THE RIGHT-BANK TSIMLYANSK FORTRESS OF THE KHAZAR KAGANATE BASED ON THE 2006–2021 EXCAVATIONS

Abstract

The right-bank Tsimlyansk settlement is a white-stone fortress doomed to destruction by the construction of the Tsimlyansk reservoir. The estimates of experts in bank transformation show that the fortress will disappear in the next 75 years, while the bank stabilization will take 200 years or longer. The paper presents the results of the 2006–2021 excavations along more than 56 m of the eastern fortress wall and in tower IV which were built from white limestone blocks laid on a base of shell rock and sandstone slabs. No wooden posts under the wall were found, as in the case of the southern corner of the fortress. The location of the tower corresponds to the 1743 plan by I. Satsyperov. Two options for its reconstruction are proposed. A unique feature of many blocks is the decoration in the shape of a straight and oblique grid. A number of building materials of Byzantine origin were found, including roof tiles and kalypters, as well as ceramic tiles. Another yurt dwelling (structure no. 50) typical for the fortress was uncovered. It is of fundamental importance that the dwelling adjoins the inner face of the fortress wall. Earlier, two more dwellings were found near the inner facade, but none has been found under the wall. This circumstance casts doubt on S.A. Pletneva’s hypothesis unsupported by M.I. Artamonov about the existence of an earlier settlement on the site of the fortress.