A number of urban soils of St. Petersburg on the Littorina terrace were studied. рНН2О, the carbon content of organic compounds, СаСО3 , and mobile phosphorus compounds, particle size distribution, and the content of heavy metals (HM) — Pb, Cu, Zn were determined in soils according to common methods. The studied
soils were alkaline, had an increased content of mobile phosphorus compounds, and were contaminated with HM. HM concentrations varied depending on the history of land use, reflected in the structure of the anthropogenic layers. Natural Littorina deposits commonly were found under anthropogenic layers at a depth of 150–190 cm, and were also present as fine earth material in the urbic horizons. Littorina deposits occurring in the lower part of the soil profile are not contaminated with HMs and can serve as a comparison standard for assessing the degree of
contamination of surface horizons.