New archaeological location in Irkutsk city – the Furmanova site (within the territory of the Glazkovsky Archaeological Complex)

The article presents the results of archaeological excavations conducted in 2020-2021 at the Furmanova site in the Sverdlovsk District of Irkutsk. The site is a part of the Glazkovsky Necropolis complex, a Neolithic ones, and is geographically located on the left bank of the Angara River valley, near the right estuarine surface of the Irkut River. The excavations revealed two cultural–bearing layers, complicated by stratigraphic disturbances caused by long-term economic use of the area. Layer 1 was identified at the boundary between the disturbed soil layer and the upper part of Middle–Late Holocene loams. It contains sporadic finds of smooth-walled pottery from the Iron Age to the Middle Ages, as well as a localized complex with traces of metallurgical activity (iron blooms) and Iron Age pottery dated by soot residue to 1953±29 BP (GV–5177), calibrated to 39 BCE – 200 CE. Layer 2, unevenly distributed across the excavation area within the same Holocene loams, included materials from a temporary settlement dated to the Late Neolithic – Early Bronze Age. Features of the settlement included hearths, utility pits, and a sandstone slab arrangement. Artifacts comprised stone tools (from preforms to finished items), ceramic vessel fragments, and unique objects such as a terracotta sculpture of a burbot–like fish. Stratigraphic and archaeological analysis suggests that this layer formed over a relatively short geological period. The assemblage contains a significant number of markers indicating a predominant Late Neolithic settlement complex (5^th–3^rd millennia BCE). The study highlights the site’s role in understanding the ritual and domestic practices of ancient populations in the Angara region, emphasizing the cultural continuity and anthropogenic impacts on the Glazkovsky Necropolis area.

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