CONFOEDERATIO,

RESEARCH DIVISION (CRD).

GAZETTEER OF MIGRATION PERIOD SETTLEMENTS AND POPULATION HISTORIES ACROSS RUSSIA.

Supplementary Tabular Gazetteer of 198 Excavated Settlements, Hillforts, and Fortified Towns from the Migration Period to 1900AD.

7 November 2026 - Aust Kätzchen | austkaeztchen@confoederatio.org

Overview and Estimation Rules ​

This supplementary gazetteer compiles 198 excavated Migration Period (c. 250-750AD) and Early Medieval transitional settlements, promontory hillforts (gorodishcha), riverine villages (selishcha), and fortified towns across the six historical regions of Russia. All records are stored in migration_period_settlements.json in the standard population_Stadester dictionary format, keyed by <Name>-Russia with English and Russian names, decimal coordinates (coords), and positive integer population estimates (population) keyed by calendar year.

For each settlement, population figures during the Migration Period (250-750AD) and the Early Medieval transition (900AD) are derived from excavated dwelling counts, fortified and unfortified habitation areas, and associated cemetery burial totals [1][2][3][4]. In the JSON file, only inhabited benchmark years (population > 0) are recorded so that the first and last keys represent each site's documented occupation span; in the tables below, benchmarks prior to foundation or after abandonment are denoted by -. Where a Migration Period settlement evolved directly into a modern town or village on the same site, its population at the First All-Russian Census of 1897 (1900AD benchmark) is included [5].

European Forest-Steppe Settlements ​

Table 1 lists 38 excavated settlements across the Seim, Psel, Upper Don, Oskol, and Desna forest-steppe valleys, covering the Kiev, Eastern Chernyakhov, Kolochin, Penkovka, Volyntsevo-Romny, Borshevo, and Saltovo-Mayaki cultures [1][6][7][8].

Mixed and Boreal Forest Zone Settlements ​

Table 2 lists 55 excavated hillforts, riverine villages, and proto-urban centres across the Moskva, Upper and Middle Oka, Upper Volga, Ilmen-Volkhov, Pskov, and Upper Dnieper forest basins, spanning the Late Dyakovo, Moshchiny, Ryazan-Oka, Tushemlya, Pskov Long Barrows, Merya, Muroma, and Early Rus' traditions [9][10][11][12][13].

Middle Volga, Kama-Vyatka, and Cis-Ural Settlements ​

Table 3 lists 44 excavated hillforts and village complexes across the Samara Bend, Middle Volga, Kama, Vyatka, Belaya, and Sylva basins, representing the Imenkovo, Azelino, Mazunino, Turaevo, Bakhmutino, Turbasly, Kushnarenkovo, Nevolino, Lomovatovo, and Polom cultures [3][14][15][16][17].

Open Pontic-Caspian Steppe Settlements ​

Table 4 lists 16 excavated emporia, seasonal winter camps, river-delta towns, and Khazar brick and stone fortresses across the Lower Don, Lower Volga, and Southern Trans-Ural steppe [6][18][19].

North Caucasus and Caspian Corridor Settlements ​

Table 5 lists 22 excavated fortress cities, terraced mountain strongholds, and coastal settlements across Dagestan, the Central Caucasus (Alanian Kislovodsk and Kuban valleys), and the Taman-Black Sea littoral [4][20][21][22].

Western and Southern Siberian Settlements ​

Table 6 lists 23 excavated fortified settlements, iron-working villages, and agro-pastoral centres across the Tobol-Irtysh, Middle and Lower Ob, Minusinsk Basin, Russian Altai, and Lake Baikal regions, covering the Sargat, Potchevash, Relka, Tashtyk, Bulan-Koby, Early Turkic, and Kurykan traditions [23][24][25][26][27].

Regional Gazetteer Summary ​

Table 7 summarises the number of catalogued settlements and the combined excavated sample population across the six regions from 250AD to 1900AD.

Sources ​