The Russian Pioneers’ Winter Camp on Karachinsky Island, the Lower Tobol River, Western Siberia

In 2014, an expedition from the Tyumen State University excavated an underground dwelling on Karachinsky Island, in the floodplain of the Tobol, to check the chronicle data saying that Yermak and his Cossacks had spent a winter at that place during the Siberian campaign. The dwelling, measuring 10 m by 5 in by 2 m, consisted of two chambers. Three to four bottom tiers of logs were preserved. Remains of a cellar were found in the central part east of the oven. The building existed fora short time because the area around it was sterile. A lens of charred clay and coal, and traces of fire on frame logs suggest that the structure had burnt down. Then it was repaired, but the amount of garbage and kitchen waste is small. All household effects had been carried out before the dwellers left. Finds include a wheel-thrown pot, a grindstone, a potter's scraper; and pieces of slag and metal. An AMS date of woof generated at Arizona University, falls within the 17th century. The chemical analysis of modern and old soils indicates intense use of the island for pasture and manufacture. In sum, our survey provides no evidence of Yermak's stay on the island during his campaign. According to Skrynnikov, the Cossacks had marched from the Stroganov forts to the Siberian Khanate capital without wintering, which was tactically correct, since the Tatar forces were weak and fragmented because of Mametkul's foray into the Uralian towns.