The Ufa-2 Settlement in the Forest-Steppe Cis-Urals (Materials from Archaeological Excavations in 2021)

Purpose. The Ufa-2 settlement is currently the most studied archaeological site of the early Middle Ages in the UfaBelaya interfluve. It is located in the historical center of Ufa, the Republic of Bashkortostan. Existing evidence indicates that the settlement functioned from the turn of the 4 th /5 th to the 14 th centuries AD. The purpose of this study was to present materials obtained during archaeological excavations in 2021. These excavations were done in the central part of the citadel of the settlement. Results. The ceramic collection included mostly vessels of the Bakhmutino, Turbasli, Romanovsko-Imenkovo cultural groups. Isolated finds were represented by fragments of vessels of the Imendyashevo and Kushnarenkovo cultural types. The analysis of zooarchaeological materials (1713 units, representing 5 species of domestic and 4 species of wild mammals) indicates the presence of two phases of economic activity. Conclusion. Archaeological finds from the Ufa-2 settlement, both mass (ceramic collection) and individual (metal buckles, bead, spindle whorl) can be dated to the 5 th – 8 th centuries AD when the settlement was in its prime. The studied zooarchaeological materials of the considered section of the settlement showed that most of the animal carcasses were not butchered at the settlement. This indirectly indicates that the excavation area was associated with the sale or storage of “meat products” coming to the settlement from the immediate vicinity.