Construction Materials and Construction Technologies in the Steppe Cities of the Golden Horde
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2026.3.270.285Keywords:
archaeology, Golden Horde, cities, construction, technologies, adobe brick, fired brick, tiles, carved ganch, woodAbstract
The article deals with the analysis of construction technologies in the Golden Horde cities of the steppe zone. In the Golden Horde cities of the steppe zone, buildings were constructed from adobe and fired bricks. Both residential and public buildings were constructed from adobe bricks. Fired bricks were used to build monumental public and palace buildings. The technology for producing adobe is quite simple, and it could be produced by both professional builders and ordinary citizens. Special two-chamber kilns were intended for the production of fired bricks. Kilns for firing bricks were built not only in cities, but also in the steppe, in places where brick mausoleums were erected in the necropolises of the nobility. The square fired bricks are similar in shape and size to those of Khorezm. Buildings in the Golden Horde were built without foundations; foundations could only be made for tall buildings, such as minarets. The walls of the houses were plastered with clay and alabaster. The figured brick paving of the floor also has analogies in Central Asia. The decor used mosaics of kashin tiles, both monochrome and polychrome. Elements of their carved ganch were also used. The architectural decor testifies to connections with Central Asia and, via Transcaucasia, with Iran. In general, construction technologies are a reflection of the multiculturalism of the multiethnic Golden Horde state.
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