Akhtubinskoe gorodishche

 archaeological site, Medieval / Middle Ages, hillfort, historic ruins

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The archaeological site known as Akhtubinskoe gorodishche is some 3 km long (N to S) and 1-1.5 km wide (E-W), but much of it is located under the modern settlement of Komsomol'skiy. In 1989-1994 the Astrakhan Museum conducted archaeological excavations focusing on several low mounds on the southern outskirts of Komsomol'skiy. The area excavated, in the southernmost part of the modern settlement, featured three mounds, the southeasternmost of which was revealed to contain a palace building with overall symmetrical plan and 16 rooms. The remains belong to a medieval city of the so-called Golden Horde. It has been identified tentatively with Orda-Mu'azzam, because 40% of the coin finds were struck at that mint, but it has also been proposed that the site corresponds to the original (old) Saray, the first capital of the Golden Horde.