Salvage and Rescue Archaeological Expedition to Nizhnekamsk and Kuibyshev Reservoirs

Archaeological studies of the monuments located in the basin of the coastal area of Kuibyshev reservoir continued in 2016 within the framework of the project “Cultural Heritage: the Ancient City of Bolgar and the Island-Town of Sviyazhsk” of the “Renaissance” Republican Foundation. The first studies of the island sites within the project began in 2014 with exploratory surveys, which revealed a significant destruction of most archaeological sites by reservoir waters. Archaeological surveying of the island and coastal monuments of Spassky District continued in 2015, including excavations at Starokuibyshevsky V and the previously unknown VII villages dating back to the 10th – early 13th centuries. However, the studies at Starokuibyshevsky V village could not be completed due to a high water level in the reservoir.
In the autumn of 2016, after a decrease in the water level of Kuibyshev reservoir, extensive studies were conducted at five excavations with a total area of 1904 square meters at eroded sites of the Starokuibyshevsky group of archaeological monuments, namely the III, IV and V villages. The surveys are accounted for by the fact that the sites are highly eroded, and when the water level is low, this presents a possibility of thorough studying and registration of eroded sites in order to establish their general planigraphy.