Head of expedition: Mark Kramarovsky
Current work site: Stary Krym (Crimea)
The Expedition was established in 1978. During the 1970s, the Crimean-Turkic-Mongol issue generated little research interest in connection with the Ulus of Jochi (also referred to in specialist literature as the Golden Horde). In that context, the Expedition of the Orient Department mainly concentrated on the historical topography and culture of Solkhat (also known as Krym; hence the current Russian name of the peninsula). Solkhat was the only city founded by Mongols as the administrative and political centre of the Golden Horde province in Crimea. In addition, the new centre controlled trade flows between the Crimean highland and steppe areas and regulated the sea traffic from Italian Romania (through the wharfs in the Genoese town of Caffa) to Deshti Qipchaq and the capital cities in the Volga Region. Mediaeval Solkhat measured around 22 ha within the boundaries of the 1380s defence belt. The site is now subsumed by the infrastructure of modern Stary Krym (Tatar: Eski Qirim).
The Expedition pursues the following key activities (programmes):
1. Identification and study of pre-Mongol monuments in the mediaeval town. This includes works on the mound in the northeast of the site (1994–1996) where two major Middle Bronze Age burials were found (Supervisors: S. Khavrin, I. Zilmanovich, M. Kramarovsky).
2. Identification and study of architectural sites associated with the principal religious communities residing in Solkhat over the 13th and 14th c. (Muslim, Christian and Jewish). The team studied a number of Solkhat’s landmark Islamic buildings, including a 1314 mosque (excavated in 1978–1979); a madrasah dating from the beginning of the 14th c. (1978–1984; investigation continued in 2012–2013); two mosques, one dating back to the 1370s (explored in 1981–1986), the other to the 1390s (explored in 1984–1985); investigatory works were performed on the so-called caravansary (1990–1994 and 2012), two mausoleums built in the latter half of the 14th c. (1995 and 1991–1993) and a Christian temple dating from the late 14th–early 15th c. (1986–1988). In the same period, the Expedition studied several Muslim and Christian necropolises. The programme was delivered under the subsequent management of I. Zilmanovich, S. Adaksina, L. Belyaev, L. Savchenkova, A. Ivanova, E. Seydaliev and M. Kramarovsky.
3. Identification and study of the city’s mediaeval defence systems. The 1993 and 2009–2012 excavations resulted in the uncovering of the lower masonry and foundations of three stone defence towers in the northwest sector of the site where a wall had been built under Emir Mamai in the early 1380s as protection against Genoese attacks (Supervisors: A. Katyushin, E. Seydaliev, M. Kramarovsky).
4. Investigations into the links between Solkhat and the rural zones. The Expedition has explored two rural settlements, Krinichki II in the steppe and the artisan settlement Bokatash II in the Crimean foothills where over 60 pottery kilns of various types were found. Both settlements date from the late 13th–mid-14th c. (Supervisors: S. Khavrin, V. Gukin, M. Kramarovsky).
5. Investigations into the role of the post-Seljuk component in the subcultures of the Islamic community, branches of the Christian Church (Orthodox Christian, Greek-Latin, Armenian Gregorian and Latin) and the Jewish community (represented in Solkhat by the Rabbinic and Caraim streams). The research activities are driven by the collections of epigraphic materials, stone carvings, coins (over 3000 pieces), pottery, glasswork and other types of finds retrieved by the Expedition. The Expedition has actively collaborated with experts and students from St. Petersburg, Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Simferopol, Kiev and Chisinau.
Contact details:
Email: solkhat@hermitage.ru
