Topographic, Cultural and Chronological Aspects in the Study of the Chizhevskoe Hillfort

The paper addresses the issues of topography, cultural affiliation and chronology of the Chizhevskoe hillfort located on the Vyatka river in the city of Kirov. As a result of field investigation 2019, it was determined that the defensive structures of the hillfort were located on a cusp platform. Detailed tacheometric survey of the hillfort area allowed to identify its topographic features. Excavation I revealed the remains of a utility structure. The findings discovered in the filling material of the structure made it possible to attribute it to the Ananyino period. The chronological framework of the hillforts operation period was determined on the basis of an analysis of a collection of the Early Iron Age ceramic fragments obtained during the excavations. In addition, two cultural and chronological horizons of its existence were identified, which are related to the middle (first quarter/middle of the 7th–5th centuries BC) and late (4th–3rd centuries BC) periods of the Ananyino cultural and historical area. The beginning of the settlement's operation at the hillfort, according to radiocarbon analysis results, was in the second half of 7th – first half of 6th centuries BC.