"Saray-Berke"

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

Area of the Federal Cultural Heritage site "Ruins of Saray-Berke (New Saray)" just northwest of Tsarev (pronounced Tsaryov) in Russia. The vast archaeological site belongs to an important medieval town that doubtless belonged to the so-called Golden Horde. However, its identification is disputed. It is no longer considered certain that Saray Batu and Saray Berke were distinct from each other, and at any rate it is impossible for the Saray of Berke (who died in 1266) to be identical with New Saray, which was established in the 14th century. Moreover, comparison between numismatic and archaeological data makes the site northwest of Tsarev an unlikely match for New Saray, and there is some growing consensus that the site should be identified with the hitherto unlocated important mint city of Gulistan instead. There is even stronger consensus that New Saray should be identified with Selitrennoe gorodishche 230 km to the southeast, which has been hitherto considered the site of Old Saray (on the correct location of which there is no consensus).
As of revision 14, the polygon indicates the official limits of the cultural heritage site designated "Saray-Berke," based on the following map:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Sarai-Berke...