Andrey Yaganov

Asya V. Engovatova

In 2004–2006 and 2008 the Yaroslavl archaeological expedition of the RAS Institute of Archaeology conducted architectural and archaeological investigations on the territory of the Rubleny Gorod in Yaroslavl, where four consecutive stone buildings of the cathedral of the Dormition had existed from the 13th to the 17th c. None of the buildings are extant, hence the main goal of the excavations was to localize them. As a result, the remains of two of the buildings (early 16th and second half of the 17th cc.) have been found and investigated. We also identifi ed the location of the oldest church in Yaroslavl: the church of the Dormition which dates back to the early 13th c. The investigations of 2004–2008 allowed studying the extant constructions in the ancient buildings, the building materials and the elements of décor from the parts which have not survived. A series of historical and topographic conclusions have been reached. Even though the herein presented new data is far from being fi nal, it changes our notions about the reasons for the relocation of the buildings, and gives certain material for the study of Old Russian architecture.