Soldier I

Researches of the settlement were carried out: in 1885-1889 - the famous Russian archaeologist A. A. Spitsyn and the outstanding local historian, inspector of public schools N. G. Pervukhin ; in 1927-1929, Moscow archaeologists S. G. Matveev and A. P. Smirnov . Since 1974, a systematic study has been carried out by the archaeological expedition of the Udmurt Institute of the History of Language and Literature of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences under the guidance of Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor M. G. Ivanova ^[1] . The direct field leader of the expedition in the last decade is A. N. Kirillov , deputy. Director of the Idnakar Museum-Reserve. At the beginning of the XXI century. Idnakar ancient settlement became the subject of a comprehensive study in the works of the Izhevsk historian A. V. Korobeinikov ^[2]

The toponymic legend of the northern Udmurts talks about the emergence of Idnakar ^[3] . Once upon a time, the hero of Donda settled on Mount Soldyr with his sons, whose names were Idna, Gurya, Vesya and Zui. When they grew up and got married, the heroes began to live closely together. The Dons with their younger sons founded new settlements, and Idna remained on Soldyrskaya Mountain. These dashing heroes could easily stretch a hill up to the size of a mountain, during quarrels quietly threw logs or cast-iron weights. The villages of Dondykar and Vesyakar in the Glazovsky district are still preserved. Idna hunted successfully, and in winter he went for prey not on wooden, but on golden skis. The hero, according to legend, fought with the Russians , hiding in Idnakar.

Apparently, this legend is of relatively late origin, so it apparently does not have a relation to the real history of the Soldyr settlement ^[4] .

Currently, the Soldirskoye First Settlement is known as Idnakar, by the Udmurt name of the nearby village of Soldir. The origin of the eponyms of Idna (Ign, Idnat), Gurya, Vesya, Zui is Russian. These are the Udmurtian Russian names Ignat, Guri, Vasya, Zui . The name “Idna” could hardly have appeared here earlier than the 16th century , therefore it apparently has no relation to the history of the Soldyr settlement ^[4] .

The name "Idnakar" is a promoted advertising, trade and tourism brand in Udmurtia. It is widely used in Udmurt official national propaganda and is a wide field for myth-making ^[5] .

In the process of excavation, the remains of ancient structures, dwellings, fortifications were discovered, the structure of the monument was investigated, a large amount of evidence of the material culture of the settlement inhabitants was extracted from the cultural layer of the settlement. On the basis of scientific research, life and classes of the inhabitants of the settlement were reconstructed, the level of socio-political life of the society of that time was investigated.

Economics

Soldirskoye The first settlement was a fairly large craft center. This is evidenced by numerous finds of traces of metallurgical production (mainly smelted iron was smelted). The blacksmith craft was at a high level. The local production of ceramics has reached a large scale. Local ceramics was non-pottery, without ornament, with the addition of a crushed shell. Bone-carving craftsmanship was at a high level: koopushki, scallops, etc. were made from bone. The ancient settlement had close trade ties with neighboring regions (through the Cheptsy River), as well as with the Volga Bulgaria ^[6] .

Fortifications

There are three lines of fortifications on Soldirsky First Settlement ^[7] . The first line was created at the end of the 9th century . It was a shaft and a ditch , and the slopes of the shaft were additionally strengthened by poles, which significantly increased its defensive capabilities. As the settlement grew, a second line of fortifications was created, and the first collapsed over time and was populated. Later, a third line of fortifications was created, apparently, to protect the water source ^[6] .

Strategic Significance and Status

Some researchers claim that the Soldirskoye First Settlement “is a quite ordinary settlement, of which there are many found in the Kama region that had rather low fortification qualities ^[5] ." In reality, the Soldirskoye First Settlement possessed the highest fortification qualities among all the studied hillforts along the Cheptse River ^[7] . In addition, it was located at an extremely convenient in the fortification sense and the prevailing height of the area, the district of the settlement was visible for tens of kilometers. All this speaks of the strategic importance of this fortification. However, there is no great reason to consider it a political or religious center, much less the “capital of ancient Udmurts,” as is considered in Udmurt national historiography. No traces of the palace or the large dwelling of the ruler were found in the settlement. No traces of the military garrison were found . And the statehood of the Proud-Murtians in the 9th - 13th centuries cannot be discussed ^[5] .

Some researchers consider the Soldirskoye First Settlement a Bulgarian factor ^{[8] [6]} . The ancient settlement was a large fortified craft center surrounded by an agricultural and commercial district. The excavations show that in the XIII century the settlement was captured and burned (possibly by the Mongol-Tatars ). In general, the decline and desolation of the Chepetsk settlements in the XIII - XIV centuries was associated with the defeat of the Volga Bulgaria in 1236 by the Mongol-Tatars , with which the Chepetsk population was associated with close economic, cultural and, possibly, political ties.

Ethnic composition

One cannot speak with full confidence about the ethnic composition of the inhabitants of the settlement. The bulk of the inhabitants of the Soldiersky settlement was undoubtedly Perm-speaking , that is, they were closely related to the ancestors of modern Udmurts and Komi . Moreover, there is reason to assume the presence of some foreign ethnic groups (the Old Russian population ^[9] , Volga Bulgars ^{[8] [6]} ). Attempts to identify the population of Idnakar with any modern ethnic groups (Udmurts, Komi-Permyaks) seem incorrect ^{[10] [11]} .

• Chepetsk culture
• Dondykar settlement

• Idnakar // Ural Historical Encyclopedia
• Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Idnakar"
• Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Idnakar"
• Korobeinikov A.V. New Idnakar: an essay on historical and cultural reconstruction . Izhevsk, 2006.
• Bibliography