Dyakovo culture

The Dyakovo culture (Russian: Дьяковская культура, from the excavated site at Dyakovo - Дьяково) is an Iron Age culture which occupied a significant part of the Upper Volga, Valday and Oka River area.

The Dyakovo archaeological sites became the subject of interest in the early 19th century.

The earliest phase of the culture was a colonization in the late 9th - early 8th century BC. These were small settlements situated on riverbanks close to water, like Tchyortov gorodok (Чёртов городок) on the Moscow River. The Kuntsevskoye, Troitskoye, Scherbinskoye and other sites are located in the territory of modern Moscow. These sites were fortified with moats and ramparts added frequently, with wooden structures, and show clear traces of dwellings.

The 6-7th centuries was a time of crisis for the Dyakovo culture, for reasons still unknown.

The Dyakovo culture was probably formed by Finno-Ugric peoples, such as the ancestors of the Merya, Muromian, Meshchera, and Veps tribes. All regional Finno-Ugric toponymy and hydronym names go back to those languages, for example Yauza River which is a confluent of the Moskva River, and probably the Moskva River itself too.