DWELLINGS AND THEIR LAYOUT IN THE ROZHDESTVENSKOYE SETTLEMENT: THE QUESTION OF FINNO-UGRIAN DWELLING CONSTRUCTION IN THE MIDDLE AGES IN THE PERM PREDURALYE
Many years of studies carried out at the Rozhdestvenskoye settlement (known in written sources as the town of Afkula) have revealed new data about special features of the dwellings - from the construction technique itself to peculiarities of the interior. Apart from that, chronological changes in dwelling construction determined by a change in architectural culture have been scrutinized. All the dwellings were constructed in a wood-frame and post technique with cross logs laid both in post grooves and between posts. At the base of the V-shaped roof there were posts set in 1-3 rows of the dwelling’s assumed axis. Round and square logs with a section of about 20 cm were used as basic material for construction. The technique used for making elements of the interior and hardscaping may also be called wood-frame and post, but here it was thin stakes of around 10 cm in diametre driven into the ground that were mostly used as the basis. The dwellings were solid, lasting, spacious and quite cosy, as opposed to popular perceptions of medieval dwellings as some kind of insulated tents. Information revealed by studies of the eastern part of the settlement site leads us to believe that the layout was radial, with densely built streets fanning out from the higher part of the settlement in the direction of the Obva escarpment. This layout is quite typical of many medieval towns.