Plan of the Golden Horde Bolgar town: history and perspectives of research
Journal Title: Поволжская Археология - Year 2015, Vol 4, Issue 14
Abstract
The paper presents findings of an extensive research into the urban plan of Bolgar. The authors present evolution of scholars’ perceptions (from the early 20th century to the present) regarding the structural plan of this Golden Horde town. Some first ideas about the urban plan of the medieval Bolgar developed in the beginning of the 20th century. They were based on localization of then surviving ruins of large buildings and landscape features. Once some systematic archaeological research began (in 1938), it allowed the researchers to accumulate a vast amount of data about different elements of Bolgar’s urban planning. The territory of this fortified place revealed fragments of streets and squares with different types of paving, new monumental buildings and some buried structures. This allowed the researchers to advance a few versions regarding the development of its urban planning. Thus, A.P. Smirnov (1974) suggested a fan pattern for the development of its urban communications. The principle of historical landscape zoning of the urban territory into districts was formulated by T.A. Khlebnikova (1987). Thus, Kh.G. Nadyrova, a researcher of architectural history, classifies the Golden Horde town of Bolgar as a linear town, with distinguishable estates and urban districts (2013). Geo-information systems (GIS) offer new opportunities for research of urban development of medieval hillforts. The article examines the newest elaborations concerning Bolgar, including their results and prospects.
Authors and Affiliations
Denis Badeev, Renat Valiev
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP172854
- DOI https://doi.org/10.24852/pa2015.4.14.127.136
- Views 87
- Downloads 0
10 years of the Archaeology Museum of Tatarstan Republic of Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences
The article is dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Archaeology Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan with the Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov (Kazan). The issues of archaeological structures establishm...
Investigations of a Rampart of Balymer Sholom Hill-Fort in 2014
The article features the results of comprehensive archaeological and geomorphological study of the exposures of defensive structures of the Sholom hill-fort known as the Early Iron Age settlement (the Ananyino cultural a...
Jewellery from Burials Located in the Southern Part of Bolgar Fortified Settlement (Excavations CLXXIV and CCXIV of 2012 and 2015)
The article presents jewellery from three burials discovered in the course of archaeological works in the southern part of Bolgar fortified settlement (excavations CLXXIV and CCXIV). The major part of the area studied in...
Palynological Studies of Cultural Layers of the Settlement Birsk
The paper deals with the results of the palinological study of cultural stratifications of the multilayer Birsk settlement. 13 samples for pollen-spore analysis were taken from the reopened wall of the 1978 excavation. A...
History of the Kharkov Udy Region in the Golden Horde Period
The article is dedicated to the analysis of archaeological monuments of the Golden Horde period discovered in the Kharkov region (Ukraine) in the basin of the Udy River (the Udy region). The authors present consolidated...