Introduction
At all times, the ancient settlements and fortresses of Primorye attracted the attention of people, which is explained not only by the external showiness of fortifications, represented by stone and earth ramparts of different configurations and sizes, but also by the practical need. First of all, the fortifications of the coastal ethnic groups were interested in near and far neighbors, for protection from which these structures were erected. Chinese narrative sources have preserved numerous testimonies about the construction of fortresses and cities by Far Eastern tribes and states. In addition to information about fortifications, weapons, passageways and roads, the Chinese collected information about everyday life, customs, traditions, the number of "barbarians" surrounding them, and the geography of the region. Maps and dynastic chronicles were compiled from this data. Thanks to the translations of Chinese chronicle sources on the history of "Eastern foreigners" by N. Ya. Bichurin, V. P. Vasiliev, V. Gorsky, G. M. Rozov, and N. V. Kuehner, we know that the medieval Tungus-Manchus (Mohe, Bohai, and Jurchen) had an extensive network of fortifications (Bichurin, 1950, p. 69, 111). Vasiliev, 1857, pp. 198-199].
Written evidence has been confirmed in archaeological research. On the territory of Primorye, more than 150 different kinds of fortifications have been discovered - hillforts, fortresses, ramparts. For a long time, they were attributed exclusively to the Middle Ages and were associated with the appearance of the Tungus-Manchu states: Bohai (698 - 926), Jin (1115 - 1234) and Eastern Xia (1217 - 1234). It was believed that ancient settlements and fortresses, like the state formations themselves, were concentrated mainly in the southern regions of Primorye. However, acquaintance with the field diaries of V. K. Arsenyev, which are kept in the archives of the Society for the Study of the Amur Region, and then archaeological surveys conducted in the moun ...
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