Усадьбы золотоордынского Болгара
Homesteads of the Golden Horde Bolgar

Author(s): Denis Yu. Badeev
Subject(s): History, Archaeology, Social history, Middle Ages, 13th to 14th Centuries
Published by: Издательский дом Stratum, Университет «Высшая антропологическая школа»
Keywords: Volga Bulgaria; Golden Horde period; medieval town; layout; homestead
Summary/Abstract: Long-term complex archaeological work allowed to study a considerable area (2516 sq. m) in the central part of the Bolgar town of the Golden Horde period (100—160 m to the south-east from the Cathedral Mosque). Here, the remains of the unique monumental structure of the city bazaar (the middle of the 14th century) were discovered and studied. An important result of the work was the allocation of additional horizons in the strata of the Golden Horde layer of the 14th century, which makes it possible to date the objects associated with them with an accuracy of up to 30 years. Based on the analysis of the location of synchronous ground and buried objects, an attempt has been made to determine the boundaries of individual homesteads. The nature of the finds from the territory of the investigated complex of homesteads testifies that during the entire 14th century, an active handicraft activity was carried out related to copper-foundry, glass-working, jewelry, and also accompanying bone-carving production. During the existence of a city bazaar in the given territory (50—70s years of the 14th century), the activities of the inhabitants of the homesteads under consideration could be connected with the implementation of trade, as indicated by the numerous finds of merchandise inventory: plummets, elements of weights. An analysis of the density of buildings and the size of the established estates suggests that the area of the estates in the central part of the Golden Horde Bolgar decreased during the first half of the 14th century, and only the destructive events of the feudal war period stopped this trend.

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