Archaeological Studies in Medieval Kasimov

The authors address the history of archaeological studies in the town of Kasimov since the early 19th to the early 21th centuries. They distinguished stages in these studies: the nineteenth century, 1920-30s and the modern time, starting from 2000. They address key findings of archaeological research conducted in 2008?2014. Studies in the central part of Kasimov and in the area near the Khan's Mosque did not reveal any strata or structures dated by the middle 15th ? early 16th centuries that could suggest that the town was founded by Khan Qasim. The authors suggested Gorodets Meshchersky in the area of Stary Posad (Ulanova Mount) as the initial localization of Kasimov: this area yielded some material of the second half of the fifteenth century. They also supposed that there was a continuity between these hillforts: Zemlyanoy Strug (early I Millennium ? 13th century) ? Gorodets Meshchersky (15th century) ? Kasimov (middle 16th ? 21th century). It was established that the town could be moved to its current location as early as the middle ? second half of the 16th century, under the Khan Shah-Ali's rule.