BURIED FURROWS OF MEDIEVAL ARABLE IMPLEMENTS IN CHERNIHIV

Evidence of ancient plowing systems known in Scandinavia, Denmark, Italy and Poland was found in North-western Rus on the Rurik hill-fort and Novgorod. Almost always they were dated to the 9th—10th century. Evidence of several arable area, dated by the ceramics of Romny culture to the 9th—10th century, was occurred on the left bank of the Dnieper: in Prorva, near Trubchevsk (Bryansk region, Russian Federation) and Avtunichi in the Chernihiv region. A ploughed area in the northern part of the Chernihiv hill fort was recorded by V. Kovalenko in 1986. Similar traces were recorded by the author in 2005—2006 on the neighboring site at the area of more than 1,500 m2. The plough line were visible in the virgin soil as long (up to 10 m) rather narrow (from 2 to 10 cm) and deep (5—10 cm) furrows of triangular cross-section. They were filled by the light grey sandy loam with charcoal inclusions. The furrows overlapped each other perpendicularly forming the dense mesh. Individual double furrows with an internal distance of about 20 cm were also recorded. They are evidence of use of the double plough with narrow sub-triangular points. Judging by the location of the furrows the crosswise ploughing of the field was repeatedly carried out over several years. The horizon above ploughing was dated to the 10th century. This dating was based first of all on the finds of rough thick-walled Rus ceramic vessels with a slightly turned, flaring, flat rims, in combination with single fragments of handmade Romny culture ceramics and a slate spindle whorl. The presence of the plowing system directly before the appearance of settlement also challenges the frequently expressed opinion that earlier layers of the of the Chernihiv hill fort were completely destroyed by later activity. Had that been the case, the furrows would not have survived either.