Investigations at Gorodische, Ladoga, Northwestern Russia

The History of Research

The region of Ladoga has attracted the attention of scientists for more than 200 years. The early interests were mainly limited to burial sites: the impressive sand barrows, the sopkas and kurgans . Research of settlements was neglected and only a few of these were discovered.

In the southeastern part of the region, along the river Sjas, which runs into the Lake Ladoga , several archaeological sites have been recorded. The most conspicuous concentration dated to the Viking age can be found at the village of Gorodische , where the main settlement is surrounded by a number of burial sites, spread over several hectares.

Fig. 3. One of the barrows (a so-called sopka) north of Gorodische village.

This area has been noted by archaeologists since the end of the 19 th century. At that time N.E. Brandenburg recorded all visible archaeological remains, today a most valuable source of information on a rapidly changing historical landscape. Later on, N.I. Repnikov turned his attention to a hillock at the river where he expected to find a Viking age settlement. He undertook trial excavations at the site and established the presence of cultural remains. 20 years later, rather more intensive investigations were carried out by V.I. Raudonikas, who excavated 240 m2. Due to a poor understanding of the find context and limited general knowledge of the period, the interpretations made by Raudonikas have presently little value, not least because all the finds were lost during WWII.

Fig. 4. View from the hill-top settlement at Gorodische towards the river Sjas.

During the 1950s, in connection with road construction, the mentioned hillock was used as a sand quarry and consequently destroyed. In 1987 an attempt was made to record the remaining traces of the settlement; it then appeared that southern part was still more or less intact. Since then, a team of archaeologists from the Institute of Material Culture at St. Petersburg have excavated 228 m2. At the same time, a few barrows around the settlement were investigated. The area was also subject to detailed surveys. Danish archaeologists from the University of Copenhagen joined this team in 1996.