VARIABILITY OF THE SETTLEMENTS OF OLD RUS PERIOD IN THE ROS RIVER BASIN (Porossya)

The preliminary results of the analysis of present database of settlement sites and reconstructed settlements in the territory of the Ros river basin (annalistic Porossya) are considered in the paper. The size and structure of the settlements are analyzed. This paper uses information on the area of distribution of the cultural layer recorded by researchers in the form of literary and graphic descriptions of the sites. Data on the size of settlements of Medieval Porossya region were collected in the thematic geo-information system «Porossya-01». Up to 2020 the Old Rus archaeological sites in Porossya are represented by 263 ones: 145 non-fortified sites, 66 hill-forts, 36 non-fortified settlements adjacent to the hill-forts, 16 finds of archaeological material. This database of archaeological sites has been collected from fieldwork over the last 150 years. Settlements of the 12th — the first half of the 13th centuries can be divided into three main groups by the size of residential area: large (8 ha), medium (3.5—7.1 ha) and small (0.1—3.3 ha). 20 % of the largest settlements of Porossya make 80 % of the entire residential area of the region and, as a rule, are the centers of agglomerations. The number of medium-sized settlements is 62 %. Their total area is 13 % of the total area of all settlements in the Porossya region. The data presented in this paper display the basic idea of the variability of Medieval settlement structures in the territory of the annalistic Porossya. Further this will allow make the comparative analysis and distinguish the regional features of the settlement area in the territory of Southern Rus. The use of data from Porossya will close the archeology to understanding of the characteristics and nature of settlements, to the patterns of their origin and functioning within the limits Medieval social organisms.