• The capital of Volga Bulgaria – the city of Bilyar – in the 11th c. was like Paris would be only in the 17th c., Prof. Genady Beloribkin, lecturer at the Penza University says
• The degree of preservation of the Bulgarian artefacts after 800 years speaks of their high quality

To get absorbed in the atmosphere of the 12th century is an incredible experience, especially if in one distant corner of the world you find traces of the roots of your Bulgarian ancestors! In 2004 Chavdar Stefanov – representative of the Bulgarian National Radio in Moscow – offered me this amazing pleasure. He was about to make a reportage for the radio, I took my camera and we left for the town of Penza. There we were welcomed by Prof. Genady Beloribkin, lecturer at the Penza University. He took us to the so-called Zolotoryovsko gorodishte, situated nearby. Eagerly, I took pictures of every inch of this land. I felt the breath of air and grass. This is where the Bulgarians started from to reach Europe, the lands beyond the Danube. I don’t know whether we entered Europe only now, but I know for sure that Europe has come to us. At the Zolotoryovsko gorodishte our interesting conversation with Prof. Genady Beloribkin started. This is what he told us:
“We are on the territory of a mediaeval city of Volga Bulgaria, known in our country as Zolotoryovsko gorodishte, and the three surrounding settlements. Here in 1273 a serious battle took place between the defenders of the city and the armies of the Mongols-Tatars. All citizens perished, part of the territory is now covered by grass, but wherever you start digging, you find artefacts, and if you dig deeper, you come across human bones that lie unburied. There are many horse bones and different armaments – arrowheads, pieces of armour – testimonies of a fierce fight. There are traces of fire everywhere – the houses were burnt, everything was charred.

Field research has been going on for a long time. In the 1960s and 70s the Penza archaeologist Mihail Poleskih carried out excavations in the area. He found houses and farm buildings and many material culture artefacts. They bear testimony to advanced craftsmanship and agriculture – the nearby fields were cultivated and there is ample evidence of the existence of a big market. This is explicable as this is where the trade route passed connecting the town of Bolgar of Volga Bulgaria with Kiev, which is mentioned in sources as early as the 9th century.”