Urban layout of the Bolgar during the Late Golden Horde period (according to the excavations southwest of the Cathedral Mosque)

• Main Author: Badeev Denis Yu.
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: TAS 2014-06-01
• Series: Povolžskaâ Arheologiâ
• Subjects: the Middle Volga region; the Late Golden Horde period; the Bolghar fortified settlement site; medieval urban layout; monumental construction; city bazaar
• Online Access: http://archaeologie.pro/en/archive/8/144/

The results of the archaeological studies on a monumental building, identified in the central part of the Bolghar fortified settlement site, 150 meters southwest of the Cathedral Mosque, during the 1989-1993, 2000 and 2011-2013 works are presented. Adobe brick masonry and remains of wooden flooring have been recorded. Findings in the form of numerous a large number of commercial stock-in-trade items and coins allow interpreting this building as the city market. The authors of the excavations of the building date it back to the 50-70s of the 14th century. The structural elements of the construction and its internal layout suggest the existence of the city market at the intersection of two streets. The presence of street system in this part of the city is also indicated by the remains of two brickworks of mud bricks, which had served as a street fence (duval) and referred to layers of the 30-40s of the 14th century. In the mid-14th century, the building of the city market had been being erected in place of the street fence and the adjoining estates. Thus, the development dynamics of Bolghar urban planning in the Late Golden Horde period on the site southwest of the Cathedral Mosque could be traced.