Paleopedological and Microbiomorphological Study of Medieval Kurgans in Moscow Region

Soils under kurgans (burial mounds) of the Middle Ages (the 12th-13th centuries AD) and surface soddy-podzolic soils (Retisols) in Odintsovo district of Moscow oblast have been studied. Differences in the degrees of waterlogging, podzolization, humus accumulation, and biological activity have been recorded in the buried soils. The modern soil is characterized by the most light-colored profile with deep tongues of bleached material. A relative chronological order of the construction of kurgans in the necropolis is proposed on the basis of data of the microbiomorphic analysis. Relatively warm and humid climatic conditions similar to those of the last 30-year period, but with extreme weather events in the form of severe winters and years with anomalous precipitation (no more than 5-10 years in the series), are reconstructed for the beginning of the 13th century AD, when the soil buried under kurgan 3 was formed. The soil under kurgan 1 was formed under relatively dry and cold climate in the second half of the same century. The study confirmed the variable climate in the forest zone of Moscow region during the last completed climatic rhythm of the Holocene. The method of the construction of kurgans has been determined: soil horizons from ditches around the kurgan were placed in reverse order on the cut surface of the buried soil and tamped without additional moisture. The results obtained supplement the database of the information block on ancient forest soils under the kurgans.