Heritage sites, Archaeological discoveries, History of Archaeology

The Khazar Fortress of Sarkel

Location

Don River from Kevin Brook

Country

Russia

Year of Research

1930s

Culture

Khazarian cities the one of the provided the richest material ruins was Sarkel, which was the flooded in 1952 upon the completion of the new Tsimlyansky Reservoir.
Archaeological work at the Sarkel site was never fully finished, and it is not possible to conduct further studies.
The grand fortress of Sarkel, located near the Don River, was built in the 830s by a joint team of Greek and Khazar architects.
Its Turkic name, sar-kel, means "White Fortress", and was named this because the castle bricks were made of white limestone.
Caravans would often pass through the area, and in fact the remains of Sarkel caravanserais have been recognized, each consisting of rooms for visitors, an area for holding cattle, and a courtyard where the caravans were kept overnight.