In Dagestan, scientists were able to establish the age of the walls of the Derbent fortress, which divide Shakristan (the main core of the city) into three parts. A new study has “aged” the fortifications by almost 1,000 years.
Veronica Gudkova
The Derbent citadel is called Naryn-kala.
According to the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, to obtain new data, local historians compared the medieval plans of the Derbent fortress with the results of archaeological research carried out in the years 1960 and 2000-2010.
The research was carried out under the direction of Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Murtazali Gadzhiev.
It turned out that the citadel and defensive wall of Derbent, in the north of the city, were erected in 568-569. Later the south wall was built near the citadel. Both walls extending from the citadel blocked the 3.5 kilometer passage between the Caspian Sea and the mountains.
At the same time, on the city plans in Olearius’s engraving of 1638, the plans of Derbent in the 1720s and early 19th century, transverse walls are indicated that connect both city walls and divide Shakhristan into several parts .
It was previously assumed that the transverse walls were erected under the reign of Shah Abbas I (1588-1629). A careful study of written sources showed that the walls could have been built during the Sassanid period, that is, during the construction of the citadel.
The hypothesis was confirmed by the remains found of walls made with the Sassanian masonry technique.
Ancient maps made it possible to determine the age of Derbent’s walls. Photo: RAS Institute of Archeology
