Проблема взаимосвязи города и его сельской округи на примере раннесредневековой Ладоги: концепции и источники
The Problem of Interrelation between the City and Its Rural District as Illustrated by the Early Medieval Ladoga: concepts and sources

Summary/Abstract: Numerous publications have been dedicated to the phenomenon of the early medieval Ladoga, the first urban formation of Northern Rus. However, with few exceptions, the city is often studied in isolation from its rural surroundings. Furthermore, the prevailing view is that Ladoga, as a hub of crafts and international trade, lacked local roots. The article analyses data on the rural environment of the emerging city. The historiographical review describes the formation of the source base and the main observations of the researchers. Data from 13 archaeological sites are collected and critically analyzed (map, picture 1). Their primary chronological periodization was undertaken: objects belonging to the time of the Early Metal Age and antiquities of the first millennium A. D. — the time before the emergence of Ladoga in the middle of the 8th century A.D.; settlements and burial grounds of the Viking Age of the 8th — 10th centuries, settlements of the 11th — 15th centuries; written accounts about “historical villages” of the 16th — 19th centuries were also involved. It has been concluded that attempts to resolve issues related to the emergence and development of Ladoga in isolation from the surrounding sites are unproductive. To gain a proper understanding of the formation of Ladoga as an urban centre, it is imperative to address specific questions about the formation of the rural distric.

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