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The second part of the article deals with the issues of tracing and dating the external line of the fortifications of the city of Bolgar, which existed in pre-Mongol times. The task of this line was to defend the territory adjacent to the citadel and inhabited by craftsmen and tradesmen. Until now, it was assumed that there was only one such line. However, excavation materials indicate several lines (at least two). The problem is aggravated by very approximate dating of the ditches discovered during excavations and the absence (or extremely low degree of preservation) of embankments, which are no longer visible in the relief. Lack of reliable information about the fortification of the Bolgar at the beginning of the 13thcentury casts doubt on the catastrophic destruction of the city by the Mongols in 1236.

The article deals with the problematic issues of tracing and dating the fortifications of the city of Bolgar in pre-Mongol times (from the end of the 9th to the beginning of the 13th centuries). On the basis of topographic referencing of the excavations, in which the filled ditches were discovered, all the data available on the placement of the defense lines of the early Bolgar are systematized. There is not enough data to exactly date them, therefore, the sequence of appearance of these lines is not obvious. The ditches indicate that there were ramparts next to them, the earth of which was used for the subsequent filling of ditches. Interesting tracks, on which, immediately after filling the earlier ditch, a new one was pulled out, with an indent to the outside. The task of new studies of the early fortifications of Bolgar will be to clarify the dates of their creation and spatial distribution.

Medieval bone carving workshops on the city of Bolgar were identified by archaeologists from clusters of the same type of raw waste or blanks in a particular place. The authors introduce a new “technological” criterion for fixing workshops. The raw and technological analysis of 12 collections of bone products from archaeological excavations 2011–18 in the craft and trade area of the central part of medieval Bolgar was carried out. Several items of frequently occurring products were identified that fell into the cultural layer at different stages of the product manufacturing process: blanks, unfinished products that broke during the manufacturing process, spoilage. By the concentration of such finds in the cultural layers in the studied part of the city, it was possible to establish two periods of functioning of bone-cutting workshops in the Golden Horde time. The planigraphy of finds related to bone carving in specific cultural strata of the studied area allows the authors to identify one estate of the Golden Horde period, on which not only ordinary, but also exotic raw materials were processed – walrus and elephant tusks. Also in two other estates of the late 13th – the first half of the 15th century signs of bone carving workshops were also noted.

Among the categories of products from the territory of medieval Bolgar the items made of wood are considered the most rare. It is connected, first of all, with not possibility of preservation of organic matter (including wood) in the cultural layer of Bolgar. The exception is considered for the items affected by fire. This study has been intended to fill in information about the development of the craft for the treatment of wood turning and craft production at Bulgar during the Golden Horde period. The findings made of wood derived from the territory of the trade and craft quarter and the building of urban market are examined in the paper: the case for sales of inventory, parts, moucharaby (mashrabia), double-sided ridges. All these items were found in objects and layer of fire which have been associated with the capture of the town by Bulak-Timur in 1361. The technique of selection, preservation and research of samples from charred wood are presented by the authors. Samples of parts, moucharaby and bilateral ridges allowed to determine the type of wood from which were made presented products. For this purpose, three sections in transverse, radial and tangential directions were made on each of the samples. In a number of cases scraping from samples in the specified directions was used. As a result, the authors are able to establish that the masters of wood processing used local species of deciduous trees: maple and birch as well as imported wood – boxwood.

The long-term archaeological studies of the central part of the Golden Horde Bolgar have resulted in the discovery and study of a unique structure for Eastern Europe – the building of a town bazaar of the mid-14th century. The article considers the stages of development of the town district where the structure was erected. The study area featured the first underground iron-smelting catalan hearth studied in territory of Bolgar fortified settlement, which are similar to the “Saltovo type” of hearths in term of their design features and dated 10th century. At the end of the pre-Mongol period and during the Golden Horde period, iron production complexes were replaced with manors accommodating production facilities associated with the smelting and processing of non-ferrous metals, primarily copper. Craft industries of the region reached their highest level of development in the first half of the 14th century. This period is associated with the operation of copper-smelting, glass-working, jewellery and bone carving workshops. An iron processing district was located in the immediate vicinity of the region. Thus, the emergence of a town bazaar in the study area is in no small part related to the maximum concentration of craft industries in this area of medieval Bolgar.

The article considers the topical study issues associated with the urban planning of medieval Bolgar (9th –15th cc.) – the issues of localization and organization of the street space. The results of archaeological studies allow not only to trace the layout of individual streets, but also to determine the connection of the street structure of the Golden Horde Bolgar with the elements of urban planning dating back to the Pre-Mongol period. Proceeding from the results of many years of archaeological activities, the author classifies the medieval Bolgar streets into the following two types on the basis of their functional purpose: primary (connecting the individual areas of the town) and district streets. The author outlines the various types of street paving with wood and stone slabs (white stone or sandstone) and building materials (crushed brick and fine tuff). Most of the streets located on the periphery of the town were presumably unpaved. In any case, the availability of paving on the streets has not been archaeologically traced.

The results of the archaeological studies on a monumental building, identified in the central part of the Bolghar fortified settlement site, 150 meters southwest of the Cathedral Mosque, during the 1989-1993, 2000 and 2011-2013 works are presented. Adobe brick masonry and remains of wooden flooring have been recorded. Findings in the form of numerous a large number of commercial stock-in-trade items and coins allow interpreting this building as the city market. The authors of the excavations of the building date it back to the 50-70s of the 14th century. The structural elements of the construction and its internal layout suggest the existence of the city market at the intersection of two streets. The presence of street system in this part of the city is also indicated by the remains of two brickworks of mud bricks, which had served as a street fence (duval) and referred to layers of the 30-40s of the 14th century. In the mid-14th century, the building of the city market had been being erected in place of the street fence and the adjoining estates. Thus, the development dynamics of Bolghar urban planning in the Late Golden Horde period on the site southwest of the Cathedral Mosque could be traced.

The results of the archaeological studies on a monumental building, identified in the central part of the Bolghar fortified settlement site, 150 meters southwest of the Cathedral Mosque, during the 1989-1993, 2000 and 2011-2013 works are presented. Adobe brick masonry and remains of wooden flooring have been recorded. Findings in the form of numerous a large number of commercial stock-in-trade items and coins allow interpreting this building as the city market. The authors of the excavations of the building date it back to the 50-70s of the 14th century. The structural elements of the construction and its internal layout suggest the existence of the city market at the intersection of two streets. The presence of street system in this part of the city is also indicated by the remains of two brickworks of mud bricks, which had served as a street fence (duval) and referred to layers of the 30-40s of the 14th century. In the mid-14th century, the building of the city market had been being erected in place of the street fence and the adjoining estates. Thus, the development dynamics of Bolghar urban planning in the Late Golden Horde period on the site southwest of the Cathedral Mosque could be traced.

The ruins of a large brick building were revealed on the Bolgar city site to the southwest of the Cathedral mosque. The structure was studied during the 1989-1993, 2000 and 2011 excavations. It has been found that that its outer walls were built of baked brick and the inside walls were made of mud brick. The roofing could be beamed and resting on light pole supports. The layout of the building and the finds of stock-in-trade items confirm the hypothesis that the structure could serve as the city trade yard (marketplace) or bazaar. The coins found make it possible to date the structure back to the 1340-1350s and its collapse in the fire to the 1360-1370s. The construction features of the building point to its relationship with the architectural tradition of the Lower Volga settlements, that of Iran and Central Asia.