After visiting the Cathedral of the Assumption let us make our way to the edge of the Middle Town through the town park which runs along the ancient ramparts. From here you have an excellent view of the amphi­theatre-like hollow on the town slopes, bordered on the west by the ridge of Kozlov Val with the Churches of St. Nicholas and the Ascension behind it. On the right are the sites of the old royal palaces marked by the white Church of Our Saviour and the pink Church of St. George. Behind them one can see the shining dome of the Golden Gates. Artisans settled lower down the slopes in the direction of Murom Hill and the Volga Gates during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Exca­vations in this area have revealed a potter's kiln in which attractive, bright red, glazed vessels were fired. As we pause for a moment on the edge of the cathedral hill we should remember that beneath our feet lie the remains of settlements dating back almost two thousand years.