Христианское кладбище монгольского времени на городище Бурана (по данным архивных документов о раскопках 1886 года)

Author(s): Valerii A. Kolchenko / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

In 1885, two Christian medieval cemeteries were opened in the north of present-day Kyrgyzstan, in the Chuy Valley. They were identified from the finds of gravestones with Syrian epitaphs. Soon the epitaphs were translated and published by D. Khvolson and S. Slutsky. Archaeological excavations were carried out on the necropolis of Buranа town, in 1885—1886, but the data from these studies were not published. They are stored in the Archive of the RAS Institute of History of Material Culture, among documents of the Imperial Archaeological Committee.Data on the excavations in late 19th century on the medieval cemetery near the settlement of Burana are cited and analyzed in this article. Most of the burials were made in pits. The second largest group is the burial in the pits with niches. All the deceased lay stretched on their backs heading west. The burials contained no grave goods, but sometimes they contain personal adornments or wearable crosses.At the end of the article, the burials from Burana Christian cemetery are compared with the burials from the necropolises of Ak-Beshim, Krasnaya Rechka and Belovodskaya fortresses, also located in the Chuy Valley. By comparing them, we come to conclusion about a break in development of Christianity in the Chuy Valley, and emergence of a new cultural tradition, associated with gravestones with epitaphs, at the beginning of 13th century.

Топография и хронология средневековых поселений западных регионов Казахстана

Author(s): Murat D. Kalmenov,Aliya E. Bizhanova / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The authors present a discussion on medieval settlements located in Western Kazakhstan: Kyzylkala, Ketikkala, Saraishyk, Aktobe-Laeti and Zhaiyk towns. They relate in general to the period of the 10th—14th centuries, although some of them also existed later (Saraishyk). Problems of historiography and formation of medieval urban culture, economic ties with other regions, as well as historical topography of sites based on archaeological research are discussed. Fortification of settlements, residential and farm buildings, main features of funerary rite practiced on the associated necropolises are considered.

Усадьбы золотоордынского Болгара

Author(s): Denis Yu. Badeev / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

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.

Фортификация Болгара в XIV в.: современное состояние проблемы

Author(s): Vladimir Yu. Koval / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The article reviews published materials and hypotheses concerning the fortification of Bolgar town in the 14th century, in the era of its heyday and reaching the maximum area. The hypotheses were verified based on the data obtained during excavations in 2014—2015. It is shown that the archaeological realities documented in the excavation reports do not match with O. Khovanskaya and Yu. Krasnov’s hypotheses on a buttress wall (or a cellular wall, ‘tarasa’) placed on the crest of the rampart and existence of pillar-basedtowers. In reality, during the excavations of 1946, 1953 and 1967, only irregular traces of pillar pits of different depths were discovered. Such traces could be left by a light fence supported by some separate pillars. Pillar-based towers in the Russian medieval fortifications are not known, because they would represent very fragile structures, vulnerable to stone-hurling artillery. It was suggested that the found pillar pits could be traces of some household structures of a Russian village dated by 17th—20th centuries. Defensive structures on the top of the rampart could consist of a light wooden fence without any towers. Some attempts are made to explain the difference between the Russian and Bolgar urban defense strategies. While the Russian strategy was based on use of vertical barriers (wood-earth walls), the Bolgar strategy was based on the construction of ramparts to prevent cavalry attacks on the town. Such ramparts were defended by cavalry detachments moving inside the town walls.

Этногеография Булгарской области Золотой Орды (по археологическим материалам)

Author(s): Konstantin Aleksandrovich Rudenko / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The paper discusses peoples who lived on the territory of Bulgar Ulus of the Golden Horde in 13th—14th centuries, which can be proven by archaeological sources. Thus, these data suggest that along with the Bulgar this territory was populated by the Russians, Mordvins, Mari, Armenians, and part of this territory was occupied by the Kipchaks and, probably, by the Mongols, who settled there after their military raids. All these peoples closely interacted between themselves. At the same time, there were also some small local ethnic groups, such as the Permians and the Udmurts, who managed to preserve their identity. As a whole, Bulgar Ulus of the Golden Horde was multiethnic, which continued the tradition formed before the Mongol invasion.

Арабографичные надписные камни из раскопок Казанского кремля 2000-х гг.

Author(s): Aydar M. Gaynutdinov,Ayrat G. Sitdikov,Аndrey S. Starkov / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

Medieval epigraphs written in Arabic and found in the Middle Volga region provide some very important historical evidence for any student of the regional history. For they preserved an important page of the medieval written culture. The authors address a corpus of Arabic inscriptions made on stones in the first half of the 16th century, identified during the excavations on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin in the early 2000s. Fragments of stones stored in the Museum of Archaeology (Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Sciences, Republic of Tatarstan) contain some fragments of texts in Arabic, including fragments of words and some separate letters. The paper describes the context in which these inscriptions were revealed and offers a reading of the texts on stones. Specific usages of these stones are suggested. Some fragments could be architectural elements.

Административно-территориальная структура области Сарай (дельта р. Волга)

Author(s): Evgeniy M. Pigarev / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The article is devoted to the administrative-territorial structure of the political center of a Golden Horde region (vilayet) known as Sarai, which was located in the Delta of the Volga River. Research history of the largest towns and their environs is discussed. The administrative units are characterized in accordance with the chronology of historical events. The life span of the settlements and the stages in their development are determined through analysis and comparison of archaeological, numismatic and written data. The process of urbanization in the region is linked to the changes in the level of the Caspian Sea. Suggestions are made about the location of the first capital of Jochi Ulus (the city of Sarai) and the name of Krasny Yar town.

Ртутный странник: об исследовании одного средневекового погребения

Author(s): Zvezdana V. Dode / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The excavation process of a unique medieval burial containing mercury in one of the kurgans of the Shumaevo burial ground was conducted with a number of methodological and analytical errors, that resulted in an incorrect attribution of the complex to the period of the Golden Horde. “Technical details” that were taken for granted without any critical examination were reproduced in a number of publications and engendered a number of invalid conclusions regarding the origin, social station and spiritual habits of the Shumaevo warrior. New data obtained from studying textiles from the burial indicate the mistaken dating of the burial and the premature nature of the conclusions regarding the complex’s connection with the political and cultural history of the Mongols. The burial was made by the early medieval nomads that were dominant in Central Asia long before the arrival of the Mongols.

Локализация комплекса из урочища Гашун-Уста (Ставропольская губерния, 1890 г.) и выделение золотоордынских владений в Центральном Предкавказье

Author(s): Vitaly A. Babenko / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The article analyzes materials of the Kumo-Manych expedition, 1860—1861, that allow you to specify the localization of the Gashun-Usta stow on the territory of the Stavropol Governorate. In 1890, the expedition found a belt garniture and a belt-bowl, dated by Mengu-Timur’s time.The Gashun-Usta stow is localized in the vicinity of the Basanta village, Arzgirsky district, Stavropol region in the basin of the Chogray river (North-Eastern slopes of the Stavropol Upland), known for its numerous burials of the Golden Horde. It was the area for summer and winter pastures of the medieval nomads, and it can be associated with G. de Rubruk’s accounts on Bеrke’s encampments.

Находки половецких каменных изваяний как источник по изучению географии половецких кочевий степного Прикубанья

Author(s): Yuriy V. Zelenskiy / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The author reviews places where Polovtsian stone sculptures were found on the territory of the Kuban steppe and Eastern Trans-Kuban. First statues were delivered to the Museum in the late nineteenth century, and are still delivered nowadays. Before the revolution, there was no regular reporting about original locations of such finds. In 1950s — early 21st century, statues were brought from villages located on the territory of the Central steppe area in the middle Kuban area and Eastern Trans-Kuban. Finds of the Polovtsian stone sculptures are a valuable source on the geography of the Polovtsian nomadic camps in the Kuban basin.

Адыгская керамика из археологических памятников XIII—XV веков в фондах Государственного музея Востока

Author(s): Ludmila M. Noskova / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The article discusses a small collection of ceramics of 13th—15th centuries from the excavations of the Caucasian archaeological expedition of the State Museum of Oriental Art in Adygea and on the Eastern Black sea coast of the Caucasus. Most of the pottery comes from the Shendjiy kurgan cemetery (Adygea) and Kabardinka kurgan cemetery (near Gelendzhik). Several vessels were found on the banks of the Krasnodar water reservoir, where late medieval funerary sites are situated. The material divides into two groups: one originates from the left bank of the Kuban river, and the other one from the Black Sea region. Vessels come in different forms, mostly jugs and mugs. All the vessels are made of red clay, which is typical for Adygea ceramics of the Golden Horde time made with the help of potter’s wheel of slow rotation. Most of the jars in the second group have a rim in the shape of oenochoe, with spout on the side or opposite the handle, which is a feature of vessels from the Black Sea region, never found on the left bank of the Kuban River. At the same time, jugs with tubular spout — an imitation of metal jugs — appear among the ceramic finds. In general, ceramic forms represented in the collections of the Museum of the Oriental Art complement the main types of vessels, common in the North-Western Caucasus in the 14th—15th centuries.

Два захоронения воинов-кочевников ХIII—ХIV вв. из Северо-Восточного Причерноморья (к истории формирования комплекса вооружения Золотой Орды)

Author(s): Alexander V. Dmitriev,Evgeniy I. Narozhny / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The article introduces two new and previously unpublished burial places for nomadic warriors from the burial mound “Molokanova Shchel” (near the village of Praskoveevka — Gelendzhik, Krasnodar Krai). Both burials of 35—45 year-old men were accompanied by certain sets of weapons — quiver kits, sabers and a spearhead. One of them contained a helmet composed of 4 parts and an ax; the other one contained the remains of a wooden shield with metal parts. Determining the dating of both complexes in the framework of the Golden Horde time, the authors dwell in detail on the attribution of the helmet and the remnants of the shield, linking their appearance in the Northeast Black Sea Coast with the resettlement here of the black hoods from the Southern Russia in 1260s. This raises the question of the need to take into account the contribution of the “pre-Mongol” Eastern European nomads, trapped inside the Golden Horde along with much of their traditional material culture, in modern disputes about the sources of armament of the population of the Golden Horde.

Новые данные по исторической географии золотоордынских поселений Нижнего Подонья и Северо-Восточного Приазовья

Author(s): Alexander P. Minaev,Nikita I. Iudin / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

Settlements located in the North-Eastern Azov and Lower Don basin are of great interest for the study of trade and economic relations in 13th—14th cc. both with the center of the region, which was the Azak, and between rural sites. During the analysis of the material obtained from the settlements, it is possible to determine the nature of the settlement: whether it was a small town or a rural center, as well as to imagine the degree of involvement of each settlement in trade activities, and to give an overall picture of the development of commodity relations in the region.

Autobiographies of Macedonian Refugees

Author(s): Anna Kurpiel / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Medieval Glazed Pottery: Archaeological Evidence from Rural Greece

Author(s): Effie F. Athanassopoulos / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The study of medieval and post-medieval pottery in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean has attracted significant interest in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to outline the main trends in the medieval countryside based on the evidence of archaeological regional surveys in central and southern Greece. These projects have established that glazed pottery circulated widely in the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The availability of substantial bodies of ceramic material from rural areas allows us to address questions of production and consumption patterns over time. It is well documented that in southern Greece the quantity of glazed wares increased dramatically after the late 11th century. This increase most likely indicates changes in the organization as well as the technology of glazed pottery production.This paper also includes a case study from the region of Nemea, in southern Greece. The Nemea Valley Archaeological Project (NVAP), an intensive regional survey undertaken in the 1980s, has established that glazed pottery is widely distributed in the Nemea valley and the surrounding area. NVAP also identified a medieval pottery workshop, which, most likely, produced glazed pottery. In addition, the excavations of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea, have recovered large amounts of well-preserved medieval pottery, including diagnostic glazed wares.

Импортная византийская сграффито керамика из средневековых поселений в Болгарском Причерноморье

Author(s): Marija Manolova-Vojkova / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The paper makes an overview of the imported Byzantine sgraffito pottery distributed in the towns along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast from the end of the 11th — 12th century until the end of the 14th century. These are the following types: “Fine sgraffito ware”, “Painted fine sgraffito”, “Incised sgraffito” “Champlevé ware” and “Elaborate incised ware”. Forms of vessels, specific decoration and designs are described. Their chronology is based on analogies with similar finds from Byzantine territories.

Stone-Paste Ceramics from Tarnovgrad — the Capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom

Author(s): Kalin Chakarov,Dejan Rabovjanov / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This study if focused on pieces of the so called stone-paste (Qashan) ceramics, found during archaeological excavations on the two citadels in the capital of the Second Bulgarian kingdom. Most of the findings are shards that come from the Southern part of Trapezitsa. There is also a restored bowl found at area 14 at Tsarvets. Their context is dated to the 13th—14th century. Not numerous artifacts of this kind, among the ceramic assemblage in this context, as stone-paste ware, Celadon ware and Western majolica ware, show that import of decorated luxory ceramic wares to the Bulgarian capital was limited.The examples of stone-paste wares presented here were made at important production centres of the Golden Horde ion the Lower Volga region and at the workshops of Mamluk Egypt. These evidences of distant trade connections are exotic exceptions among the art ware ceramic assemblage of medieval Tarnovo.

Парадная керамика из раскопок Азака

Author(s): Svetlana A. Kravchenko / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

The author examines the set of imported ceremonial ceramics from the digs in the Golden Horde Azak. He publishes 14th — 15th century materials from the collection of Azov Museum and recent digs and distinguishes fourteen groups of ceremonial vessels from Azak, depending on their origin and manufacturing techniques. Thus, by origin, there are Chinese, Iranian, Middle Asian, Azerbaijani, Syrian, Byzantine, Spanish and Italian vessels, as well as ceramics from the Golden Horde cities of the Lower Volga region, which produced imitations of some types of imported vessels. The materials are systematized by their technological, functional and morphological features and supplied with description of their ornamentation motifs. The author traces changes in the set of ceremonial vessels along the history of Azak.

Ближневосточная поливная керамика рубежа X—XI и XI вв. в памятниках Среднего Поволжья

Author(s): Svetlana I. Valiulina / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

This article analyzes the Middle Eastern artistic ceramics of the turn of the 10th—11th centuries and 11th century from the Volga Bulgaria sites. Among the antiquities found in Eastern Europe, these items represent a rare and unique category of eastern imports. For a more complete characteristics and reliable attribution, chemical composition of the glaze and the clay base was determined by means of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mineral composition of the ceramic base of most impressive artifacts was identified by the X-ray phase analysis. As a result, the origin and dating of the Mesopotamian luster-painted tableware and Iranian vessels of the 11th century of “Sari” type was determined. The emergence of the imported Middle Eastern art works in the Middle Volga Region, in my opinion, is one of the evidences of the initial stage of Volga Bulgarian urban culture formation during the 11th century.

Поливная керамика средневекового города Шамкир

Author(s): Tarix Meyrut Dostiyev / Language(s): Russian Publication Year: 0

This article focuses on the red-clay glazed ceramics of medieval Shamkir city, the ruins of which are located in the western region of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on the left bank of the river Shamkirchay. Wheel-made glazed ceramics of Shamkir is manufactured from well-prepared high quality levigated clay and is evenly baked. Main decoration techniques applied on glazed ceramics in 8th — 10th centuries were the color of baked shard, engobe, manganese and copper oxyde and glaze. Painting with engobe colors prevailed. The second stage in the development of artistic ceramics of Shamkir, encompassing 11th — beginning of the 13th century, was characterized by some innovations in decoration technology. The products that were decorated with engraving, the reserved technique, manganese and white painted engobe coating, engraving on manganese paintings, polychrome products under the glaze were widely used. The decor is dominated by geometric patterns, rarer plant, epigraphic and figurative motifs. Widespread rise of pottery production which began in the 9th century continuously evolved and reached its apogee in the 12th century.