Weirs in the Waterworks of the Tsarev Settlement

Abstract

The location and design of weirs as part of water supply system on the Tsarev settlement and its neighborhood are considered in the article. The descriptions of the 19th – early 20th cc. and archaeological data made it possible to establish the fact that the weirs had been constructed of earth with a backfill made of stones, bricks and slag. They served to regulate water discharge and to construct reservoirs. On the basis of 19th-century topographic maps and satellite images, it has been possible to figure out the locations and purpose of four major weirs, which had occupied key positions both outside and inside the town. Two reservoirs were constructed to the west and east of the town by means of large weirs (over 200 m long and 10 m tall). Two lesser weirs used to form internal water reservoirs.

Keywords

• the Lower Volga river region
• the Golden Horde period
• the Tsarev settlement
• weir
• reservoir
• shallow channel of river delta (yerik).