Kotenkov S.A., Soloviev D.S., Makshaev R.R., Matlakhova E.Yu., Tkach N.T., Tkach A.A., Lobacheva D.M., Lysenko E.I., Tikhonova T.I. Impact of the Caspian Sea Fluctuations in the Second Half of the 10th Century on the Khazar Settlements of the Semibugorins
Sergey A. Kotenkov, Candidate of Sciences (History), Senior Researcher, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Prosp. Nakhimovsky, 36, 117997 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Damir S. Soloviev, Senior Researcher, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Prosp. Nakhimovsky, 36, 117997 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Radik R. Makshaev, Candidate of Sciences (Geography), Leading Researcher, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 1, 119234 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Ekaterina Yu. Matlakhova, Candidate of Sciences (Geography), Associate Professor, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 1, 119234 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Nikolay T. Tkach, Candidate of Sciences (Geology and Mineralogy), Senior Researcher, Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Pyzhevsky Lane, 7, Bld. 1, 119017 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Alina A. Tkach, Candidate of Sciences (Geography), Researcher, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 1, 119234 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Daria M. Lobacheva, Candidate of Sciences (Geography), Leading Engineer, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Prosp. Nakhimovsky, 36, 117997 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Elena I. Lysenko, Candidate of Sciences (Geography), Engineer, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 1, 119234 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Tatiana I. Tikhonova, Technician, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 1, 119234 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Abstract. Fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea played a decisive role in the development of the settlement complexes’ infrastructure in the Volga River delta during the Holocene. In turn, the transgressive-regressive cycle had a significant impact on the restructuring of the hydrographic network and sedimentation conditions in the Volga River delta. During periods of transgression, part of the delta was flooded, leading to the development of extensive bays in which a distinctive complex of sediments and malacofaunal assemblages formed. Traces of the transgressive stages are clearly visible in the form of a series of ancient shorelines developed on the Baer knolls in the central part of the delta. During regressive phases, the deltaic territory expanded, the hydrographic network was transformed, and extensive alluvial plains were formed. This paper presents the results of comprehensive (archaeological and geological-geomorphological) investigations in the central part of the Volga River delta, in the vicinity of the Semibugorinsky archaeological complex, which includes settlements from the Khazar period. Archaeological and geological-geomorphological data have made it possible to identify areas corresponding to the flooding phase that occurred during the existence of Volga Khazaria in the Volga River delta. The geomorphological setting, the lithological structure of the deposits, and the presence of archaeological artefacts have made it possible to identify layers that were subject to fluvial processes. It was also possible to trace the position of the shoreline and establish the maximum level of the Caspian Sea in the second half of the X century, the absolute height of which reached elevations of -24 to -23.8 m. It is likely that during the period of rising Caspian Sea levels, the population of Volga Khazaria migrated to the northern part of the Volga River delta, which was not affected by flooding.
Key words: Caspian Sea, Volga Delta, Volga Khazaria, archeology, paleogeography, reconstruction.
Citation. Kotenkov S.A., Soloviev D.S., Makshaev R.R., Matlakhova E.Yu., Tkach N.T., Tkach A.A., Lobacheva D.M., Lysenko E.I., Tikhonova T.I., 2026. Vliyanie kolebaniy Kaspiyskogo morya vo vtoroy polovine X v. na hazarskie poseleniya Semibugorinskogo arheologicheskogo kompleksa, tsentralnaya chast delty r. Volgi [Impact of the Caspian Sea Fluctuations in the Second Half of the 10th Century on the Khazar Settlements of the Semibugorinsky Archaeological Complex, Central Part of the Volga Delta]. Nizhnevolzhskiy Arkheologicheskiy Vestnik [The Lower Volga Archaeological Bulletin], vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 144-168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/nav.jvolsu.2026.3.6
Impact of the Caspian Sea Fluctuations in the Second Half of the 10th Century on the Khazar Settlements of the Semibugorinsky Archaeological Complex, Central Part of the Volga Delta by Kotenkov S.A., Soloviev D.S., Makshaev R.R., Matlakhova E.Yu., Tkach N.T., Tkach A.A., Lobacheva D.M., Lysenko E.I., Tikhonova T.I. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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