On the results of magnetic surveying on the Kuyakhtanar archaeological site

The authors describe a comprehensive study of objects of ancient metallurgical production in the Altai Mountains, made by them in 2018-2019. A visual examination of the region's major archaeological site - Kuyakhtanar - allowed identifying places used for crushing iron ore and blacksmithing. During the examination of the territory, it was suggested that some of the objects could be invisible on the surface. A series of magnetometric surveys were carried out to find any metallurgical furnaces possibly hidden in the landscape. For the survey, a GSM19GW (Gem Systems Inc., Canada) gradiometer (magnetometer) with internal GPS was used. Depending on the survey conditions we used several types of gradiometer sensors mounting: on the back of the operator; on a cart; rod for manual transfer of sensors. Metallurgical objects which were identified in the past at the Kuyakhtanar archaeological site are separated from each other at a considerable distance (up to 0.75 km). In this regard, we decided to conduct continuous magnetic survey in the territory of one square kilometer. First, the territory was explored through the “free search” method. The most probable areas of detection of metallurgy objects were examined: the upper edges of the terraces of rivers and streams. As a result, we located six magnetic anomalies of 280 to 1,100 nT pointing to a potential presence of metallugical objects. One of the anomalies was selected for a more detailed analysis, and the surrounding area was subjected to a high-precision survey using a regular grid. Following that, a magnetic map was created, with nine magnetic anomalies of over 200 nT depicted on it. Based on this map, two more anomalies were chosen for archaeological research - one of them revealing an iron smelting furnace and the other indicating a piece of igneous rock. Overall, two different types of magnetic anomaly are found at the Kuyakhtanar site: the first one is associated with natural remnant magnetisation of igneous rocks and the second one - with remnant magnetisation caused by iron making. Immediately prior to archaeological excavation at the location of the indicated anomaly, a high-precision grid survey was carried out using the method of single magnetometer measurements. Focusing on the contours of the anomalies displayed on the magnetic map, the boundaries of the excavation area were determined. Thus, the conducted magnetic surveys enabled the discovery and study of the well-preserved iron smelting furnace, which would have been impossible to locate otherwise.

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