“Lower town” of Old Rus Smolensk and the rhythm of Dnieper floods

The article presents observations on the relief and cultural layer of Smolensk, made during the works in 2014–2023. It was established that the “Lower Town” of Rus-period Smolensk occupied the first terrace of the river, 11–13 m high, descending in some spots to a high floodplain 8–9 m high. The length of the area inhabited entirely in the 12th century AD (except for narrow gaps at the mouths of streams and ravines) was at least 3.5 km. At the initial stage of urban life in the 11th–12th centuries AD, the impact of river floods and slope erosion on the life of the town was minimal. The development of the Smyadyn floodplain was insignificant, incomparable with the development of the floodplain in Gnezdovo. The floodplain was more actively developed on the Svirsky section, where the natural border along the edge of the floodplain was supplemented by a continuous fence of a palisade type. In the 13th–14th centuries AD, flooding began to cover the surface of the high floodplain; the riverine areas ceased to be inhabited and were subsequently used only as meadows. In the 14th–15th centuries AD, the erosion processes became more active in the high bedrock valley slope, where the centre of economic activity was transferred to. The erosion material transported along the stream beds was accumulated not only in the alluvial fans, but also in large areas along the banks within the first terrace. These natural and natural-anthropogenic phenomena affected the life and size of the “Lower Town” significantly. Its territory shrank but the northern foot of Cathedral Hill was lived continuously.