Types of Construction Nails from Markul, Abkhazia (Based on Metallographic Analysis)
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.1.109-116
Abstract
During excavations at the Markul fortified settlement, Republic of Abkhazia, a cluster of iron items, including nails, was found. Nails usually draw little attention as they cannot serve as chronological indicators. Several attempts at constructing a typology of nails have proved unsuccessful. The quality of metal of which they were forged has not been studied purposefully, although it can be relevant to the use of nails and construction practices. Here, we present the results of a metallographic analysis of 19 nails from Markul (13 spec. from a simultaneously formed cluster of iron items, and six spec. found elsewhere at the site). The findings suggest that they can be subdivided into three types in terms of metal structure and, accordingly, of properties of nails: those with a ferrite structure (“soft”), those with a ferrite-pearlite structure (“strong”), and those with a cementite structure (“extra strong”). These types correlate with three types of construction materials used in Abkhazia in the Late Classic and Medieval period. Lack of correlation between metric properties of nails and metal structure suggests that the latter was intentionally formed for specific tasks, depending on the characteristics of the details joined by nails.
Keywords
Supporting agencies: This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Project No. 22-18-00466.
About the Authors
G. V. Trebeleva
Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Dm. Ulyanova 19, Moscow, 117292
S. V. Konushkin
Baikov Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, ussian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Leninsky pr. 49, Moscow, 119991
M. A. Sevostyanov
Baikov Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Leninsky pr. 49, Moscow, 119991
G. Y. Yurkov
Semenov Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Kosygina 4, Moscow, 119334
References
1. Bgazhba O.K. 1983 Chernaya metallurgiya i metalloobrabotka v drevney i srednevekovoy Abkhazii (VIII v. do n.e. – XV v. n.e.). Tbilisi: Metsniereba.
2. Chindina L.A., Zinyakov N.M. 2020 Cultural and technological characteristics of Russian forged iron tools from the Selkup cemetery Migalka in the Middle Ob Basin. Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia, vol. 48 (3): 90–98.
3. Kolchin B.A. 1953 Chernaya metallurgiya i metalloobrabotka v Drevney Rusi. Moscow: Izd. AN SSSR.
4. Korchagin P.A. 2011 Vozmozhnosti interpretatsii arkheologicheskikh istochnikov pozdnego Srednevekovya i Novogo vremeni: Gvozdi. In Kultura russkikh v arkheologicheskikh issledovaniyakh: Mezhdistsiplinarniye metody i tekhnologii. Omsk: Om. Inst. (fil.) RGTEU, pp. 56–62.
5. Medvedev A.F. 1966 Ruchnoye metatelnoye oruzhiye: Luk i strely, samostrel. VIII–XIV vv. Moscow: Nauka. (SAI; iss. E1-36). Osipov D.O., Tataurov S.F., Tikhonov S.S., Chernaya M.P. 2017 Leather artifacts from Tara, Western Siberia, excavated in 2012–2014. Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia, vol. 45 (1): 112–120.
6. Ryndina N.V. 1965 Metallografiya v arkheologii. In Arkheologiya i estestvennonauchniye metody. Moscow: Nauka, pp. 119–128.
7. Ryndina N.V. 2006 Uroki Kolchina. KSIA, iss. 220: 4–14. Savelieva T.V., Zinyakov N.M., Voyakin D.A. 1998
8. Kuznechnoye remeslo Severo-Vostochnogo Semirechya v sredniye veka. Almaty: Gylym. Tataurov S.F. 2001 Zhelezniye gvozdi na poseleniyakh XVII–XVIII vv. v Srednem Priirtyshye. In Integratsiya arkheologicheskikh i etnograficheskikh issledovaniy. Nalchik, Omsk: Om. Gos. Ped. Univ., pp. 125–128.
9. Tataurov S.F. 2004 Gvozd v Sibiri. In Etnografo-arkheologicheskiye kompleksy: Problemy kultury i sotsiuma, vol. 8. Omsk: Nauka, pp. 234–241.
10. Terekhova N.N., Rozanova L.S., Bgazhba O.K. 1987 Drevneishiye zhelezniye izdeliya iz Gyuenosa. KSIA, iss. 191: 90–93.
11. Trebeleva G.V. 2019 Markulskoye gorodishche v Vostochnoy Abkhazii. In Noviye arkheologicheskiye proyekty: Vossozdavaya proshloye. Moscow: IA RAN, pp. 144–147.
12. Trebeleva G.V. 2020 Issledovaniya Markulskogo gorodishcha v 2019 godu: Dalnyaya bashnya. Hypanis: Trudy otdela klassicheskoy arkheologii IA RAN, vol. 2: 224–232.
13. Trebeleva G.V., Kizilov A.S., Glazov K.A., Khondziya Z.G., Yurkov G.Y. 2019 Oboronitelniye sooruzheniya Markulskogo gorodishcha: K voprosu datirovki. KSIA, iss. 256: 230–239.
14. Trebeleva G.V., Shvedchikova T.Y. 2019 Zakhoroneniya na territorii Markulskogo khrama. Hypanis: Trudy otdela klassicheskoi arkheologii IA RAN, vol. 1: 162–173.
15. Vodyasov E.V., Asochakova E.M., Rabtsevich E.S., Zaitceva O.V., Stepanov I.S., Blinov I.A., Sadykov T.R. 2021 Iron metallurgy of the Xianbei period in Tuva (Southern Siberia). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, vol. 39: 103–160.
16. Zavyalov V.I. 2021 Dinamika razvitiya selskogo kuznechnogo remesla v Drevney Rusi. Rossiyskaya arkheologiya, No. 4: 93–101.
17. Zavyalov V.I., Terekhova N.N. 2021 Selskoye zhelezoobrabatyvayushcheye remeslo v proizvodstvennoy sisteme Drevney Rusi. KSIA, iss. 262: 369–383.
18. Zinyakov N.M. 1989 Istoriya chernoy metallurgii i kuznechnogo remesla drevnego Altaya. Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Gos. Univ.
19. Zinyakov N.M. 1997 Chernaya metallurgiya i kuznechnoye remeslo Zapadnoy Sibiri. Kemerovo: Kuzbassvuzizdat.
Review
For citations:
Trebeleva G.V., Konushkin S.V., Sevostyanov M.A., Yurkov G.Y. Types of Construction Nails from Markul, Abkhazia (Based on Metallographic Analysis). Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2024;52(1):109-116. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.1.109-116
Views:
253
Email this article 