TARASY IN FORTIFICATIONS AND CIVIL ARCHITECTURE OF THE RUSSIAN STATE
Keywords:
Russian state, fortification, defensive lines, civil architecture, tarasy, gates, rampart cuts, tower, log-reinforced rampart, parapet, embankment, damAbstract
The aim of the study was to clarify the meaning of the term tarasy, which denoted various structures in fortification and civil architecture in the Russian (Russian) state from the second half of the 16th to the 19th centuries. The source base of the study is represented by written, archaeological, and ethnographic materials.. The article reconstructs the design of tarasy as gate foundations, consisting of two log frames placed at a certain distance from each other, with gates installed between them. In some cases, a tower superstructure above the gate passage could rest on the tarasy log frames. Tarasy filled with soil served as retaining walls for rampart cuts at their breaks, where passages were constructed. Log tarasy were also integrated into the sides of tall towers, likely filled with soil, to increase the base area of the towers and lower their center of gravity, enhancing stability. In low, marshy areas along defensive lines (zasechnye cherty), short tarasy were built. Two types of such tarasy are identified: 1) Two parallel crowned walls with crosspieces, filled with soil (height and width of 1–1.5 sazhens); 2) Two parallel crowned walls with crosspieces, 3–5 rows high, containing an earthen fill inside. Tarasy also functioned as parapets on gun platforms (raskaty) and bastions (byki), protecting artillery and its crew during battle. Very limited data exist on individual tarasy log frames filled with soil, used as field fortifications, assault tarasy-towers, and relatively small mobile tarasy employed in fortress sieges. In civil architecture, tarasy were used as embankments forming riverfronts and as the body of river dams. The findings of this study, along with conclusions from prior research, demonstrate that the term "tarasy" in written sources from the second half of the 16th to the 19th century encompassed a wide range of structures, determined by their functional purposes.References
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