Water facilities in the architectural and socio-cultural space of the city (on the example of medieval Derbent)

Derbent is the southernmost and the most ancient city of Russia. Extensive archaeological studies confirm the 5,000-year history of the city, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003. Being an ‘open-air museum’, it has many architectural objects that have not yet been fully explored. The article analyses historical and cultural sources. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the objects related to water resources of medieval Derbent and to identify their significance in relation to the organisation of architectural and socio cultural space. The author pays much attention to the description of urban water bodies that have survived to the present day. The water facilities examined show that the architectural style and materials used for construction created a unified environment and were part of the organisational planning of the city's development.