Infrastructure during the period of the city rise

The formation and further development of Baltiс-Volga trade road – the so-called Great Volga way, that gave opportunities to trade with Vikings,   played the role of peculiar catalyst that caused great changes in Bulgar society. Trade contacts between Bulgars and Scandinavians were only a part of commercial and economic activity of different nations that used the Great Volga way. Among the finds of the X century that were found in Bulgar towns there were a number of objects of Scandinavian origin. The most interesting items are Caroline swords and their accessories (parts of swords and scabbards). After these items were compared with a number of other finds scientists came to the conclusion that they were of nonrandom nature. All of them in this or that way are connected with military life; as for the swords, being rare and expensive weapon, they were mostly used by the military elite.

In 1998 the archaeological expedition headed by Fayaz Khuzin found a cover plate for a belt. It reminded of similar cover plates that were widely used in Hungary about 1000 years ago. But up to that moment there were only 5 of such plates in Russia; the 6-^th was found by Kazan archaeologists in shadowy corner of the Kremlin.

Exactly there, between ancient and modern walls of the fortress, despite lack of money and terribly hot weather, the archaeologists managed to find several constructions of the period of the Kazan Khanate.  The most interesting of them was a tanning workshop with completely preserved foundations of pine beams, pieces of jugs and leather cuttings – some of them were decorated with ornamental patterns. There was also found a heel with small copper tacks and some hazel nuts that were used for leather tanning! All these things were not touched by the time thanks to peat bog that didn’t allow air to reach the ancient construction…

And in this particular workshop at a depth of 3 meters the archaeologists found a bronze plaque of Hungarian origin. The plaque was decorated with flowers and petals that preserved the traces of gilt. It is about 1000 years old; Dr. of History Eugene Kazakov supposed that at first it was used as a cover plate for a belt or a horse bridle, and later someone made a small hole in it and this little Hungarian item became a female embellishment. The latest researches of this find proved the supposition right.