Paleopedological study of a mysterious monument of ancient history in the Don River scroll

A comprehensive soil-archaeological study of a mysterious monument of the L ate Bronze epoch (the 13th-12th centuries BC) located on the east side of t he Don River in the Volgograd oblast was conducted. The stratigraphy of thi s object was examined, and the technique of its construction was revealed b y field and laboratory methods of soil science and mineralogy. Morphologica l, chemical, and microbiological properties of the dark chestnut soil burie d under the earth mound 3200 years ago and of the modern background soil we re investigated. On the basis of the data obtained, the regularities of tem poral changes in humus, carbonate, and salt profiles and in the state of mi crobial communities in soils of the dry steppe zone were established. The n atural environment of this region within and after the period of foundation and functioning of the archaeological monument was reconstructed using pal eopedological materials.