Bulgar Early Middle Age Citadels in Eastern Europe and on Lower Danube
This list is a far cry from a complete list, it has to be complemented
with at least such major citadels as Bilyar, Bulgar, "Murom", Suvar,
Tamyatakhan, and with the citadels covered by the present cities of Kiev, Chernigov, Rostov,
Tula, and many others
Fig. 1 Map of Bulgarian fortresses in Eastern Europe and
on Lower Danube, built of ashlar blocks and with inscriptions
1. Humarin 2. Cimlyansk Citadel (Right-bank) 3. Mayak Citadel 4. Sarkel 5. Pliska
6. Madara 7. Preslav 8. Han Krum 9. Silistra 10. Pyjkul luj Soare 11. Slon 12. Devnja
Fig. 2 Map of Bulgarian sites in Central Asia
Fig 3. Area of Saltovo-Mayak culture
(Per M. Gimbutas, 'The Slavs', 1971)
Fig 4. Body Orientation map of Bulgarian necropolises in N. Pontic area in the 7-9 cc.
1. Verhnij Chirjurt 2. Novo-Labinskaja 3. Borisovo 4. Pashkovskaja 5.
Djurso 6. Jasenovaja poljana 7. Artuganovo
8. Sarkel 9. Semikarakori 10. Phanagorija 11. Bagaevskaja 12. Zilgi 13. River Kardan
14. Kashkatau (Sovetskoe)
15. Zlivki 16. Zalimanie 17. Shejkovka 18. Pokrovskoe 19. Krimskij 20.
Krivjanskij 21. Nedvigovskij 22. Volokonovka
23. Jutanovka 24. Netajlovska 25. Dmitrievka 26. Zholtoe 27. Novolimarevka
28. Dronovka 29. Kamensk 30. Mayaki
31. Right-bank Cimljanskoe 32. Gukovo
Bulgar Archeological Traits
Trait |
Desription |
Culture Codeword |
Saltovo-Mayak |
Dwellings |
Portable yurts, felt and leather. Stationary yurts, clay and
wood. Round/oval, open hearth, roof vent |
Foundations |
Indigenous construction without foundations, based on leveled
ground |
Lifestile |
Pastoral Nomadic |
Burials |
Almost exclusively inhumations, some cremations |
Kurgan |
Small |
Grave Type |
Pit Grave (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). Some with niche. |
Sarcophagus |
Some primitive rock or thick wooden slabs sarcophagus, or
cover of boards or stones. |
Burial Position |
Stretched bodies on their backs |
Orientation |
Western and northern |
Stone Fill |
Niche blocking, grave pit fill, surface stone cover, double
‘shutting’ by niche blocking and stone cover |
Grave Goods |
One, rarely two, earthenware pots and a spot of meat |
Sacrificed Animals |
Dogs and horses in some graves |
Special features |
Bound legs, chopped off feet |
Religion |
Tengrianism, with significant exposure to Bactrian Buddism and
Christianity |
Script |
Euro Asiatic- Don,
Euro Asiatic- Kuban |
Utensils |
|
Armour |
|
Ceramocs |
Earthen cauldrons with inner lugs |
Cranial Deformation |
50-80 % |
Examples |
Babashov necropolis, located on the
right bank of Cheyhun, N. Bactria, |
Examples |
Bishkek valley, basin of river Kafir-nigan, right tributary
of Cheyhun, N. Bactria, 2nd c. BC to 3rd c. AD |
Examples |
Necropolis Zlivka near village of Ilichevki, district of
Donetsk, N. Pontic |
Fig 5 Pit grave with a niche from the Bishkek valley, N. Bactria.
(D.Dimitrov, The Bulgarians north and west of the Black Sea, Varna, 1987, p. 63)
|
Fig 6 P it grave with a niche from Devnja necropolis No1,
Bulgaria
(The lid of stones was removed before drawing the sketch.)
(D.Dimitrov, The Bulgarians north and west of the Black Sea, Varna, 1987, p. 64)
|
Common Anthropological Traits
Trait |
Desription |
Cranial Type |
Brachiocranic/mesobrachiocranic Europoids with small Mongoloid admixtures |
Body Type |
Not studied/Not reported/Not documented/Not classified |
The ceramic cauldrons with inner lugs, frequently found in the central
N.Caucasus area, are often attributed to Bulgars. Bulgars settled in these ( assumed abandoned by
the Alans) lands at the end of 7th c These cauldrons are found in many locations around
Kislovodsk. Similar caudrons are also found in the newly drawn borders of the Karachaevo-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria.
Similar cauldrons with inner lugs appeared no later than at the end of
the 9 c. in the Danube Bulgaria, at the pottery production center near the
village of Topola, in the district of Dobrich (Tolbuhin). Some of the Meotida
Bulgars fled from the Khazars and settled in the central N. Caucasus, in the
Alanian lands suitable for cattle-breeding. Three pit necropolises in the Kabardino-Balkaria,
one near aul Zilgi, second at the right bank of the river Kardan, and the third
at the hill Keshene-aly near the village Kashkatau (Sovetskoe) in the valley of the
river Cherek are interpreted as Bulgarian. The graves are of western and
south-western orientation. In one grave at Keshene-aly the legs of the
deceased were apparently bound. The way of burial and the grave artifacts in
these necropolises are quite distinct from the local culture of northern Caucasus
and have parallels with the 'Zlivka' type necropolises.
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