Popular science essays by Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Anatoly Zakharovich Vinnikov are devoted to one of the most interesting archaeological sites of the Voronezh region - the Mayatsky archaeological complex of the 9th-10th centuries. A.Z. Vinnikov in 1975. 1977-1982 as part of the Soviet-Bulgarian-Hungarian expedition led the excavations of the Mayatsky village. The book presents in an accessible form not only the traditions of the peoples living in the territory of Divnogorye in the Middle Ages, but also gives a short story about the science of archeology, the history of the Khazar Khaganate and the northern neighbors of the Alans and Bulgarians - Don Slavs.