Investigations at Gorodische, Ladoga, Northwestern Russia

Conclusions

Gorodische was doubtlessly founded as the result of Viking Age trading activities between Northern Europe and, in particular, the Islamic World, reached by way of the Rivers Sjas and Volga . The settlement was marked by temporality from the very beginning. When the international trading system collapsed, i.e., the main raison d'être of the settlement in its heydays disappeared, it did not find enough resources to reorganize and become a permanent centre. The same fate met a number of other centres, such as Liubsha, Novyje Duboviki, Navolok, etc. All ceased to exist in the 930s, when Islamic silver from the East began to dry out in the hoards of the North, and Novgorod to the west was founded. Staraja Ladoga, a main node on the North-South route, was apparently the only survivor, which even managed to develop from the state of a Viking Age emporium to an early town.

XAD is marked by two important processes. (1) In the 970s the complete stop of the supply of Islamic silver, which implies interruption of important trade connections with the East (the Byzantian connections survive, however). (2) The intensification of the social processes in Russia along the Novgorod-Kiev axis. The latter lead to the creation of central powers, often at an expense of smaller formations, including settlements, such as Gorodiche.

Another explanation why Gorodische did not survive the collapse of the eastern trading-system, rests with the limitations posed by the local resources. As soon as the foremost background to economy, the international commerce, came to an end, the population of Gorodische had to spread out in the area, since the barren soil could not feed the by then large number of people.

Fig. 12. One of the finest glass beads discovered, in situ, during the excavation of the open air settlement at Gorodische. Due to the application of flotation, Gorordische now holds a collection of glass beads, which is very close in number to the amount of beads found in big centres as Staraja Ladoga and Novgorod .

It still remains unclear whether Gorodische was a hill-fort or just a hill-top or hillock settlement. Presently, there are no remains of any kinds of fortifications. Before the recent destruction of the settlement, nobody ever recorded any presence of fortifications. The moraine hill is very steep from the side of the river, so that part at least did not require a fortification. Most likely there was never a heavy fortification, possibly none at all.

The presence of rapids in front of the settlement was an important condition, providing a natural means to control transport on in the river, and thus, perhaps, ultimately determining the very location of the settlement.

Despite the fact that Gorodische was a product of its time and did not manage to maintain its significance when the pre-conditions of its existence had changed, it remains an important site for understanding the rôle of the Vikings in Russia .