RESEARCH OF VYZSHEGSHA HILLFORT, 2019
Excavation of fortified settlement allowed for the first time discovering depositions of an early iron age settlement that existed on the same place. It was established that the first settlement on the cape of coast had emerged in the middle of the first millenium B. C. The second stage started (possibly, after some lapse) in the period that lasted from the third century to third century A D. The time of early medieval settlement existence, according to data of a series of radiocarbon analysis and archeological data, is determined as the end of the sixth century to ninth century A. D. Study of early medieval occupation layer allowed obtaining witness of casting and blacksmith shops, discovering a ritual ground (?)(a small coarsely striken-off stone stelle and a round table are found at the ground). Finds of dirhems' fragments, details of belt decorations, and a chip of a jug of Saltovo type or the early Bulgar jag produced on a potter's wheel confirm the settlement's status and its stable exterior ties. Aerial laser shooting of a territory of one square km allowed getting the image of the settlement and surrounding environment with no plant formation for the first time.