Archaeological studies of the Uvek settlement in the Saratov region

In 2022 the Institute of Archaeology named after A.H. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences together with the GAUK SO «Historical park “My History”» (Saratov), continued excavation works on the Uvek settlement (the Golden Horde city of Uvek) in order to study the historical topography of the medieval settelment. The field research was carried out within the framework of the State program of the Republic of Tatarstan “Preservation of the national identity of the Tatar people (2020-2024)”.

Last year research was carried out on the high part of the Mamai hillock, located on the western outlying area of the settlement. In 2022 research is focused on the southern and eastern soles of the upland.

On the southern foot  was made excavation XVI with a total area of 118 m². The depth of the layers is on average 60-80 cm. 40 burials without burial items were found here. Further anthropological study of the archaeological material is to be carried out.
The excavations made it possible to unite the studied site with the burials on the Mamai hillock into one necropolis and include them in a single belt of necropolises around the settlement.

Excavation XVI with a total area of 80 m² is on the eastern foot of the Mamai shikhan, where the central part of the settlement was located. At the end of the XIX century a rich manor house was found here with a central building of the palace type made of brick with tiled panels in the interior of the room (excavations made by Baron de Baye). The thickness of the cultural strata is about 420-500 cm. Six metallurgical furnaces and two utility pits were found here. The set of findings includes more than 200 items: coins, ceramics, pieces of copper and lead items, glass jewelry. We cannot but note  the finding out of a silver coins hoard (105 pcs.). Now the coins undergo cleaning and determination. The latest coin is dated to the 1340s.