consequences of defrosting - diverting or pumping water, fighting landslides, organizing working conditions at the excavation site in ways that are safe for the cultural layer of the monument - erecting ladders, platforms, ladders, dams, creating water storage tanks (not always you can count on the presence of a constant and sufficient flow rate near the excavation site).

When planning to excavate such an object, you should take care of the availability of tools, fasteners and building materials, as well as plastic film, polypropylene awnings and bags that can be used in the organization of water supply for washing. At certain times, mountaineering equipment may be in demand, ice drills, main rope, and carabiners are required. A person who knows how to use it must be present at the excavation site. In certain situations, it is necessary to use drilling equipment (modern professional-class electric perforators completely solve the problems that arise if there is a generator with a capacity of at least 2 kW).

It should be noted that the problems discussed are most significant when organizing work on ancient monuments, the cultural layers of which are covered with powerful ballast, and the entire thickness is a high-ice syngenetically frozen structure. But this is the exception rather than the rule in the practice of field work in the cryolithozone.

The determining factor in carrying out such work is defrosting, which in general occurs quite slowly. Its rate depends both on the current atmospheric temperature regime and exposure of the slope, and on the amount of solar radiation, the material and particle size distribution of the sediments themselves (the larger the fraction, the faster the defrost). At the same time, the outside temperature as such does not play a significant role (of course, if it does not exceed 25°C). Defrosting continues during the night hours; lowering the night temperature to values close to 0°C leads to a complete stop of the process or to its significant slowdown. The rate of thawing is seriously affected by the degree of enrichment of horizons with plant detritus, the presence of peat inclusions, and the presence of wood macro-residues.

It is known that at an outdoor temperature of 5... 7°C on a cloudy day, defrosting practically stops, and at a temperature of 10 ... 15°C it will be minimal, approx. 3-5 cm, depending on the exposure and/or shading of the site. On the contrary, even short-term exposure to direct sunlight causes a noticeable acceleration of this process. Thus, it is solar radiation that accelerates the defrost process in this case. With its minimal input in cloudy weather, even at relatively high outdoor temperatures, the monstrous inertial cold reserve of the host sediments allows very slow, low-power defrost. Inclined surfaces thaw faster than horizontal ones.

There are no acceptable methods for accelerating defrosting over a significant area, despite the fact that in economic and construction practice, methods of laying trenches, digging ditches and pits are actively used. In the European part of the country, these works are usually carried out in the summer. In areas of permafrost distribution, these are

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they are made in winter, because the walls of pits, ditches and trenches remain vertical and do not fall in at the same rate as they manage to go deeper into the ground. Artificial methods of warming the soil in this case are quite justified. Blasting operations are also often used, which are more effective in winter due to the seasonal variability of the physical properties of the soil.

All of these methods, unfortunately, are poorly applicable in the practice of archaeological excavations-an open fire leads to contamination of the layer with young carbon, which distorts the dates; blasting operations give a difficult-to-control and in any case significant area result; steam heating over the area involves the use of bulky equipment in the form of a steam generator, pipes, thermal insulation, fuel to ensure the process and it is objectively harmful for objects made of organic materials (bones, tusks, wood) buried in the frozen cultural layer.

It should be noted that low-power steam generators, so-called steamers, are actively used in the work of paleontologists and tusk collectors, but here the tasks are somewhat different - since you need to extract a single relatively large object, it is enough to warm up the soil around it. This technology is highly effective, but it is not acceptable for the tasks of archaeological excavations. In addition to" steamers", there are other devices - a thermal needle, vapparone, etc. In fact, any device that can supply hot air or steam under pressure, for example, a powerful hair dryer for styling hair, a construction hair dryer, can be used to solve local problems and extract individual items*. In this case, the defrost is fully controlled. Ideally, a dome should be built over each archaeological site, inside which a constant temperature would be maintained, at least at 5°C, and in these conditions it would be possible to conduct exceptional work in terms of quality, but unusually slowly.

There is experience in operating a device for warming the ground, designed on the principles of a microwave oven device. It was developed by Danish scientists and was effectively used in excavations in Greenland (Gronnow, 1991, p. 143). An attempt to use it for excavations at the Zhokhovskaya site had zero results. This is probably due to significant differences in the structure and composition of permafrost strata on Zhokhov Island and in Greenland and the conditions of their formation. In Greenland, we studied sandy deposits, "dry" (with a low ice content, close to frost deposits), formed in dry cold conditions near the ice sheet in the last 4-5 thousand years, low - power (perhaps the presence of a rock base somehow increases the efficiency of the device). On Zhokhova Island, the sediments containing cultural remains are characterized by a greater thickness, a different composition, high ice content, and very significant temperature inertia (according to V. E. Tumsky, at a depth of 8 m, their temperature reaches -15°C).

The benefits of natural defrosting are obvious. First of all, it does not require any additional costs and time for equipment, its transportation, installation and energy supply. The most serious disadvantage of artificial acceleration of defrosting is the waterlogging of the cultural layer and its transformation into liquid mud due to insufficient rapid removal and evaporation of water. At a natural defrost rate, this problem is minimized.

Thus, the control of thawing is a defining moment in the excavation of cultural layers lying in permafrost conditions. However, the real possibilities of this control are limited. The success of monitoring and the amount of problems that occur along the way completely depend on the degree of ice content of sediments and the presence of PPL. In fact, the only option in which the process is controlled to a large extent is to open up an area that is feasible for the development of the number of excavators that is available. It should be borne in mind that in parallel with the excavation, the problems of water drainage and removal of ballast from landslides will also have to be solved.

Conclusion

The experience of archaeological research in the cryolithozone suggests that the excavation of monuments located within its boundaries may follow two main scenarios, mainly predetermined by (1) the genesis and time of formation of deposits containing and overlapping cultural remains, and (2) the thickness of the latter. In addition, the excavation process largely depends on (3) the exposure of the site under study and (4) the current state of the surface, including its slope, STS thickness, and the presence of erosive landforms.

* Such devices were successfully used in clearing a block of soil with the so-called Taimyr mammoth (Zharkov's Mammoth). By the way, the work on its extraction (cutting down the block of soil and then transporting it by helicopter on a sling) was organized in the spring, when it was still cold, but it was already light, and the disassembly of the block with the help of hair dryers was carried out in a glacier, where thawing soil can be cleared very slowly, millimeter by millimeter [Stone, 2001; Tikhonov, 2005].

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List of literature

Amirkhanov Kh. A. Zaraiskaya stoyanka, Moscow: Nauch. mir Publ., 2000. - 246 p.

Are F. E. Thermoabrasion of sea shores, Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1980, 160 p.

Belov M. V., Ovsyannikov O. V., Starkov V. F. Mangazeya. Materialnaya kul'tura russkikh polarnykh morokhodov i zemleprokhodtsev XVI-XVII vv. [Material culture of Russian polar mariners and explorers of the XVI-XVII centuries], Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1981, part 2, 232 p.

Vereshchagin, N. K. Berelekhskoe "cemetery" of mammoths / / Tr. ZIN. - 1977. - Vol. 72. - pp. 5-50.

Vtyurin B. A. Underground ice of the USSR, Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1975, 214 p.

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 22.01.07.

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