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BAR S2240 2011
PONTIKA 2008 Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
PAPUCI-WŁADYKA, VICKERS, BODZEK & BRAUND (Eds)
Proceedings of the International Conference, 21st–26th April 2008, Kraków
Edited by
Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka Michael Vickers Jarosław Bodzek David Braund
PONTIKA 2008
B A R
BAR International Series 2240 2011
PONTIKA 2008 Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times Proceedings of the International Conference, 21st–26th April 2008, Kraków
Edited by
Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka Michael Vickers Jarosław Bodzek David Braund
BAR International Series 2240 2011
Published in 2016 by BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR International Series 2240 PONTIKA 2008 © The editors and contributors severally and the Publisher 2011 The authors' moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher.
ISBN 9781407306605 paperback ISBN 9781407337951 e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407306605 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library BAR Publishing is the trading name of British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd. British Archaeological Reports was first incorporated in 1974 to publish the BAR Series, International and British. In 1992 Hadrian Books Ltd became part of the BAR group. This volume was originally published by Archaeopress in conjunction with British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd / Hadrian Books Ltd, the Series principal publisher, in 2011. This present volume is published by BAR Publishing, 2016.
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Table of Contents PONTIKA 2008 Proceedings – Introduction Chapter 1 The Discovery of a Hellenistic Ostracon in Nikonion Bartosz Awianowicz Jacek Rakoczy Chapter 2 Koshary (Ukraine): International Relations in the Light of Numismatic Evidence Jarosław Bodzek Chapter 3 Heracles the Scythian: Herodotus, Herodorus and Colonial Cultures David Braund Chapter 4 New Data on Relationships Between the Ancient Greek Poleis of the North-Western Black Sea Littoral (Tyras-Olbia) Svetlana A. Bulatovich Tatiana L. Samoilova Chapter 5 Geophysical Research at Koshary (Ukraine, Odessa province) Artur Buszek Tomasz Herbich Dawid Święch Chapter 6 New Research in the Environs of the Acropolis of Myrmekion Alexander M. Butiagin Chapter 7 Belozerskoe as a Settlement in a Greek-barbarian ‘Contact Zone’: 2003-7 Valeria P. Bylkova Chapter 8 The Black Sea Coast Between the Bosporan Kingdom and Colchis Sujatha Chandrasekaran Chapter 9 Greeks and Colchians: Marriage and Ethnic Categories Irakli Chavleishvili Chapter 10 Greek Seafaring in the Age of Colonization in the Black Sea Area Maciej Czech Chapter 11 Greek Amphora Stamps from the Black Sea and Mediterranean Areas in the Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Collection Agata Dobosz Chapter 12 Characterization of the Bug and Dnieper Limans Workshop: Preliminary Laboratory Results and Comparative Typological Studies Pierre Dupont Vasilica Lungu Chapter 13 Greek Graffiti from Pichvnari (1998-2007) Nino Dzneladze i
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Chapter 14 Gilded Terracotta Jewellery from Meotian Sites of the Kuban Region: the Problem of Intercultural Contact in the Early Hellenistic Period Vladimir R. Erlikh Chapter 15 Handmade Pottery of the Greek Group from Tyras, Olbia and Nymphaion in the Hellenistic Period Nadezhda A. Gavriliuk Chapter 16 Research into Overall Biological Condition of a Group of Individuals Buried in a Necropolis Dating from 4th-3rd Centuries BC in Koshary (Ukraine) Henryk Głąb Krzysztof Szostek Chapter 17 Two Pelikai from the Collection of the National Museum in Kraków: Form and Decoration Dorota Gorzelany Chapter 18 The Influence of Greek Military Art on the Military Science of Scythians of the Lower Don (5th-4th Centuries BC) Sergey Iu. Iangulov Chapter 19 Tsikhisdziri Cemetery Nino Inaishvili Nineli Vashakidze Chapter 20 A Geto-Dacian Coin Hoard from the 1st Century BC in the Light of X-ray Fluorescence Analysis Theodor Isvoranu Viorel Cojocaru Chapter 21 Queen Dynamis and Tanais Askold I. Ivantchik Sergey R. Tokhtas’ev Chapter 22 Common and Distinguishing Features of Greek Colonization in the Black Sea Area Emzar Kakhidze Chapter 23 Daily Life in Ancient Koshary: Some Comments. Part 2 Marta Kania Chapter 24 Tschatyrdag, an Unknown Roman Sentry Post on the Southern Crimean Coast? Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski Chapter 25 Flat-graves Necropolis of Artyushchenko II in the South of the Taman Peninsula Sergey V. Kashaev Chapter 26 Greek-Barbarian Relations in the Lower Don Region in the 7th-3rd Centuries BC Viktor P. Kopylov Nadiezhda V. Andrianova Chapter 27 Olbia Pontica in the 3rd-4th Centuries AD: Late Antique or Post-Antique? Valentina V. Krapivina
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Chapter 28 Architectural Representations on Coins of the Southern Black Sea Coast During the Roman Period Katarzyna Lach Chapter 29 An Olbian Estate of the 4th Century BC Svetlana N. Liashko Valentina A. Papanova Chapter 30 The Bronze Statuette of a Colchian Horsewoman on Samos: Accident or Design? Vakhtang Licheli Chapter 31 Children’s Burials in the Koshary Necropolis: Some Remarks Wojciech Machowski Chapter 32 Amphorae from Dug-out No. 6 of the Ancient Settlement at Koshary (Tiligul Liman, Odessa Province, Ukraine) Natalia Mateevici Evgeniia F. Redina Chapter 33 A Tentative Analysis of Mass Amphora Material from the Warsaw University Excavations at Tanais Marcin Matera Chapter 34 The Results of New Archaeological Research at the Bosporan City of Kytaion in 2005-7 Evgenii A. Molev Natalia V. Moleva Chapter 35 The Cult of Achilles on the Coast of the Black Sea Agnieszka Ochał-Czarnowicz Chapter 36 Subjects and Allies: the Black Sea Empire of Mithradates VI Eupator (120-63 BC) Reconsidered Marek Jan Olbrycht Chapter 37 Ten Years of the Polish-Ukrainian Koshary Project (1998-2008) Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka Evgenia F. Redina Chapter 38 Western Tanais in the Light of the Latest Research of the University of Warsaw (Trench XXV, 2006-7) Tomasz Scholl Chapter 39 Skythes the Lakedaimonian Nicolas Sekunda Chapter 40 Geto-Dacian Pottery Vessels (2nd Century BC-1st Century AD): Imitation and Originality Valeriu Sîrbu Gelu Florea Chapter 41 Archaeological Excavations on the Chora of Akra (2002-7) Sergey L. Solovyov Larisa G. Shepko Chapter 42 Multicultural Encounters in the Greek Countryside: Evidence from the Panskoye I Necropolis, Western Crimea Vladimir F. Stolba iii
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Chapter 43 Burial Practices, in the Light of the Finds from Pichvnari Giorgi Tavamaishvili Chapter 44 Russian Monarchs and Classical Archaeology on the Northern Black Sea Coast Igor L. Tikhonov Chapter 45 The Complete Works of Paul Dubrux Irina V. Tunkina Chapter 46 A Collegium of Hieroi in the Bosporan Kingdom? Alfred Twardecki Chapter 47 Ten Years of Anglo-Georgian Collaboration at Pichvnari Michael Vickers Amiran Kakhidze
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PONTIKA 2008 Proceedings – Introduction
It was an honour and a pleasure to welcome participants in Kraków of the second international PONTIKA conference. The first was held in the spring of 2006, and its success encouraged us to plan another symposium, this time much wider in scope. We wish to express our delight at having had this event held under the honorary patronage of the Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Professor Karol Musioł, and of the Consul General of the Ukraine in Kraków, Mr Mykhailo Brodovych, to whom we are greatly beholden. This conference has its roots in the first PONTIKA 2006 conference, the proceedings of which were published in April 2008.1 That one-day meeting, organized by the Department of Classical Archaeology at the Jagiellonian University, proved to be an important event for researchers focusing on ancient cultures in Black Sea coastal regions. At its conclusion, we declared our intention to prepare a second conference that would summarise a decade of Polish-Ukrainian excavations at Koshary near Odessa, begun in 1998. We learned meanwhile that the British-Georgian expedition to Pichvnari, Georgia would also be celebrating its tenth anniversary and we decided between us that it would be a good idea to combine our efforts. This is how preparations began for PONTIKA 2008. The response to our preliminary inquiry surpassed our most ambitious hopes. We feel honoured that so many colleagues were willing to accept our invitation to this conference. This, we like to believe, helps boost the prestige of the Jagiellonian University and of Kraków as a vibrant academic centre, and it also demonstrates the role that Kraków can play as a meeting place between East and West Europe. This conference, while necessarily academic, was also meant to be broadly educational: apart from many distinguished scholars from 13 European countries, our audience included our younger colleagues: undergraduates and doctoral students. For them, it was a unique opportunity to present their own research before an international forum and to gain experience in organizing such large an undertaking. We were very pleased to have them among us. Thanks are due to many colleagues and organizations. In the first instance, we should like to thank Professor Andrzej Białas in his role as President of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU). The Academy generously provided the setting for most of our activities, and everyone concerned would like to express their thanks to the Academy for having contributed to the success of what was a scientifically enriching and socially enjoyable symposium. This conference in fact forms part of the official programme of scientific activity of the Academy (Project No. 61 - The Scytho-Sarmatian World and Graeco-Roman Civilization), and thanks to this, it was been possible to invite a dozen Ukrainian experts on the Black Sea and its northern hinterland to participate in our proceedings in Kraków. Our warm thanks also go to Professor Janusz K. Kozłowski, the Vice-Director of the Union Académique International and Director of II Division of PAU. It is said that Kraków is the heart of Poland, and that Poland is the heart of Europe, and this has been amply demonstrated in the way that colleagues came from East and West to meet in friendship and productive academic activity in this beautiful city. The principal organizer was the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University. Very special thanks are due to Professor Jan Chochorowski, Director of the Institute for both financial and moral support. Apart from the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, thanks must be made to other organizations, namely the Jagiellonian University Doctoral Students’ Society and the Jagiellonian University Students’ Society ‘Bratniak’. Another major contributor to our proceedings was the British Academy, and thanks to their generosity, it was possible to invite several Georgian colleagues with long acquaintance with the antiquities of Colchis. The Academy had in the past supported visits to Oxford of several of the Georgian scholars present in Kraków. When they were in Oxford, they benefited from the University’s museums and libraries. We should also like to thank the University of Oxford for being a co-sponsor of our proceedings, and the Ashmolean Museum for much administrative support, in particular Dr Susan Walker, the Keeper of the Department of Antiquities. E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.) 2008. PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11). Kraków. 1
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Another British organization that supported our activities is FaRiG: the Friends of Academic Research in Georgia. This organization exists to assist Georgian scholars, and they did so splendidly in providing dayto-day expenses for our Georgian guests. The Andrew and Sandra Graham Trust also earned our thanks in coming to the rescue when we learned at the last minute that nine, and not eight, Georgian scholars wished to come to Kraków. We must also express our thanks to the Archaeological Museum of the National Academy of Sciences in Odessa for many years’ fruitful collaboration, and especially Dr Evgenia Fedorovna Redina, for having helped to make our conference such a scientifically productive occasion. Likewise, warm thanks are due to the Archaeological Museum in Batumi, newly displayed with finds from Pichvnari. Under Professor Amiran Kakhidze, it has been a powerhouse of archaeological activity in southwestern Georgia, and many of its academic staff attended the PONTIKA 2008 conference. Thanks are due to them all. The statistics relating to our conference are impressive. There were 75 papers presented, and eight posters; 47 of them are published here. There were 109 registered participants, and our proceedings were attended by up to 150 individuals. Colleagues came together, in alphabetical order, from Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. PONTIKA 2008 was a highly successful conference, and the present volume will attest to the range of topics discussed. We are especially grateful to Dr David Davison, for having agreed to include the proceedings in the International Series of British Archaeological Reports. Members of the editorial board wish to express their thanks to Ewelina Kozłowska of the Institute of Archaeology of Toruń University, Agata Dobosz of the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University, and Ian Jenkins for the careful work they put into editing the texts and checking bibliographical references, as well as to Urszula Bąk (of the JU Institute of Archaeology) for computer elaboration of figures. Everything went like clockwork, but this was only possible thanks to the skill and enthusiasm of a dedicated team of students from the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University, namely Maciej Czech, Paulina Gankiewicz, Kaja Głomb, Marta Kania, Dawid Kaczmarski, Katarzyna Lach, Grzegorz Łaczek, Łukasz Miszk, Kamila Nocoń, Agnieszka Ochał-Czarnowicz, Dominika Pleśniarowicz, Karolina RosińskaStochaj, Ewa Stanecka, Artur Ślusarczyk, and Elżbieta Wątroba. They all performed their various tasks with the utmost efficiency, tact and patience. Thanks are due to them all, as well as to Anna and Tomasz Bochnak and Agnieszka Fulińska. The conference was accompanied by an exhibition Between Olbia and Odessa. Archaeological Research of the Greek at Koshary on the Black Sea (1998-2008) organized by the Institute of Archaeology – Wojciech Machowski was in charge, and University Museum staff. It was opened by the Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Professor Karol Musioł and Director of the Museum, Professor Stanisław Waltoś. The opening was attended by the Ukrainian Consul General in Kraków, Mykhailo Brodovych and the Dean of the Faculty of History, Professor Andrzej Banach. The exhibition took place in the basement of Collegium Maius, the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University. It was accompanied by an illustrated catalogue in both Polish and English. This publication was generously supported by the Municipality of Kraków and the Jagiellonian University Doctoral Students’ Society. Once again, this activity would not be possible without the willing cooperation of staff members and students of the Institute of Archaeology. For technical reasons it was not possible to provide contributors with proofs. The editors accept full responsibility for any infelicities that may have crept into the texts. Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka Jarosław Bodzek Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków Michael Vickers Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford David Braund Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Exeter
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Chapter 1 The Discovery of a Hellenistic Ostracon in Nikonion Bartosz Awianowicz
Nicolaus Copernicus University Department of Classical Philology Toruń, Poland [email protected]
Jacek Rakoczy
Nicolaus Copernicus University Institute of Archaeology Toruń, Poland [email protected] Abstact: In July 2007, a team from the Department of Classical Archaeology of the Institute of Archaeology of Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU) in Toruń conducted excavations on a multicultural site at Nikonion near Roksolany on Dniester Liman (Ovidiopol region, Odessa Province, Ukraine). The expedition was directed by N. M. Sekerskaya from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) Odessa Archaeological Museum and M. K. Mielczarek from NCU, Toruń . During the excavations, a fragment of a graffito that covered an amphora shoulder was discovered. It was found in the central part of the site, in an area earlier unexcavated. The inscription on ostracon contains ten lines of text, dated to the 3rd century BC on the basis of letter forms. Although there is some text missing in the upper part of the graffito, it has been established that it is a private letter to someone named Hermas. The analysis of the inscription gives an interesting, if narrow, insight into the everyday life of the inhabitants of Nikonion in the Hellenistic period. Keywords: Black Sea, Nikonion, epigraphy, ostracon, graffito
In July 2007, a team of archaeologists from the Department of Classical Archaeology of the Institute of Archaeology of NCU and of the NASU conducted archaeological excavations on the multicultural site of ancient Nikonion (Sekerskaya 2001) near Roksolany on Dniester Liman (Ovidiopol region, Odessa Province, Ukraine). The expedition was directed by N. M. Sekerskaya from the NASU Odessa Archaeological Museum and M. K. Mielczarek from NCU, Toruń. During the excavations, a fragment of a graffito covered amphora shoulder was discovered by M. Pomianowski of NCU. The 2007 trenches, of a total area of 0.5ha, were opened in the central part of the site, and aligned along a N-S axis. The southern trench was set in Square 15 of Row 15, and the northern trench in Square 14 of the same row, in accordance with the designation of Ukrainian archaeologists. A destroyed area, 2.4m wide, 4m long and up to 1.2m deep, was uncovered (an illegal robber trench), within the area of the southern trench (Square 15, Row 15). In the eastern part of the trench, at a depth of 45cm, a construction built in several layers of stones was discovered.
and thus uneven. For this reason it is difficult to define the archaeological context of the find. There are two possibilities: 1. The artefact was located in a very shallow layer of preserved original context. This is possible since in this part of the site the original context has preserved to a level of 30-50cm from the modern ground surface. 2. It is possible that the ostracon was extracted during activities associated with the robber trench. In this case it was found after its accidental relocation from its original context, and it is highly possible that it originated from the area of the illegal robber trench. In such a situation, it would be impossible to determine from which cultural layer the ostracon was extracted. It can nevertheless be assumed that it was originally located in the cultural layer associated with the stone construction. The quantity of dirt excavated by the robbers and its situation around the trench confirm such interpretation. Several dozen Greek origin potsherds, of the 4th century BC, were extracted from the same cultural layer as the ostracon. Otherwise there were also a dozen or so of wall sherds of so-called Scythian pottery.
The ostracon was found at a depth of 30cm below the modern ground surface level, within a layer overlying the stone construction. It was located 60cm to the east of the robber trench section, 140cm north of the southern part of the 2007 season’s southern trench. The area around the robber trench was covered with excavated dirt
The ostracon (Figures 1 and 2) is the first graffito on ceramic from Nikonion, thus making the decipherment and analysis of the inscription even more interesting. The 1
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Normalized transcription 1
[NN to NN] waÊqeim. èyr toÌtou ‘Eql°i jaÃ
[NN -------------]lghÁm Ñmd´te ÐkkÀ Ðpos-
[---------------st]e²kai paqajatg tÄ lomËn4
[ukom-------------]sa ÑneqÇsar. letÈyqom
[-------------------].yr pkÂm ÑjeÊmou ÑkpÊr [oÕdelÊa--------j]qih´m eÓsÃm paqÀ possijq [--------------------]mea. ñqqytai dÁ jaà 8
[NN -------------jË]lisai dÁ jaà paqÀ t´m
[----------------- -st]atgqÄm Ðpodo³-
artefact itself is up to 105mm wide and 98mm high. A small part of the inscription was broken off. One of the edges carries marks of abrasion, caused by smoothing that edge. This took place after the inscription was scratched into the surface of the potsherd.
Normalized transcription 2 ....] waÊqeim. èyr toÌtou ‘Eql°i jaÃ
The graffito contains ten lines of text. The dimensions of the letters vary from 4 to 6mm in width and 4 to 5mm in height. The font, especially the use of a lunar sigma suggest that the terminus post quem for the graffito to be 350-330 BC (Stolba 2005, 91). However, a comparison with similar pieces from Olbia (close to Nikonion), seems to support a dating of the ostracon to the first half of the 3rd century BC (e.g. Dubois 1996, 66, No. 26). The damage to the left side does not prevent us from classifying the object as a letter. Although this is clear, it would have been preferable to know more about its direct context.
...] lghÁm Ñmd´te ÐkkÀ Ðpos-
Text (diplomatic transcription)
sa.
]WAIQEIMEYCTOUTOUEQLAIJAI
Translation
]LGHEMEMDYTEAKKAAPOC
]EIKAIPAQAJATGTOLOMON
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]CAENEQACACLETEYQOM
].YCPKGMEJEIMOUEKPIC
]QIHYMEICIMPAQAPOCCIJQ
[st]e²kai paqÀ JÇtg tÄ lomËn(ukom) 4
.
]ATGQOMAPODOU
ë]sa ÑneqÇsar, letÈyqom
[Ñ]qÊhym eÓsÃm paqÀ pËssi. Jq[i-]
mea ñqqytai {dÁ jaÃ}
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Ñk]pÊsai dÁ jaà paq’ Ðt´m
ÐtgqÄm Ðpodo³-
[someone] sends the greetings to Hermas until here | [...] give in to nothing but send back | to Kates a boat made of a single trunk (a canoe), | after checking how many [goods it can be loaded with, as it is] not sure, || especially while there is no hope for | hired workers: they get drunk. Kri- | nea is fine, let us also hope, | that you | [are fine] as well, after she gave the bad luck back. Commentary
]MEAEQQYTAIDEJAI ]PICAIDEJAIPAQATYM
[dÁ], Ýr pkÂm ÑjeÊmou ÑkpÊr
.
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sa.
Although the transcription above seems to be the most plausible (Awianowicz 2009), let us make an assumption, that it is an almost complete letter with only minor damage on the left side (three-four letters at the beginning of first two lines, less than two at the beginning of next lines):
Figure 1. Ostracon as found
Line one. A row of letters: WAIQEIMEYCTOUTOUEQLAIJAI should be read as waÊqeim èyr toÌtou ‘Eql°i jaÊ. However the punctuation and the resulting unambiguous
]CA
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Bartosz Awianowicz and Jacek Rakoczy: The Discovery of a Hellenistic Ostracon in Nikonion
sentence, we can read it as follows: ‘sends the greetings to Hermas until here and...’; or, with a change of waÊqeim meaning: ‘we should (de²) leave Hermas alone here / at this moment and…’; and in the case of two sentences: ‘we should (de²) leave it alone here / at this moment. Hermas and ...’. We should expect a second name to appear after jaÊ, most probably moved to line two, since the right edge is an original edge of the ostracon. Lines two-three. The form lghÈm used instead of lgdÈm is typical for Hellenistic inscriptions and manuscripts. It gradually trails off in imperial times so it is another argument for dating Nikonion graffito to the end of the 4th or the 3rd century BC. The remaining part of the verb starting from Ðpos- was moved to line three to constitute (depending on an accent) either imperative aorist middle: ÐpËsteikai, or, what is more likely, infinitive aorist active: Ðposte²kai (probably with a double sigma as below, lines five-six), therefore allowing quite an easy understanding of this part of graffito as: ‘give nothing / give in to nothing but send away’ or rather, assuming an infinitive in imperative form: ‘give nothing / give in to nothing, but send away’ (plural). The row of letters in line three, following –eikai seems more problematic. Most probably it contains the pronoun paqÇ with a slightly deformed p followed by the accusative of the name Kates (JÇtgr): JÇtg, typical of stems ending with –er. The existence of this name is not attested epigraphically, but it resembles somewhat the name Pates (PÇtgr – SEG XXXIX 594 and LGPN 4, s.v.) present in an inscription of the 2nd century BC from Macedonian Eordea. Kates seems to be more probable than the dative of the name Akkas (’Ajj°r): ’Ajj°ti. Although this name is paralleled on inscriptions from the colonies in the Black Sea region dated to the 4th and 3rd century BC (CIRB I 871 and 912, 11), and omissions of some letters in the names are quite frequent also in the stone inscriptions from the Greek colonies in that region (CIRB I 313, 321, 331, 332, 345, 354, 369, 376, 430 and others), the omission of as many as two letters (j and i) in a single name is doubtful. Moreover, the reading of ’Ajj°ti retains a clearly visible H, that might be taken only for an adverb ò. On the contrary the reading of the beginning of the noun tÄ lomËnukom as being most probably in the short form (LOMON instead of LOMONUKOM) and meaning an object made of one piece of wood (a trunk), probably a boat, is not in doubt. The boats made of a single trunk are mentioned by Xenophon (An. 5. 4. 11: pko²a lomËnuka), lomËnuka are also often present in Byzantine texts (for other attestations of lomËnukom with the meaning ‘dugout boat’ see Casson 1995, 8, No. 21).
Figure 2. Ostracon after cleaning
interpretation remains a problem. The most obvious solution would be to assume the first word to be a part of letter opening formula: tÃr timà (or timà tÃr) waÊqeim (‘someone to someone’ or ‘someone sends greetings to someone’) and the beginning of the sentence starting with èyr in conjunction or preposition function with the genitive toÌtou. This interpretation, however, is not supported by initial èyr in any known epigraphical and papyrological material; these words usually appear further into documents in the form of a conjunction at the beginning of the second part of a compound sentence. If, moreover, it was to be the first sentence of the letter following the salutation tÃr timà (or timà tÃr) waÊqeim, there would be nothing to refer the toÌtou pronoun to. It may therefore be a case of a writer’s mistake, who, after engraving the words èyr toÌtou, realized that he had omitted the name of the addressee, which was obvious to him; or it may be a letter without salutation formula or a continuation of a letter, the first part of which together with the salutation might have been on another, unknown, ostracon. Therefore it may be only confirmed that the first line of graffito is filled with a row of words waÊqeim èyr toÌtou ‘Eql°i jaÊ, where the dative singular ‘Eql°i (with the conjunction jaÊ) should refer to a man named Hermas (‘Eql°r). This name, present elsewhere, including in two inscriptions of Pantikapaion (CIRB I 79, 8, 790; see also LGPN 4, s.v.) may (but does not have to) constitute part of a salutation formula. The lack of the expression èyr toÌtou in any salutation in any known epigraphical or papyrological material is evidence against a salutation formula. Line one is therefore either a full sentence or a part of two sentences: the one ending with èyr toÌtou and the other starting with ‘Eql°i. Since there are about three letters lacking at the beginning that could be completed with de², if we assume this line to be one
Line four. I assume the first two letters to be the ending of accusative plural of the pronoun ësa, which should be related to imprecisely known goods. This hypothesis is confirmed by a plural form that most likely excludes any connection of ësa with the boat of tÄ lomËn(ukom) referred to in line three, since the article tÄ in the singular form clearly indicates that the text refers to one boat, the displacement of which should be checked (ÑneqÇsar).
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Lines five-six. It seems that part of the letter E is visible at the beginning, being most probably a part of dÈ with a meaning close to cÇq, since we can expect here a short explanation of the sentence of the previous line, according to which the addressee was to check (ÑneqÇsar), how many goods (ësa) can be loaded into the boat. It is worth noting that in the word ÑkpÊr the final sigma ends with a broken edge, confirming the supposition that the right edge of the ceramic fragment was of the same shape before it was used for writing a letter. Taking the reading pkÂm ÑjeÊmou ÑkpÊr as certain, we must assume that the author has omitted a negative form, therefore it seems right to complete the noun ÑkpÊr with the adjective oÕdelÊa. The structure with oÕdelÊa ÑkpÊr together with the genetivus [Ñ]qÊhym, present in line six of the ostracon, is well attested in the dialogues of Aristophanes’ comedies (Th. 946), Lysias’ (In Erg. 15) and Demosthenes’ speeches (In Con. 25) and in work of Thucydides (3. 20. 1) and Xenophon (An. 2. 1. 19).
Lamia in Thessaly (SEG XXX 531 B, 17). In this case, the name Krinea would be another, apart from Kates, only attested on the Nikonion graffito under discussion. For the third person in ñqqytai dÁ jaÊ we can find a parallel in a Ptolemaic papyrus from the Zenon archive (P. Cair. Zen. II 50181, 3): ñqqytai dÁ jaà ’EvÇqmostor.1 The dÁ jaÊ clearly visible in line seven should most probably be taken as a mistake of the writer, as the location of dÁ jaÊ in line eight, after the verb ñkpisai is more correct. The reading Ðt´m as a synonymous form of aÕt´m finds a distant parallel on the northern coast of the Black Sea analogy in the change of the genitive of the pronoun Øauto³ into ×t±r on a sepulchral stele of the 1st century AD (CIRB I 318); this type of simplification is also found in the territory of Greece and Thrace. Lines nine-ten: the noun form of tÄ ÐtgqËm is not attested in published epigraphical sources, but it does occur in Aeschylus’ Eumenides (1008) as a word used to describe misfortune or misery. Aeschylus also uses an adjectival form of ÐtgqËr, -Ç, -Ëm to describe suffering (dÌg), or fate (tÌwg): cf. also Pr. 746 and Ag. 1483, and with the noun jajËm at Euripides, Andr. 353. The connection with the verb’s ÐpodÊdyli feminine participle may (however do not have to) suggest a return or pay back of a debt or other cash due.
The genetivus form [Ñ]qÊhym refers most of all to the hired workers, to weavers or other wool production workers, if we assume that the author used a folk etymology from tÄ ñqiom (Theocritus 15. 80 and a papyrus of 3rd century BC – PHib. I 121, 34). The hypothesis that relates the ostracon to weavers and most probably to transporting wool in boats may be right, since wool was one of the main products of Miletos, Nikonion’s metropolis, and the colonies situated in the northern part of Pontic area were an important link in the export of this product to Scythian Barbaricum (Strabo 11. 2. 3 and Banari 2003, 217). The second part of line six presents some interpretational problems: it would be most obvious to read eÓsÃm paq’ Ðpossijq- or, as suggested by Benedetto Bravo, cÀq Ðp’ ’Ossijq-. While the first interpretation most probably does not make any sense, the second one seems to be logical, if we assume the existence of the place called Ossikris. As long as this name is not proven, this part of the text could be read as eÓsÃm paqÀ pËssi. Jq[i-] where, after extension of pËssi with m we obtain an expresion paqÀ pËssim, meaning ‘while drinking’ or ‘in their cups’ confirmed by Herodotus texts (2. 121 d and 172). However, it is also likely that the letter’s author has connected paqÀ with the dative instead of accusative, meaning that we could, without any interference to the text interpret eÓsÃm paqÀ pËssi as ‘they drink/ they are taking part in a binge’, as a duplication of s could be taken as quite typical for the northern part of the Black Sea coast. This orthography can be found on two sepulchral inscriptions found in Crimea (CIRB I 236, 310).
In July 2010 on the same site in ancient Nikonion during excavations directed by N. M. Sekerskaya and I. Głuszek was found the left part of the discussed ostracon containing 10 lines of a shorter Greek text. The analysis of the two parts together will certainly shed new light on the interpretation of the letter from Nikonion. Bibliography Awianowicz, B. 2009. A Hellenistic Ostracon from Nikonion. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 168, 196-198. Banari, V. 2003. Die Beziehungen von Griechen und Barbaren im nordwestlichen Pontos-Gebiet. Untersuchungen zu Handel- und Warenaustausch vom 7. bis 3. Jh. v. Chr. auf Grundlage der archäologischen Funde und schriftlichen Quellen im Nordwesten des Schwarzen Meeres. Unpublished Inaugural Dissertation, University of Mannheim. Casson, L. 1995. Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Baltimore. CIRB – Struve, V. V. et al. 1965. Corpus inscriptionum regni Bosporani. Kopпyc боспорских надписей [Korpus bosporskikh nadpisei – Corpus of Bosporan Inscriptions] I. Moscow, Leningrad. Dubois, L. 1996. Insriptions grecques dialectales d’Olbia du Pont. Geneva. LGPN 1 – Fraser, P. M. and Matthews, E. (eds) 1987. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names 1. The Aegean Islands, Cyprus, Cyrenaica. Oxford. LGPN 4 – Fraser, P. M., Matthews, E. and Catling, R.
Lines seven-eight. If we assume that line six ends with cÀq Ðp’ ’Ossijq-, then line seven starts with the name MÈa, well attested for the Hellenistic period, e.g. at Byzantion in an inscription of the 2nd century BC and for Crete and Miletos on inscriptions of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC (LGPN 1; LGPN 4, s.v.). If, however, we read the end of line six as paqÀ pËssi. Jq-, the only likely female name is JqimÈa, to which we can find as the closest analogy the male form JqimÈar, attested in an inscription from
1
4
I would like to thank Charikleia Armoni who indicated me this parallel.
Bartosz Awianowicz and Jacek Rakoczy: The Discovery of a Hellenistic Ostracon in Nikonion
W. V. (eds) 2005. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names 4. Macedonia, Thrace, Northern Regions of the Black Sea. Oxford. SEG – Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum. I-XXV Leyden 1923-1971, XXVI-XXVII Germantown 19761977, XXVIII Amsterdam 1978—
Sekerskaya, N. M. 2001. Nikonion. In G. R. Tsetskhladze (ed.), North Pontic Archaeology. Recent Discoveries and Studies. (Colloquia Pontica 6), 67-90. Leiden, Boston, Cologne. Stolba, V. F. 2005. Hellenistic Ostracon from Olbia. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 151, 91-94.
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Chapter 2 Koshary (Ukraine): International Relations in the Light of Numismatic Evidence Jarosław Bodzek
Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Department of Classical Archaeology Kraków, Poland [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: Four coin finds made at Koshary (Ukraine) are discussed here. A coin of Tyras struck at the turn of the 3rd century BC was found during excavations conducted by the Polish-Ukrainian Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University and the Odessa Archaeological Museum. The discovery of a coin of Tyras is unique for the chora of Olbia. The three other finds were made by chance or during illicit digging on or near the site. Two of them have already been published by V. P. Alexeev (2008b; 2008c). A hoard of coins of Odessos said to be found in the Koshary settlement should be treated with caution. The character of the find, as well as the less than clear circumstances of their discovery, lead to this conclusion. The two remaining finds, an early posthumous Lysimachus stater and a bronze coin of Alexander the Great, are said to have been found in the neighbourhood of Koshary. The obscurity surrounding the circumstances of their discovery, however, prevents us from establishing their precise relation to the ancient settlement at Koshary. Keywords: Coin, finds, Koshary, chora, Olbia, Tyras, Odessos (Odessus), Lysimachus, Alexander the Great, stater, bronze
A coin of Tyras
itself (Zograf 1957, No. 17/13, No. 18/9; Karyshkovskii 2002, 303), and lively contacts between both poleis are suggested by Olbian coins found at Tyras (Samoilova 1988, 61; Bulatovich 1989, 85, Nos 15-17; Karyshkovskii 2002, 293, No. 17; Bulatovich and Samoilova in this volume), and by other finds (Ruban 1980; Karyshkovskii and Klejman 1994, 120). The Koshary discovery also seems to reflect these contacts. One should recall that the site of Koshary is located approximately halfway between Tyras and Olbia, on an ancient maritime west-east route along the western and northern Black Sea shore to Crimea.
The complex of archaeological sites at Koshary (Ukraine, Odessa Province, Kominternovskii District) has been studied by archaeologists since the 1950s. Since 1998 excavations have been undertaken by a joint Polish-Ukrainian Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, and the Archaeological Museum of Odessa (Redina et al., 2008; Papuci-Władyka and Redina in this volume). In the course of ten seasons excavation, between 1998 and 2008, 43 coins have been retrieved (Bodzek 2008a; Bodzek 2008b). Earlier excavations produced 12 monetary finds (Symonovich 1969; Diamant 1978; Levina and Stoliarik 1991; Karyshkovskii 2002, 298, No. 28). Controlled excavations have, therefore, yielded a total of 55 coins, all of them bronze.
Some words should be devoted to the character of the find as well as to the function of the Tyras coin at Koshary. Monetary circulation at the site had been dominated by pieces of Olbian production, which make up more than 98% of all coins unearthed during regular archaeological excavation. The single Tyras coin forms a small fraction of monetary finds at Koshary and does not affect the general picture of monetary circulation. It is doubtful, moreover, that the Tyras coin played any economical function at Koshary. As noted, the Tyras piece was found in the zol’nik. We may therefore suppose that it served a votive function.
Although nearly all the coins found at Koshary during archaeological research are Olbian issues (54 pieces), a coin of Tyras (Figure 1:1) also surfaced among them (Bodzek 2004-7; cf. Bodzek 2008a, 17f). The coin belongs to a bronze issue ‘Tyras head / horse head’ (Zograf 1957, No. 17; Frolova 2006, 18f, Type 19, Pl. III, 1-11b; SNG Stancomb, No. 333) and may be dated to the turn of the 3rd century BC (Bodzek 2004-7). It was discovered in 2003 near the zol’nik. No coins of Tyras have hitherto been reported from the Olbian chora. Finds of coins of Tyras struck between the middle of the 4th and the end of the 3rd centuries BC are, however, known from Olbia
Chance finds Apart from coins retrieved during official excavations, some finds made by chance or in illicit digging on the site have been reported. Three further finds of non-Olbian coins have been made at or near Koshary. Two of them were
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Figure 1. Coins found in Koshary and its environs. 1– Tyras, AE, c. turn of the 3rd century BC (photo J. Bodzek); 2 – Odessos, AE, c. 270-250 BC (photo after Alexeev 2008b); 3 – Odessos, AE, c. 270-250 BC (photo after Alexeev 2008b); 4 – Odessos, AE, c. 270-250 BC (photo after Alexeev 2008b); 5 – Byzantion, AV, stater, c. 260-245 BC (photo after Alexeev 2008c)
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Jarosław Bodzek: Koshary (Ukraine)
published by V. P. Alexeev (2008b; 2008c), while the third has not hitherto been published. While the circumstances of discovery, and hence the credibility of finds obtained in regular excavations can raise no doubts, chance discoveries call for comment.
Lysimachus (306-281 BC) and Kanites (c. 180-150 BC), as well as of western Pontic cities such as Istros, Tomis, Callatis, Dionysopolis, Mesembria, and Apollonia, as well as Odessos (cf. Karyshkovskii 1988, 85, Pl. 12. 16, 15, Pl. 13. 9-10; Karyshkovskii 2002, 303f, Nos 8-16, 18-21, 25, 33; cf. Alexeev 2008b, 18). All these discoveries, as well as other finds, are evidence of contact between western and northern Pontic centres (cf. Karyshkovskii 1962b, 57f). No hoard, however, has been recorded on the north Black Sea coast that is of such a uniform nature containing bronze pieces struck in western Pontic mints. The Koshary hoard remains a unique discovery in this respect.
A hoard of coins of Odessos According to V. P. Alexeev, a hoard of bronze coins was allegedly found by chance in 2002 in the area of the ancient settlement at Koshary (Alexeev 2008b; cf. Bodzek 2008a, 13, 18). The discovery was apparently made while a bulldozer was working in the area. The hoard was said to include at least 13 bronze issues of Odessos (modern Varna) of the ‘Female head / Great God reclining’ type (cf. SNG BM, Nos 294-300; SNG Stancomb, Nos 253-257). All belong to a series with a monogram in the exergue. Seven of the registered pieces bear a monogram (Figure 1:2), three had monograms (Figure 1:3) and two had monogram (Figure 1:4), and in one case the monogram is undetermined. According to Alexeev, the coins were struck with 11 obverse dies and nine reverse dies. The find calls for comment.
Another cause of concern is that the assemblage consists of coins of western Pontic Odessos. The Koshary settlement is identified by some scholars with another, northern Pontic, Odessos or Ordessus (OqdgssËr) known of from literary sources (cf. Symonovich 1954; Avram et al., 2004, 930). Could it be that the name of the mint that produced the coins, and the possible ancient name of the settlement where the hoard was found, are coincidental? To summarize: the circumstances in which the find was made are somewhat mysterious, and the composition of the hoard is unusual. Doubts persist, and the genuineness of the deposit should be regarded as highly suspect.
1. The circumstances of the discovery are difficult to verify. It is true that the first years of the present century have seen increased illicit exploration on the site (including in the settlement), as evidenced by unofficial digging. One of these activities could have yielded the hoard in question. 2. The composition of the hoard also calls for comment. It is highly homogeneous in structure. It consists not simply of coins from the same mint, but of coins belonging to a single type. As already noted, three monograms were observed, with monogram easily predominant. Since neither the originals nor good photographs of all the pieces have been made available, it is impossible to verify Alexeev’s information about the number of dies. The Odessos coins of the type in question are usually dated to the 4th (Pick and Regling 1910, 522) or 3rd century BC (Blavatskaia 1952). In more recent studies by D. Draganov (1990) a date of c. 270-250 BC was established (cf. SNG Stancomb, Nos 253-257). All things considered, we can assume that the hoard is a primary deposit, assembled in Odessos (cf. IGCH, No. 953), brought in its entirety to Koshary and hidden here. The deposit probably occurred around the middle of the 3rd century BC, consistent with the date proposed by Alexeev (2008b, 8). Such a date for the deposit fits into the chronological framework of the numismatic material from Koshary (cf. Bodzek 2008a, 18).
A gold stater of Lysimachus type V. P. Alexeev (2008c) also published a gold stater of Lysimachus (Müller 1858, No. 478) found in the neighbourhood of Koshary in 2005 (Figure 1:5). Details of the discovery remain unclear. The coin was allegedly found by chance ‘on the chora of the Koshary settlement’, between the site of the ancient settlement and the modern village of Sychavka (Alexeev 2008c, 9). Two problems call for comment. 1) Dating and Attribution In publishing the find V. P. Alexeev (2008c, 9) recognized the coin as struck in Birytis (Troas) during the lifetime of Lysimachus. He based his dating on three pieces of the same type that were present in the famous Anadol Hoard (IGCH, No. 866; cf. Pridik 1902, Nos 129-131; Alexeev 2008c, 9). This hoard was originally dated by E. M. Pridik to the beginning of the 3rd century BC (Pridik 1902, 60), but this date was revised by H. Seyrig (1969, 44), who lowered its closing date c. 228-220 BC (cf. IGCH, No. 866; Price 1991, 59 [‘c. 230-225 BC’]; Marinescu 1996, 259f [‘c. 240 BC or somewhat earlier’]). Coins with the monogram were not, moreover, present in the important Armenak Hoard buried c. 275-270 BC, soon after Lysimachus’ death (IGCH, No.1423; Thompson 1986), nor are they included among the lists of issues struck during the lifetime of Lysimachus drawn up by M. Thompson (1968). Hence, the date of the coin in question here should also lowered. In the light of more recent research by C. A. Marinescu (1996, 50, issue 15, Nos 36-38, Pl. 4 [thanks are due to William
The assemblage does, however, raise some serious doubts. In the first place, there is no parallel for such an assembly in our precise part of the Black Sea coast. To be sure, we know of finds in Olbia of single coins produced in Thrace. There have also been reported bronze coins of such Thracian and Scythian rulers as Seuthes III (c. 330-300 BC),
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Figure 2. 1 – Alexander the Great (336-323 BC), AE, ‘Macedonian Mint’ (photo E. F. Redina); 2 – Koshary and environs (courtesy of the Koshary Project archive)
M. Stancomb for this observation]), the type should be dated to c. 260-245 BC, and it is attributed to Byzantion.
to 260-245 BC. Stray finds of gold Lysimachi, among them early posthumous staters, are reported from Olbia and Tyras (cf. Sal’nikov 1960; Karyshkovskii 1962a; Karyshkovskii 1977; Karyshkovskii 1988, 85; Karyshkovskii 2002, 305, Nos 27-32; Bulatovich 1980; Zograf 1957, 26f). Some hoards containing similar coins are known from the northwest Black Sea coast (cf. for example IGCH, Nos 866, 877, 1111). The finds reflect the circulation of gold coins in the area (Karyshkovskii 2002, 235; Bulatovich 1980). The coin found in the neighbourhood of Koshary fits in the picture. We should, however, stress once more that because of the mysterious circumstances of discovery, and the lack of clarity regarding the findspot, its connection with the ancient settlement at Koshary remains obscure.
2) The find spot As already noted the coin was supposedly found somewhere between the ancient settlement of Koshary and the modern village of Sychavka. The latter is located c. 3km to the west of the ‘Kosharskoe gorodishche’ (cf. Figure 2:2), and thus the area under discussion is really large. Alexeev’s expression, that the coin was found ‘on the chora of Koshary’, suggests distance from the ancient settlement. A small part of the area in question is occupied by the ancient necropolis, and it is not impossible that the coin comes from a tomb. The relation to the ancient Koshary settlement remains, however, unclear.
A bronze coin of Alexander the Great Thanks to the kindness of Evgeniia Fedorovna Redina, information reached me about another interesting find of
To summarize, the Lysimachus stater found in the vicinity of Koshary belongs to the early posthumous emissions dated
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Jarosław Bodzek: Koshary (Ukraine)
a non-Olbian coin (Figure 2:1).1 As reported by the finders, the item was discovered in 2006 in a field to the north-east of the Koshary necropolis. It was a bronze piece struck in the name of Alexander the Great (336-323BC), with a ‘Head of beardless Heracles’ on the obverse and ‘quiver, bow and club’ on the reverse (see description below). The coin belongs to issues of Alexander’s lifetime (Price 1991, 72). Some finds of royal Macedonian coins have been reported from Olbia (Karyshkovskii 1988, 85, Pl. 12. 4, 6, 12; Karyshkovskii 2002, 227f, 235f, 305f, Nos 34-43; Zograf 1957, 59). As for finds of bronze pieces, coins struck by Philip II (359-336 BC), Alexander the Great (336-323 BC), Cassander (316-297 BC) as well as undetermined ruler (4th-2nd centuries BC), are known from Olbia, but none have hitherto been reported from the western part of the outer Olbian chora. The only registered find of such a coin from the area between the Bug and the Dniester came from Ovidiopol on the left bank of Dniester Liman (Zograf 1957, 59). This, however, is not the Olbian chora. The find from the Koshary neighbourhood remains unique, but not unexpected in the light of the finds from Olbia. Similarly, as in the case the Lysimachus coin discussed above, the relationship between the findspot and the ancient site at Koshary is obscure. The location ‘north-east of the necropolis’ may suggest that the coin came from a tomb. On the other hand, it is not out of the question that there is no relation between the find and the site.
the chronology of coin finds at Koshary, and also with the period when the ancient settlement itself was in existence. The question again calls for an answer: to what extent was the presence of monetary finds so unusual for the Olbian chora a matter of pure chance, and how much was due to the highly favourable location enjoyed by Koshary? It could well have been a convenient stopover en route from the western Black Sea coast to Olbia (cf. Buiskikh 1986, 22). Today, part of the Tiligul Liman adjacent to the site is completely filled with silt, and the only sea in sight of Koshary is a sea of grass. In antiquity, however, the reality must have been different, and a location near the mouth of the Liman (the ancient River Axiakos) at the sea enabled boats to moor (cf. Papuci-Władyka et al., 2004, 63; Bodzek 2004-7, 44). Research so far has failed to show the existence of a port at the foot of the settlement. Nevertheless, there is indirect evidence in the shape of many fishing net weights that suggest considerable reliance on fishing and the sea in the local economy.
Price 1991, No. 313; SNG Alpha Bank, No. 728.
As already mentioned, the suggestion was made many years ago that Olbian bronze coin finds indicate that the Koshary settlement was part of the chora of Olbia (Diamant 1978). The finds of non-Olbian coins discussed here compose but a small fraction of the monetary finds at Koshary, and they do not affect the general picture of monetary circulation there. Olbian coins make up more than 93% of all coins discovered at Koshary. A minority of non-Olbian coins were found at Koshary more or less by accident and should be treated as exceptional. Still, it is not simply the number of finds, but their character, that together point to the dependence of Koshary on the Olbian monetary market. All, or almost all, coin finds at Koshary must be treated as stray finds. Most by far come from the settlement, with just a handful found in the necropolis and about as many in the zol’nik-eschara. This suggests that to refer to their everyday use as ‘monetary circulation’ might be going too far.
Conclusions
Bibliography
The four finds discussed above differ in character. The coin of Tyras is the only one found during controlled excavations. The three remaining finds were made by chance or through illicit digging. On this account, the circumstances of discovery and exact findspots are unclear. In the case of the hoard of coins of Odessos, the genuineness of the find is doubtful. The two other finds, the Lysimachus stater and the Alexander the Great bronze, seem to be genuine and even expected in the light of discoveries in Olbia itself. The only problem remains is the relation between these two finds and the archaeological site at Koshary. It should be also stressed that the dating of all the coins discussed here fits well into
Alexeev, V. P. (ed.) 2008a — Алексеев, В. П. Исследования по античной нумизматике [Issledovaniia po antichnoi numizmatike – Research on Ancient Numismatics]. Odessa. Alexeev, V. P. 2008b — Алексеев, В. П. Монeты Одесса с Kошарского поселения [Monety Odessa s Kosharskogo poseleniia – Coins of Odessos from Koshary settlement]. In V. P. Alexeev (ed.) 2008a, 17-18 (= Е. А. Радзиховская [E. A. Radzikhovskaia] (ed.) 2005. Древнeе Причерноморье. VI чтения памяти прoфессора Петра Осиповича Карышковского. Матерялы международой конференции, 12-14 марта 2004 года [Drevnee Prichernomor’e. VI chteniia pamiati professora Petra Osipovicha Karyshkovskogo. Materialy mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii, 12-14 marta 2004 goda – The Ancient Black Sea Region. VI Lectures in memory
Description Alexander the Great (336-323 BC), AE, ‘Macedonian Mint’ Obv. Head of beardless Heracles r. wearing lion skin Rev. Quiver over Scythian bow; AKENAMDQO[U], club l.; below V. Wt. 5.74g; Diameter 18mm.
I would like to express my gratitude to Evgeniia Fedorovna Redina for allowing me to publish information about the find and for providing photographs. The identification was first made by S. E. Bulatovich and was verified by J. Bodzek from a photograph. 1
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of Professor Peter Osipovich Karyshkovskii. Proceedings of the International Conference, 12-14 March 2004], 5-9. Odessa). Alexeev, V. P. 2008c — Алексеев, В. П. Новые находки статеров Лисимаха в Cевeро-Западном Причерноморье [Novye nakhodki staterov Lisimakha v severo-zapadnom Prichernomor’e – New finds of Lysimachus staters in the north-western Black Sea]. In V. P. Alexeev (ed.) 2008a, 9-11. Avram, A., Hind, J. and Tsetskhladze, G. 2004. The Black Sea Area, in M. N. Hansen and T. H. Nielsen (eds), 924-973. Blavatskaia, T. V. 1952 — Блаватская, Т. В. Западнопонтийские города в VII-I веках до нашей эры [Zapadnopontiiskie goroda v VII-I vekakh do nashei ery – The Western Black Sea Towns in the 7th-1st centuries BC]. Moscow. Bodzek, J. 2004-7. Moneta Tyras znaleziona w Koszarach [The Tyras coin found in Koshary]. Prace i Materiały Muzeum Archeologicznego i Etnograficznego w Łodzi, Seria Numizmatyczna i Konserwatorska 13, 41-48. Bodzek, J. 2008a. Koshary (Ukraine): coin finds in 20042005. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 13-23. Bodzek, J. 2008b — Бодзэк, Я. Ольвийский ‘асс’ наиденный в Кошарах [Olviiskii ‘ass’ naidennyi v Kosharakh – An Olbian ‘as’ found in Koshary]. In В. Немченко [V. Nemchenko] (ed.), Древнeе Причерноморье [Drevnee Prichernomor’e – The Ancient Black Sea Region] 8, 53-58. Odessa. Bulatovich, S. A. 1980 — Булатович, С. А. Распространение золотых монет Филиппа II, Александра и Лисимаха в Северо-Западном Причерноморье [Rasprostraneniie zolotykh monet Filippa II, Aleksandra i Lisimakha v Severo-Zapadnom Prichernomor’e – The spread of gold coins of Philip II, Alexander the Great and Lysimachus in the northwestern Black Sea]. In P. O. Karyshkkovskii (ed.), 52-71. Bulatovich, S. A. 1989 — Булатович, С. А. Античные монеты из Тиры (1977-1989) [Antichnye monety iz Tiry (1977-1989) – Ancient coins from Tyras (19771989)]. In Т. Л. Самойлова, [T. L. Samoilova] (ed.), Aрхеологические памятники степей Поднестровья и Подунавья [Arkheologicheskie pamiatniki stepei Podnestrov’ia i Podunav’ia – Archaeological Monuments of the Steppes of the Lower Dnieper and Lower Danube], 81-88. Kiev. Buiskikh, S. B. 1986 — Буйских, С. Б. Некоторые вопросы пространственно-структуральнего развития Ольвийской хоры (VI-II вв. до н. э.) [Nekotorye voprosy prostranstvenno-struktural’nego razvitiia ol’viiskoi khory (VI-II vv. do n. e.) – Some problems of the spacial-structural development of the Olbian chora (7th-2nd centuries BC)], in S. D. Kryzhytskii and S. N. Mazarati (eds), 17-28. Diamant, E. I. 1978 — Диамант, Э. И. Монетные находки Кошарского поселения (K вопросу o западной границе Ольвийского полиса) [Monetnye nakhodki kosharskogo poseleniia (K voprosu o zapadnoi granitse ol’viiskogo polisa) – Monetary finds
in Koshary settlement (on the problem of the western border of the Olbian polis)]. In П. О. Карышковский [P. O. Karyshkkovskii] (ed.) Археологические исследования Северо-Западногo Причерноморья [Arkheologicheskie issledovaniia severo-zapadnogo Prichernomor’ia – Archaeological Research on the North-western Black Sea Region], 241-249. Kiev. Draganov, D. 1990 — Драганов, Д. Начало на бронзовото монетосечене нa Одесос [Nachalo na bronzovoto monetosechene na Odesos – The beginning of bronze coinage of Odessos]. Нумизматика [Numizmatika] 24/III, 19-24. Frolova, N. A. 2006 — Фролова, Н. А. Каталог монет античной Тиры, Москва [Katalog monet antichnoi Tiry – Catalogue of Coins of Ancient Tyras]. Moscow. Hansen, M. N. and Nielsen, T. H. (eds) 2004. An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis. Oxford. IGCH – Thompson, M., Mørkholm, O. and Kraay, C. M. 1973. An Inventory of Greek Coin Hoards. New York. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 1962a — Карышковский, П. О. Золотi монети Лiсiмаха, знайденi в Ольвiï [Zoloti monety Lisimakha, znaideni v Ol’vii – Gold coins of Lysimachos, found in Olbia]. Археологiчнi пам’ятки Української PСР [Arkheologichni pam’iatki Ukrainskoi RSR – Archaeological Sites of the Ukrainian RSR] 11, 97-101. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 1962b — Карышковский, П. О. Монеты западнопонтийских династов найденные в Северном Причерноморье [Monety zapadnopontiiskikh dinastov naidenn-ye v Severnom Prichernomor’e – The coins of the western Euxine dynasts found in the northern Black Sea region]. Советская археология [Sovetskaia arkheologiia] IV, 49-58. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 1977 — Карышковский, П. О. К вопросу oб обращении статеров лисимаховского типа в Причерноморье [K voprosu ob obrashchenii staterov lisimakhovskogo tipa v Prichernomor’e – On the problem of circulation of Lysimachus type staters in the Black Sea region]. In V. A. Levkinadze (ed.), 15-26. Karyshkovskii, P. O. (ed.) 1980 — Карышковский, П. О. Исследованя по античной археологии ЮгоЗападаУкраинской ССР [Issledovaniia po antichnoi arkheologii Iugo-Zapada Ukrainskoi SSR – Research on the Ancient Archaeology of the South-Western Ukrainian SSR], 52-71. Kiev. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 1988 — Карышковский, П. О. Монеты Ольвии [Monety Ol’vii – The Coins of Olbia]. Kiev. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 2002 — Карышковский, П. О. Монетное дело и денежное обращение Ольвии (VI в до н. э. – IV в. н. э.) (Диссертация на соискание ученой степени доктора исторических наук, Одесса 1968) [Monetnoe delo i denezhnoe obrashchenie Ol’vii (VI v. do n. e.-I v. n. e.) (Dissertatsia na soiskanie uchenoi stepeni doktora istoricheskikh nauk, Odessa 1968) – Monetary production and circulation in Olbia (6th c. BC – 4th c. AD) (Doctoral dissertation, Odessa 1968)]. Odessa.
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Karyshkovskii, P. O. and Klejman, I. B. 1994. The City of Tyras. A Historical and Archaeological Essay. Odessa. Kryzhytskii, S. D. and Mazarati, S. N. (eds) 1986 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Maзapaти, C. Н. Ольвия и её округа [Ol’via i ee okruga – Olbia and its Countryside]. Kiev. Levina, E. A. and Stoliarik, E. S. 1991 — Левина, Э. А., Столярик, Е. С. Новые монетные находки c Кошарского поселения [Novye monetnye nakhodki s kosharskogo poseleniia – New monetary finds from Koshary settlement]. In А. Γ. Загинайло [A. G. Zaginailo] (ed.), Древнeе Причерноморье. II чтения памяти прфессора Петра Осиповича Карышковского. Тeзисы докладов юбилейной конференции 9-11 марта 1991 года, Одесса [Drevnee Prichernomor’e. II chteniia pamiati professora Petra Osipovicha Karyshkovskogo. Tezisy dokladov iubileinoi konferentsii 9-11 marta 1991 goda – The Ancient Black Sea Region. II Lectures in Memory of Professor Peter Osipovich Karyshkovskii. Proceedings of jubilee conference, March 9th to 11th 1991, Odessa], 51-54. Odessa. Levkinadze, V. A. (ed.) 1977 — Левкинадзе, В. А. Нумизматический сборник посвящается памяти Д. Г. Капанадзе [Numizmaticheskii sbornik posviashchaetsia pamiati D. G. Kapanadze – Numismatic Collection Dedicated to the Memory of D. G. Kapanadze]. Tbilisi. Marinescu, C. A. 1996. Making and Spending Money along the Bosporus: the Lysimachi Coinages minted by Byzantium and Chalcedon and their Socio-Cultural Context. Unpublished PhD thesis, Columbia University. Müller, L. 1858. Die Münzen des Thrakischen Königs Lysimachus. Kopenhagen. Papuci-Władyka, E. (ed.) 2008. PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11). Kraków. Papuci-Władyka, E., Chochorowski, J., Redina, E. F. et al. 2004. Koszary – grecka osada nad Morzem Czarnym w świetle pięcioletnich badań polsko-ukraińskiej ekspedycji (1998-2002) [Koshary – A Greek settlement on the Black Sea in the light of five years of PolishUkrainian expedition excavations (1998-2002)]. In D. Quirini-Popławska (ed.), Portolana. Studia Mediterranea 1, 47-64. Kraków. Pick, B. and Regling K. 1910. Die antiken Münzen NordGriechenlands 1. Dacien und Moesien. Berlin.
Pridik, E. M. 1902 — Придик, Е. М. Анадольский клад золотых статеров 1895 г. [Anadol’skii klad zolotykh staterov 1895 g. – The Anadol hoard of gold staters 1895]. Известия Археологической Комиссии [Izvestia Arkheologicheskoi Komissii] 3, 58-92. Redina, E. F., Papuci-Władyka, E., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2008 — Редина, Е. Ф., Папуци-Владыка, Е., Бодзэк, Я., Маховски, В. Археологический комплекс античного времени у села Кошары – итоги исследования [Arkheologicheskii kompleks antichnogo vremeni u sela Koshary – itogi issledovaniia – The ancient archaeological complex at Koshary village – results of investigations]. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 143-158. Ruban, V. V. 1980 — Рубан, В. В. Из истории взаимоотношении Тиры и Ольвии [Iz istorii vzaimootnoshenii Tiry i Ol’vii – On the history of TyrasOlbia relations]. In P. O. Karyshkovskii (ed.), 103-106. Samoilova, T. L. 1988 — Самойлова, Т. Л. Тира в VI-I вв до н. е [Tira v VI-I vv. do n. e. – Tyras in the 6th to 1st centuries BC]. Kiev. Seyrig, H. 1969. Monnaies hellénistiques. Revue Numismatique 11, 36-52. SNG Alpha Bank. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum. Greece 2. The Alpha Bank Collection. Macedonia 1: Alexander I-Perseus. Athens 2000. SNG BM. Price, M. J. 1993. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum 9. The British Museum. Part 1. The Black Sea. London. SNG Stancomb. Stancomb, W. M. 2000. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum 11. The William Stancomb Collection of Coins of the Black Sea Region. Oxford. Symonovich, E. A. 1954 — Сымонович, Э. А. О древнем Одессе [O drevnem Odesse – On Ancient Odessos]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] IV, 146-150. Symonovich, E. A. 1969 — Сымонович, Э. А. Ольвийские монеты с Кошарского городища [Ol’viiskie monety s Kosharskogo gorodishcha – Olbian coins from Koshary settlement]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] II, 105-106. Thompson, M. 1968. The Mints of Lysimachus, in C. M. Kraay and K. G. Jenkins (eds), Essays in Greek Coinage presented to Stanley Robinson, 163-182. Oxford. Thompson, M. 1986. The Armenak Hoard (IGCH 1423). American Numismatic Society Museum Notes 31, 63106. Zograf, A. N. 1957 — Зограф, А. Н. Монеты Тиры [Monety Tiry – The Coins of Tyra]. Moscow.
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Chapter 3 Heracles the Scythian: Herodotus, Herodorus and Colonial Cultures David Braund
University of Exeter Department of Classics and Ancient History Exeter, United Kingdom [email protected] Abstract: Re-consideration of the ‘Greek’ version of Scythian origins in Herodotus’ Book Four shows a series of unexplained details. It is argued that these details build to show Heracles as not only the forefather of Scythians, but a kind of Scythian: a ‘proto-Scythian’ in every sense. Accordingly, his famous club is absent, because it had no role in Scythian culture. Further, this version is not the only one among Greeks of the Black Sea and may be limited to Olbia and its environs, mentioned in the story and Herodotus’ focus generally. Herodorus of Heraclea Pontica gives a different version. Finally, in the context of recent archaeology, well-established arguments are advanced somewhat with regard to the Scythian elite’s claims to descent from Heracles. We may wonder whether this was only a ‘Greek’ story even in the 5th century BC or earlier. For Scythians could choose, when it suited, to stress their link with Heracles, e.g. identifying him with mysterious Targitaus (in Herodotus as the Scythians’ own imagined progenitor). It suited Herodotus’ interest in cultural interaction to show ‘Scythian’ and ‘Greek’ accounts as sharply distinct. We may wonder what stories were told not only among Scythian elites, but also among the ‘Greek-Scythian’ Callipidae. Keywords: Heracles, Scythian, Herodotus, Teutaros, Herodorus of Heraclea Pontica, Targitaus, Greek, Olbia
snake. As was usual for actual early Greek visitors and settlers in the region, the Greek male (Heracles) finds a local female (Echidna) and together they produce offspring which owe something to both parents, however they choose to imagine themselves thereafter. In that way this Heracles’ story presents a mythical prototype for the actual experience of colonial Greeks: we may well understand why this story was told by the Greeks of the Black Sea. It encapsulated their own collective experience of the region. Moreover, it is also an optimistic story. For it is not a story of alienation and hostility between Greeks and Scythians but a story of shared cultural roots, especially for those Greeks who sought to trace their own ancestries to Heracles (cf. Malkin 1998; Visintin 2000).
There has been extensive and intensive discussion of the origin-stories of the Scythians which appear towards the beginning of the Book Four of Herodotus’ Histories. So much so, indeed, that one hesitates to imagine that there may be something new to say about them. In that sense it is with some caution and even reluctance that I draw attention in this present article to an important dimension of one of these stories which, as far as I am aware, has not been observed elsewhere and (if it has been noted in passing somewhere unknown to me) has certainly not been given the attention that it deserves. In addition, I shall also bring to bear the neglected story of Teutaros the Scythian, which contributes in a rather different way to our appreciation of Herodotus’ treatment of traditions about Scythians in general and Heracles in particular.
And yet the optimism is not unalloyed. We must be clear that this entire story is not only Greek but also directly at odds with the Scythians’ own story, which Herodotus has already related. Not only optimism, then, but also conflict such as found elsewhere in Herodotus’ account of divergent Greek and non-Greek stories and interpretations in the region, notably in the case of Thracian Salmoxis. Therefore, insofar as the Greek origin-story for Scythians offers a framework for positive relationships, it does so very much on Greek terms and implies the rejection of a local alternative. As we shall see, the whole account assumes and serves to validate a Greek perspective (Braund, forthcoming a).
Here we are concerned with the second of the origin stories which Herodotus relates. This is the story – so he tells us – of the Greeks of the Black Sea. Its central figure is appropriately Greek, namely Heracles. This roving culture-hero recurs through Greek mythology as the conqueror and controller of wild nature in its many forms, which is duly replaced – thanks to Heracles – by an order centred upon human civilization. To that extent, Heracles is a path-breaker and forerunner of Greek colonial settlement, an archetype of the earliest Greeks who ventured beyond the Aegean world and gave an impetus to what we are pleased to call ‘Greek colonization’. Herodotus’ second origin-story for the Scythians makes Heracles the ancestor of the whole people, thanks to his sexual liaison (by agreement) with the only inhabitant of an empty Scythia, namely the mysterious Echidna, half-woman and half-
These large points need to be made, for they are often submerged by attention to details in the story and by philological zeal in the gathering of linguistic and other
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parallels or divergences. However, details matter too. And when we consider the particular details of this origin-story, there is much that is distinctly strange. Unfortunately, when a story becomes as familiar as this one, it is all too easy to overlook just how odd it is. The broad notion of Scythian descent from Heracles and Echidna (as we may call her: Herodotus gives no name) could have been imagined and conveyed far more simply. Instead, we have a Heracles who comes into Scythia from – of all places – Spain. Since he is on his way to Greece, it seems to follow that he must be imagined as coming from the far north, via Ocean, having preferred this to a shorter and easier Mediterranean journey. No reason is offered for the choice. Further, he is not roving around in some random, purposeless fashion, but is very specifically driving the cattle of Geryon back home from Spain to Greece. These cattle play no direct part in the narrative which follows: they soon fade out of the story, so that we may wonder why they are there at all. After all, Heracles travelled around enough, not least to the Black Sea (e.g. against Amazons, or meeting Prometheus). Why, we must wonder, does this story of the Black Sea Greeks about Scythian origins specify that he was in Scythia with the cattle of Geryon ?
is useful in the narrative only to the extent that Heracles must sleep so that his horses can be spirited away. There is also a benefit inherent in the connection of the skin and the cold: the two characteristic features of Heracles and Scythia are brought together in one image, where there may even be room for some humour. And yet, while we ponder the peculiar chariot and cattle, we should also give some thought to any further significance that may reside in Heracles’ use of his lion-skin against the climate of Scythia. And what of absent details: where is his characteristic club? Its absence too would be better explained than overlooked. This is, of course, very much a story of origins. And origin-stories, by their very nature, tend to incorporate aetiology, for their whole rationale is the explanation of how the present comes to have emerged from the past. The primary aetiology is the over-arching explanation of the very existence of the Scythians, whose origins are traced back to Heracles and Echidna, though it remains unclear how all the Scythians come into being thereafter. The story seems to allow two versions of the future: either Heracles is the ancestor of the Scythians as a whole or he is the ancestor more particularly of the rulers of Scythia (and of its neighbours). Details are again significant: Herodotus himself draws particular attention to two specific details in the story as it proceeds to unfold.
Heracles also has a chariot in this story, drawn by horses. Of course, Heracles might well have a chariot, an appropriately heroic conveyance perhaps, but he often appears elsewhere taking giant strides across the landscape (not least on the north coast of the Black Sea). Indeed in this story he does just that in search of his ‘lost’ horses. The chariot was an unusual luxury for our hero. However, in this story it appears as almost a necessity and certainly as something of key importance. For in the subsequent narrative, it is the under-explained disappearance of the chariot’s horses which makes Heracles come to an agreement with Echidna. The cattle seem not to have been a problem: had Heracles driven them with him in search of the horses? – or did he risk leaving them somewhere and go back later to fetch them? Such questions are not encouraged by the narrative. Instead the story centres upon the Echidna’s promise to give Heracles the horses (for his arguably-unnecessary chariot). She keeps him longer than he would wish, apparently, long enough to produce three sons by him. Rather as with Calypso and Odysseus, she is reluctant to let the hero leave, but keeps her word in the end. As the story has it, Heracles accepts all this to regain horses for a chariot which he otherwise does not need. How are we to explain this emphasis on the chariot? And what is the significance of the cattle which Heracles drives across Scythia? Is there any connection between these two peculiar features of the tale – cattle and chariot/horses?
As Heracles takes his leave from Echidna, there is a key conversation, which echoes in different ways many another conversation in the Histories, and not least in Book Four. A major concern (if not the main concern) of Herodotus’ whole work is the exploration of interaction between cultures and their individual representatives. After the fashion of Athenian tragedy, for example, these conversations reveal much that is inherent and/or problematic in such interactions, as well as taking the story forward in a more mundane fashion (Braund, forthcoming a). We may compare, for example, the conversations between the young Scythians and Amazons who become the founders of the Sauromatians (another origin-story) or the banter between the Scythians and Olbians over Scyles and Dionysiac cult or the conflictual exchanges between the Persians and Idanthyrsus, king of the Scythians, all in Book Four. And more besides, each with its own nuances and specifics which go far beyond the present discussion. Accordingly, we must observe not only the content but also what is inherent in the short conversation between Heracles and Echidna, while also bearing in mind that this is the story favoured and promoted by the Greeks of the Black Sea (and embraced by Herodotus, however critically, for he does not accept it).
Meanwhile, the story brings together two more familiar details. First, some stress is laid upon the raw climate of Scythia, not least in the north whence Heracles has come from the shores of Ocean. Second, attention is drawn to the hero’s famous clothing, his characteristic lion-skin. Herodotus’ report of the story has Heracles draw the skin around himself to ward off the cold and get some sleep. This
Echidna – the female of the region – asks for instructions from Heracles, the Greek hero. Resourceful though she may be, there is no doubt that it is Heracles who is the dominant figure in the relationship. And Echidna’s request for instruction reinforces that imbalance. It is the Greek (male) who is in charge and the local (female) who not only accepts but actually seeks his instruction. In due
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distinguishes young Scythes as Heracles’ special heir. Where the inference could be left to the reader or audience, there was no need to emphasise it by making it explicit.
course, she will obediently carry out his orders, even though that will entail the expulsion of two of her three sons from Scythia. For Heracles leaves with her a bow and (less obviously) a belt, complete with gold cup at its buckle. The son who can draw the bow (and somehow buckle the belt, it seems) is to be the founder of the future people of Scythia. Soon we see that it is the younger son who can do this: his name, Scythes, gives a name not only to his people (the Scythians) but also to the land itself with which it is appropriately cognate, namely Scythia (already named as such in the story). The two elder brothers are expelled to become founders of two other peoples, so that Greek Heracles (with Echidna) becomes the ancestor not only of the Scythians but also of the Agathyrsians and the Geloni (on whose Greekness, note Hdt. 4. 108-109). Echidna had offered to send the boys to Heracles, but it was his wish that they stay in the region and in the way that he had set down. She would be happy like that, he told her.
With that in mind, we may return to the peculiar details of the origin-story. First, we can well understand the absence of Heracles’ famous club. Unlike the bow (and belt), this was not an accoutrement which showed a link between Heracles and the Scythians. On the contrary, it suggested a distance between them, because Heracles was well known for his club while the Scythians had no use for it at all. The club was alien to Scythian society, as far as we are told, so that it can readily be understood why the club does not feature in this tale of Scythian descent from Heracles. The chariot features prominently. If we consider Heracles as a proto-Scythian, we can start to see why it may have done so here. As Herodotus proceeds to describe them, the Scythians are a people of wagons (4. 46 etc.). Should we see Heracles’ chariot as an appropriately heroic prototype for the wagons of his supposed descendents? His chariot is drawn by horses (oxen would hardly suffice for Heracles’ vehicle), but he drives cattle before him across Scythia. Is he not also, therefore, a prototype for the Scythian herding his animals? This ‘Scythian Heracles’ is at home in a world of nomadism as he roves across Scythia with his livestock. It has been well observed that there is more than a little of the animal in Heracles, not only in Scythia but elsewhere too (most recently, Visintin 2003, with bibliography).
In that way Heracles had done much more than father the Scythians. He had also given them their homeland, through his instructions to Echidna, the mistress of the region. Subsequently, Herodotus (4. 46) develops a broad case – in rather Hippocratic fashion – that the Scythian homeland has itself provided an appropriate context for the Scythian pastoralist lifestyle which suits it so well. The origin-story here does not go quite so far, but it does show Heracles establishing the defining practice of Scythian culture (for Greeks at least), namely archery. Heracles was well-known as an archer in other contexts, not least in dealing with the Stymphalian birds for example, but here he must be given two bows. The spare bow is required so that he can leave one with Echidna. In drawing the bow (and again we may think of Odysseus), Scythes showed himself to be the son closest to his father. And his Scythian descendants (especially the kings no doubt) would inherit with Heracles’ blood the special relationship with the bow and arrow. The story of King Ariantas’ census, later in Book Four (4. 81), serves further to illustrate the centrality to Scythian culture (actual and imagined) of archery in its various aspects.
After all, Heracles is dressed in the skin of an animal, the skin of the Nemean lion. We are shown the hero pulling it tight around himself against the Scythian climate. Here too he is a proto-Scythian, a hero who not only fathers Scythians but also establishes so much that is specific to Scythian culture. For Scythians too wear the skins of animals (cf. Iatsenko 2006). Of course, Scythians did not wear the skins of lions: the lion-skin was appropriate to the hero, rather as the chariot and the special cattle of Geryon. However, their animal-skins might approximate to the lion-skin of Heracles, to the extent that a single word could describe them both. The word is sisurna.
By contrast with the bow, Heracles was not known for his belt. Still less was he known for a belt with a cup at its buckle. Nor is it at all clear in the origin-story how the belt may have figured in distinguishing Scythes from his brothers. What is clear, however, is that Scythians of Herodotus’ day wore belts with a cup at the buckle. Herodotus is wholly explicit about that, specifically tracing the practice back to Heracles (4. 10). It is hard to resist the inference that the belt features as Heracles’ accoutrement in the origin-story for the simple reason that it can be put to use in this way, supporting the notion of descent from Heracles, however unsatisfactorily. Indeed, it is precisely because the connection is obscure that Herodotus has to make the point explicit. He did not need to make the point for Scythian archery: it was enough that both Heracles and the Scythians were famed for the bow and that in the narrative of the origin-story it is the bow which
Here we are indebted to Julius Pollux, a lexicographer of the 2nd century AD who reviewed the wealth of earlier Greek literature for his learned dictionary of Greek terms. He states (7. 70): ‘A sisurna is a leather, hairy, sleeved tunic: a Scythian thing’. Herodotus (4. 109) has little to say about Scythian dress, but happens to mention the making of sisurnas in the land of the Budini near the town of Gelonus, where beaver and other pelts are sewn to make them Crucially, Pollux (10. 186) also tells us that Aeschylus mentions the sisurna with regard to a lion-skin: ‘While Aeschylus says in Heralds, a satyr-play: “and of the sisurna, the lion-skin…”.’ We may safely assume that Aeschylus was here referring to the lion-skin of Heracles, but that hardly matters. The fragment of Aeschylus shows well enough that there
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
it was the Scythian who showed the way for Heracles and not the other way around, though the reversal is not complete: there is of course no suggestion that Heracles was descended from the Scythian (further, Braund, forthcoming b).
was indeed a parallelism between the Scythian tunic and Heracles’ famous and characteristic apparel. To sum up so far, the strange details of the origin-story may indeed be strange, but they have a function beyond scenesetting and local colour. All these apparently-strange details contribute to the central concern of the story, which is to demonstrate how Scythians are descended from Heracles through his son Scythes. The human realities of Scythian life find their roots, through the story, in the image of a Heracles who is a heroic version of themselves. Their bows come from his bow, their belts from his belt, their wagons from his chariot, their livestock from his special cattle, their animal skins from his lion-skin.
Among the Greeks of the south coast of the Black Sea – or at any rate in Heraclea Pontica where Heracles was especially important – the Scythians were far enough away to allow such a shift of focus. Here it is the notion of the Scythian teacher, redolent of Anacharsis and others, that takes priority over the need to explain in Greek terms the culture of one’s immediate neighbours. We are left to wonder how this Heraclean story played in its colony at Chersonesus, for which Scythians were an ever-present reality.
Herodotus tells us that this is the story of Scythian origins told by Greeks of the Black Sea. The claim is a large one. Certainly, as we have seen, the story plays to the colonialist ideology that might be anticipated among such Greeks, but how many Greeks of the region had Herodotus met or read or heard about? Since his own intended audience may be characterized as Greeks in general (whether or not we wish to place special emphasis on one place or another), we should probably take him to mean the Greeks of the Black Sea as distinct from the general run of stories about Scythians (and Heracles) which were to be found among Greeks elsewhere. It is worth observing that he does not include Greeks of the Hellespont with these Black Sea Greeks, as he does elsewhere: certainly, as he mentions, at least one Hellespontine Greek (Aristeas of Proconnesus) had an alternative version. The story of Heracles and Echidna is specifically a Black Sea tale, perhaps especially because it was precisely there – in everyday contact with Scythians – that Greeks were most interested in the origin of Scythians and had a story to tell about where they came from. By contrast, the whole issue was relatively recondite and distant for those who dwelt even in the Hellespont let alone somewhere else in the Greek world still further from the region.
However, once we question the applicability of Herodotus’ generalization about the story told by ‘Black Sea Greeks’ and proceed to limit it, we are left to reflect upon the extent of that limitation. If not all Black Sea Greeks, then who among Black Sea Greeks? Since Herodotus orientates his whole account of Scythia and Scythians upon the city of Olbia (Braund 2007; West 2007), we may reasonably wonder whether ‘Greeks of the Black Sea’ really means ‘Greeks of Olbia’. Certainly, the story has something of Olbia about it. For it is specifically in Hylaea, in the environs of Olbia, that Heracles mates with Echidna. Moreover, Hylaea was evidently a place of substantial cult activity for the people of Olbia, though it is far from clear how Echidna may have fitted into the matrix of cult there beside, in particular, the cult of the Great Mother. And it may well be more than coincidence that Heracles is shown searching for horses in and around Hylaea: the area seems to have been the locus of actual horse-hunting for the people of Olbia and others besides (on all this, see Braund 2007 and the literature there cited). However, there is not enough detail in the story that requires us to think only of Olbia, so that it remains entirely possible that the origin-story related by Herodotus was also known and told elsewhere around the region. And yet we may at least conclude that we have here a story which was told at Olbia. And, as we have seen even in the different story at Heraclea Pontica, Heracles might well be imagined as dealing with Scythians, whether in Greece or roving about the Black Sea on whatever quest. How did his giant footprint come to be planted to the west of Olbia in the vicinity of Tyras (Hdt. 4. 82)? No doubt there were many stories, told by the different people who saw and interpreted it, whether or not they all attributed it to our hero.
But was this really the only story of Scythian origins that was told among Greeks of the Black Sea in the 5th century BC? That seems unlikely in principle, for there were simply too many Greeks in too many places there to inspire any confidence in a single account. Fortunately, we know of at least one substantially different account told by Black Sea Greeks in the period. For around 400 BC Herodorus of Heraclea Pontica told a very different story about the relationship between Heracles and at least one Scythian. This was the tale of Scythian Teutaros, who worked as a cattle herdsman for Heracles’ father, Amphitryon. In view of the foregoing discussion we should not be surprised to find a Scythian boukolos, though we are left to wonder about his precise status. Was he an early Scythian slave? According to this tradition, it was Scythian Teutaros who taught Heracles how to use the bow, and indeed it was Teutaros’ bow which Heracles took on his labours. In other words, we have here a substantial reversal of the origin-story reported by Herodotus. On this account
However, we must also give some thought to developments after the completion of the Histories. Already in the 5th century BC Herodotus’ simple polarity of Scythians and Greeks was inadequate as an expression of the complex ethnicities of the region, as his own account suffices to show (notably, 4. 17 on ‘Greek Scythians’). Already in
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David Braund: Heracles the Scythian: Herodotus, Herodorus and Colonial Cultures
the Histories we find Scyles, a Scythian king who chooses to develop a lifestyle which is not only Scythian but also substantially Greek to the extent that he enjoys the experiences of an Olbian Greek (4. 78-80). Scyles was not typical, but we should not rush to suppose that he was entirely unusual. The whole process of colonization was one of exchange and osmosis, which affected non-Greeks as well as Greeks. Art in particular serves to illustrate something of the development of Scythian elite taste in a broadly hellenizing direction (see Vakhtina 2005).
100 BC, in D. Braund and S. D. Kryzhitskii (eds), Classical Olbia and the Scythian world. (Proceedings of the British Academy 142), 35-75. Oxford. Braund, D. forthcoming a. Scythian laughter: conversations in the northern Black Sea region in the fifth century BC. In P. Guldager Bilde (ed.), Cultural interaction in the Black Sea region. Aarhus. Braund, D. forthcoming b. Teutaros, the Scythian teacher of Herakles. In R. Catling (ed.), Studies presented to Elaine Matthews. Oxford. Grakov, B. N. 1950 — Граков Б. Н. Скифский Геракл [Skifskii Gerakl – Scythian Hercules]. Краткие сообщения института истории материальной культуры [Kratkie soobshcheniia instituta istorii material’noi kultury – Summary Reports of the Institute for the History of Material Culture] 34, 7-18. Iatsenko, S. A. 2006 — Яценко, С. А. Костюм древней Евраэии [Kostium drevnei Evrazii – Ancient Dress in Euro-Asia]. Moscow. Malkin, I. 1998. The Returns of Odysseus: Colonization and Ethnicity. Berkeley. Mozolevskii, B. N. and Pol’in, S. B. 2005 — Мозолевский, Б. Н., Польин, С. Б. Курганы скифского Герроса IV в. до н. з. Бабина, Водиана и Соболева Могилы [Kurgany skifskogo Gerrosa IV v. do n. e. Babina, Vodiana and Soboleva Mogily – Kurgans in Scythian Gerros of the 4th century BC. Babina, Vodiana and Soboleva Tumuli]. Kiev. Vakhtina, M. Iu. 2005 — Вахтина, М. Ю. Греческое искусство и искусство Европейской Скифии [Grecheskoe isskustvo i isskustvo Evropeiskoi Skifii – Greek art and art of European Scythia], in Marchenko, K. K., Rogov, E. Ia., Vakhtina, M. Iu., Vinogradov, Iu. A. and Zuev, V. Iu. — Марченко, K. K., Рогов, Э. Я., Вахтина, М. Ю., Виноградов, Ю. А., Зуев, В. Ю. Греки и варвары Северного Причерноморья в скифскую эпоху [Greki i varvary Severnogo Prichernomor’ia v skifskuiu epokhu – The Greeks and the Barbarians of the Northern Black Sea Area in the Scythian Period], 297-399. St Petersburg. Visintin, M. 2000. Echidna, Skythes e l’arco di Herakles. Figure della marginalità nella versione greca dell’ origini degli Sciti. Materiale e Discussioni 45, 43-81. West, S. R. 2007. Herodotus and Olbia, in D. Braund and S. D. Kryzhitskii (eds), Classical Olbia and the Scythian World, 79-92. Oxford.
So, just as we must qualify Herodotus’ generalization about the story told by ‘the Greeks of the Black Sea’, so we should at least reflect upon the possibility that, for example, some members of the Scythian elite (and not only Scyles) might be attracted by the notion that they were descendants of Heracles, perhaps especially in their dealings with Greeks. And should we not suppose that such claims became all the more alluring for the Scythian elite in the centuries after Herodotus. The point was well made decades ago by Grakov (see in particular Grakov 1950). Now it is further illustrated, for example, by startling discoveries at Babina Mogila, where Heracles features prominently in the iconography of a wealthy Scythian burial of the 4th century BC (Mozolevskii and Pol’in 2005, including important contributions by M. Iu. Treister and references to the various studies of A. S. and M. V. Rusiaeva). The polarity of Scythian and Greek was already unstable in the 5th century BC. The Scythian cultural resistance to Greek influence which Herodotus observes so powerfully from his viewpoint in Olbia may well be interpreted as the working-through of that broad osmosis, which the historian illustrates with the stories of Anacharsis and Scyles. Certainly we cannot separate from such osmosis, conflict and debate the specific issue of Scythian origins. It has long been recognized that the Scythian and Greek origin-stories given by Herodotus have much in common, despite their evident differences (e.g. Grakov 1950). It would not have been too difficult, for example, to identify Greek Heracles with Scythian Targitaus, especially where such identification facilitated interaction and the exchange of goods, services and cultures. Bibliography Braund, D. 2007. Greater Olbia: ethnic, religious, economic and political interactions in the region of Olbia c. 600-
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Chapter 4
New Data on Relationships Between the Ancient Greek Poleis of the North-Western Black Sea Littoral (Tyras-Olbia) Svetlana A. Bulatovich
Odessa National University Faculty of History Odessa, Ukraine
Tatiana L. Samoilova
National Academy of Sciences Ukraine Institute of Archaeology Odessa, Ukraine Abstract: The paper treats the details of the relationship between Tyras and Olbia on the basis of recent archaeological and numismatic finds. These contacts lasted almost without interruption from the 4th century BC to the 3rd century AD. This is shown by the chronology of Olbian coins, found in the course of excavations at Tyras. This reflects economic and cultural contacts, and, probably sheds new light on the political situation in the region, especially in the 1st century AD. The numismatic data are supported by finds of pottery of Olbian manufacture in Tyras. Keywords: Tyras, Olbia, coinage, pottery, Black Sea
Ancient Greeks had already accumulated a long experience of founding colonies in different regions of the Mediterranean by the time they began to settle in the Lower Dniester region. The first large Greek settlements on the north-western Black Sea littoral were founded around the middle of the 7th century BC (more than 100 years before the foundation of Tyras). They were situated close to the mouths of the largest rivers: Istros (Histria) on the Danube and Borysthenes on the Dnieper (Dimitriu 1964; Kryzhitskii et al., 1999). Ancient Greek settlements (including Tyras) were founded on virgin territory. There were no barbarian predecessors on these. Their economic evolution can be subdivided into stages, characterized by the level of economic development and trading relationships. Tyras is no exception and its history too consists of several stages. The first period (end of 6th-5th century BC) was a period of economic formation, when the foundations of further rapid development were laid. The second stage (4thfirst third of the 3rd century BC) saw the peak of Tyras’s power. At the same time rural sites spread along the western shore of the River Tyras, forming a substantial chora.
AD) was a stage of Roman predominance, when Tyras was incorporated into the Roman empire. The fifth stage (the second or third quarter of the 3rd century AD) was a time of stabilization, when the city’s economy reached a second peak. The sixth stage (third quarter of the 3rd to the third quarter of the 4th century AD) was a period of crisis and saw the disappearance of classical culture. Each classical city-state on the northern and north-western Black Sea littoral had more or less the same history. This paper does not treat the economic development of Tyras completely, but concentrates on relations between Tyras and its neighboring city Olbia. The analysis is based on numismatic finds made for the most part during recent archaeological investigations. There is no direct evidence for contacts between Tyras and Olbia during the first stage of Tyras’ economic evolution. Nevertheless, coastal navigation to Olbia was conducted along the coast of the western Black Sea, passing by the mouth of the Dniester. It was thus inevitable that Tyras should participate in Olbian trade, and contacts will have already been made at that period. Furthermore, the route from Olbia to the island of Leuke passed by the mouth of the River Tyras. This western route led to the pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Achilles Pontarchos. Such contacts between Tyras and Olbia had little economic content. The lack of any numismatic evidence for contacts is indirect proof of this. Early Olbian coins are absent from Tyras, and there are no epigraphic finds, which might have provided evidence for regular economic contact.
Agriculture evolved, it would appear, into a market-oriented activity. The city-state played a predominant role in the region. It became the trade and manufacturing centre of the area and began to mint coins. The third stage (mid-3rd to the first half of the 1st century BC) was a time of crisis, when the large chora disappeared, trade ceased, and the coinage became irregular. The fourth period (second half of the 1st century BC to the third quarter of the 1st century
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
In the 5th century BC the Scythians established a protectorate over some ancient Greek city-states on the north-western Black Sea littoral: over Olbia, Nikonion and, probably, Tyras. Tyras may have been a member of the Delian League, alongside with Histria and Olbia (Karyshkovskii and Kleiman 1985, 45). In favour of this hypothesis there is on the one hand a fragmentary list of Delian League members where the name Tyras can be plausibly reconstructed, and on the other an image of an owl on the city’s coins. Thus, at the end of the 5th century BC, Tyras was included within the community of Greek citystates of the north-western Black Sea coast, and particularly of Olbia. The essence of these contacts is not, however, altogether clear.
oversaw matters affecting both city-states ‘in a worthy manner’ and, when he returned to Tyras, ‘was benevolent and faithful’ to the interests of the inhabitants of Tomis, in particular assisting merchants from Tomis on their way to Olbia (Grakov 1939, 310-311; Karyshkovskii 1959, 113115). Locally produced goods were exchanged, but this trade was of minor importance. The only material evidence are remains of pottery produced in Olbia, and found in Tyras. Tyras, most likely, was a middleman between Olbia and the barbarians inhabiting Dniester valley to the north. Later, Tyras and Olbia lay within two powerful entities: the kingdom of Mithridates VI Eupator, and in the 1st century AD, the Roman empire. There were Roman military garrisons in these city-states which were integrated into a single administrative, political, military, and economic system. This fact underlies relations between the centres, which are confirmed by finds of coins.
In the 4th century BC there was a complex and unusual political situation along the north-western Black Sea coast. The Scythian population between the Dniester and the Danube had increased. By the early 1990s some 50 Scythian sites and 250 burials had been recognised here. The Macedonian state launched political offensive in a north-easterly direction, the crowning moment of which was Zopyrion’s military enterprise. Life was harsh for the Greeks, and made worse by the activities of pirates. We receive a glimpse of this from an edict (IOSPE I² 325) cut on the base of an equestrian statue set up on the island of Leuke. The text records the fact that a citizen of Olbia had put down the pirates who had invaded the holy island with a view to plunder. At the same time, Olbia and Tyras reached the peak of their powers.
Coin finds can provide important information on relations between poleis in the north-western Black Sea coastal area. Olbian coins were first found in Tyras in the late 19th century (Zograf 1957, 57). Their number has recently increased significantly, however, and finds have become frequent. Excavations from 1998 to 2005 yielded more than 40 Olbian coins belonging to the period from the 4th century BC to the beginning of the 3rd century AD. To reveal the information preserved in the Olbian numismatic data, it might be as well to treat them in the context of the periodization of the economical evolution of Tyras. The first period (end of the 6th to the 5th century BC), the period of economic formation, when Tyras established its predominance in the region, is represented by two Olbian issues (a dolphin-type coin and an ‘as’ with a Gorgon, both chance finds, that date to the end of the 5th century BC. There was little in the way of Olbian issues in the excavation trenches; on the contrary, a large number (more than 30 examples) of Histrian wheel-type coins indicate contact with Histria, not Olbia.
Contacts between Olbia and Tyras were both political and economic during the periods both of prosperity and crisis between the 4th and the 1st century BC. Rural sites spread along the western shore of the River Tyras, forming the chora of the city of Tyras. Agriculture became a marketoriented activity. The city-state played a predominant role in the area, becoming a regional trade and manufacturing centre (Karyshkovskii and Kleiman 1985, 46f.; Samoilova 1988, 36f.). At the beginning of this stage merchants from Tyras employed Histrian wheel-type coins. After the mid4th century BC, the market was saturated by locally minted silver and bronze coins, although the inflow of coins from elsewhere was still important. Tyras had a notable economic potential by this period.
The second stage (the 4th to the first third of the 3rd century BC), when Tyras reached the peak of its power, Tyras was totally dominant in the region. There was a notable increase in turnover of trade at Tyras, and a significant spread of economic and political relations. Contacts between Tyras and Olbia are reflected in the coin finds of this period. There were struck coins of several types. The earliest (of the first half of 4th century BC) bear representations of Demeter with an ear of grain (the emblem of the city, 6 items, Figure 1:1) and Demeter with an ear of grain and a dolphin. The next coin group occurs at the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd century BC, and include coins with an archer (5 items, Figure 1:2) and Borysthenestype coins (7 items, Figure 1:3). The poor preservation of the Borysthenes types prevents their precise classification. The only sure fact is the absence of the earliest issues and the presence of the later ones (the second half of the 3rd century BC), when they were due to the crisis of currency
Excavations have revealed an increase in trade turnover with various cities situated along coasts of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The Hellenistic period witnessed a continuation of economic links with Olbia. There are finds of Olbian produced pottery at Tyras (Samoilova and Strokin 1982). Two inscriptions point in the same direction. The first (of the 3rd century BC) was issued in honour of an unknown citizen of Tyras who was awarded crowns by the citizens of several city-states, including the inhabitants of Olbia (Furmanskaia 1960, 175). The second inscription is a well-known edict from Tomis of the end of the 2nd to the beginning of the 1st century BC, dedicated to a citizen of Tyras called Nil. This man, who lived in Tomis,
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Svetlana A. Bulatovich and Tatiana L. Samoilova: New Data on Relationships
Figure 1. Olbian coin-types found in Tyras
The latter include issues of Demeter with a veiled head (Figure 1:4), which chronologically succeeds the Borysthenes types. One of these bears a countermark identical to those on coins of the Borysthenes type. There are also coins bearing: Athena’s head / dolphin (overstruck on a coin of an earlier period) (Figure 1:5): a head of Hermes / caduceus with wings (countermark, a branch) (Figure 1:6) and a female head, perhaps of Aphrodite / dolphin. These coins date to the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 2nd century BC.
over-stamped with a dolphin and an eight-rayed rosette. A. N. Zograf (1957) knew a small number of Borysthenes types found in Tyras as far back as the 1950s. The third stage, the mid-3rd to the first half of the 1st century BC, was a time of crisis, both in Olbia and Tyras. While trade turnover was greatly reduced, there was no interruption in contacts with Olbia (cf. Ruban 1980). Finds of the crisis period include countermarked Borysthenes types as well as bronze coins of other types (5 items).
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
two assarei of the archon Dados, son of Satyros (head of Apollo / lyre) (Figure 1:10). Few coins bearing archons names have been found outside Olbia.
P. O. Karyshkovskii (1988, 101) observed a steep decline in finds of Olbian coins in the neighbourhood of Tyras during the crisis period. In this context, the Olbian coins found in Tyras (and in particular, countermarked and re-stamped pieces), are the principal notable evidence for uninterrupted economic relations between Tyras and Olbia during the economic crisis.
By contrast, Roman provincial coins of Olbia are frequently encountered (Karyshkovskii 1988, 127). A dupondius of Septimius Severus with a depiction of Julia Domna and tetrassarius of Severus Alexander were found in recent excavations at Tyras. They were previously known types (Bulatovich 1989, 85, No. 20)
The fourth period (the second half of the 1st century BC to the third quarter of the 1st century AD) was a stage of Roman predominance. The invasion of the Getae led to a short break in economic contacts between Olbia and Tyras, but soon afterwards contacts were re-established. Numismatic finds suggest that contact began again at the time when Olbia was under the protectorate of the Sarmatian king Pharzoios (middle of the 1st century AD). There are finds in Tyras of coins of Olbia with Zeus’ head / eagle (minted simultaneously with gold coins of Pharzoios). They have been known for some time, but have appeared more frequently of late (more than 10 examples). They are badly preserved, and this inhibits their classification by style and weight. Nevertheless, Tyras has produced both specimens with a caduceus-like mark (Figure 1:7) and the depiction of caduceus on the main stamp (Figure 1:8). There are thus both the earliest and the latest issues of coins of this type in the Tyras collection. Karyshkovskii (1988, 111) stated that caduceus-like mark is absent on the earliest issues, but is regularly encountered on later issues, apart from the very last, when the caduceus was engraved into the main stamp.
We can thus draw the following conclusions from the archaeological and numismatic data so far available: 1. Judging by the coins, regular contacts between Tyras and Olbia were launched in the mid-4th century BC. Olbian pottery found in Tyras belongs to the same period. 2. These relationships continued during the Hellenistic period. This view finds support in finds at Tyras of coins of Borysthenes type and fragments of pottery of Olbian manufacture. There is also epigraphic evidence. 3. After a short interruption, these contacts were recommenced and became more intensive after the middle of the 1st century AD (as indicated by the bronze Olbian coins of the time of Pharzoios). Relations between the poleis probably changed from purely economic ones to reflect the realities of the historical situation in the north-western Black Sea littoral region, namely the relationship between the kingdom of Pharzoios, the Roman empire and Greek cities. 4. Olbian coins arrive in Tyras during the 2nd-3rd centuries AD and also in the autonomous era. Economic and cultural contacts thus continued to exist between the two poleis.
There are seven gold aurei of Pharzoios in private collections. The owners state that the coins originate from Tyras (Alexeev 2008, 64, 68). Karyshkovskii (1982, 76) suggested that the distribution of these coins might reflect the borders of the territories under Pharzoios’ rule (he said this before Pharzoios coins were found in Tyras). There might thus be a political reason for the diffusion of these coins in Tyras. In the same way, we might reconstruct Tyras’ political relationships with the Odrysian kings Rhoemetalces I and II (both of whose coins were found in Tyras) (Karyshkovskii and Kleiman 1985, 56-57). S. Iu. Saprykin (1957, 55) hypothesizes that Pharzoios was a client king of Rome and that the Roman empire tried to organize ‘a union, a symmachia, with ties between local kings and Greek city-states within the Empire, so that a client or vassal state could then be transformed into a Roman province’.
Bibliography Alexeev, V. P. (ed.) 2008 — Алексеев, В. П. Исследования по античной нумиэматике [Issledovaniia po antichnoi numizmatike – Researches on Ancient Numismatics]. Odessa. Bulatovich, S. A. 1989 — Булатович, С. А. Античные монеты из Тиры (1977-1986 гг.) [Antichnye monety iz Tiry (1977-1986 gg.) – Ancient coins from Tyras (19771986)]. In Т. Л. Самойлова [T. L. Samoilova] (ed.), Археологические памятники степей Поднестровя и Подунавья [Arkheologicheskie pamiatniki stepei Podnestrovia i Podunav’ia – Archeological Sites in the Dniester and Danube area], 81-88. Kiev. Dimitriu, S. 1964. Tot despre data întemeierii Histriei [All about the date of foundation of Histria]. Studii si cercetări de istorie veche 15/II, 251-256. Furmanskaia, A. I. 1960 — Фурманская, А. И. Новый эпиграфический памятник из Тиры [Novyi epigraficheskii pamiatnik iz Tiry – A new epigraphical find from Tyras]. Советская археология [Sovetskaia arkheologiia] IV, 173-179.
The fifth stage (the second or the third quarter of 3rd century AD) is represented by bronze Olbian coins bearing magistrates’ names. They are a tetrassarius with a name of Peisistratos, son of Dadakos (head of Apollo / eagle on thunderbolt). A coin of Adoios, son of Delphos (of the same type) was issued at the beginning of the 2nd century AD in the reign of Hadrian. It has two countermarks made during the reign of Antoninus Pius (Figure 1:9) (Karyshkovskii 1988, 122). Karyshkovskii (1988, 120) noted that coins issued under the name of Peisistratos are rare. There are
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Svetlana A. Bulatovich and Tatiana L. Samoilova: New Data on Relationships
Grakov, B. N. 1939 — Граков, Б. Н. Материалы по истории Скифии в греческих надписях Балканского полуострова и Малой Азии [Materialy po istorii Skifii v grecheskikh nadpisiakh Balkanskogo poluostrova i Maloi Azii – Materials on the History of Scythia in Greek Inscriptions of the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevnei istorii] III, 231-315. IOSPE I² – B. Latyshev, Inscriptiones antiquae orae septentrionalis Ponti Euxini, Ed. 2. 1885-1916. Petropolis. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 1959 — Карышковский, П. О. Надписи Тиры [Nadpisi Tiry – Inscriptions of Ancient Tyras]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevnei istorii] IV, 111-126. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 1982 — Карышковский, П. О. О монетах царя Фарзоя [O monetakh tsaria Farzoia – On the coins of Pharzoios]. In Археологические памятники Северо-Западного Причерноморья [Arkheologicheskie pamiatniki Severo-Zapadnogo Prichernomor’ia – Archaeological Monuments from the North-Western Black Sea Region], 66-82. Kiev. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 1983 — Карышковский, П. О. Ольвийские монеты найденные на острове Левке [Ol’viiskie monety, naidennye na ostrove Levke – Olbian coins found on the island of Leuke]. In Г. А. Дзис-Раико [G. A. Dzis-Raiko] (ed.), Материалы по археологии Северного Причерноморья [Materialy po arkheologii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Materials on the Archaeology of the Northern Black Sea Region], 158-173. Kiev. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 1988 — Карышковский, П. О. Ольвийские монеты [Ol’viiskie monety – The Coins of Olbia]. Kiev. Karyshkovskii, P. O. and Kleiman, I. B. 1985 — Карышковский, П. О., Клейман, И. Б. Древний город Тира [Drevnii gorod Tira – The Ancient City of Tyras]. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D., Rusiaeva, A. S., Krapivina, V. V., Leipunskaia, N. A., Skrizhinskaia, M. V. and Anokhin, V. A. 1999 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Русяева, А. С.,
Крапивина, В. В., Лейпунская, Н. А., Скрижинская, М. В., Анохин, В. А. Ольвия. Античное гoсударство Северного Причерноморья [Ol’viia. Antichnoe gosudarstvo Severnogo Prichernomor‘ia – Olbia. An Ancient State of the Northern Black Sea Region]. Kiev. Ruban, V. V. 1980 — Рубан, В. В. Из истории взаимоотношении Тиры и Ольвии [Iz istorii vzaimootnoshenii Tiry i Ol’vii – On the history of Tyras-Olbia relations]. In П. О. Карышковский [P. O. Karyshkovskii] (ed.), Исследования по античной археологии Юго-Запада Украинской ССР [Issledovaniia po antichnoi arkheologii Iugo-Zapada Ukrainskoi SSR – Research on the Ancient Archaeology of the South-Western Ukrainian SSR], 103-106. Kiev. Samoilova, T. L. 1988 — Самойлова, Т. Л. Тира в VI-I вв. до н. э. [Tira v VI-I vv. do n. e. – Tyras in the 6th-1st centuries BC]. Kiev. Samoilova, T. L. and Strokin, S. V. 1982 — Самойлова, Т. Л., Строкин, С. В. Керамика северопонтийских городов из Тиры (IV-I вв. до н. э.) [Keramika severopontiiskikh gorodov iz Tiry (IV-I vv. do n. e.) – Ceramics from northern Pontic cities found in Tyras (4th-1st centuries BC)]. In Археологические памятники Северо-Западного Причерноморья [Arkheologicheskie pamiatniki Severo-Zapadnogo Prichernomor’ia – Archaeological Monuments from the North–Western Black Sea Region], 141-150. Kiev. Saprykin, S. Iu. 1997 — Сапрыкин, С. Ю. Тира и фракийские цари [Tira i frakiiskie tsari – Tyras and the Thracian Kings]. Археология [Arkheologіia] 4, 4657. Vinogradov, Iu. G. 1989 — Виноградов, Ю. Г. Политическая история Ольвийского полиса VII-I в.в. до н.з. Историко-зпигрфическое исследование [Politicheskaia istoriia Ol’viiskogo polisa VII-I vv. do n.e. Istoriko-epigraficheskoe issledovanie – Political History of the Olbian Polis, 7th-1st centuries BC. Historical-epigraphical research]. Moscow. Zograf, A. N. 1957 — Зограф, А. Н. Монеты Тиры [Monety Tiry – The Coins of Tyras]. Moscow.
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Chapter 5 Geophysical Research at Koshary (Ukraine, Odessa province) Artur Buszek
c/o Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Department of Egypt and Near East Archaeology Kraków, Poland [email protected]
Tomasz Herbich
Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Warsaw, Poland [email protected]
Dawid Święch
c/o Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Department of Egypt and Near East Archaeology Kraków, Poland [email protected] Abstract: This paper presents the results of geophysical research carried out at the Greek site at Koshary on the Black Sea coast in 2007 and 2008. A ‘suburb’ in the eastern part of the settlement and the southern part of the necropolis were surveyed. Two methods were applied: electrical resistivity (twin probe array, traversing probes 1m apart, grid sampling 0.5x1m) and magnetometry (fluxgate gradiometer; grid sampling 0.25x0.50m). The resistivity survey covered an area of 1.96ha and the magnetic survey 1.88ha. In the ‘suburb’, the survey recorded some features that can be interpreted as results of human activity (pits, roads, stone walls and buildings); it also provided data on shallow geology in the area. In the necropolis, structures that can be interpreted as graves were located. The true character of structures recorded by the geophysical survey can be verified in excavation (yet to be carried out), providing a blueprint for interpreting other recorded features. Keywords: Koshary, archaeological geophysics, electrical resistivity method, magnetic method, fluxgate gradiometer, twin probe array
Excavations at Koshary have identified to date a settlement composed of a small ‘town’ to the east and a ‘suburb’ (situated on the opposite side, to the west and south of the centre), a cult area (Russian zol’nik, similar to the Greek eschara) and a necropolis (see Papuci-Władyka and Redina in this volume). The burial ground was situated on the plateau adjacent to the site on the north, while the town occupied a ridge jutting above the coastal terrace to the south with the actual settlement in the highest, eastern part of the rise (Figure 1). The extent of the cemetery has not been identified, but burials should be expected over an area of a few hectares. A combined total of 1875m2 has been excavated making for about 20% of the settlement covering an area of c. 0.9ha and 3.5% of the agricultural hinterland-‘suburb’ covering an area of c. 1.2ha. As for the necropolis, the 8000m2 of the excavated trenches probably does not cover more than 15-20% of the presumed area of the burial ground, which is estimated at 3-4ha.
In view of the disproportion between the area which has been excavated and the unexplored part of the site, Professor E. Papuci-Władyka the Director of the Polish expedition commissioned geophysical research in both the ‘suburb’ area west of the settlement and in the necropolis to the north (Figure 1). Previous experience with geophysical surveys on ancient Greek sites in the Black Sea littoral have shown these particular methods to be useful in determining the extent of particular sites, locating specific architectural complexes and obtaining data for the reconstruction of site layout (Misiewicz 2003; Smekalova and Goroncharovsky 2007; Smekalova 2007; Smekalova et al. 2008, 32-35, 44). The most popular geophysical methods in use today are the magnetic (Gaffney and Gater 2003, 36-42, 61-74) and electrical resistivity methods (Gaffney and Gater 2003, 2636, 56-61). The latter is particularly well adapted to locating architecture, earth and masonry fortifications, ditches and
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Figure 1. Location of the geophysical research. Areas of magnetic survey marked with hatching; areas of resistivity survey in transparent grey
pits, as well as stone-built tombs. The magnetic method can trace these features in suitable conditions, but it is best suited to localizing remains of industrial activity (furnaces of all kinds).
household character, pits (like those uncovered within the settlement), roads and walls between particular lots of land. Simple pit and niche graves, which predominate in the Koshary necropolis, are difficult to trace with geophysical methods, but positive results were expected in the case of cist graves which have been confirmed to exist in the northern part of the necropolis.
In the case of the Koshary site, the western part was expected to feature scattered stone architecture of a residential and
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Artur Buszek, Tomasz Herbich and Dawid Święch: Geophysical Research at Koshary
Figure 2. Resistivity maps: results of testing different probe arrays. A and B: results of testing twin-probe arrays. C and D: results of testing asymmetrical Schlumberger arrays. Large hatched box on map B marks the area surveyed by twin-probe arrays AM=0.5m and AM=1m. The small hatched box on map B marks the area surveyed by asymmetrical Schlumberger arrays
The specificity of Black Sea sites, where stone was the principal building material, and previous research experience in the area, prompted a more extensive use of the electrical resistivity method compared to other regions. It was used in the first season (in July 2007; research carried out by A. Buszek and T. Herbich) and the results verified in the next season by geomagnetic prospection (in August 2008, A. Buszek and D. Święch).
Figure 2:B. The shallow probe array (AM=0.50m) did not reveal this structure. Consequently the shallow probe array was eliminated from further testing. Comparing another section of the map obtained with the twin-probe array with the results provided by the asymmetrical Schlumberger probe array demonstrated considerable similarity to the shallower Schlumberger array (AM=2m, MN=1m, Figures 2:B and 2:C): both maps revealed long anomalies of higher values (in the south-eastern part of the square) as well as an area of higher values in the north-eastern part of the square. The image of these structures disappears in the deeper layers measured with the AM=3m array (Figure 2:D).
Electrical resistivity survey The survey was carried out with an ADA 5R ground resistivity meter produced by Elmes. Testing in selected areas of the western part of the settlement (i.e. the ‘suburb’) aimed at choosing the optimal probe arrangement. A twinprobe array was used with two different depths of the mobile AM electrodes (Figures 2:A and 2:B) and an asymmetrical Schlumberger array (Figures 2:C and 2:D). A comparison of the results of the twin-probe trials demonstrated that the deeper-reaching array (AM=1m) mapped a pattern of raised values taking on a rectangular shape which could correspond to stone architecture. This image of a structure approximately 10 by 15m, the longer side oriented NESW, can be seen in the square marked with an arrow in
The result of the tests indicated the twin-probe array AM=1m (BN=6m) and the asymmetrical Schlumberger AM=2m, MN=1m array to be optimal for the task at hand. The twin-probe method was chosen subsequently for purely economical reasons, since it required only two and not three surveyors as in the case of the Schlumberger arrangement. Measurements were taken along lines spaced every one metre, every 0.50m (two measurements per square metre), in units measuring 20m to the side. The theory is that
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Figure 3. Resistivity map. Resistivity meter ELMES ADA 5R. Twin probe array; spacing of mobile probes AM=1m, spacing of remote probes BN=6m. Dynamics 20-85ohm-m. Sampling grid 0.5 by 1m
Figure 4. Magnetic map. Geoscan Research fluxgate gradiometer FM256. Sampling grid 0.25x0.50m. Dynamics -1.7/+3.3nT
under optimal conditions (in a layer of uniform resistivity) the twin-probe arrangement will record changes in resistivity to a depth equal to the 1.5 span of AM probes (Gaffney and Gater 2003, 32).
the prospection increases to at least 3m. The stone used for building at Koshary has no magnetic properties to speak of, but when the tops of walls are very close to the surface, it is possible to record these walls due to the lesser thickness of the humus layer (which is characterized by increased magnetic sensitivity).
A total area of 19,600m2 was mapped (8400m2 in the western part of the settlement, and 11,200m2 in the necropolis).
A total area of 18,800m2 was mapped (7200m2 in the western part of the settlement, 11,600m2 in the necropolis).
Magnetic survey A fluxgate gradiometer Geoscan Research FM256 was used for the survey. Measurements were taken every 0.25m along lines spaced every 0.5m, in 20 by 20m units. The measurement density (8 measurements per square meter) records features with a width not exceeding 0.2m. Measurements with a fluxgate gradiometer (with probes 0.5m apart), measuring only the vertical component of the Earth’s magnetic field, record features in a layer from about 0.50 to 0.70m; in the case of features made up of material with strong magnetic properties (walls of baked brick, furnaces with a large mass of burnt clay) the depth of
Survey results The results of the electrical resistivity survey are presented as a map of changes in ground resistivity (called resistivity maps; Figures 2, 3, 5 and 7), the magnetic survey results are presented as a map of the changes of the vertical gradient of the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field (called magnetic maps; Figures 4, 6 and 8). Value ranges are shown as different tones of gray with white and black corresponding to extreme values.
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Artur Buszek, Tomasz Herbich and Dawid Święch: Geophysical Research at Koshary
Figure 5. Resistivity map. Area on the western side of the settlement. Twin probe array; AM=1m, BN=6m. Dynamics 20-75ohm-m. Grid lines every 20m
orientation and can be observed over a distance of c. 1520m (in B4-C4, marked as e).
Area on the western side of the settlement 1) Electrical resistivity research. The resistivity map shows a series of long features, the most distinct one of which runs almost straight, between D4 and F3 (marked as a, Figure 5). It is characterized by raised resistivity values. It is c. 50m long, 2-3m wide. The next long structure of similar width and orientation is also characterized by raised resistivity values; it is recorded slightly to the south (in the southeastern part of D4 and in E4, marked as d). Perpendicular to a is a narrow linear anomaly with both raised and lowered resistivity values (between C2 and F5, marked as b). Paralleling it is another narrow anomaly of lowered values, marked as c (in E3 and F4). A linear anomaly can be discerned in the northern part of the map; it is of similar
The map also reveals a few rectangular and trapezoid features. The biggest is a feature measuring 10x15m, seen in C4 (marked as f). The anomaly e mentioned earlier is a continuation of the north-eastern side of this feature. The trapezoid feature marked as g (in D2), approximately 5x12m in size, sides with structure b on the long side. The two parallel higher-resistivity anomalies (c. 8-10m long, marked as h, on the junction of C4 and D4) could be the longer sides of a rectangular structure. The map also reveals areas of higher resistivity. The highest values can be observed in the north-eastern and south31
Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Figure 6. Magnetic map. Area on the western side of the settlement. Dynamics -2.4/+2.8nT. Grid lines every 20m
one another, following a NW-SE line (Figure 6). These anomalies differ in amplitude values and width; the most distinct are those marked with the letters b, c, and j through n. The image of the anomaly is much more distinct in the south-eastern part of the investigated area (to the southeast of the line between E2 and C4). Linear anomalies oriented SW-NE can also be observed, those marked with a and from o through r being the most distinct. Arching linear anomalies are also observed (s in G3-E3).
eastern corners of the excavated area (in A5-B5 and in F4, F5 and G4). Within the area in the south-eastern corner there are patches of lower resistivity, forming a distinct line (marked as i). Areas of raised values can be seen also in C4-D4 (the area has a clear border on the south-west) and in D1, D2, D3 E1, E2 (distinct border on the south-east). 2) Magnetic research. The magnetic map shows a number of linear anomalies, arranged more or less parallel to
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Artur Buszek, Tomasz Herbich and Dawid Święch: Geophysical Research at Koshary
Figure 7. Detail of Figure 5
The measurements recorded a few anomalies of roughly rectangular shape in E5 (marked as t-w) and in the northeastern corner of D4 and the south-western corner of C4 (h).
magnetic mapping: nothing on the magnetic map suggested structures testifying to the presence of settlement. Areas of raised resistivity values in D1-D3 and C4-D4 could also be a reflection of changes in the underlying geological structure.
In the northern part of the investigated area, in squares B3, B4 and C4, one observes a few oval anomalies, measuring 4-5m across (marked as x-z), featuring exclusively positive values.
Stone structures may be imaged as the rectangular and trapezoid features marked as f, g and h. In the case of f and g, the interpretation is not supported by magnetic research. Anomalies t-w on the magnetic map could correspond to rectangular buildings. Corresponding to features u and w is an area of lowered values on the resistivity map (marked as i).
In all of the investigated area there are numerous oval anomalies, 2m across, revealing large amplitudes of values, both positive and negative. A concentration of such anomalies appeared in the northern part of the area.
A few of the linear anomalies can be seen on both the resistivity and magnetic maps (a, b, c). Feature a is a particularly distinct image, possibly generated by a feature of anthropogenic origin (ditch? road?). The highervalue anomaly d is of a similar nature and it does not find a corresponding image on the magnetic map. The remaining linear anomalies cannot be interpreted at the present stage of research, but it is likely that most of the parallel anomalies
3) Interpretation of results. None of the structures observed on the resistivity map finds any explanation in the lie of the land. Anomalies of the highest values, which do not form a regular shape, seen by the north-eastern and south-eastern corners of the researched area presumably reflect changes in underlying geological structure (rock outcrops). The interpretation is supported by the results of
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Figure 8. Detail of Figure 6.
oriented NW-SE are a reflection of agricultural activities: plough marks and field borders.
Anomalies of high amplitude values, measuring 2m across, correspond to small iron objects (most likely of modern origin) found right below the surface.
The wide anomaly j running at the edge of the flat area on the rise can correspond to a ditch 4-5m wide.
Area to the north of the settlement (necropolis)
Oval anomalies featuring raised values of magnetic field intensity (x-z) could reflect the presence of deep pits (analogous to the kind of pits excavated inside the settlement).
1) Electrical resistivity survey. The predominant image on the resistivity map is the higher value anomaly marked as a (Figure 7), its long shape, 10 by 6m, revealed distinctly against a lower-resistivity background. Some 10m west of it there is an anomaly of similar long shape, slightly smaller (4 by 8m), less clearly distinguished from the background (marked as b). In the south-eastern part of the investigated area there is a series of oval anomalies, 2 to 4m across, featuring values slightly above those of the environs (marked as c-g).
A few of the anomalies are explained by ground topography. Anomalies c, r, and s (composed of two parallel lines) correspond to a road (its course is shown on the altitude plan).
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Artur Buszek, Tomasz Herbich and Dawid Święch: Geophysical Research at Koshary
Concluding remarks
The entire western part of the map is covered with parallel linear anomalies oriented SWW-NEE. Analogous linear anomalies oriented NNW-SSE appear in the centre of the map, arranged on either side of a more distinct anomaly marked as l. Lining the eastern edge of the map is an area of raised resistivity values about 20m wide in the north and rising to 40m in the south.
The cognitive value of geophysical research can be evaluated properly only after archaeological excavations have been carried out to verify the results, providing a key for interpreting particular features with analogous measurement values. In the case of features spanning extensive areas (such as the long feature marked as a, in the outlying district of the town), it is sufficient to test only a short section. The two anomalies in the necropolis (a and b) should be particularly interesting to verify; the absence of any traces on ground surface indicates that it is unlikely that the features were disturbed in modern times.
2) Magnetic research. Two anomalies of raised values measuring c. 3 by 9-10m are observed on the magnetic map (marked as a and b, Figure 8) along with a series of oval anomalies from 1.50 to 3m across (marked as b-k). At the eastern edge of the map one observes linear anomalies following a NNW-SSE line (the most distinct marked as l) and N-S anomalies (marked as m). Narrow linear anomalies in parallel mode, oriented SWW-NEE, are observed in the eastern and central part of the map. In the south-eastern corner of the investigated area there are arched linear anomalies.
Bibliography Gaffney, C. and Gater, J. 2003. Revealing the buried past. Geophysics for archaeologists. Stroud. Misiewicz, K. 2003. Geophysical reconnaissance of the site Tanais (Russia) in 1993-2003. Archaeologia Polona 41, 57-79. Smekalova, T. N. 2007 — Смекалова, Т. Н. Новые данные к вопросу о расмежевании земель Боспорских Городов Китея, Тиритаки и Нимфея [Novye dannye k voprosu o razmezhivanii zemel’ bosporskikh gorodov Kiteia, Tiritaki i Nimfeia – New data on the question of land demarcation between the Bosporan cities of Tiritake, Kyteum, and Nymphaion], in А. И. Айбабин, В. Н. Зинько [A. I. Aibabin and V. N. Zin’ko] (eds), Боспорские исследования [Bosporskie issledovaniia – Bosporan Studies] 16, 311-327. Simferopol, Kerch. Smekalova, T. N. and Goroncharovsky, V. A. 2007 — Смекалова, Т. Н., Горончаровски, В. А. Магнитная разведка Семибратнего Городища в августе 2006 г. [Magnitnaia razvedka Semibratnego Gorodishcha v avguste 2006 g. – A magnetic survey of Semibratnee fortified settlement in August 2006]. In В. Н. Зинько [V. N. Zin’ko] (ed.), Материалы VIII Боспорских чтений. Боспор Киммерийский и варварский мир в период античности и средневековья: Святилища и сакралные обекты [Materials of the VIII Bosporan Readings. Bospor Kimmeriiskii i varvarskii mir v period antichnosti i srednevekov’ia: Sviatilishcha i sacralnyie ob’ekty – The Cimmerian Bosporus and the barbarian world in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Sanctuaries and Sacred Objects] 8, 286-292. Kerch. Smekalova, T. N., Voss, O. and Smekalov, S. L. 2008. Magnetic Surveying in Archaeology. More than Ten Years of Using the Overhauser GSM-19 Gradiometer. Aarhus.
High amplitude oval-shaped anomalies, both positive and negative, up to 2m across cover the entire area. A concentration of these anomalies can be observed in the south-eastern corner of the investigated area. 3) Interpretation of the results. Anomalies a and b are perhaps the most interesting, being distinctly marked on both the resistivity and magnetic maps (Figures 7 and 8). Nothing in the lie of land, a flat field, or any change of soil colour suggests an interpretation for these anomalies. It could mean that the features causing the anomalies are significantly distant in time. The dimensions are much in excess of known cist graves, while the high resistivity and distinct contours (especially in the case of anomaly a) suggest a stone structure or sand-filled pits. The magnetic mapping results support the latter suggestion, the raised magnetic values possibly corresponding to a wooden feature decomposed in the soil. These could be features connected with pre-Greek settlement in the area. Pits of a sepulchral nature could be reflected in the anomalies marked as c-k. Virtually all of them can be seen on both the resistivity and magnetic maps. Linear anomalies cutting across the area are explained by the ground relief: anomaly l, seen on both maps, corresponds to a road (and the anomalies parallel to it reflect plough marks), anomaly m images the border between cultivated fields and wasteland. Semicircular linear anomalies in the south-eastern corner of the area presumably correspond to earlier agricultural field borders. Parallel linear anomalies in the western part of the area, seen on both maps, reflect plough marks.
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Chapter 6
New Research in the Environs of the Acropolis of Myrmekion Alexander M. Butiagin
Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities State Hermitage St Petersburg, Russia [email protected] Abstract: The excavations near the acropolis of Myrmekion have led to some interesting discoveries. In the second quarter of the 6th century BC, the first settlements were built on the rock, and were protected by a small defensive wall in the third quarter of the century. In the second quarter of the 5th century BC houses near the rock were deserted, and the old defensive wall was strengthened and prolonged to the east. In the first part of the 4th century BC some rich houses appeared around the acropolis. At the end of the 4th century BC, a huge tomb or tower was built. In the 1st century BC life in the acropolis area came to an end. In the 1st century AD new settlers built their farms around the acropolis. In the middle of the 2nd century AD, all the buildings around the acropolis were deserted and a large tomb was built on the rock. At the end of the 2nd century AD a large farm was established to the east of the rock. At the turn of the 3rd to 4th centuries AD the farm was destroyed by fire, and Myrmekion ceased forever to be occupied. Keywords: Bosporos, Myrmekion, sanctuary, Tiberius Julius Eupator, fortification, Demeter
The settlement of Myrmekion is situated on the northern coast of the bay of Kerch near Cape Karantinski (Figure 1). Although there is no epigraphic confirmation of the site of the settlement, it is beyond doubt, since no other settlement in the area can pretend to the name. A map of the settlement was made by Paul Dubrux (Figure 2), the town clerk of Kerch, at the beginning of the 19th century (Tunkina 2002, 152-153, Fig. 47; see also Tunkina in this volume). Dubrux was one of the first to research the history of the Bosporos. Investigation of the settlement began in 1834, but systematic research only started 100 years later. Viktor Gaidukevich led the excavations from 1934 until 1966, and an expedition under the direction of Iurii Vinogradov worked there from 1982 until 1994. An expedition of the State Hermitage Museum has been working there since 1999 (Vinogradov et al., 2003, 804-805). Investigations were carried out in several areas, but most attention was paid to the area around the acropolis of the settlement. The excavations are far from over, but ten seasons of work it is possible to summarize the results of our study of the main part of the settlement at the tip of the Kerch cape. This was probably the ancient acropolis of the settlement in the first period after the foundation of the colony.
area is by investigating the surrounding area, where there might be the remains of buildings, dislocated layers and items that were thrown from the rock. Much has been achieved. First, however, a word about earlier investigations. On a plan made by Dubrux in the beginning of the 19th century there was a wall and a large round tower, composed of substantial stone blocks (Figure 2). The diameter of the tower is about 19m (Dubrux 1858, 15). There are also remains of a wall, bound into the rock. Other building remains are unclear. In 1834 during the construction of the harbour quarantine, a hollow crypt was found. From here was extracted the remains of a large stone sarcophagus of the second part of the 2nd century BC. It was described by the archaeologist Anton Ashik, and is now in the Hermitage collection (Saverkina 1962, 247-266). In addition, another, small, marble sarcophagus was found in the tomb. Then the area of the cape became a military zone and was impossible to research. The most of the building remains indicated on the first map were destroyed, partly demolished or filled in. The contours of the settlement were greatly altered. After the quarantine ceased to be used in the 1920s, most of the building stones were taken to the port of Kerch for other construction purposes. In the first year of the Kerch expedition’s research on the territory of Myrmekion in 1934, Gaidukevich explored an area directly on the acropolis (Gaidukevich et al., 1941, 140-148, Fig. 49). The crypt was cleared and marked as area ‘D’. After this, most attention was paid to the northern and central parts of the settlement, but the area next to the acropolis was untouched. The area around the cape was seriously damaged during the Second World War, when it was
There is no doubt that the small rock on the tip of Cape Karantinski, next to a small bay to the south-east, drew the attention of the first Greek settlers. Today the bay has been completely backfilled during the construction of the ‘Kiev’ hotel. Unfortunately the building of a 2nd century BC tomb and a small 14-15th century fortress destroyed the occupation layers on the rock, although they can still be seen here and there (Butiagin 2006, 26). The only chance to elucidate the development of the main
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Figure 1. Scheme of the Myrmekion site with section names
of the acropolis. In the 14th-15th centuries the walls of the Pondico fortress were erected on the edge of the acropolis. The base of the wall and a small dyke were found.
occupied by German anti-aircraft positions, trenches and subterranean shelters. From 1989 to 1994 the expedition under the direction of Iurii Vinogradov investigated areas near the edge of the acropolis. Most work was done in 1991-3, when an occupation layer directly on the rock of the acropolis was found. The main results are as follows. Hollows with material of the first and second quarters of the 6th century BC were found near the bottom of the acropolis, and clearly belonged to the earliest part of the settlement (Vinogradov 1999, 284-292). In the third quarter of the century there were semi-dugout buildings, including a mud hut in the rock of the acropolis. After a fire in the middle of the 6th century BC the early structures were destroyed, and the most vulnerable approaches to the rock were strengthened by a defensive wall (Figure 3), renewed in the first quarter of the 5th century BC. This, together with similar wall found in Porthmeion, constitutes the earliest structure yet found in the north of the Black Sea region. In the beginning of the 5th century BC the whole territory around the acropolis was built up with large houses. An important moment was the discovery of late archaic and early classical fragments with dedications, probably thrown down from the sanctuary on the rock (Vinogradov and Tokhtas’ev 1998, 22-47). Later, large buildings of an uncertain purpose were situated near the bottom
In 1999, excavation began again. The main problem was to study the whole perimeter of the acropolis in order to define its development through the history of the settlement. Work on area ‘S’ was continued (Vinogradov et al., 1999, 79), later extended in a southerly direction. This enabled us to study the north-western part of the lower acropolis. Area ‘T’ was started in 2000 in order to clarify the situation from the west. Nowadays these two areas have been brought together and are called ‘TS’. What follows are the results of these researches in chronological order. One of the main problems was the study of the archaic layers which we thought would be not very deep. Although many mid-6th century BC ‘Wild Goat’ (including ‘Tokra’ amphorae) and ‘Fikellura’ pottery fragments were found in the area adjacent to the rock, we succeeded in only finding poor patches of early layers to the east of the rock (less than 1m2). No more objects of the late archaic period were found. The house to the north of the rock, discovered during excavations led by Vinogradov, was studied (Butiagin 2007a, 24). Last season we managed to open an area containing an archaic layer of more than 20m2, situated near the north-eastern rock base. There the remains of the walls 38
Alexander M. Butiagin: New Research in the Environs of the Acropolis of Myrmekion
Figure 2. Plan of Myrmekion by P. Dubrux (after Tunkina 2002, Fig. 47)
of a large farmhouse were found. Two other walls led in a southerly direction. Unfortunately we did not manage to study the pits or a small oven, but earlier materials enabled us to date the building to the last quarter of the 6th century BC. There were remains of large painted vessels among the finds; an indication that the inhabitants of the house may have been wealthy. The most interesting building of the second quarter of the 5th century BC was the wall which was suddenly found to the east of the rock. We can see more than 10m of it where it bears against the rock (its western part is 2m from the rock, but there are holes of later period). In ancient times the rock here was of a very good quality, but as we learned during post-war excavations, an area of more than 50m2 part was demolished by means of explosions, with consequent changes of plan and shape. The construction of the wall can be dated to the 5th century BC with the help of the level near its base. If we restore the course of the rock, it continues the line of the early defensive wall. This area of the acropolis was probably fortified in order to enlarge the space for refuge in case of attack. In the middle or
Figure 3. Part of acropolis fortification wall, 3rd quarter of 6th century BC
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
It was an unusual complex situated at the north-west of the acropolis near the base of the rock (Figure 4). It was a rectangular building measuring 5x5m. The edge of the rock was shorn off quite severely, but the lower part of the complex was built into the bedrock for more than 1.2m. The cuts in the rock are as much as seven metres high. On three sides the rock-cut room is covered with perfectly worked slabs. On the south there is a construction of horizontal and vertical slabs. On the west is a rock, where flat slabs have been carefully laid, and on one of them there are remains of rustic masonry. On the north, where the rock is quite loose, there is a row of large blocks, atypical for Myrmekion. Such a variety of different construction techniques in one room, and such quality of workmanship are unparalleled elsewhere in the settlement. There was probably meant to be an eastern wall, for there were cuttings for a corner stone on the northern side. But it was not built, and the floor of the building was covered with a layer of small stones and chips created when the rock was originally cut. The building can be dated by one of the few finds from the floor, namely a fragment of a red-figured pelike of Kerch style, dating to the end of the last quarter of the 4th century BC (Butiagin 2006, 22-23). The whole lower part of the pit was filled with stone fragments and blocks to a depth of more than 2m. If we consider all the found slabs, it is clear that there were not enough to finish the building. Construction seems to have stopped, and the pit to have been filled with slabs and stones. The function of such an unusual building for Myrmekion is unclear. An attempt to construct a tall tower is unlikely on account of the very careful finishing of the slabs within the lower part. It is more likely that they began to build a tomb, but it was unfinished. A rock-cut tomb would be quite usual for Bosporos. Most of the kurgans of the 4th century BC Yuz-Oba group were built in this way. But graves are usually (but not always) situated in the central part of the rock, and not at the bottom, and their construction technique tends employ the rock itself for walls. These are reasons why we cannot be sure about the original function of the building. On one of the blocks found in the pit there are remains of preliminary cutting. The finishing process had begun, but was stopped abruptly. This sudden cessation of work seems very strange. We recall, however, that at that period there was feuding between the sons of Perisades I, when king Eumelos seized power. This may have brought construction to a halt.
second part of the 5th century BC, the Bosporos cities were attacked by steppe nomads and such defensive installations were of vital importance. This defensive system was created against sudden attacks, when citizens would leave their houses and take refuge on the rock (Butiagin 2006, 21-22). The Greeks’ situation had changed, incursions were more frequent, and nomads were a permanent fixture in the neighbourhood. The acropolis fortification could not protect the citizens even after it was reconstructed, which is why, in the second quarter of the 5th century BC, a new defensive wall was built about 30-40m to the north of the acropolis. It surrounded the whole area of the settlement. The size of the protected area is unknown, since we can only see a small part of the wall; but it was very solid and about 4m thick (Vinogradov and Tokhtas’ev 1994, 54-63). After the construction of this outer ring, the importance of the acropolis presumably decreased, and after the improvement of relations with nomads in the third quarter of the century, it will have been irrelevant. It would appear that after the middle of the century life on the acropolis came to an end, for there is an almost complete absence of material belonging to the second part of the 5th or the 4th century BC, apart from a small piece of pavement and two houses in area “S”, discovered in 1994 and 2000 (Chistov 1999, 161-172; Butiagin and Chistov 2005, 131-151). Both houses were quite rich, in view of the discovery of many fragments of red-figured vessels and terracotta. The most interesting were two fragments of Attic fish-plates and a tiny statue of Nike with surviving remains of paint. There were no remains of buildings elsewhere on the rock, a fact that is in all probability due to major Hellenistic building works on the acropolis, when the rock was completely cleared. Further destruction occurred in the Roman period. We can draw some conclusions about the function of the acropolis thanks to a fragmentary marble inscription of the 4th century BC bearing a dedication to Demeter Thesmophora, and found in the ruins of a Roman house. It is possible that there was once a sanctuary of that deity here (Butiagin and Bekhter 2007, 75). It is worthy of note that this was the second dedication to Demeter Thesmophora to have been found in Bosporos. There was perhaps only a single sanctuary, the period and location of which are unknown. During the 2008 season, three large slabs were found. They were carefully finished, had remains of working and were aligned north-east to south-west. The quality of the slabs was high, and they could have formed part of the stylobate of a small temple. The row was not very long, however, and on one side it abuts a Roman building, and on the other a medieval pit. It may be possible eventually to restore the plan of the building once other parts have been found, but its connection with a sanctuary is for the moment hypothetical. Any sanctuary probably survived until the mid-4th century BC, when the rich houses became dilapidated, and the surrounding area lay fallow.
After construction stopped, the hollow was filled with ash and performed a similar function until the time of Mithridates VI Eupator. This layer consisting of loose brown earth with layers of ash and mussel shells was 1.5m thick in places. A hoard of bronze coins of the second quarter of the 3rd century BC was found in the upper part, and serves as a chronological pointer. A total of 723 coins were found (Butiagin 2004, 86-87; Abramzon et al., 2008, 73-87). There was the head of a Satyr on the obverse, and a bow and arrow and the abbreviation ΠΑΝ on the reverse. The area to the north of the ash pit seemed to have been used infrequently, but a pit and a small domestic semi-
New building began again in the area at the end of the century, when they attempted to construct one of the major buildings in the history of ancient Myrmekion.
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Alexander M. Butiagin: New Research in the Environs of the Acropolis of Myrmekion
Figure 4. Strange construction in the western part of acropolis during the excavation. Unfinished tomb (?). End of 4th century BC
dugout of the 3rd century BC were found. A burial of a child in a Rhodian amphora, and a small fireplace can be referred to the later period of the existence of the ash pit. In the 3rd century BC a large cleft in the rock to the south from the ash-pit was used for depositing votives. Some fragments of terracotta protomai of Demeter or Kore were found there, and sometimes they were quite large. But it does not seem to have been a permanent place for votive offerings, for there were no terracottas in the 2nd century BC layers. The layer of ash could only have been thrown down from the acropolis of the settlement, where there was probably a small sanctuary. To the east of the rock was found a rectangular stone room 2x2m made from carefully finished stone slabs, and built directly on the rock. Three sides and one slab from the roof survived intact, but despite the damage it has suffered, the form of the structure can be restored. Its date is more problematical, but it can scarcely be Roman. Rather, it may be connected with the Hellenistic shrine (Butiagin 2006, 24-25). It was re-used for building in Roman times, and as a result the occupation layer was totally destroyed, with consequent difficulties for dating. Perhaps the buildings near the acropolis were destroyed around the mid-1st century BC with Hellenistic Myrmekion (Vinogradov et al., 2003, 817).
Vinogradov (1992, 114-115) supposed that in Roman times Myrmekion, revived in the 1st century BC, was not a single city, but a settlement consisting of several fortified farms. Probably life there was restored even during the time of king Aspurgos’ reign (8 BC-AD 37), for his name was inscribed on one of the small slabs near the acropolis (Butiagin and Bekhter 2007, 75). It is possible that it was a part of the dedication of a restored sanctuary, although this information is missing from the extant inscription. In addition, a fragment of amphora wall bearing the tamga (symbol) of that king was found in the central part of the settlement (Butiagin 2007b, 52-53). Local inhabitants maintained that a rare gold stater of Aspurgos was found in the settlement (Butiagin and Tereshchenko 2004, 60-62), and if this is indeed the case, then we might conclude that Myrmekion was restored as a settlement with quite rich citizens. The remains of buildings of the 1st-2nd centuries AD were found to the north and north-west of the acropolis, but the construction history was unclear. There was probably a long road along the northern edge of the rock, more than 30m long. The height of the setting is not clear, but not less than 2.2m. On the southern side some rectangular premises
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Figure 5. Marble sarcophagus from king’s tomb. Athens. 2nd century AD. State Hermitage collection
Figure 6. Roman house of 3rd century AD during the excavation. Rock of Myrmekion acropolis seen on background
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Alexander M. Butiagin: New Research in the Environs of the Acropolis of Myrmekion
its borderlands. Only a Bosporan king from the dynasty of the so-called ‘Sarmatian’ Tiberius Julius could have possessed such a large building in such a prominent place as Cape Karantinski. Unfortunately, there is not much evidence for dating this structure, but we may suppose that it comes from the third quarter of the 2nd century AD. What evidence there is suggests that the tomb belonged to king Tiberius Julius Eupator: the period of the sarcophagus, and a fragmentary cameo found in a mixed layer near the bottom of the rock. On the cameo can be seen part of the chest and arm of a Roman emperor, but it is impossible to say who it is. The cameo was originally more than 4cm long and of high quality, and it is unparalleled elsewhere in the Bosporan settlements. It is possible that it was discarded with other damaged material during a robbery. This find indicates the richness of the grave and suggests that the deceased was connected with Roman emperors. It is interesting that the grave was built directly over the area of the ancient settlement (it resembled in some respects the unfinished rock-cut building of the end of the 4th century BC). The grave was probably built in the period after the ravages of the 2nd century BC when the site was uninhabited, but this is a provisional suggestion subject to the results of further research.
Figure 7. Fragment of cup with harrowed Sarmatian tamga. 3rd century AD. Kerch Museum collection
Life in the area near the acropolis began again at the end of the 2nd century AD. A farm was built to the east of the grave. A rectangular house served as a base, and was later rebuilt and extended several times (Figure 6). To the south there was a deep basement with a stone staircase and an inner wall, made from re-cycled marble that came from a large grave (Butiagin 2005, 32-36). On the eastern side was a small structure that formed the entrance. To the east of the house there was a large yard with a large, well-built, well in the middle. The well was filled with large stone blocks and we were not able to complete its study. The yard also contained some pavement fragments, stone tables and a stove, probably used for domestic purposes. There were some other finds of negligible value from the other structures in the yard. Yet more structures from the farm were found during Gaidukevich’s excavations. It is worth mentioning that in one of these, situated in area ’L’, there were found some pithoi embedded in the floor and some gold coins (Gaidukevich 1958, 213-218). The coins were perhaps lost casually; if so, the inhabitants must have been quite rich, because otherwise such a loss would be important. It suggests that the farm belonged to a Bosporan close to the ruling dynasty. This impression is confirmed by the presence of an apparently royal tamga of the 2nd or 3rd centuries AD (Figure 7) scratched on one of the vessels found in the farm (Butiagin 2007b, 51-52). The farm premises were deserted by the 3rd-4th centuries AD, when all valuables were removed and the house destroyed by fire. These events could be dated by means of a coin of king Thothorses (reigned AD 285-308) found in a destruction level. All that was left were some domestic amphorae and a group of 71 loom weights probably from a large vertical weaving machine (Butiagin 2008). After the destruction of the farm, life on the acropolis and indeed
with gates to the north were added. In some premises pithoi were found embedded in the floor. Further to the north there was probably a farmyard, but it was impossible to plan it. A terrace and buildings replaced those of the Hellenistic, Classical and Late Archaic periods. The chronology of the building is not clear yet, but judging by the data we have, all the buildings of the 1st century BC fell into ruin by the earlier mid-2nd century AD. We do not know the cause of the destruction, but it could be connected with foreign wars undertaken kings of Bosporos in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Perhaps as well as the settlement, a public building on the acropolis, perhaps a temple, was also destroyed. There are the remains of columns, carefully worked blocks, and fragments of cornices, used for building in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. It is unfortunately not possible to be sure of the nature of the building in question. It is significant that sculptural fragments, some over life-size, were found among the ruins of later buildings. They could hardly have been brought here from elsewhere, since all the relevant finds were concentrated near the rock. After the destruction of the third quarter of the 2nd century AD, a large tomb with a marble sarcophagus was constructed on the acropolis (Figure 5). According to Dubrux’s plan and the researches of Viktor Gaidukevich, it looked as though there was crypt in the rock containing two sarcophagi (Gaidukevich et al., 1941, 140-148, Fig. 49; Tunkina 2002, 152-153, Fig. 47, 60-61). It was covered with an earthen mound about 19m in diameter, and surrounded by a wall of rusticated stone blocks. The top of the grave was decorated with a sculpture typical of such graves in the Roman Empire and
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
in the whole of ancient Myrmekion, came to an end for several centuries.
role connected with the Bosporan aristocracy throughout the whole period.
Cape Karantinski was only settled again in the 13th15th centuries, when on the site of the farm was now an Orthodox cemetery with more than 80 graves (Butiagin 2003, 38-41).
Bibliography Abramzon, M. G., Frolova, N. A. and Kulikov, A. V. 2008 — Абрамзон, М. Г., Фролова, Н. А., Куликов, А. В. Клад пантикапейских медных монет III в. до н. э. из Мирмекия (2002 г.) [Klad pantikapeiskikh mednykh monet III v. do n. e. iz Mirmekiia (2002 g.) – The Pantikapaion hoard of copper coins of the 3rd century BC]. Российская Археология [Rossiiskaia arkheologiia] I, 73-87. Butiagin, A. M. 2003 — Бутягин, А. М. Средневековый некрополь Мирмекия [Srednevekovyi nekropol’ Mirmekiia – The medieval necropolis at Myrmekion]. In В. Н. Зинько [V. N. Zin’ko] (ed.), Материалы IV Боспорских чтений. Боспор Киммерийский: Понт и варварский мир в период античности и средневековья [Materialy IV Bosporskikh chtenii. Bospor Kimmeriiskii: Pont i varvarskii mir v period antichnosti i srednevekov’ia – Materials of the 4th Bosporus Symposium. Cimmerian Bosporus: Pontus and the Barbarian World in Antiquity and the Middle Ages], 38-41. Kerch. Butiagin, A. M. 2004 — Бутягин, А. М. Клады античного Мирмекия [Klady antichnogo Mirmekiia – The hoards from ancient Myrmekion]. Сообщения Государственного Эрмитажа [Soobshcheniia Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha] 42, 86-91. Butiagin, A. M. 2005 — Бутягин, А. М. Последние жители античного Мирмекия (усадьба III в. н. э. на Карантинном мысу) [Poslednie zhiteli antichnogo Mirmekiia (usad’ba III v. n.e. na Karantinnom mysu) – The last inhabitants of ancient Myrmekion (The settlement of the 3rd century AD on Cape Karantinski)]. In В. Н. Зинько [V. N. Zin’ko] (ed.), Материалы VI Боспорских чтений. Боспор Киммерийский и варварский мир в период античности и средневековья. Периоды дэстабилизаций и катастроф [Materialy VI Bosporskikh chtenii. Bospor Kimmeriiskiu i varvarskii mir v period antichnosti i srednevekov’ia. Periody destabilizatsii i katastrof – Materials of the 6th Bosporus Symposium. Cimmerian Bosporus and the Barbarian World in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Time of destruction and Catastrophe], 32-36. Kerch. Butiagin, A. M. 2006 — Бутягин, А. М. Акрополь Мирмекия в светле археологических исследований [Akropol’ Mirmekiia v svetle arkheologicheskikh issledovanii – The acropolis of Myrmekion in the light of archaeological finds], in В. Н. Зинько, А. И. Айбабин, Е. В. Власова [V. N. Zin’ko, A. I. Aibabin and E. V. Vlasova] (eds), Боспорские исследования [Bosporskie issledovaniia – Bosporan Studies] 13, 1630. Simferopol, Kerch. Butiagin, A. M. 2007a. Archaic Myrmekion. In S. L. Solovyov (ed.), Greeks and Natives in the Cimmerian Bosporus 7th-1st Centuries BC.
The development of the acropolis structures today looks like this: 1. In the 2nd quarter of the 6th century BC the first settlements were established on the rock, and there were some private houses there. 2. In the third quarter of the 6th century BC, part of the rock was fenced in with a small defensive wall. A small sanctuary probably started functioning at this time. 3. In the beginning of the 5th century BC some large farms were built near the bottom of the rock. 4. In the second quarter of the 5th century BC all these houses were deserted and ruined. The old defensive wall was strengthened and prolonged to the east. 5. In the first part of the 4th century BC some wealthy houses appeared around the acropolis. The sanctuary on the acropolis was functioning. 6. Near the middle of the 4th century BC these houses were ruined. 7. At the end of the 4th century BC, a large tomb or a tower was built but never finished. Had it been completed, it would have been one of the more substantial buildings in Myrmekion. 8. In the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, the pit (for the tomb or tower) was filled with ash, and the area to the north of it was used for domestic purposes. The sanctuary on the acropolis was probably still functioning. 9. In the 1st century BC the life in the area of acropolis ceased. 10. In the 1st century AD new settlers built their farms around the acropolis and perhaps a temple on it. 11. In the middle of the 2nd century AD all the buildings around the acropolis were deserted and a large tomb, probably of Tiberius Julius Eupator, was built on the rock. At the end of the 2nd century AD a large farm was built to the east of the rock. It probably belonged to a family close to the Bosporan kings. Another building was constructed to the north-west of the rock. 12. At the turn of the 3rd and 4th centuries AD the farm was destroyed by fire and settlers left the territory of Myrmekion forever. A small rocky outcrop on the cape arguably served as the site of different cult buildings throughout the whole of antiquity until the large tomb appeared. The buildings around the acropolis display a richness - perhaps to be associated with the royal dynasty - unusual for a small Bosporan settlement in the Roman period. We might regard the settlement at Myrmekion as having a special
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Alexander M. Butiagin: New Research in the Environs of the Acropolis of Myrmekion
na Evropeiskom beregu Bosfora Kimmeriiskogo ot vkhoda v proliv bliz Enikal’skogo maiaka do gory Opuk vkliuchitelno na Chernom more – A description of ruins and traces of ancient cities and fortifications, which once existed on the European shore of the Cimmerian Bosporos from the entrance of the strait near Enikale lighthouse as far as Mount Opuk on the Black Sea]. Записки Императорскoго одесского общества истории и древностей [Zapiski Imperatorskogo odesskogo obshchestva istorii i drevnostei] 4/I, 3-84. Gaidukevich, V. F. 1958 — Гайдукевич, В. Ф. Раскопки Тиритаки и Мирмекия в 1946-1952 гг. [Raskopki Tiritaki i Mirmekiia v 1946-1952 gg. – Excavations at Tiritaka and Myrmekion in 1935-1940]. Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR] 85, 149-219. Gaidukevich, V. F., Levi, E. I. and Prushevskaia, E. O. 1941 — Гайдукевич, В. Ф., Леви, Э. И., Прушевская, Э. О. Раскопки северной и западной части Мирмекия в 1934 г. [Raskopki severnoi i zapadnoi chasti Mirmekiia v 1934 g. – Excavations in the north and west part of Myrmekion in 1934]. Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR] 4, 110-148. Saverkina, I. I. 1962 — Саверкина, И. И. Мраморный саркофаг из Мирмекия [Mramornyi sarkofag iz Mirmekiia – A marble sarcophagus from Myrmekion]. Труды Государственного Эрмитажа [Trudy Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha] 7, 247-266. Tunkina, I. V. 2002 — Тункина, И. В. Русская наука о классических древностях юга России (XVIII-середина XIX вв.) [Russkaia nauka o klassicheskikh drevnostiakh iuga Rossii (XVIII-seredina XIX vv.) – Russian Science on the Classical Antiquities of Southern Russia (18th–mid-19th centuries)]. St Petersburg. Vinogradov, Iu. A. 1992 — Виноградов, Ю. A. Мирмекии [Mirmekii – Myrmekion]. In В. Г. Кошеленко [V. G. Koshelenko] (ed.), Очерки археологии и истории Боспора [Ocherki arkheologii i istorii Bospora – Archaeological Essays and Bosporus History], 99-120. Moscow. Vinogradov, Iu. A. 1999. Selected findings from the Myrmekion acropolis. Études et Travaux 18, 279293. Vinogradov, Iu. A., Butiagin, A. M. and Chistov, D. E. 1999 — Виноградов, Ю. A., Бутягин, А. М., Чистов, Д. Е. Раскопки городища Мирмекия в сезоне 1999 года [Raskopki gorodishcha Mirmekiia v sezone 1999 goda – Archaeological excavation in Myrmekion in the 1999 season], in Д. Н. Козак, Н. А. Гаврилюк [D. N. Kozak and N. A. Gavriliuk] (eds), Археологiчнi вiдкриття в Українi [Arkheologichni vidkrittia v Ukraїni – Archaeological Discoveries in Ukraine], 79. Kiev. Vinogradov, Y. A., Butyagin, A. M. and Vakhtina, M. Y. 2003. Myrmekion-Porthmeus, in D. V. Grammenos and E. K. Petropoulos (eds), Ancient Greek Colonies in the Black Sea 1/II, 803-840. (Publications of the Archaeological Institute of Northern Greece 4). Thessaloniki.
Proceedings of the International Conference October 2000, Taman, Russia. (British Archaeological Reports, International Series 1729), 22-25. Oxford. Butiagin, A. M. 2007b — Бутягин, А. М. Два изображения сарматских тамг из раскопок Мирмекия [Dva izobrazheniia sarmatskikh tamg iz raskopok Mirmekiia – Two images of Sarmatian tamgas from excavations at Myrmekion]. Сообщения Государственного Эрмитажа [Soobshcheniia Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha] 45, 51-53. Butiagin, A. M. 2008 — Бутягин, А. М. Комплекс керамических грузиль из усадбы на акрополе Мирмекия [Kompleks keramicheskikh gruzil’ iz usad’by na akropole Mirmekiia – The complex of clay loom weights from a farm in Myrmekion Akropolis]. Труды Государственного Эрмитажа [Trudy Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha] 41, 108-123. Butiagin, A. M. and Bekhter, A. P. 2007 — Бутягин, А. М. and Бехтер, А. П. Новые надписи из Мирмекия [Novye nadpisi iz Mirmekiya – New inscriptions from Myrmekion). In И. В. Тункина [I. V. Tunkina] (ed.), EUWAQISTGQIOM. Антиковедческо-историографический сборник памяти Ярослава Витальевича Доманского (1928-2004) [EUWAQISTGQIOM. Antikovedcheskoistoriograficheskii sbornik pamiati Iaroslava Vital’evicha Domanskogo(1928-2004) – EUWAQISTGQIOM. An Antiquarian and Historiographical Miscellany in Memory of Iaroslav Vital’evich Domanski (1928-2004)], 72-81. St Petersburg. Butiagin, A. M. and Chistov, D. E. 2005 — Бутягин, А. М., Чистов, Д. Е. Новый комплекс IV в до н. э. из Мирмекия [Novyi kompleks IV v. do n. e. iz Mirmekiia – A new complex of the 4th century BC in Myrmekion]. In Д. В. Журавлёв [D. V. Zhuravlev] (ed.), Боспорские исследования [Bosporskie issledovaniia – Bosporan Studies] 8, 131-151. Simferopol, Kerch. Butiagin, A. M. and Tereshchenko, A. E. 2004 — Бутягин, А. М., Терещенко, А. Е. Золотой статер из Мирмекия [Zolotoi stater iz Mirmekiia – A gold stater from Myrmekion]. Сообщения Государственного Эрмитажа [Soobshcheniia Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha] 61, 60-62. Chistov, D. E. 1999 — Чистов, Д. Е. Строительный комплекс второй четверти IV в. до Р. Х. из раскопок Мирмекия [Stroitelnyi kompleks vtoroi chetverti IV v. do r. Kh. iz raskopok Mirmekiia – A building complex of the second quarter of the 4th century BC from the excavations at Myrmekion]. In Н. Ф. Федосеев [N. F. Fedoseev] (ed.), Археология и история Боспорa [Arkheologiia i istoriia Bospora – Bosporus Archaeology and History] 3, 161-172. Kerch. Dubrux, P. 1858 — Дюбрюкс, П. Описание развалин и следов древних городов и укреплений, некогда существовавших на европейском берегу Босфора Киммерийского от входа в пролив близ Еникальского маяка до горы Опук включительно на Черном море [Opisanie razvalin i sledov drevnikh gorodov i ukreplenii, nekogda sushchestvovavshikh
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Vinogradov, Iu. A. and Tokhtas’ev, S. R. 1994 — Виноградов, Ю. A., Тохтасьев, С. Р. Ранняя оборонительная стена Мирмекия [Ranniaia oboronitelnaia stena Mirmekiia – An early defensive wall at Myrmekion]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevnei istorii] I, 54-63.
Vinogradov, Iu. A. and Tokhtas’ev, S. R. 1998 — Виноградов, Ю. А., Тохтасьев, С. Р. Новые посвятительные граффити из Мирмекия [Novye posviatitel’nye graffiti iz Mirmekiia – New dedicatory graffiti from Myrmekion]. Hyperboreus 4/I, 22-47.
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Chapter 7 Belozerskoe as a Settlement in a Greek-barbarian ‘Contact Zone’: 2003-7
Valeria P. Bylkova
Kherson State University Institute of History, Sociology and Psychology Kherson, Ukraine [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: Belozerskoe settlement is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the River Dnieper, near the modern village of Dnieprovske in the Kherson region of Ukraine. The work of the Expedition of Kherson State University (supported by private donations) has continued since 1998. Before then, excavations were conducted by the Kherson Regional Museum. In both cases, the present writer was the Director. In 2003-7 work was concentrated in the north-eastern coastal zone and an area of 1400m2 was examined. We discovered more than 50 pits and semi-dugout structures as well as remains of partly preserved surface structures (including masonry, floors, pavements, mud-brick walls and broken roof tiles, hearths, and an altar). 45,000 artifacts were found. Judging by the chronology of two construction phases, Belozerskoe settlement was founded in the first quarter of 4th century BC and continued in existence until the very end of the first quarter of the 3rd century BC. In spite of its outlying position in the Dnieper estuary, the character of the material culture of its inhabitants corresponds to ancient Greek standards. Keywords: Settlement, chronology, distant chora, construction phase, structures
Belozerskoe settlement is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the River Dnieper, near the modern village of Dnieprovske in the Kherson region of Ukraine. There is no known contemporary settlement to the east, and it is likely that the river served as the border of the distant Olbian chora. Its position would appear to justify the proposal that its inhabitants were a frontier community mediating between sedentary and nomad zones. The settlement could have been a centre of trade or/and production, or could fulfil other ‘border’ functions, and evidence for activity ought to appear in the archaeological record.
Before then, excavations were conducted by the Kherson Regional Museum. In both cases, the present writer was the Director. History and principal results of the archaeological investigation of this settlement have been systematically published (Bylkova 1993; Bylkova and Vasilenko 1993; Bylkova 1994a; Bylkova 1994b; Bylkova 1996; Bylkova 1998; Bylkova 1999; Bylkova 2000; Bylkova and Howorth 2001; Bylkova 2002; Bylkova 2003; Bylkova 2005b; Bylkova 2006). Early work on the settlement showed that the site was still informative despite war-time entrenchments, ploughing, extraction of clay, drainage and irrigation trenches and coastal destruction.
This region was investigated by both surveys and excavation. A Bronze Age settlement is known not far from Belozerskoe and Bronze Age kurgans have been excavated nearby. A partly preserved fortified site of the Roman period is situated to the south-east of the Belozerskoe settlement, on a promontory. Many Sarmatian and some medieval burials were cut into the cultural strata in this area. Regarding the period of Greek colonization, we have the few archaeological evidence, since there were no settlements here in the Archaic period (Kryzhitskii et al., 1990). In the Late Classical and Early Hellenistic periods the so-called ‘large Olbian chora’ had been formed and developed (Kryzhitskii et al., 1989). At this time settlements appeared in the Lower Dnieper region, Belozerskoe among them.
The precise area of the Belozerskoe settlement is uncertain. Judging by an outcrop of an undisturbed cultural stratum 250m along the coast, it may have been as much as c. 2ha. It is possible that the area to the west was also used, but it was not possible to carry out investigations there. The principal excavation area No. IV, measuring 3275m2, was uncovered in 1991-3, 1997-9, 2001-7 (Figure 1). In 2003-7 excavation was concentrated in the north-eastern coastal zone, and area of 1400m2 was examined. In 2003-7 we discovered more than 50 pits and semi-dugout structures, and remains of partly preserved surface structures, including masonry, floors, pavements, mud-brick walls with broken roof tiles, hearths, and an altar. 45,000 artefacts were been found. The arrangement of building complexes in the settlement looks regular from the very beginning. Two construction phases were detected throughout the excavated area. Three main layers can be differentiated stratigraphically. The upper
The work of the Expedition of Kherson State University (supported by private donations) has continued since 1998. 47
Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Figure 1. The Belozerskoe settlement, Area IV
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Valeria P. Bylkova: Belozerskoe as a Settlement in a Greek-barbarian ‘Contact Zone’
level is totally ruined and it contains only chance finds. An underlying ash layer associated with the last phase of the settlement is partly destroyed; the clay layer below, formed by the first buildings is more or less preserved. Natural layer or subsoil lies about a metre below the modern surface.
production. The same is true for a large bowl with a wide rim, painted very dark grey and slipped. Pottery with a wide range of shapes and functions, including drinking, eating, serving and storage, was represented in this sector, and belong mostly to the second half of 4th century BC. By comparison with other sectors, there are many wheel-made cooking pots. It is unusual that all net weights were made of amphora fragment (they are usually also made of stone) and there were no loom weights. Graffiti and terracottas are different in each sector. A one-handled bowl has a strange, perhaps cultic, drawing on the underside. Three terracottas might have been connected with the cult practice: two zoomorphic ones and in particular remarkable a fragment of male figure (Bylkova 2007b, Figs 66:11; 64: 4, 6, 7). The latter belongs to the so called ‘sacred wedding’ subject. Full analogy consists a well-known terracotta from Bol’shaia Bliznitsa complex, connected with Eleusinian fests for Demeter (Peredol’skaia 1962, 68-70, Figs 25-26). The male figure is identified as a principal priest-hierophantes. Even bronze items differ from sector to sector: early two-bladed arrowhead with barbs are distinctive, and five triangular arrowheads were found together. Personal modest adornments included a ring with an oval bezel and a simple round earring.
Early construction phase The excavated area was used intensively from the very beginning of the settlement. In 2003-7 we could distinguish four plots between 400 and 450m2 in area. They were separated from one another by an empty zone between 5 and 12m wide. In every plot was a large rectangular structure, with rounded corners, and stone and mud-brick walls 6-8m long cut into the bedrock (Nos 76, 81, 134, 142). These were probably the single roomed houses of the colonists (Kryzhitskii 1982, 15). They were accompanied by semi-dugouts of regular shape, one or two large storage pits, and several small pits. There is a general similarity between the plots, and they only differ in details. Individual features could be seen also in the finds. The south-west sector of Area IV contains Structure No. 76, cut into the subsoil to a depth of 0.4-0.48m. It is aligned north-west to south-east and measures 9x6m, with an area of 54m2. This building was apparently covered by a tiled roof, since some 200 fragments of Sinopean roof tiles of the same type were found, including kalypteroi. They bear stamps belonging to the chronological sub-groups Ia-Ic of the middle of 4th century BC (Conovici 1998, 22-24). The large, bell-shaped, round-bottomed Pit No. 76A is situated in the north-east corner of this structure. It was 2.4m deep, with a lower diameter of 4.8m, being 14.8m3 in volume. A further five pits are smaller. The large semidugout Structure No. 63 was found to the north-west in 2002. It is a single two-roomed rectangular house, c. 17m2 in area. The foundation walls are 1.5m deep, and are surmounted by carefully laid rectangular mud-bricks (Bylkova 2007a, Fig. 32:3b) of Olbian standard dimensions (0.46x0.2x0.08m: Kryzhitskii 1982, 124-125). The main walls were also made of similar mud-bricks. Such semidugouts were not roofed with tiles.
The eastern sector of Area IV contains Structure No. 81, cut into the subsoil to a depth of 0.5m, and measuring 7.95m x 7.4m, and c. 60m2 in area. Similar to Structure No. 76, No. 81 is oriented south-east to north-west. There were fewer roof tiles here, but tiles had clearly been used. There was only one small pit adjoining this structure near the southwest wall. 2.25-2.55m from the north-east wall there were found nine holes for a wooden fence. They were situated on a line 9.2m long, belonging to a fence that separated Structure No. 81 from the area of the house, that contained 11 pits of different shapes and sizes, and Semi-dugout No. 119. The pits here are not as accurately made as in other sectors. Small ones were used for trash and as a hearth. Pit No. 105 with a lower diameter of 1.9m and depth of 0.80m (volume 1.57m3) was in use as an amphora store, and contained nine Heraclean vessels. Two pits are pear-shaped with rather large dimensions and were real storage pits. Both Pit No. 92 (3.63m3) and Pit No. 97 (5.23m3) have a regular round bottom with a diameter of 2.3m and they are 2m deep. Pit No. 97 adjoins Semi-dugout No. 119. This rectangular structure was oriented south-west to north-east, measured 3.3x2.8m, and was 0.54 deep. The entrance lay in the south-west corner, and a clay hearth in the north-west corner. An iron sickle was found in situ near the hearth.
A distinctive feature of the finds in this sector is the presence of a substantial number of Thasian amphoras as well as a few of Sinopean origin, but lacking any stamps. The Thasian stamps include the names of Aristokles and Kallikrates, and have a ‘goat’ emblem, datable to 345-335 BC. There was also one anepigraphic stamp. The latest material was found in Pit No. 76A, in a closed assemblage. There was a fragment of a ‘West Slope’ kantharos with a garland of a 4th century BC type (Rotroff 1997, 85). A similar garland with single berries, but with traces of gilding occurs on a subsequent type of kantharos with a widely flaring upper body and dated c. 300 BC (Rotroff 1997, 249, No. 70). This was a unique find. Another unusual find was a louterion from Structure No. 63A, that is not Sinopean as might be expected, but is of Mediterranean
The ceramic repertoire was standard and included a large quantity of black gloss drinking vessels, apart from Pit No. 105, where only Heraclean amphoras and closed vessels were found (Bylkova 2005b). There are peculiarities nevertheless, in the presence of fragments of Corinthian amphoras and a distinctive type of handmade pots. There is graffito evidence for a personal name, probably of a local inhabitant, in both complete and abbreviated form. The full name occurs as EQLOVAMTOU (Hermophantos, in
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the genitive case) written on a black gloss skyphos. The owner clearly had a popular theophoric name. It is interesting that such name was not peculiar to the northern Black Sea coast (LGPN 4), but is widespread in the Eastern Mediterranean, and especially in Chios (LGPN 1, 166 ; LGPN 5A, 170). It occurs three times at Athens (LGPN 2, 159), once in Aetolia (LGPN 3A, 154), and in Thrace in the 4th century BC (LGPN 4, 127).
Even black-gloss ware is represented in rare forms of lekythoi, a guttus-type askos, a small plate and two-handled vessels of Ionian manufacture, the usual kantharoi, kylikes, and skyphoi being absent. A light greenish clay jug painted in so called Hadra style is also worthy of note (Bylkova 2007b, Figs 46:3-8; 49:1-4; 52:1-6; 53: 2, 6). Individual in shape and fabric, it is painted with a garland decoration, of a kind met with on vessels of the second part of the 4th century BC (Lungu 2007).
The south-east sector of Area IV contains Structure No. 134, c. 54-60m2 in area, cut into the subsoil to a depth of 0.4m. The outline could be made out thanks to a thick layer of mud-brick and bricks that preserved their shape. Walls were made of stone and mud-brick, the roof was tiled. The large deep Pit No. 112 is situated in north-west corner of this structure. It was carefully made, is pear-shaped, with a regular round flat bottom. It is 3.4m deep, with a lower diameter of 3.3m and a volume of 17.8m3. Another large Pit No. 108 is also situated inside. Another six pits are smaller, and are either cylindrical or pear-shaped with a volume of c. 1.5m3. Two semi-dugouts No. 121 and No. 132 of rectangular form with an area of 5m2 are situated nearby. Both are oriented south-west to north-east. Mud-brick walls remained along the perimeter of the foundation trench of Structure No. 121, and the width of the wall is 0.34-0.4m, being two mud-bricks thick. The preserved height of the wall is 0.53m. A distinctive feature of finds in this sector is the comparatively large amount of Sinopean amphoras as well as the presence of Lesbian amphoras. Graffiti and terracotta are also noteworthy. There are graffiti on an circular bone token, a plaque 3cm in diameter with a central hole (Figure 2:3). Parallels are known from Nikonion as well as among artefacts connected with cults (Sekerskaia 1983, 123). There was a terracotta statuette of a male, a unique find for the settlement (Bylkova 2007b, Fig. 64:5). The name CUWOTOOU is inscribed on the underside of a grey bowl, probably the owner. The name is unknown in Greek onomastics, and is unparalleled in the northern Black Sea area (information kindly provided by S. Saprykin and S. Tokhtas’ev). This graffito merits special analysis. Reading OIWOTOOU is less likely but can’t be excluded.
The southern sector of Area IV contained the partially preserved Structure No. 142 cut into the subsoil to 0.4-0.5m, and c. 22m2 in area. In the eastern part was a storage pit, separated by a mud-brick wall, similar to Pit No. 97 and Semi-dugout No. 119 in the eastern sector. This building probably had stone and mud-brick walls and a pitched roof. The mud-brick Structure No. 136 was situated 2m to the north. Irregular in shape, but approximately rectangular with rounded corners, it is oriented west-east. It is 0.25m deep and c.14.5m2 in area. In the eastern part of this structure, the medium sized Pit No. 137 was excavated. Another pit was situated between Structures No. 142 and No. 136. Pit No. 138 was oval oriented north-east to south-west. It was carefully constructed, and its walls curve smoothly to the regular oval bottom. It was 0.75-0.83m deep, and the diameter of the mouth was 2.9m and 2.4m, and that of the base 2.3m and 1.85m. Distinctive finds in this sector include late Thasian II-C-3 amphoras dated to the last quarter of the 4th to the beginning of the 3rd century BC (Monakhov 2003, 73, Fig. 49: 4-6), late Heraclean amphoras, including some stamped PEDIEYS, and two small amphoras of rare types with a high rim. A heavy wall cup-kotyle was of a type met with in the settlement only once (Figure 2:1). A parallel in shape and ornamentation comes from Old Smyrna, a late type of the second quarter of 4th century BC (Cook 1965, 144-145, Fig. 1:3, Pl. 45: a-5, c-4, d-2). There was also the fragment of the upper part of a bronze vessel with a diameter of 14cm and very a thin wall (Figure 2:2). There were also unusual stone objects used for masonry, whetstones and fishing net weights.
Semi-dugout No. 80 was situated to the north. It has received particular attention since it has a distinctive construction and contains a remarkable assemblage of finds. It was rectangular with precisely cut corners, like others, but had a projecting circular entrance, made of wood, with a clay and wooden roof, 1.15m in depth and 4.5m2 in area (Bylkova 2007a, Fig. 32:3d). It contained an assemblage of ten amphoras all bearing identical graffiti and dipinti, and all imported from a single centre whose products rather rarely reached the north coast region of the Black Sea. The fabric and the morphology supports the hypothesis that the northern Aegean was the area of production. A louterion of Corinthian manufacture was found although Sinopean louteria predominate in the Belozerskoe settlement. A pithos was found in the complex, a unique find in the settlement.
Thus four building complexes have been identified as belonging to the early (principal) construction phase. They are stratigraphically contemporary and correspond to the level containing a layer of yellow clay. These structures seem finally to have been simultaneously filled with rubbish. Chronology The absolute chronology of the Belozerskoe settlements has been made on the basis of considerable advances in the dating of Greek pottery and stamps (Bylkova 2005a, 220-225). Amphoras of the 4th century BC are better known now than hitherto. Chian amphoras long held a prominent position among the imported pottery (c. 30%), the earliest
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Valeria P. Bylkova: Belozerskoe as a Settlement in a Greek-barbarian ‘Contact Zone’
Figure 2. Finds from the Belozerskoe settlement: 1 and 2 – The black-gloss cup-kotyle and the fragment of a bronze vessel from Structure No. 142/2006-2007; 3 – The bone token from Pit No. 107/2004; 4 – The bronze ‘Ass’ with Demeter head, 2004; 5 – The lead object, 2007; 6 – A large hand-made pot from Dwelling No. 144/2007
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of them dating to the first quarter of the 4th century BC. There is a type with cylindrical neck and conical body with a ‘hood-toe’ at the tip. It is important that the predominant form of toe is heavy, medium height, and distinct from the body; these are dated to middle to the third quarter of the 4th century BC. Another toe shape is elongated and belongs to the second half of the 4th century (Lawall 2002, 202-204; Lawall 2005). Heraclean amphoras also form a large percentage (c. 20%) of the amphora assemblage. Types with conical and biconical bodies and tall cylindrical toes predominate. The earliest type is the stampless type I-4 of the first quarter of the 4th century BC (Monakhov 2003, 128-131, Figs 89, 90:1). The earliest stamp AQWE[S]/ TQAT[O]/LOKO[SSO] of sub-group IIB is dated to between the 380s and the middle of the 370s BC. Two stamps of magistrates Styphon of the same sub-group were also found (Kac 2003, 268-269, 275). The latest types of amphoras are biconical type III-2 and conical type II-3, II-A with manufacturers’ names that suggest the late 4th century BC (Bylkova 2005b).
an so-called ‘Ass’ with a head of Demeter of the third quarter of the 4th century BC (Figure 2:4). There were also two occasional finds of coins from Pantikapaion, also dated to the limits of 4th century BC (a period of Leukon I). Judging by this material, the Belozerskoe settlement was founded in the first quarter of the 4th century BC. The most active period was the third quarter of the century. There was a total rebuilding in the last quarter of the 4th century BC, in the closing decades. Late construction phase Data are insufficient because of damage to the upper layer, but stone and mudbrick structures, laid out in a regular pattern were discovered overlying the rest. It was difficult to see whether the plots were kept separate. There was stone masonry in situ in all the sectors. There are corners and crossing walls, evidence of a multi-roomed building, and doorposts. Stones are laid in one or two rows, with one good side. The width of masonry varies between 0.25m and 0.52m. Slabs of lime-stone are shaped more or less regularly, but uncut stones were also employed. Their usual height is 8-12cm, the largest slabs being 16-18cm. The dimensions of large stones might be: 0.72x0.4x0.18m; 0.6x0.5x0.1m; 0.54x0.35x0.08m; 0.44x0.32x0.12m, etc.; of medium stones: 0.32x0.3x0.05m; 0.26x0.18x0.08, etc.; and of small stones: 0.2x0.12x0.09m. Ruins of mud-brick walls, 0.25-0.42m thick, were located in the southern, southwestern and eastern parts of the excavation. A variety of forms of roof tiles was also found, some with new stamps, and not simply imported from Sinope. Several roof tiles were found complete. Surface buildings are incompletely preserved, but floor plans were recovered, and ruined hearths and altars, storage amphoras and pots were found in situ. Several pits were related probably to these buildings.
Sinopean amphoras are present in conical and pythoid types with the latest belonging to group II C of the end of the 4th to the early 3rd century BC (Monakhov 2003, 150). Sinopean stamps of groups I and II – 355/350-296 BC – are found with the latest magistrate Pataikos from IIc sub-group (Conovici 1998, 24-33). All roof tiles in the early construction phase were of Sinopean production and contain stamps exclusively of sub-groups Ic and Id. Among Thasian amphoras biconical types dominate with stamps of group G2 (345-335 BC: Garlan 1999). The latest is a II-C-3 type amphora of the last quarter of the 4th to the beginning of the 3rd century BC (Monakhov 2003, 73, Fig. 49:4-6) with an illegible stamp. There are also fragments of early Koan and early Knidian amphoras, products of Peparethos, cities of Chalkidike, Corinth, Lesbos, and several unidentified centres.
The south-west sector contained the remains of a dwelling with a hearth, near which a set of kitchen ware was found. A masonry base was laid on a layer of ash oriented northeast to south-west, and corresponds with mud-brick ruins. Another wall stood at right angles. Roof-tiles were found. 2.73m to the south of this hearth were two large storage amphoras found in situ, one of them pythoid of a rare type. Sets of spindle whorls, loom weights and completely preserved ceramic lamps were regularly met with in these dwellings. To the east and north-east of this sector was an empty space, and perhaps was separated during the last building phase. Semi-dugout No. 114 may have been included in this complex. It consisted of two parts, one oval and one round. The main structure measured 2.6x1.9m, and the smaller part was 1.3m in diameter and 0.6m deep. All the finds come from a small part of Semi-dugout No. 114. They include the upper part of a Chian amphora with low handles, datable to the turn of the 4th-3rd centuries BC and first decades of the 3rd century BC, and the lower part of a Knidian amphora of Koroni type. A large handmade undecorated pot is distinctive on account of its form and very high round upper part. An interesting find was
Black-gloss ware includes types of the same dates. Redfigured vessels belong to the Late Classic style. Kantharoi, cup-kylikes, cup-kotylai, skyphoi, bowls, askoi, lekythoi date to the 4th century BC, mainly the third quarter. The same is true of stamped decoration. The latest black-gloss wares are a thin-walled skyphos and a bowl of c. 325 BC (cf. Rotroff 1997, Nos 1392-1393, No. 979) and as mentioned above, a fragment of a decorated classical ‘West Slope’ ware kantharos. Lekythoi with globular bodies of final type are also dated to the last quarter of the 4th century BC (cf. Rotroff 1997, 169, 349, No. 1110) and a large net lekythos of exaggerated proportions is of the same date (Bylkova 2005b, 264-265). Numismatic material was also noteworthy. 14 coins were found in 2003-7, most of them Olbian. Issue 1 with a head of Demeter is dated to 380-360 BC by V. A. Anokhin (1989, 105), and 380-350 BC by P. O. Karyshkovskii (1988, 55). A larger bronze coin with a head of Demeter to left belongs to a chronological group of 330-300 BC (Anokhin 1989, 106, No. 84). A notable find (the second from settlement) is
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Valeria P. Bylkova: Belozerskoe as a Settlement in a Greek-barbarian ‘Contact Zone’
a piece of iron slag with signs of melting in a clay flatbottomed container (thanks to I. Shramko and V. Koloda for advice here). Pit No. 118 was in use during the last, or perhaps both phases. It was oval oriented north to south. It was carefully constructed, and its walls curve smoothly to the regular oval bottom. It was 1.12m deep, and the diameter of the mouth was 2.74m and 2.1m, and that of the base 2.26m and 1.73m.
and continue to the south-west beyond the excavated area. A door about 1m wide with a stone threshold was situated in the north-east part. An amphora toe was embedded in the floor near the eastern wall. A large hand-made pot (Figure 2:6) was found in situ in the ‘kitchen’ near an oval structure made of hard-packed clay. To the east was a pavement measuring 2.5x2.8m (but continuing beyond the excavated area). This was the yard or floor of a house. It appears to have been destroyed by fire, as was the case with all the structures of the late construction phase.
All the finds were found in the upper part of the fill. They included a Chersonesian amphora stamp JOTUTIYM/ AQISTYMO from sub-group 2A, of 285-272 BC (Katz 1994, 77, 101, No. 67) found among stone slabs and mudbricks. There was no pottery found beneath these stones but human bones and one male and two female crania were discovered. Since the mandibles were present and an earring lay nearby, these individuals were placed in the pit soon after death or not much later. We may perhaps see these people as the last inhabitants of the settlement who were not buried in a proper fashion. Anthropologically speaking (and employing the criteria of T. Nazarova) this population demonstrates a classic Mediterranean type, and we are dealing with a male aged 50-60, and two females of up to 30 and 16-18.
Chronology The latest amphora stamps have already been mentioned: of the Chersonesian JOTUTIYM/AQISTYMO of 285272 BC and a contemporary Sinopean example from chronological group III. Unstamped amphoras (from Chios, Kos, Corinth) are of similar date and the few earlier. The latest types of coins are issues of Olbian ‘Demeter’ dated to 330-300 BC and the corresponding early ‘Borysthenoi’. Judging by the chronology of the two construction phases, the Belozerskoe settlement was founded in the first quarter of the 4th century BC and remained in existence until the very end of the first quarter of the 3rd century BC.
The eastern sector contained the remains of a stone and mudbrick building No. 116 above Structure No. 81 of the first phase. A wall of one room was preserved oriented south-west to north-east with a small deviation. Stretches of wall 4.92m and 2.98m were preserved, as well as part of the pavement of the yard 5.5m2 in area. The latter consisted of lime-stone slabs 0.12-0.16m thick on clay, with potsherds and fragments of bones among the stones. There was a ruined stone and mud-brick structure to the north, over an area of first phase storage pits. There are areas of hard-packed earth measuring 18m2, 5m2, 11.5m2, 15 m2 in area. Fragments both flat and curved Sinopean roof-tiles are found here, one complete bearing a stamp of sub-group IIC. Between the stones in a layer of mud-brick was a single Sinopean amphora stamp of group III with the name of Theodoridos, dated to the early 280s BC (Conovici 1998, 63 No. 49).
Conclusion The Belozerskoe settlement lasted from the first quarter of the 4th century BC to the end of the first quarter of the 3rd century BC. Despite its outlying position in the estuary of the Dnieper, the character of the material culture of its inhabitants corresponds to ancient Greek standards. We can make out several plots with a combined dwelling and farming structures, and can define them as hypothetical ‘oikoi’. The number and size of household pits varies in every plot, according to family need rather than specialized trades. H. Lohmann (1992, 42, 48) has estimated that a family of four required 500kg of grain for their own annual consumption, and R. Osborne (1987, 45-46) has suggested that 4-5 persons might need 900kg of grain. Only two really large grain pits are encountered – No. 76A (14.8m3 ) in the south-west sector and No. 112 (17.8m3) in the south-east sector. Hypothetically, we may link such large volumes with needs of inner Olbian market, but it can’t be the only possible function of this population. The volume of wine in amphoras kept at any given time was close to 50l, apparently for family consumption. There was no sign of specialized areas for particular trades. Judging by the archaeological data, the settlers at Belozerskoe were principally involved in agriculture, fishing and handicrafts without any specialization or trade or manufacture. Local production was the same as everywhere in the agricultural zone and was on a domestic basis: weaving, wood and bone carving, stone cutting. Individual finds point to some lead melting or iron work, but there were no special manufacturing complexes. The ease of lead casting implies domestic conditions with an ordinary hearth or even a bonfire (cf. Hannestad et al., 2002, 253). Finds of five
The south-east sector contained construction No. 135, made of mud-brick. Its height is 0.28m. The upper part consists of burnt clay 2cm thick. An Attic plastic vase and a krater were placed near this ‘altar’ (Bylkova 2007b, Figs 65; 52:8). The body of the plastic vase consisted of two terracotta masks (of Dionysos and Silenos), and a juglike upper part. Dionysos, satyrs and maenads are among the most frequent subjects on head vases and they might have been used in cult practice (Williams 1987, 364; Vickers 1999, 37, Fig. 25). This structure might therefore have been a small domestic shrine of agricultural cults. The southern sector was partly excavated, and found to contain the stone and mudbrick building No. 144, built in the yellow clay layer. It was oriented south-west to northeast. The walls were 4.3m and 5.3m long, and 4m apart,
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cannot distinguish specific archaeological features as having resulted from barbarian ‘contact’. This particular border zone cannot be thought of as a particular contact zone. Much the same situation was observed on the northern and western frontiers of Olbian agricultural territory (Kryzhitskii et al., 1989, 101-151; Snytko 1995) and in the distant chora of Chersonesos (Latysheva 1996, 56-60; Hannestad et al., 2002).
ingots of melted lead supplement the finds of lead objects (Figure 2:5). Neither the material culture nor the cult practice of the inhabitants could be associated with barbarian tribes. All the material from Belozerskoe, including pottery, coins, graffiti, terracottas, fits the archaeological profile of Greek agricultural settlements. Most of the finds were of pottery or rooftiles, in the following proportions: 80-86% of fragments belonged to amphoras, 6-10% to hand-made pottery of different types (braziers included), 6-8% to wheel-made ware, and 2-5% to roof tiles. Personal choice had clearly been exercised among the many imported wares. The variety of pottery goods, despite the preponderance of hand-made cooking pots (e.g. Figure 2:6), indicate exacting needs on the part of consumers and the possibility to satisfy them. Grey, red, and black-gloss wares, and wheel-made cooking ware occur regularly. Many graffiti and dipinti were employed during the lifetime of the settlement, and all of them are written in Greek. Terracotta statuettes, the face vase, and graffiti allow us to reconstruct the religion of settlers in accordance with Greek custom. We might only add that by comparison with other settlements in the Lower Bug or Lower Dnieper regions the Belozerskoe settlement looks relatively prosperous. Analyses of archaeo-zoological materials by O. Zhuravlev show that these people had large herds of cattle with many adult bulls (oxen), many sheep and goats, horses, and even donkeys and domestic cats. Fish remains were studied by E. Janish. Each sector of the excavation contained a variety of bones from different fish with a predominance of sturgeon. Fresh botanical data have been forthcoming thanks to flotation analysis of samples taken in 2007. Both phases contained grain pollen: mostly Triticum aestivum (wheat), Panicum miliaceum (millet) and Hordeum vulgare nudum (barley). Vicia faba (fava bean) and Vitis vinifera (common grape) were present (analyses I. Moisienko and G. Pashkevich). The prosperity of inhabitants could have been based not only on agriculture, but also on fishing. One great advantage of the position of the Belozerskoe settlement was the serviceable Dnieper river and the proximity of Hylaia with its splendid woods and open salt lakes.
Bibliography Anokhin, V. A. 1989 — Анохин, В. А. Монеты античных городов Северо-Западного Причерноморья [Monety antichnykh gorodov Severo-Zapadnogo Prichernomor’ia – Coins of the Ancient Cities of the North-Western Black Sea Coast]. Kiev. Bylkova, V. P. 1993 — Былкова, В. П. Раскопки Белозерского поселения в 1991 г. [Raskopki Belozerskogo poseleniia v 1991 – Excavation in the settlement of Belozerskoe in 1991]. In Д. Н. Козак, В. І. Клочко [D. Kozak and V. I. Klochko] (eds), Археологічні дослідження в Україні 1991 року [Arkheologichni doslidzhennia v Ukraini 1991g – Archaeological Research in Ukraine in 1991], 17-18. Lutsk. Bylkova, V. P. 1994a — Былкова, В. П. Исследования Белозерского поселения [Issledovaniia Belozerskogo poseleniia – Research at Belozerskoe settlement]. In Г. Н. Тощев [G. N. Toshchev] (ed.), Тезисы докладов конференции, посвященной Б. Н. Гракову [Tezisy dokladov konferentsii, posviashchennoi B. N. Grakovu – Abstracts of a Conference in Memory of B. N. Grakov], 38-40. Zaporozh’e. Bylkova, V. P. 1994b — Билкова, В. П. До питання про східну межу сільської округи Ольвії в пізньокласичний – ранньоелліністичний час [Do pytannia pro shidnu mezhu sil’skoi okrugy Ol’vii v piznioklasychnyi-rannioellinistychnyi chas – On the problem of the eastern extent of the chorai of Olbia Pontica in the Late Cassical-Early Hellenistic period]. Археологія [Arkheologiia] III, 19-31. Bylkova, V. P. 1996. Excavations on the eastern boundary of the chora of Olbia Pontica. Echos du Monde Classique /Classical Views 40, new series 15, 99-118. Bylkova, V. P. 1998 — Былкова, В. П. Исследования Белозерского поселения в 1998 г. [Issledovaniia Belozerskogo poseleniia v 1998 – Research on Belozerskoe settlement in 1998]. In Д. Н. Козак, [D. N. Kozak] (ed.), Археологічні відкриття в Українi 1997-1998 рр. [Arkheologichni vidkryttia v Ukraini 1997-1998 rr. – Archaeological Discoveries in Ukraine 1997-1998], 62. Kiev. Bylkova, V. P. 1999 — Былкова, В. П. Раскопки Белозерского поселения в 1999 [Raskopki Belozerskogo poseleniia v 1999 – Excavations in the settlement of Belozerskoe in 1999]. In Д. Н. Козак, Н. А. Гаврилюк [D. N. Kozak and N. A. Gavriliuk] (eds), Археологiчнi вiдкриття в Українi 1998-1999 рр.[Arkheologichni vidkryttia v Ukraini 1998-1999 rr.
As usual with settlements of distant chorai, the Greek character of their culture and way of life does not necessarily indicate the ethnic characteristics of the settlers (Kryzhitskii et al. 1989; Marchenko et al. 2005). We now know two inhabitants’ names: the obviously Greek name Hermophantos and the probably barbarian Syhotos (as a variant – Oihotos). As mentioned above, anthropological analysis suggested that these people should be classified as of Mediterranean type. By comparison with Crimean settlements, where groups of Greek and Hellenized barbarian populations can be distinguished, Belozerskoe resembles Greek settlements of the distant chora of Bosporos (Maslennikov 2005, 160-164). So far as relations in a Greek-barbarian contact zone are concerned, we have to say that a ‘border’ situation is not reflected in the material culture of the Belozerskoe settlement. We
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the Black Sea. Typology. Catalogue-classifier]. Moscow, Saratov. Osborne, R. 1987. Classical Landscape with Figures. The Ancient Greek City and its Countryside. New York. Peredol’skaia, A. A. 1962 — Передольская, А. А. Терракоты из кургана Большая Близница и гомеровский гимн Деметре [Terrakoty iz kurgana Bol’shaia Bliznitsa i gomerovskii gimn Demetre – Terracotas from Bol’shaia Bliznitsa barrow and the Homeric hymn to Demeter]. Труды Государственного Эрмитажа [Trudy Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha], VII/3, 46-92. Rotroff, S. 1997. The Athenian Agora 29. Hellenistic Pottery. Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material. Princeton. Sekerskaia, N. M. 1983 — Секерская, Н. М. Помещение с культовыми предметами из Никония [Pomeshchenie s kul’tovymi predmetami iz Nikoniia – A room with cult articles from Nikonion]. In Г. А. Дзис-Райко [G. A. DzisRaiko] (ed.), Материалы по археологии Северного Причерноморья [Materialy po arkheologii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Materials on the Archaeology of the Northern Black Sea Region], 123-135. Kiev. Snytko, I. A. 1995 — Снытко, И. А. Исследования поселения античного времени Сиверсов Маяк-1 на Бугском лимане [Issledovaniia poseleniia antichnogo vremeni Siversov Maiak-1 na Bugskom limane – Research on the ancient settlement of Siversov Maiak-1 on Bug Liman], in Ю. Г. Виноградов, М. И. Золотарев, Э. Д. Фролов, С. Д. Крыжицкий [Iu. G. Vinogradov, M. I. Zolotarev, E. D. Frolov and S. D. Kryzhitskii] (eds), Античные полисы и местное население Причерноморья. Материалы конференции ‘Межполисные взаимоотношения в Причерноморье в доримскую эпоху. Экономика, политика, культура’ [Antichnye polisy i mestnoe naselenie Prichernomor’ia. Materialy konferentsii ‘Mezhpolisnyie vzaimootnoshenia v Prichernomor’e v dorimskuiu epokhu. Ekonomika, politika, kul’tura’ – Ancient poleis and local populations of Black Sea Region. Papers of the International conference ‘Interstate Relations in the Black Sea Region before the Romans. Economics, Politics, Culture’], 146-150. Sevastopol. Stolba, V. and Hannestad, L. (eds) 2005. Chronologies of the Black Sea Area in the Period c. 400-100 BC. Aarhus. Vickers, M. 1999. Ancient Greek Pottery. Oxford. Williams, E. R. 1987. Figurine vases from the Athenian Agora. Hesperia 47, 356-401, Pls 90-103.
(according to the materials from the settlement of Masliny)]. Древности: Харьковский историкоархеологический ежегодник [Drevnosti: Kharkovskii istoriko-arkheologicheskii ezhegodnik], 56-61. Lawall, M. L. 2002. Ilion before Alexander: amphoras and economic archaeology. Studia Troica 12, 197-244. Lawall, M. L. 2005. Negotiating chronologies: Aegean amphora research, Thasian chronology, and Pnyx III, in V. Stolba and L. Hannestad (eds), 31-67. Lohmann, H. 1992. Agriculture and country life in classical Attica. In B. Wells (ed.), Agriculture in Ancient Greece, 29-57. Stockholm. LGPN 1 – Fraser, P. M. and Matthews, E. (eds) 1987. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names 1. The Aegean Islands, Cyprus, Cyrenaica. Oxford. LGPN 2 – Fraser, P. M. and Matthews, E. (eds) 1994. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names 2. Attica. Oxford. LGPN 3A – Fraser, P. M. and Matthews, E. (eds) 1997. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names 3A. The Peloponnese, Western Greece, Sicily and Magna Graecia. Oxford. LGPN 4 – Fraser, P. M., Matthews, E. and Catling, R. W. V. (eds) 2005. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names 4. Macedonia. Thrace. Northern Regions of the Black Sea. Oxford. LGPN 5A – Fraser, P. M. and Matthews, E. (eds) 2010. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names 5A. Coastal Asia Minor: Pontos to Ionia. Oxford. Lungu, V. 2007. Une hydrie du style de Hadra à décor polychrome de Callatis. Revue des études sud-est européennes 45, 23-37. Marchenko, K. K., Rogov, E. Ia., Vakhtina, M. Iu., Vinogradov, Iu. A. and Zuev, V. Iu. 2005 — Марченко, K. K., Рогов, Э. Я., Вахтина, М. Ю., Виноградов, Ю. А.,Зуев, В. Ю. Греки и варвары Северного Причерноморья в скифскую эпоху [Greki i varvary Severnogo Prichernomor’ia v skifskuiu epokhu – The Greeks and the Barbarians of the Northern Black Sea Area in the Scythian Period], 297-399. St Petersburg. Maslennikov, A. A. 2005. The development of Graecobarbarian contacts in the chora of the European Bosporus (sixth-first centuries BC). In D. Braund (ed.), Scythians and Greeks. Cultural Interactions in Scythia, Athens and the Early Roman Empire (Sixth Century BC – First Century AD), 153-166. Exeter. Monakhov, S. Iu. 2003 — Монахов, С. Ю. Греческие амфоры в Причерноморье. Типология. Каталогопределитель [Grecheskie amfory v Prichernomor’e. Tipologiia. Katalog-opredelitel’ – Greek Amphorae in
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Chapter 8 The Black Sea Coast Between the Bosporan Kingdom and Colchis
Sujatha Chandrasekaran
University of Oxford Institute of Archaeology Oxford, United Kingdom [email protected] Abstract: The coastal area and the hinterland between the Bosporan Kingdom and Colchis of Antiquity is one of the more poorly researched regions of the Black Sea littoral, in spite of the fact that it is mentioned by a number of ancient authors, who refer to various Greek settlements and local tribes by name. Sites excavated along the coast include two larger Greek settlements – as well as some neighboring fortified agricultural settlements, all dating approximately from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD, suggesting continuous Greek population. A number of settlements of the same dating have been investigated further south around modern Sochi. The material culture in both areas indicates trade with all surrounding regions, with an especially strong Bosporan influence to be found even as far south as the Sochi sites, where Colchian influence could also be felt. Scythian and Meotian finds in these settlement areas and Greek ones from various sites in the mountainous hinterland testify to the trade going on between the local tribes and the coastal Greek communities. However, the evidence is scant, and much of it (in Bata and Toricus) is submerged. Future research will therefore need to include coastal and underwater surveys. Keywords: Bata, Caucasus, Colchis, Dioscurias, Eshera, fortifications, Gelendzhik, Novorossiisk, pirates, Toricus
Bosporan King Eumelos (20. 25. 2-3), who fought against the Heniochi, Taurians and Achians at the end of 4th century BC and rid the seas of pirates, for which he (the king) was highly praised, both in and outside his kingdom.
The dynamism of the Eastern Black Sea coast (Figure 1) in the Hellenistic period is relatively well-attested for the Kingdoms of the Bosporus and Colchis. The region in between, however, has remained more or less lacking in terms of archaeological research, a situation that is slowly but surely being resolved. This lack of knowledge is mainly due to the topographical difficulties related to this area which make its archaeological investigation particularly tedious. Unlike the fertile steppes of the Bosporan Kingdom or the swampy Colchian valleys surrounded by mountains, the area in question is very mountainous, with little farming territory in between. The mountains often run right down to the sea, making the coastal area difficult to traverse. Natural harbors are small, few, and far between. This mountainous topography influenced the lifestyle here in the most direct fashion.
At the same time, however, the Greeks apparently knew how to work together with these so-called pirates and slavetraders: Strabo (11. 2. 12) notes that the Heniochi were in league with the Bosporan Kingdom, which provided them with markets for their goods. Polybius (4. 38. 4-6) writes that the Black Sea markets provided the best and richest amount of slaves. Clearly, literary sources tend to propagate the ‘fierce or unfriendly’ reputation of the locals. And while archaeological evidence often supports this opinion, it nevertheless often demonstrates a certain level of collaboration and cooperation between Greeks and the ‘fierce’ locals.
Ancient sources Ancient sources and archaeological material tell us that the Greeks encountered many local tribes during and after the settlement of the Eastern Black Sea region. Ancient authors, amongst them Herodotus, Pseudo-Scylax, Polybius, Strabo and Diodorus, speak of the Sindi, Kerketai, Toreti, Zygi, Heniochi, to name a few of these tribes.
Cities, Settlements and Fortifications Much of the available archaeological evidence points to defense against local tribes, exemplified by cities and fortifications situated along the borders of both the Bosporan Kingdom and Colchis (Figure 1). These borders are marked by the Bosporan city of Gorgippia in the north (present-day Anapa) and the Colchian city of Dioscurias (present-day Sukhumi) in the south. Both are situated at fine natural harbors. Just
The locals made quite an impression on the Greeks, as can be seen by their frequent characterization in Greek sources as warlike, pirate menace, and as slave traders. Noteworthy in this connection is Diodorus’ mention of the 57
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Figure 1. Map of the Western Caucasus between the Bosporan Kingdom and Colchis, with inlays of find sites
beyond Gorgippia and the known boundary of the Bosporan Kingdom, two further natural harbors can be observed – those of present-day Novorossiisk and Gelendzhik. These modern cities were identified by N. A. Onaiko (1984, 91) as the ancient cities of Bata and Toricus. Along with ancient Gorgippia/Sindica and Dioscurias, Bata and Toricus are mentioned with more or less frequency as port cities by ancient authors, but archaeological evidence remains relatively scarce, mostly because much of the ancient remains are submerged in the present-day bays or beneath the respective modern cities, leaving much work to be done to fully determine their internal structures.
(Geography 5. 8. 9), and thus the area with the city of Toricus, which is mentioned by Pseudo-Scylax (74). Various finds point to this being an area of permanent settlement (for example traces of metal processing). Onaiko identified a 1540m² stone building (Figure 2) dating to the 6th century BC with 21 rooms still preserved, providing living space for multiple families. There are no parallels for similar living quarters in the northern Black Sea area. It would seem that this city ceased to exist by the mid-5th century BC, perhaps as the result of barbarian attacks, and that Toricus was later founded in the depths of today’s Gelendzhik Bay, where remains of a Hellenistic layer have been identified. Further observations remain pending on future underwater investigation and excavation.
Novorossiisk
Dioscurias
Strabo (11. 2. 14) and Ptolemy (Geography 8. 25), amongst others, mention the ancient city of Bata and its location on Sindian territory. Remains of a city going back to the 6th5th centuries BC and cultural layers from the Hellenistic period have been found in Novorossiisk in parts of the modern city and the bay area and described by N. A. Onaiko (1984, 91). A necropolis of the local population of the 6th-4th centuries BC has also been found, but the actual ancient city remains to be revealed. Parts of it lie under the fortress built by the Genoese or cemented beneath the modern city, parts are most likely submerged in the modern bay.
It should be noted that the situation in Dioscurias is quite similar to the above – ancient sources name it, but there is little archaeological material available at this time. Timosthenes of Rhodes (Pliny, N. H. 6. 5) and Strabo (11. 2. 16) describe Hellenistic Dioscurias as a Greek trading city, where representatives of 300 tribes gathered to do business. Archaeological material from Sukhumi and its bay points to permanent Hellenistic settlement with a necropolis close by. Nonetheless, much work remains to be done to identify the ancient city’s infrastructure, which lies beneath the modern city and submerged in the bay. Studies of the bay have shown that the sea level here was at least 10m lower in ancient times (Gabelia 2003, 1222).
Gelendzhik
No material has been found from the 6th century BC period of Greek colonization (Erlikh 2006, 92).
The situation at Gelendzhik is somewhat more informative. Onaiko (1984, 92-93) identified the present bay of Tonkii Mys as the ancient bay of Toricus mentioned by Ptolemy 58
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Figure 2. Toricus, fortified building (Onaiko1984, Fig. LII,13)
(room A) was 21m2 with walls of substantial (1.2m) thickness (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 112). Fragments of polychrome plaster, stone capitals and cornices, and plaster relief work were also found in the building (Onaiko 1984, 92). According to Onaiko (1967, 168), the building was originally constructed at the beginning of the 3rd century BC but destroyed around the turn of the 2nd century BC, following which the southern part of the building was removed to incorporate a new 1.4m thick fortification wall, which ran by the building described above and apparently made use of the already mentioned room A as a watchtower (Onaiko 1984, 92).
Unlike in the ancient cities proper, where much work remains to be done, a number of sites in their vicinity have been studied more successfully over the last few decades. These have revealed various settlements (Figure 3) and a number of fortifications (Figure 4). The settlements were situated both on the coast and further inland, and some of them date back to the 6th-5th centuries BC. As Onaiko has shown, such settlements were especially frequent in the Hellenistic period. The fortifications uncovered here all date to the Hellenistic period. They tended to be situated further inland. Some of the better investigated ones include those at the present-day villages of Raevskoe, Vladimirovka and Tsemdolinsky.
Recent excavations at Raevskoe carried out by Alexei Malyshev (2005) in 2002-4 further revealed the remains of a massive building complex of 1500m2 with a defensive wall from the Hellenistic period. Malyshev (2005, 174) notes the low frequency of fire hearths inside the structures, together with the insubstantial quantity of finds in the cultural layer and the low phosphorus level – suggesting that the complex was only used seasonally. According to both excavators, the settlement was most likely founded to strengthen the Bosporan eastern borders. Its strategic importance is confirmed by its size, the solidity of its walls and its location on the Maskaga River flowing into the Anapa Liman. Amongst the finds was a stamped tile
Raevskoe Excavations at the Raevskoe fortified settlement (Figure 5) have produced native Iron Age pottery and amphora sherds from the 6th century BC, as well as material from the Hellenistic period, but no material from the 5th4th centuries BC has been found (Malyshev 2005, 174). The most significant finds here are the remains of a Hellenistic building excavated in the 50s and 60s of the last century. Figure 4 shows the remains of this 400m2 fortified structure, of which two rooms and part of the peristyle courtyard have survived. One of these rooms 59
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Figure 3. Settlements near Novorossisk and Gelendzhik (after Onaiko 1984, Fig. XLIX,II)
Figure 4. Fortified structures near Novorossisk and Gelendzhik (after Onaiko 1982, Fig. 4)
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Figure 5. Raevskoe, fortified building (Onaiko 1984, Fig. LI,2)
laid out walls and two rooms. The actual construction was more complex than at Vladimirovka: due to the soft ground, the entire structure was built upon a solid foundation of up to 0.35m in height consisting of large blocks laid out without mortar. The outer walls alone were up to 1.6m thick and, together with the foundation, 2m thick. Remains of inner walls, c. 1.3m thick, were also found (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 109). The entrance, as in Vladimirovka, was slightly blocked from view by a semicircular tower-like construction from the southwest side. 1 Remains of flooring were also identified: stone panels in one room, pebbles in the other (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 109).
with the name ‘EULEKOU’, suggesting perhaps that King Eumelos was the founder of the city. Vladimirovka The fortified settlement at Vladimirovka was excavated in the 1960s (Onaiko 1984, 91). The defense structure found here (Figure 6) consisted of a 1-2-room rectangular building of 198m2 with the corners facing the four points of the compass and an entrance from the southwest. Onaiko identified the construction style at the corners as typical for construction in the Crimea and the Taman peninsula: local sandstone using clay mortar and in some places yellow shells (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 109). The building was constructed directly upon the bedrock or, in a few places, dug into it. The outer facade consisted of large carefully positioned blocks. The outer walls were up to 1.7m thick. Remains of inner walls were not found. The floor was earthen. The entire structure was part of a large fortified farming estate.
Like Vladimirovka, the Tsemdolinsky structure was also constructed around the turn of the 2nd century BC (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 111) and destroyed by fire around the turn of the eras (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 121). Finds from Tsemdolinski included glass and glass paste beads that had melted in the fire. Interestingly, there was little pottery (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 109). Other nearby fortifications
The scant finds from Vladimirovka include pithoi, amphorae and simple pottery. Unfortunately, the site could not be excavated completely due to the reservoirs and cisterns situated upon it (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 107). Judging by the pottery finds, the building’s construction is to be placed somewhere around the turn of the 2nd century BC (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 111) and its destruction by fire (Onaiko and Dmitriev, 1982, 109) in the 1st century AD.
Another building similar to Raevskoe was found between Raevskoe and Vladimirovka, but unfortunately it was not completely excavated (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 112113). Other similar structures have been found in this area (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 112). One, on the outskirts of Gorgippia, is a rectangular building of 100m2 and 1.5m thick outer walls. Another one of similar size has been
Tsemdolinski Approximately 3.5km south of Vladimirovka the fortified farming estate at Tsemdolinski was erected around the turn of 2nd century BC. The fortified structure (Figure 7) was a rectangular building of 212m2 consisting of carefully
Remains of another semicircular construction (3.6m radius) – perhaps a round tower – were also found here during earlier excavations conducted by V. I. Sizov. Unfortunately, these excavations were not completed and the results insufficiently documented (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 121). 1
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Figure 6. Vladimirovka, fortified building (Onaiko 1984, Fig. L,1)
studied at the Voskresenski poselok near Gorgippia. It was constructed in the 3rd century BC and consisted of two rooms and a corridor. The walls were 1.3m thick. It was probably destroyed in the 1st century BC or the beginning of the 1st century AD. A further such building, which existed between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD, was found at Rassvet Hutor. It occupied 150m2, 176m2 including the outer walls, and had two rooms and a staircase. The 1.5m thick walls were later strengthened to a thickness of 3m.
the Taman peninsula, a similar building served as the fortified residence of the Hellenized Sarmatian chief Chrysaliskos (Dolgorukov 1984, 87). Built at the turn of the 2nd/1st century BC, this 300m² building constructed on a massive foundations had outer walls 1.65m thick and inner walls of 1.3m thickness (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 111). It too was destroyed by fire towards the end of the 1st century BC.
V. Dolgorukov (1984, 87-88) describes the Semibratnee fortified settlement further away to the northeast of Anapa in the modern village of Gostagaevskaia/Varennikovskaia. The settlement, identified as ancient Labrys or Aborace, dates back to the end of the 6th century BC. The earliest fortification walls with square towers were constructed around the beginning of the 5th century BC and survived until their destruction towards the end of the 4th century BC. Subsequent fortifications were constructed in the 3rd century BC, as was a reinforced building similar to those mentioned above, with strengthened walls, the outer ones c. 1.7m thick and the inner ones c. 1.4m (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 111). It consisted of five rooms covering an area of approximately 400m2. 2 Even further away, on
A somewhat similar situation can be seen at the northern Colchian border, shown in Figure 1. Figure 8 shows the ancient fortified complex at Eshera, some 10km north of Sukhumi (ancient Dioscurias). Excavations at the site began in the late 1960s under Georgi Shamba. Work here revealed an ancient settlement of c. 4ha dating back to the 6th century BC, as well as signs of even earlier habitation in the vicinity. Following the settlement’s demise at the beginning of the 5th century BC, it was used as a necropolis. Hellenistic fortifications appeared in the 2nd century BC (Voronov 1972, 104; Erlikh 2006, 90), constructed on top of earlier structures. Their walls were some 1.5-2m thick, and were interspersed with watchtowers (at least six) and rooms between these for the guards. The settlement and fortifications were destroyed in a great fire in the 1st century BC. Although no other such fortifications are known on
Eshera
2 V. D. Blavatskii (1961, 216) notes the local (i.e. Sindian) architectural elements of the building’s structure.
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Sujatha Chandrasekaran: The Black Sea Coast Between the Bosporan Kingdom and Colchis
Figure 7. Tsemdolinski, fortified building (Onaiko 1984, Fig. LI,12)
Figure 8. Eshera fortifications (after Eshera topoplan, courtesy of V. Erlikh)
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The lower inlay in Figure 1 shows a number of sites in the Sochi area where chance finds were recovered, mainly from damaged burials and some cultural layers. These point to prolonged habitation of the area. Most of these finds were compiled by Iuri Voronov in 1979. However, there is some newer material from current excavations, and more can be expected.
Colchian territory, it is quite possible that they existed and simply await discovery. The examples above testify to the necessity of defensive structures in the north, which, judging by the Semibratnee fortifications, must go back at least to the 5th century BC. The Sindians were defending themselves from Scythian attacks long before being annexed by the Bosporan Kingdom. The need for defense heightened in the 2nd century BC, a time of acute economic and political upheaval that was exploited by the Scythians.
These settlements and burials are located in the vicinity of the Mzymta River (Figure 14) and the Kudepsta and Psou Rivers, also located closely.
Most of these fortifications were erected as part of farming estates (Onaiko and Dmitriev 1982, 111). Diodorus Siculus (20. 23) mentions a fortified residence with high towers belonging to a certain Ariphanrnes, ruler of one of the Kuban tribes. Such watchtowers could be used for refuge in times of trouble and otherwise as granaries. Their local design remained basically unchanged over the centuries, and Onaiko and Dmitriev (1982, 116) notes that the majority were constructed around the same time, indicating government involvement. The Vladimirovka, Tsemdolinski and Chrisaliskos structures were possibly set up during, or as a result of, the dramatic happenings that ultimately led Perisades V to bequeath his kingdom to Mithridates in the last decade of the 1st century BC (Gajdukevič 1971, 303-332). The destruction of most of these sites can be tied in with the equally tumultuous period during the reign of Asander or his son Aspurgos towards the end of the 1st century BC and in the early 1st century AD – a time of internal strife and conflict with both the neighboring Scythians and Rome (Gajdukevič 1971, 334-339).
Mamaika
Particularly interesting is the line formed by the defensive sites from Anapa down to Novorossiisk, connecting ancient Gorgippia with what was probably its nearest port at Bata in order to protect the lands behind it. While the port city defenses provided protection from attacks by sea, those in between seem more likely to have addressed attacks from the interior.
Burial complexes at the villages of Bogushevka and Sobolevka (Figure 1, lower inlay; Voronov 1979, 64) brought forth interesting finds, including weapons, jewelry, beads and an imported Attic helmet (Figure 9) at Bogushevka.
The situation in Colchis was somewhat different. Even though the fortifications at Eshera attest to the necessity of defending the northern border, these are the only ones known to us in the Dioscurias area from the period in question. While archaeological evidence is still pending, it is quite likely that the nearby mountains were enough of a barrier to possible enemies, and that Eshera’s location in the foothills was enough to secure the exits from the mountain passes into Dioscurias.
This important site (Figure 1, lower inlay; Raev 2006, 304) on the Mzymta River was recently excavated and identified as a shrine, erected upon an artificially leveled terrace along a slope. A similar site is known in the Crimean Gurzuf saddle, also erected on the flatter part of a slope and thus connected to the mountain system. Finds include swords, spearheads and a helmet as well as Late Hellenistic silver vessels. Similar examples have been found in other parts of the Sochi area, for example in a damaged burial at Loo and a burial in Mazesta.
Finds from the Mamaika site (Figure 1, lower inlay; Voronov 1979, 64-66), at the mouth of the Mamaika River, point to a Greek trading settlement founded by the Bosporans that existed from the 6th century BC onwards. Pottery finds date to the 6th-4th centuries BC, relief bowls and statuettes to the 2nd century BC. The statuettes are probably of Bosporan manufacture. The Romans later erected a defensive tower structure at the river mouth. Other settlements Evidence from other settlements in the Sochi area is more fragmentary, consisting mainly of pottery. These include an amount of locally made Greek pottery of the 3rd-1st centuries BC of a type well-known in the Dioscurias area and other Eastern Black Sea centres. Bogushevka/Sobolevka
Kazachi Brod
Coastal sites between the kingdoms
Great Vorontsovskaia Cave
The coastal stretch between the kingdoms (Figure 1) has not been studied nearly as intensively as the kingdoms themselves. In spite of this, and the fact that there is little evidence pointing to permanent settlements in this area, archeology does reveal lively activity here.
This cave (Figure 1, lower inlay; Voronov 1979, 64) yielded an iron bracelet and other finds of the Classical/Hellenistic periods. It was probably used as a refuge by traders moving towards the mountain passes, as well as by locals.
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Figure 9. Bogushevka, helmet (after Voronov 1979, Fig. 33)
Psou 3 Construction of the 2014 Olympian village will provide a good opportunity for archaeological investigation of the area near the village of Psou, just south of Sochi. In last summer, for example, surveys were carried out in Iremetinskaia Nizmennost, close to Psou, revealing the remains of small settlements. At present, we await publication of this material as well as further material from the other sites affected by construction work.
Figure 10. Temnolesskaia, helmet (Chernenko 2006, Fig. 575)
Clearly, evidence is sporadic and fragmentary, and no structural remains have yet been discovered. Nonetheless, this stretch of coastline was lined with settlements, and Mamaika was most likely a main trading post. The small and relatively unprotected natural harbors along this stretch would seem to support only smaller, insubstantial settlements of this kind. The comparatively low frequency of finds might point to the seasonal or makeshift nature of these settlements. We must however await additional material to fully interpret their permanence and function. As with Novorossiisk and Gelendzhik, investigation of Sochi Bay will probably produce new evidence, as would investigation beneath the present-day city.
The number of settlements and burials identified in the Sochi area alone suggests a similar pattern further north and further south. However, much work needs to be done in both directions, for example in Pitsunta, generally identified with the ancient city of Pityus. No remains earlier than the 2nd century AD have been discovered there. Mountain sites and passes Let us now turn to the mountainous hinterlands of this region, indicated in Figure 1. Chance finds and excavations over the years indicate activity in the mountains at Tulskaia, Kurdzhips, Dakhovskaia, Temnolesskaia, Mezmai and Khamyshki, all shown in the upper inlay of Figure 1.
The pottery and weapon finds mentioned above are indicative of trade in these parts.
Temnolesskaia
We have already spoken of the locals’ piratical reputation. Strabo (11. 2. 12) describes them as inhabitants of the coastal region beyond Sindica, in other words the region in question, who used narrow light boats to attack merchant ships or even towns and settlements. No doubt some of these were the settlements of which we have already observed traces. It is equally possible that places such as the Vorontsovskaia cave served as a refuge or hideout for the so-called pirates (Voronov 1979, 64).
Chance finds include the Temnolesskaia helmet (Figure 10; Ditler 1964, 315; Chernenko 2006, No. 575) found in the vicinity of the three kurgans located some 3.5km away from Stanitsa Temnolesskaia on the terraces of the mountain slopes. The helmet itself was found outside the second kurgan, buried some 30cm deep in the clayey ground. The find circumstances can possibly be interpreted as a votive offering of the kind known to the Celts from the Bronze Age on – helmets found in rivers and other bodies of water. Ditler and others date the Temnolesskaia helmet to the 4th century BC based on its general similarity to others found in this mountain region.
I would like to thank Dr Vladimir Erlikh for providing me with information concerning recent survey activity near Psou. 3
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Figure 11. Dakhovskaia, helmet (Chernenko 2006, Fig. 612)
Figure 12. Mezmai, helmet (Chernenko 2006, Fig. 576)
Dakhovskaia
in imitation of imported types, and dates to the 3rd-1st centuries BC.
Two further helmets were found by chance near Dakhovskaia by the Belaia River. Only one (Figure 11) is somewhat completely preserved (Chernenko 2006, No. 612). While it cannot be assigned to a particular type, V. R. Erlikh (1996) has convincingly argued that it is not a Greek or Etrurian import but of local manufacture
Mezmai This site has produced a number of chance finds of helmets, one of which is of the so-called ‘Attic’ type (Figure 12; Chernenko 2006, No. 576). It was found together with
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Figure 13. Khamyshki, phiale (Photo courtesy of V. Erlikh)
two Roman swords and other items in a small kurgan of the Roman period during agricultural work close to Mezmai. The helmet’s surface was silver-plated and one cheekpiece still preserved. The helmet is dated to the 4th century BC on account of its similarity to similar finds in the area.
plating and at least three pairs of greaves. The greaves are of the Northern Black Sea type, and some show signs of reuse. Helmets and greaves are dated to the 4th century BC. Khamyshki The 27cm diameter silver phiale shown in Figure 13 (Ksenofontova 2005) 4 was found in Khamyshki – the exact find details remain unknown. The phiale is marked by an omphalos in the center, around which the entire surface is decorated with embossed and engraved ornaments and figures. The figures form four Dionysiac scenes. The surface
Similar items also come from kurgan burials. These include yet another ‘Attic’ helmet like the one above but with missing cheekpieces. It was found in the Zolotaia Gorka kurgan near Tulskaia (Chernenko 2006, No. 577) and is also dated to the 4th century BC. In the Kurdzhipskii kurgan, published by Galanina (1980), yet another three ‘Attic’ helmets were found together with the remains of shield-
I would like to thank Dr Vladimir Erlikh for informing me of this publication. 4
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Figure 14. Map of mountain routes and passes (after Raev 2006, Fig. 1). The numbers 1-17 indicate the mountain passes
was originally covered to some extent with a thin layer of gold-plating, now lost. The phiale is probably of Attic manufacture and dates to the turn of the 5th century BC.
Skakov (2006) notes that such passes were already in use in the Early Iron Age from the 8th-6th centuries BC, and most of them are still in use today. Boris Raev has beautifully mapped out the Western Caucasus passes, shown in Figure 14, and convincingly named the major routes that were probably in use.
It is interesting to note imported items amongst these finds: helmets, weapons and metal vessels. The chance finds at Temnolesskaia and Dakhovskaia, considered together with those of the shrine at Kazachi Brod, show the importance of ritual offerings in this region and emphasize their importance to the locals moving through these mountains.
One could travel along the Shakhe River to the Belaya and Kurdzhips Rivers or take the more comfortable route along the Mzymta River to the Great Laba. These routes would bring the trader or traveller to the Kuban midstream, the Azov region and the Bosporan Kingdom. While the coastal route would be the shorter way to the latter two destinations, the mountain route was much more convenient (Raev 2006, 306).
How were these items acquired? Perhaps through trade, perhaps as pirate booty. Either way, they clearly moved through the mountains, and their find spots emphasize the use of mountain passes.
Travel from Colchis to the upper Kuban or eastern Kuban region was best carried out along the Kodor or one of the neighbouring rivers. From here one could travel further to the Lower Don region along the Kuban, Yegorlik and Manych Rivers.
Movement across the Caucasus mountains is noted by ancient authors. They mention the passes cutting through the main Caucasian ridge. Appian (12. 15. 102) calls such passes the ‘Scythian gates, which had never been passed by anyone before’. In recent years, archeologists have paid closer attention to the Caucasus mountain passes. Alexander
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Chernenko, E. 2006. Die Schutzwaffen der Skythen. Stuttgart. Ditler, P. A. 1964 — Дитлер, П. А. Аттический шлем из станицы Темнолесской [Atticheskii shlem iz stanitsy Temnolesskoi – An Attic helmet from Temnolesskaia Stanitsa]. Советская археология [Sovetskaia arkheologiia] I, 315-320. Dolgorukov, V. S. 1984 — Долгоруков, В. С. Семибратнее городище [Semibratnee gorodishche – Semibratnee fortified settlement], in G. A. Koshelenko et al. (eds), 87-91. Erlikh, V. R. 1996 — Эрлих, В. Р. Об одной серии шлeмов из Закубанья [Ob odnoi serii shlemov iz Zakuban’ia – On a series of helmets from Zakubanie]. Российская археология [Rossiiskaia arkheologiia] III, 176-179. Erlikh, V. R, Ksenofontova, I. V. and Dzhopua, A. I. 2006 — Эрлих, В. Р., Ксенофонтова, И. В., Джопуа, А. И. Г. К. Шамба и археологические памятники села Эшера [G. K. Shamba i arkheologicheskie pamiatniki sela Eshera – G. K. Shamba and archaeological monuments of the village of Eshera]. In Bgazhba, O. Kh. et al. (eds), 89-96. Gajdukevič, V. F. 1971. Das Bosporanische Reich. Berlin, Amsterdam. Galanina, L. K. 1980 — Галанина, Л. К. Курджипский курган: помятники культуры прикубанских племен IV века до н.э. [Kurdzhipskii kurgan: pamiatniki kul’tury prikubanskikh plemen IV veka do n.e. – Kurdzhip kurgan: Monuments of the Culture of the Tribes of the Kuban Region in the 4th Century BC]. Leningrad. Gabelia, A. N. 2003. Dioscurias, in D. V. Grammenos and E. K. Petropoulos (eds), Ancient Greek Colonies in the Black Sea 1/II. (Publications of the Archaeological Institute of Northern Greece 4), 1215-1265. Thessaloniki. Koshelenko, G. A, Kruglikova, I. T. and Dolgorukov V. S. (eds) 1984 — Кощеленко, Г. А., Кругликова, И.T., Долгоруков, В. С. Античные государствa Северного Причерноморья [Antichnye gosudarstao Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Ancient States of the Northern Black Sea Area]. (Aрхеология СССР [Arkheologiia SSSR – Archaeology of the USSR] 9). Moscow. Ksenofontova, I. V. 2005 — Ксенофонтова, И. В. Сeребряная фиала из фондов Национального музея Республики Адыгея [Serebrianaia fiala iz fondov Natsional’nogo muzeia Respubliki Adygeia – A silver phiale from the collection of the National Museum of the Republic of Adygea]. In Marchenko, I. I. (ed.), 150-152. Malyshev, A. A. 2005 — Малышев, А. А. Раевское городище в эллинистическую эпоху [Raevskoe gorodishche v ellinisticheskuiu epokhu – Raevskoe town in the Hellenistic period]. In Marchenko, I. I., (ed.) 173175. Marchenko, I. I. (ed.) 2005 — Марченко, И.И. Четвертая кубанская археологическая конференция [Chetvertaia Kubanskaia arkheologicheskaia konferentsiia – The Fourth Kuban International Archaeological Conference], 150-152. Krasnodar. Onaiko, N. A. 1967 — Онайко, Н. А. Эллинистическое здание Раевского городища и его место в архитектуре
Let us return to Strabo’s account (11. 2. 12), where he describes how these ‘pirates’ conceal their boats in the trees and set out to wander on foot, day and night, in order to kidnap people to sell into slavery or for ransom. This would make sense, for the imported items we have seen above needed to be paid for in some form, and it is very unlikely that the locals would bring huge amounts of grain or other heavy goods through the mountains. Slaves would be the most sensible commodity, as they could be easily led to through the mountains to or from the boats at makeshift harbors and trade points along the coast. The settlements at the Lower Don, in the Azov area, the Bosporan Kingdom and at the Colchian border would have provided good markets for slaves and pirated goods. And, as already mentioned, Polybius (4. 38. 4-6) writes that the Black Sea markets provided the best and richest amount of slaves. Conclusion As we have seen, conditions were quite turbulent in the area between the Bosporan Kingdom and Colchis in the Hellenistic period. On the one hand, fortifications at the borders and fortified estates outside them confirm the literary evidence of constant threats from, and conflict with, neighboring tribes. On the other hand, settlement sites along the coastline beyond the kingdoms, combined with random find sites in the mountainous hinterland, suggest small trading ports and routes through the mountains, perhaps used by the pirates of ancient lore for kidnapping and slave-trading. Finally, it is important to mention the intensive construction currently going on in and around Sochi, including the sites we have already spoken of, in preparation for the 2014 Olympics. This will include highway construction along the coastline from the Russian border all the way up to Dzhugba. Archaeological survey that is to accompany this construction work may well reveal a mass of new and important material at sites hitherto unstudied, and help complete our knowledge of the ancient infrastructure of this region. Bibliography Bgazhba O. Kh., Bzhania, V. V., Gabelia, A. N., Erlikh, V. R. (eds) 2006 — Бгажба, О. Х., Бжания, В. В., Габеля, А. Н., Эрлих, В. Р. Первая Абхазская международная археологическая конференция, посвященная памяти Ю.Н. Воронова [Piervaia Abkhazskaia mezhdunarodnaia arkheologicheskaia konferentsiia, posviashchennaia pamiati Iu. N. Voronova – First Abkhaz International Archaeological Conference Dedicated to the Memory of Iu. N. Voronov]. Sukhum. Blavatskii, V. D. 1961 — Блаватский, В. Д. Античная археология Северного Причерноморья [Antichnaia arkheologiia Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Ancient Archaeology of the Northern Black Sea Region]. Moscow.
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Боспора [Ellinisticheskoe zdanie Raevskogo gorodishcha i ego mesto v arkhitekture Bospora – Hellenistic building in Raevskoe town and its place in the architecture of the Bosporus]. Советская археология [Sovetskaia arkheologiia] II, 155-168. Onaiko, N. A. 1984 — Онайко, Н. А. Юго-восточная окраина Боспова [Iugo-vostochnaia okraina Bospora – The periphery of the South-East Bosporus], in Г. А. Кощеленко [G. A. Koshelenko] et al. (eds), 91-93. Onaiko, N. A and Dmitriev, A. V. 1982 — Онайко, Н. А., Дмитрев А. В. Стoрожевые посты в окрестностях Бат и некoторые вопросы социально-экономической и политической истории юго-восточной окраины Боспора на рубеже нашеи эры [Storozhevye posty v okrestnostiakh Bat i nekotorye voprosy sotsial’noekonomicheskoi i politicheskoi istorii iugo-vostochnoi okrainy Bospora na rubezhe nashei ery – The guard posts in the environs of Bat and several issues of socioeconomic and political history of the south-eastern borders of Bosporus at the turn of the eras]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevnei istorii] II, 106-121. Raev, B. A. 2006 — Раев, Б. А. Святилище на р. Мзымта и транзитные пути через перевали Северо-западного Кавказа [Sviatilishche na r. Mzymta i tranzitnye puti
cherez perevali Severo-zapadnogo Kavkaza – Sanctuary on the river Mzymta and transit routes through the northwest Caucasus]. In Bgazhba, O. Kh. et al. (eds), 304-307. Skakov, A. Iu. 2006 — Скаков, А. Ю. К вопросу об использовании перевалов Западного Кавказа в эпоху раннего железа [K voprosu ob ispol’zovanii perevalov Zapadnogo Kavkaza v epokhu rannego zheleza – Questions on the use of the passes of the western Caucasus in the Early Iron Age]. In Д. Г. Савинов [D. G. Savinov] (ed.) Производственные центры: источники, ‘дороги’, ареал распространения. Материалы тематической научной конференции [Proizvodstvennye tsentry: istochniki, ‘dorogi’, areal rasprostraneniia. Materialy tematicheskoi nauchnoi konferentsii – Production Centers: Sources, ‘Routes’, the Area of Distribution. Materials of the Thematic Scientific Conference], 80-85. St Petersburg. Voronov, Iu. N. 1972 — Воронов, Ю. Н. Об Эшерском городище [Ob Esherskom gorodishche – The Eshera fortified settlement]. Советская археология [Sovetskaia arkheologiia] II, 103-120. Voronov, Iu. N. 1979 — Воронов, Ю. Н. Древности Сочи и его окрестностей [Drevnosti Sochi i ego okrestnostei – The Antiquities of Sochi and its Neighborhood]. Sochi.
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Chapter 9 Greeks and Colchians: Marriage and Ethnic Categories
Irakli Chavleishvili
The Batumi Archaeological Museum 6010 Batumi, Georgia [email protected] Abstract: There have been some interesting discussions of late on the influence of Greek colonization on native peoples, and on ethnic issues arising therefrom. The present paper is intended to be a contribution to this discussion. It is noteworthy that the Greeks differentiated Colchians from other ethnoi, and thought it necessary where relevant to indicate a Colchian origin next to a name. Even though the archaeological record is far from rich in this context, it is likely that marriage between Colchians and foreigners has been over-estimated, and it is argued here that considerations of ethnic origin played a significant role for Colchians. Keywords: Greek, Colchians, marriage, ethnicity, traditions
There have been some interesting discussions of late on the influence of Greek colonization on native peoples, and on ethnic issues arising therefrom. The present paper is intended to be a contribution to this discussion.
It might be useful to quote briefly from Braund’s paper. Categories used by ancient authors need to be processed. ‘Unprocessed categories we get from them, hence often using terms “Colchian” and “Greek’ without any discussion or argument’ (Braund 2005, 99-112). But current discussions on ethnic issues in social science highlight their problematic nature. What does it mean by characterizing a person, town or region as ‘Greek’ or ‘Colchian’? In fact, if we take into account the excavated graves of ‘Greek’ and ‘Colchian’ origin dated to the 5th century BC in Pichvnari, how can we draw any distinction? Did each inhabitant of ancient Pichvnari know for certain to which category he/she belonged? It is perfectly possible that they did, but impossible to be dogmatic. Was there any interest in differentiating Greeks resident in different parts of the Hellenic world? Or was there any interest in creating a difference between them and the local Colchian inhabitants? Did those differences play any important role?
Balbina Bäbler gave a paper at the Vani 2002 Colloquium entitled ‘The Greeks and the Barbarians on the Black Sea Shore: literary and material sources and the model of “Centre and Periphery”’, where she quite correctly suggested that we should approach relations between the Greeks and barbarians during the colonization process without any prior ideas or prejudices (Bäbler 2005, 4962). In researching theoretical frameworks, archaeologists working in this field have turned to modern colonial or post-colonial studies and anthropological models. Such a methodological development might be the reason for German classical archaeology not engaging in such discussions but remaining within the framework of AngloSaxon scholarship. It is good to be careful when comparing intercultural relations and one should not accept implicitly texts and finds without discussion.
There is one point concerning the colonization period on which we can agree. It is generally accepted that early period of settlement of Greeks in Colchis and the rest of the ancient world was accompanied by marriages between Greek males and local females. This could come about by agreement or by force. Nearly all literary traditions acknowledge both possibilities during the colonization process without mentioning Greek females. The same could be said about myths, where marriage plays a prominent part: in particular Phrixus’ marriage in Colchis. If that is completely or even partially true, we would conclude that females in the ‘Greek’ settlements in Colchis were ‘Colchian’. Hence, their children were of Greek and Colchian origin. Such a view is enough justification to avoid using ethnic terms without question or further specification.
It was another study, namely David Braund’s (2005, 99112), ‘Colchians and Greeks: Some thoughts on ancient ethnic categories’ that encouraged me to write the present paper. Braund has studied the ethnic terminology used by a great many authors working on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, and has much of interest to say about a region in which the present writer has conducted excavations and research. The issues have raised great interest since no one has viewed the problem from this point of view. Some questions arise, anticipating the answer that would fill all the gaps in our knowledge and solve the problems concerning relations between ‘Colchian’ and ‘Greek’. 71
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vessels, a variety of beads, local and foreign coins (of Kyzikos, Sinope, Amisos, Pantikapaion, Nymphaion, and Theodosia), and a quantity of Attic black gloss pottery. Well attended funerary and sacrificial rituals frequently occurred. The above-mentioned items are found even in the burials of poor people. Close relations between the Greek settlement of Pichvnari and the metropolis, i.e. Athens, are clear during the late Archaic and Classical periods. Greeks residing in Pichvnari were moreover mediators in relations between Colchians and inhabitants of other parts of the Black Sea coast (Kakhidze 2005, 115-118).
The value of ethnicity in the ancient world is also worthy of discussion. Braund surveys the following topics. The first marriage between the Greeks and the Colchians was mentioned in myths about Phrixus and Calliope, Jason and Medea, Odysseus and Circe. Ancient authors explained those relations in different ways (Urushadze 1964, 149). Here first of all prior attention should be paid to mythology having another meaning. The characters mentioned here are of divine and royal origin. We are interested in another aspect, in particular what happened in reality during the Greek colonization period. As is well known, the northern Black Sea coast was initially colonized by Greek males. The first settlements appeared in Berezan in the 7th century BC when the southern steppes of what is now Russia and Ukraine were almost uninhabited (at least judging by archaeological findings of the past few decades). The picture remained unchanged until the first quarter of the 5th century BC with the inhabitants living in dugout (subterranean) dwellings. From the second quarter of the 6th century BC there begins a massive colonization throughout the Black Sea shore including the northern shore (Petropoulos 2005, 207-232).
In discussing the sources suggesting that males were the first colonists, the question should be in terms of specific periods and places. A particular source should not be generalized over a whole period or area. Professor M. Inadze (1968, 128-142) also accepts the possibility of marriage of Greek males with local Colchians. In explaining a bas-relief on the stele of a tomb in Sokhumi showing a mother and child, Inadze pointed out that Greeks may have settled as families in Dioscurias, but, she adds, it is not to be excluded that single males formed families locally. Inadze cites an example in Herodotus. There, only males moved from Thera to Libya to found Cyrene. Marriages between Cyreneans and Libyans are mentioned not only by Herodotus, but also by Pindar (Inadze 1968, 137).
It should be mentioned that the coast of Colchis was densely settled not only in the second half of the second millennium and the beginning of the first millennium BC and during the colonization period, but also during the post colonization period as well. Settlements are found along the banks of nearly all rivers and the coast. It has been estimated that the territory of Colchis contained 36 settlements and several sites dating to the 4th-1st centuries BC (Licheli 2002, 29).
We could mention other similar examples. Pseudo-Scylax (900, 915, 935) (4th century BC) describes the Mossuni, the Tibareni and the Chalybes as apparently Georgian tribes. He also writes about the inhabitants of Asia Minor, ‘There are many tribes residing this peninsula. Three of them are of the Hellenic origin: the Aeolians, the Ionians, and the Dorians. The rest apart from mixed ones are barbarians’. The author describes the mixed Hellenic tribes residing at the borders of the Crobyzi and Scythians (Pseudo-Scylax, 756). The Crobyzi are a Thracian tribe. They are mentioned by Herodotus (4. 49) and Strabo (7. 15. 13) citing other authors. These tribes should have existed between the Istros and the Borysthenes and the Greek inhabitants should be sought somewhere there. Dionysius Periegetes (652-662) says, ‘Those Amazons married Sauromati, and therefore they are called “Led by Woman”’. The same story is told by Herodotus (4. 110-117) in greater detail. According to him, the Sauromati originated from marriage between the Scythians and the Amazons (Kaukhchishvili 1967, 25‑6). Many similar quotations from ancient writers might be made. We cannot, however, say the same regarding Georgian tribes, specifically the Colchians that are widely mentioned in the ancient literature as assimilating with other tribes, especially with the Greeks. The ancient Greek authors strictly differentiate mixed and half mixed tribes.
In discussing this question, it is inevitable that the material found at Pichvnari during 50 years of excavation should be mentioned. Pichvnari is the only place in Georgia where Greek and Colchian cemeteries of the 5th century BC and a Hellenistic necropolis are to be found. It should be noted that highly developed Colchian settlements had existed there a thousand years before the Greeks came. The settlers’ main activities included bronze and iron metallurgy, agriculture, and cattle-raising. Greek settlements appeared in the 70s of the 5th century BC at Pichvnari, and they may perhaps be associated with Athens, the major mainland Greek centre at that time. Since that period the Colchians decided to have peaceful relations with a greater power. For nearly a century and a half local and Greek settlements existed side by side in Pichvnari. Judging by the Greek necropolis (where over 300 burials and dozens of funeral feast places have been studied) of the 5th century BC at Pichvnari, it seems that the first settlers were poor, and that precious items and jewellery are rarely met with until the second quarter of the 5th century BC. But the picture completely changes in the middle and the second half of 5th century BC. At this period, there occur marvellous examples of Greek painted pottery, silver bowls and gold jewellery, amphoras from different centres, items related to the palaestra, glass perfume
Here should be noted Strabo’s Geography (11. 2. 16) characterizing Dioscuria, ‘Seventy tribes gather there, though others, who care nothing for the facts, actually say three hundred. All speak different languages because of the
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fact that, by reason of their obstinacy and ferocity, they live in scattered groups and without intercourse with one another. The greater part of them are Sarmatae, but they are all Caucasii. So much, then, for the region of Dioscurias’.
A new born child was buried in an amphora, which is a purely Greek custom. The same phenomenon could be observed in the excavations at Tsikhisdziri necropolis. Let us return to the famous Sokhumi stele. There is a scene of farewell to the deceased: a young woman carries a special gift for the dead woman and her child. The gift is a box of jewels necessary for life in the next world. On the basis of the composition, the character of the relief and drapery, Professor O. Lordkipanidze (1966, 93-106) dated the stele to c. 430-420 BC and considered it to be an product of a provincial school under strong Attic influence.
Kaukhchishvili (1957, 11) underlines one circumstance while commenting on Strabo. In particular, Strabo uses ‘they say’, and ‘some think’ when citing the thoughts of others without naming specific authors. Strabo quotes two unknown sources and simultaneously expresses his own critical view regarding the number of tribes. But this is not the subject of our interest. The main thing is that all the authors accept the fact that ‘by reason of their obstinacy and ferocity, they live in scattered groups and without intercourse with one another’ and … ‘they are all Caucasii’ (Kaukhchishvili 1957, 123). Strabo (11. 4. 6) writes about Albans, ‘Their kings, also, are excellent. At the present time, indeed, one king rules all the tribes, but formerly the several tribes were ruled separately by kings of their own according to their several languages. They have twenty-six languages, because of the fact that they have no easy means of communicating with each other.’ (cf. Kaukhchishvili 1957, 134).
Grave stelai were widely used in the Greek world from the 7th century BC onwards, and especially between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. Such monuments were used to keep the memory of the deceased for later generations, and also to show where the cemetery stood. It is also thought that a grave stele gave a soul peaceful rest. Stelai are a purely Greek phenomenon and the example found in Sokhumi proves the existence of Greek tombs there (Lordkipanidze 1966; Gamkrelidze 2001, 132-134; Lordkipanidze 2002, 191-192). Research at Pichvnari and Tsikhisdziri allow us to conclude that the local inhabitants and colonists had mutually beneficial peaceful and trade relations. Only one burial, No. 158, found in 1978, contained weapons, including 66 arrowheads. A similar picture emerges from a study of the Colchian graves as well as those of the Hellenistic period. It is difficult therefore to conclude that the newcomers encroached on the locals.
As was mentioned above, Greek colonists appeared on the southern coast of the Black Sea shore from the 70s of the 5th century BC. Xenophon in the Anabasis (5. 3. 1) describes territories settled by Georgian tribes. Leaving Trapezous he writes, ‘And, when… having neither enough ships nor food, they decided to leave. They put the sick, also those over forty, children, women, and all belongings on the ships… And the rest went on foot as the road was reconstructed’. The Greeks put everything that could hinder military activity on the ships. In addition, Xenophon specifically notes that the road was reconstructed, i.e. they could move faster than was usually the case (Mikeladze 1967, 45-46).
One question arises, if the necropolis of the Classical period can be divided into Colchian and Greek cemeteries, an exercise that it is not possible to do for burials of the Hellenistic period, does this not perhaps mean that the population was assimilated by then? If such assimilation of locals and newcomers resulted in changing traditions, beliefs or funeral customs, this cannot have been the result of mixed marriages alone.
Considering these facts, we may state that the Greeks travelled with females at that time. They were in addition accompanied by hetaerae (Xenophon Anab. 5. 3. 1).
According to Vallet’s concept (1973), the Classical Polis was not formed over densely inhabited areas. The wave of colonization spreading deeply and widely brought about the integration and assimilation of the aboriginal population. On the other hand, a highly developed population avoided direct influence and assimilation. The Greeks moreover developed trade relations with the metropolis at such places. I. V. Brashinski and A. N. Shcheglov (1979, 2946) believed the Colchian region to have been a culturally and historically developed area, where relations between the local population and Greek newcomers were initially based on trade.
It seems that travelling was quite common. As Xenophon had no fleet, he had to hire ships for women, children, and old people. The note clearly proves that coastal travel was not difficult. It is also clear that they took care of overland roads, for Xenophon informs us that the roads were reconstructed. This source indicates that colonists might easily travel with their families to inhabit new territories on the eastern shore of the Black Sea in the 5th century BC. In order to support this contention, we must refer to the archaeological research at Pichvnari. After long study over many years, Professor A. Kakhidze (2005, 111-118) has clearly separated the Greek and Colchian cemeteries of the Classical period. The important thing is the funerary customs, which are by no means the same. It should be mentioned that there are found female as well as children’s burials in the Greek cemetery.
It might be helpful to take the long view, and consider what had been happening along the southern Black Sea littoral before Greeks or other tribes came. We should recall that for nearly 2000 years there had been a brilliant Colchian culture that was different from the contemporary eastern Georgian culture. One of the principal reasons was the existence
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of endogamy; in this way the locals resisted inter-ethnic marriage and defended their ethnic purity and traditions (Bekaya 1988, 48-49).
Greek authors realized this concept and considered the Colchians to be a people with a rich cultural past. It is worth quoting Agathias (Peri Iustinianou Basileias 3. 5) here: ‘The Laz are a strong and brave tribe. They are proud of their ancient Colchian names (and are more arrogant than they should be, though not without some justification) and their customs and traditions’. Family relations and the institution of marriage must have been based on rich traditions among Georgian tribes. Part of those customs and traditions were reflected in ancient sources. For instance, a scholiast to Apollonius of Rhodes (Schol. Apol. Rh. 2. 1010, cf. Urushadze, 1970, 159-160) characterizes the Tibarians in the following way, ‘They are believed to be the most honest (people) never fighting against anyone unless they know place, date, and time for the fight in advance. When women give birth to children, they protect their husbands, as Nymphodorus states in “Customs”. He describes their customs with approval remarking that a woman only cared about her husband, and a husband cared only about his wife, not sharing her with anyone’. Aristotle (Peri Taumasion Akousmaton 846) has an interesting note in this connection. He wrote that there was a tree called ‘white leaf’ on the bank of the River Phasis. Jealous husbands would gather the leaves and scatter them around their bed to keep their marriage pure (Kaukhchishvili 1969, 72).
Religious factors did not always play a prominent role in marriage, as is apparent from an awareness of the Caucasus and traditions of tribes residing there. The supervening factors were centuries old traditions, which despite certain differences still had a common basis, i.e. family relations, endogamous marriages and virgin innocence. If we discuss the process of assimilation in Pichvnari in the Hellenistic period this should obviously mean mixed marriages between Greeks and Colchians. The concept can be illustrated in the writings of Dionysius of Halicarnassus’ (1. 89. 4) of the 1st century BC, where he says, ‘Many others living among the barbarians, forget everything Hellenic in a short period. They neither use the Greek language nor follow Greek traditions. They do not worship Greek gods and do not obey Greek rules and laws, the main characteristic features distinguishing the Hellenic nature from the Barbarians. They do not obey either to any (communal) relations. That can be proved enough by mentioning the Achaeans residing around the Black Sea. And, Elaeans of pure Hellenic origin are much wilder than all of the barbarians’ (Kaukhchishvili 1976, 134-135). Pursuant to T. Kaukhchishvili’s concept based on Dionysius, the Elaeans are Achaeans who lived among the barbarians and changed their nature. And, then reference is made to pure Achaeans, the Elaeans, who stand out from even the barbarians on account of their wild lifestyle. Many authors mention the Achaeans along with the Heniochi and generally, consider the Heniochi, Zichi, Toretae, etc. as neighbours. This fact makes it available to more or less specify their lifestyle. Besides, ancient authors mention relations between that tribe and Greek Achaeans. Based on the abovementioned source, it is obvious that Achaeans of the Black Sea were from Greece.
Colchian women’s behaviour is also rather interesting. A wife had to pray for the sexual strength of her family every day. The wife prayed to the God of Gender to ‘Harden man’s penis and give the woman strength to satisfy the man’s desires’. A very primitive but notable ceremony existed to worship Phallos in Samurzakano. It is true that the ceremony is only recorded by the ethnographer Tedo Sakhokia (1956, 108), but the tradition is clearly of archaic origin. The phallos cult existed for a thousand years in Pichvnari as is shown by dozens of artifacts from ancient settlements and altars (Chavleishvili 1999, 111). An observation of Xenophon’s (Anab. 4. 7) may also be relevant in this context. While attacking one of the settlements, the Greeks witnessed a horrible picture: women throwing their children into a ravine and then following them. Men did likewise.
The Assyrians and Jewish settlements in Georgia could be one of the foremost examples of the abovementioned concept. Research has shown that Assyrians residing in Georgia for 16 centuries have assimilated into the Georgian linguistic patterns. Their family names end in ‘dze’ or ‘shvili’ like Georgian ones. An important role was played also by territory. Settlements appeared in the more national environment of western Georgia, but, the Assyrians being Christians (Orthodox and Catholic), they still kept their distinctive features and remain Assyrian in the way that Jews who have lived in Georgia for 26 centuries have retained their characteristics. Here religion, and especially Judaism considered the principal protector of national originality, played an essential role, although the Jews living in Georgia call themselves ‘Georgian’ Jews. And Assyrians being Christians and speaking Georgian and obtaining Georgian family names still keep their national features (Abesadze 2002, 47-48).
The institution of marriage, it seems, was highly developed among these tribes. The woman had a responsibility to deliver children and to care about her husband. Monogamy and love-matches, the protection of a woman from a jealous husband’s anger and devotion to the family are also obvious. In the light of all this, it is easy to realize how difficult it was for the Greek colonists to create mixed families. One cannot however deny the existence of Greek-Colchian families. Greek sources describe such families as formed by force, when a woman is kidnapped or sold as a slave. The following inscription is found on a tomb in Athens, ‘Euvqosumg Waiqglomor Wokwir’ (Inscriptiones Graecae ii2 9049). Grakov’s opinion (1939, 305) concerning the inscription is that, ‘Judging by the family name, we
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Irakli Chavleishvili: Greeks and Colchians: Marriage and Ethnic Categories
do not have here a slave but either a freedwoman or the daughter of a freedwoman’. In any case, Waiqglym was the husband or father of the Colchian woman in question. There is also the story told by Aelian (Ailianou Apospasmatia ek tou peri pronoias, De Dionysio mercatore 71) (2nd century AD) about a merchant ‘named Dionysius ... [who] traveled a lot by sea. Spurred on by a wish to succeed, he went further than the Maeotis, purchased a Colchian woman kidnapped by the Machlyes, a local barbarian tribe… Dionysius offered more money than gold, and then sold [the woman]… He paid a higher price and then decided to go to Byzantium. Next day he was sailing to Chios and [from ship] they saw the woman on sale. He fell into a bad way and all his household fell ill, and [his] trade brought much less profit. [His] daughter knowing nothing about his malicious intents somehow avoided sickness’ (cf. Kaukhchishvili 1969, 197-198).
Kerch, and another of ‘Madzisi son of Kolcho’ was found in the environs of Kerch (Lordkipanidze 1966, 90). Why should those Colchians have wanted to stress their origin? First of all we believe that it was necessary for them to be distinguished from other ethnoi. Then, despite living in an alien environment they still proudly kept their origin (let us recall Agathias’ words), inscribing their names on vases, they earned more. Being a Colchian could also mean to be a good craftsman, and therefore to be more successful in business. Considering these facts, we may state that the Greeks also differentiated Colchians from other ethnoi, and thought it absolutely necessary to indicate a Colchian origin next to the name. In conclusion, after an investigation of the admittedly poor archaeological record, we can assert that the scale of mixed marriages has been overestimated, since ethnic origin played a predominant role for the Colchians.
Judging by history, the process was continued for centuries. Archangelo Lamberti, a 17th century missionary, described Samegrelo as follows: ‘… There are thieves who kidnap men and children, selling them in Turkey. You can see slave markets along the sea shore, particularly in Kobuleti, the principality of Gurieli. The trade was encouraged by many Turkish merchants from the neighbouring towns of Rize, Gonia, and Trabzon.’ (Asatiani 1938, 71). If we turn to Pseudo-Scylax, writing in the 4th century BC, it seems that Kobuleti had a similarly bad reputation even then. After naming rivers up to the Chorokhi, only two are mentioned there, the Isis and the Leston Potamos (or Kidnappers’ River). In my opinion, the Isis is the River Natanebi (cf. Sikharulidze 1959, 105-106), and the Leston Potamos is the River Kintrishi, or even perhaps the River Choloki. The main thing is that the territory was known as an area for gangsters, robbers, and kidnappers selling slaves in Greece or Asia Minor. This fact could become a reason for forced marriages among the Colchians and other ethnoi.
Bibiliography Abesadze, N. 2002. Shereuli qortsineba saqartvelos qalaqebshi [Mixed Marriages in Georgian Towns]. In D. Muskhelishvili, Ochkhari. J. rukhadzisadmi midzghvnili etnologiuri, istoriuli da filologiuri dziebani [Ochkhari: Ethnological, Historical, and Philological Studies Dedicated to J. Rukhadze], 41-49. Tbilisi. Asatiani, L. 1938. Lamberti A.‘Samegrelos aghtsera’. [Lamberti A.‘Description of Samegrelo’]. (Translated by A. Chkonia with Levan Asatiani’s Introduction, Editing and Commentaries). Tbilisi. Bäbler, B. 2005. The Greeks and the Barbarians on the Black Sea Shore: literary and material sources and the model of ‘Centre and Periphery’, in D. Kacharava, M. Faudot and É. Geny (eds), 49-62. Bekaya, M. 1988. Ojakhis etnosociologiuri kvlevis metoduri sakitxebi [Methodological Issues of Ethno Sociological Research of Family].Tbilisi. Brashinski, I. B. and Shcheglov A. N. 1979 — Брашинский, И. В., Щеглов, А. Н. Некоторые проблемы греческой колонизации [Nekotoryie problemy grecheskoi kolonizatsii – Some aspects of Greek colonization]. In О. Д. Лордкипанидзе [O. D. Lordkipanidze] (ed.), Проблемы греческой колонизаци Северного и Восточного Причерноморья. Материалы I Всесоюзного симпозюма по древней истории Причерноморья, Цхалтубо 1977 [Problemy grecheskoi kolonizatsi Severnogo i Vostochnogo Prichernomor’ia. Материалы I Всесоюзного симпозюма по древней истории Причерноморья, Цхалтубо 1977 – Problems of the Greek Colonization of the Northern and Eastern Black Sea Littoral. Materials of the 1st All-Union Symposium on the Ancient History of the Black Sea Region, Tskhaltubo 1977], 29-46. Tbilisi. Braund, D. 2005. Colchians and Greeks: Some thoughts on ancient ethnic categories, in D. Kacharava, M. Faudot and É. Geny (eds), 99-112.
It may be worth saying a word or two about the concept of ethnos in the ancient world. According to D. Braund (2005, 99-112), ‘The difficulty about the issue is that people do not pay much attention to it nowadays. In contrast to modern society, it is known that the sense of “to be Greek” (apart from certain religious celebrations) was probably less important than other issues such as local communities, relations, hospitality, friendship, etc. in ancient Greece. Hence, nothing unusual could be found in marriage of a rich Athenian to a “barbarian” woman in Athens in 5th century BC (at least until 451 BC). It is rather interesting to find out what the Colchians thought about that.’ It is indeed interesting to discover what the Colchians thought. There are Athenian black-figure vessels of the 6th or 5th century BC inscribed by Colchian masters in Greek, e.g. ‘Kholchos epoiesen’, or ‘Euksitheos epoise, [K]olkhos egrapsen’ (Kaukhchishvili 1977, 21-22). The ethnic name ‘Kolchos’ is used as a proper name in Greek inscriptions found within the Bosporus Kingdom. One such inscription reads ‘Philokomos son of Kolchos’ comes from
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Dionisios Halikarnaseli) [Greek Writers’ Notes on Georgia] 3. Tbilisi. Lordkipanidze, O. 1966. Antikuri samkaro da dzveli kolkheti [The Antique World and Ancient Colchis]. Tbilisi. Lordkipanidze, O. 2002. Dzveli qartuli tsivilizatsiis sataveebtan [The Origins of Ancient Georgian Civilization]. Tbilisi. Mikeladze, T. 1967. Qsenoponte ‘Anabazisi’ [Xenophon ‘Anabasis’]. Tbilisi. Licheli, V. 2002. The character of Colchian settlement in the 4th century BC, in G. Kvirkvelia and D. Kacharava (eds), Urbanism in the Black Sea Area in the Archaic and Classical Periods: Polis Hellenis and Polis Barbaron. The 10th International symposium on the ancient history and archaeology of the Black Area. Abstracts of papers, 28-29, 61. Tbilisi. Petropoulos, E. 2005. Emporion and apoikia – polis in the northeast Black Sea area during the 6th and 5th century BC: an urbanistic view, in D. Kacharava, M. Faudot and É. Geny (eds), 207-232. Sakhokia, T. 1956. Etnograpiuli natserebi [Ethnographic Notes]. Tbilisi. Sikharulidze, I. 1959. Samkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos toponimika [The Toponomy of South-Western Georgia] 2. Batumi. Urushadze, A. 1964. Dzveli kolkheti argonavtebis tqmulebashi [Ancient Colchis in the Myth of the Argonauts]. Tbilisi. Urushadze, A. 1970. Apolonios Rodoseli. ‘Argonavtika’ [Apollonius of Rhodes. ‘The Argonautica’]. (Translated, editing, essay, commentaries and contents by A. Urushadze). Tbilisi. Vallet, G. 1973. La colonisation grecque en Occident. In Доклады XIII Международного конгресса исторических наук [Doklady XIII Megzdunarodnogo Kongressa Istoricheskikh Nauk – Proceedings of 13th International Congress of Historical Science] 1, 53-72. Moscow.
Chavleishvili, I. 1999. Gvianbrinjao-adrerkinis khanis namosakhlarebi samkhret-dasavlet saqartvelodan [Late Bronze – Early Iron age Settlements of South-Western Georgia]. Candidate’s Thesis, Centre for Archaeological Studies. Tbilisi. Gamkrelidze, G. 2001. Kolkhologiuri narkvevebi [Colchological Articles]. Tbilisi. Grakov, B. N. 1939 — Граков, Б. Н. Материалы по истории Скифии в греческих надписях Балканского полуострова и Малой Азии [Materialy po istorii Skifii i grecheskikh v grecheskikh nadpisakh Balkanskogo poluostrova i Maloi Azii– Materials on Scythian History in Greek Sources from the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] III, 231-315. Inadze, M. 1968 — Инадзе, М. П. Причерноморские города древней Колхиды [Prichernomorskiie goroda drevnei Kolkhidy – The Black Sea Coastal Cities of Ancient Colchis]. Tbilisi. Kacharava, D., Faudot, M. and Geny, É. (eds) 2005. Pont Euxin et Polis: Polis Hellenis et Polis Barbaron. Actes du Xe Symposium de Vani, 23-26 septembre, 2002. Paris. Kakhidze, A. 2005. Athens and Eastern Black Sea Littoral in Late Archaic and Classic Periods, in D. Kacharava, M. Faudot and É. Geny (eds), 115-118. Kaukhchishvili, T. 1957. Strabonis geografia (tsnobebi saqartvelos shesakheb) [Strabo’s Geography (notes about Georgia)]. Tbilisi. Kaukhchishvili, T. 1967. Berdzeni mtserlebis tsnobebi saqartvelos shesakheb (skilaqs kariandeli, skimnos qioseli, Dionisios Periegeti) [Greek Writers’ Notes on Georgia] 1. Tbilisi. Kaukhchishvili, T. 1969. Berdzeni mtserlebis tsnobebi saqartvelos shesakheb (Aristotele, Nikoloz Damaskeli, Klavdius Elianusi) [Greek Writers’ Notes on Georgia] 2. Tbilisi. Kaukhchishvili, T. 1976. Berdzeni mtserlebis tsnobebi saqartvelos shesakheb (Polibiosi, Diodore Sitzilieli,
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Chapter 10 Greek Seafaring in the Age of Colonization in the Black Sea Area Maciej Czech
c/o Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Department of Classical Archaeology Kraków, Poland [email protected] Abstract: It is beyond any doubt that ancient Greeks were marvellous sailors. They had reached many distant lands - Greek colonies and settlements stretched all the way from western Asia Minor to southern Italy, Sicily, North Africa, and even to the coasts of southern France and Spain. They had also established outposts on the coast of the Black Sea. Those colonies have been for a long time one of the crucial points of archaeological interest in the area. The main scope of this paper is to answer to the question: What was the most important factor that made it possible for Greeks to explore such distant routes? This work presents the condition of Greek seafaring in the Black Sea during the Great Colonization period in order to give an answer to the question how the ships were built. It tries to explain the phenomenon of the technique that allowed ancient Greeks build the vessels in which they were able to conquer lands laying on the shores of the sea known earlier as the ‘axenos’ – where the sailing conditions were so hard. Keywords: Greek seafaring, ship, Greek colonization, Black Sea, wreck, shipbuilding
shipbuilding from as close a time as possible. The Iliad and Odyssey are two works written probably before the Age of Greek Colonization, but close enough to regard them as useful sources. There will be also a few quotations from Theophrastus, who lived after the time of colonization but gives us a huge amount of information about inter alia about timber used for shipbuilding.
Our knowledge about the state of seafaring in the Age of Colonization of the Black Sea comes from three main sources: underwater archaeological finds, references in classical writers and iconographical representations. In my paper I will try to use all three to answer to the question of the condition of ships in the era of Greek Colonization. It is an uphill task because of a lack of evidence from the Black Sea area itself. Despite the fact that it has great potential underwater surveys are still quite rare there (Czech 2008). We have a little more information from the neighbouring Mediterranean Sea. The idea was to try to answer the question of the condition of Greek seafaring with the help of scientific data from a region where Greeks also dominated. Because of the nature of seafaring, the idea was one of the fastest spreading phenomena of the ancient world. We can presume that ships and sailing techniques were familiar in both areas among Greek peoples. It is clear that the same ships, with the same crews, were occasionally travelling the whole route from Greece to the northern coast of the Black Sea. The author decided to focus on the northeastern part of the Mediterranean because it is impossible to compare data from the whole of the Mediterranean area in a work of this size. It will be also difficult to prove Greek associations with wrecks found in more remote areas.
What we can see clearly is a rise in the number of shipwrecks of this period in the north eastern part of the Mediterranean (Figure 1). There were six wreck sites found in this region, which may suggest that there was a rise in sailing activity in the area that could be linked with the Great Colonization. It is not a large number of course, and one wishes it could be greater, but in comparing it with two earlier periods: 900-720/700 BC and 1050/1000-900 BC, for which we have no wrecks, it is much more satisfactory. Unfortunately only two of these sites are at all informative. The Lindos wreck B was surveyed and sampled by the Greek Ministry of Antiquities, but it is not very helpful for our work because no details have ever been published. All we know is that the ship was from the 6th century BC and that the cargo consisted mostly of amphorae (Parker 1992, 243). A similar situation prevails with regard to the Poros underwater excavation. The excavation was begun, but it has never alas been finished, and there is no full published report (Parker 1992, 328).
It is also the case that we have few written sources regarding sailing methods from this period. What we can only do is to try to compare classical texts about
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Chronology
Number of wrecks
3600 - 2090/2050 BC
1
2090/2050 - 1600 BC
0
1600 - 1050/1000 BC
6
1050/1000 - 900 BC
0
900 - 720/700 BC
0
720/700 - 480 BC
6
480 - 323 BC
21
323 BC - 0
51
Impossible to date
15
already in this early period vessels were quite complicated. There were the sides of a ship, and the deck. Homer also confirms the existence of a mast, which is practically impossible to find during underwater expeditions because it is almost always the first thing to be destroyed by the waves. Its existence is assumed because mast steps were found on a few wrecks from an earlier period. Sails at this time were most probably square because the ancient sources refer to sailors using a cross yard. Descriptions of rudders do not unfortunately answer the question as to whether there was one steering oar or two, but we shall attempt to answer to these questions later in this paper. Fortunately Homer confirms the use of ballast on early Greek ships in order to stabilise the vessel. We cannot say what the exact technique of shipbuilding was at this time. Once again we can try to answer to the question by comparing data from earlier times with information from later periods. It is likely that ships at this time were built using the so-called shell first technique. In wooden shipbuilding, the hull planks are first assembled, and then the frames are inserted. This was the normal method in antiquity, and it is still in use in northern Europe for clinker-built boats. The earliest evidence for this technique was found during the excavation of the Cape Gelidonya wreck, dated c. 1200 BC (Delgado 1997, 85). After this time we have evidence for this technique in the Kyrenia wreck (Gould 2000, 131) of the 4th century BC (Walde Swiny and Katzev 1973, 353). Again we can safely assume that it was probably in common use in the Mediterranean in the Age of Colonization. In antiquity, mortice and tenon joints were a common way to fasten hull planks to each other, edge to edge, by inserting a multitude of dowels into adjoining planks. It was practiced until the end of the Roman Empire, often together with the shell-first method. The one piece of solid evidence from a neighbouring period of the use mortice and tenon joints is once again the Kyrenia wreck. But the technique was invented long before the time of colonization. According to Delgado (1997, 85) during the excavation of Cape Gelidonya scientists found tenons with wooden dowels driven through them. This suggests mortice-and-tenon joinery typical of shell-first hull construction. The use of wooden dowels was also confirmed during the excavation of Uluburun wreck dated to the 14th century BC, until now the earliest known example of this technique (Delgado 1997, 431). It is likely therefore that this type of joint was still in use during the time of the colonization of the Black Sea shores. Unfortunately we cannot prove this beyond doubt. Using ancient sources (Torr 1964, 37) we know that the timbers of a ship were held together by wooden pegs and metal nails, bronze being preferred to iron, since it was better able to resist the action of water.
Figure 1. Table showing the chronology of wrecks found in the north-eastern Mediterranean
Existing data permit us to say that in this period there were more ships with a cargo consisting of amphorae. We may assume that the amphorae were filled with wine or another unspecified liquid. There is a lack of examples of wrecks carrying raw metal or artistic objects. All the mentioned wrecks from this period were only transporting pottery. It is very hard to explain why there was such a change in cargos. It is especially interesting because an equal number of earlier Bronze Age wrecks dated 1600-1050/1000 BC have produced much more varied cargoes: metal and glass ingots, exotic wood, gold and silver, and some pottery, to name but a few. We could try to explain it as a decrease of long-distance trade in the Archaic period, in favour of local trade. We can also assume that in times of colonization there were fewer major centres than in Mycenaean times. Greeks did not therefore need so many raw materials, imported objects or purely luxurious possessions. In the opinion of many scientists (e.g. Papuci-Władyka 2001, 35) it was at this period that Greeks took over a Mediterranean trade that formerly had belonged to Phoenicians. This could also be linked with the change in cargoes at this period. In the author’s opinion, another factor in the change in the character of freight was the Great Colonization which empowered the presence of Greeks on the seas. Unfortunately we are not able to infer much from the wreck finds about shipbuilding at this time because, as was stated above, there are no well preserved hulls from this period. The two basic types of vessels that predominated during Antiquity, and which were the product of function and seafaring methods, had already appeared by this time. These were the long warship and the round-hulled merchantman. There are particular morphological features of the merchantman and the warship, and although there were different types, the principal type and its variations had the same main features (Vichos 1999, 81).
From 4th century BC sources (cf. Torr 1964, 32) merchantships the hull was built of pine, and on war-ships of fir. Although cedar, pine and cypress were also used for warships, the practice varied in different regions according to the timber available. The timber for the keels was selected with special care. All larger merchant-ships had keels of pine, but could be provided with false-keels of oak, if
In the Odyssey (5. 230) we have a brief explanation of how to build a boat. From this text we can easily understand that
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they were going to be hauled ashore. The false keel was a timber, forming part of the hull, constructed in several pieces, which were scarped together, and attached to the underside of the keel. This part was supposed to protect the main keel and the bolts holding it together from serious damage. These pieces could be easily replaced. The warships always had keels of oak, as they used to be hauled ashore very often. Ships of any size generally had falsekeels of beech. In smaller vessels the keel itself was made of beech. The interior was made of pine, plane, elm, ash, mulberry, lime and acacia. Less common materials such as alder, poplar, and the timber of the balsam tree are also mentioned by ancient writers (Torr 1964, 32). The masts and yards, according to the sources, were made of fir, or else of pine, the same as oars. The timber for ships was never well-seasoned, since it then became too stiff to bend into the right shape. As a rule, the wood was allowed dry after it was felled, and it would settle after it was built into a ship; otherwise seams were likely to expand considerably and admit water (Torr 1964, 34).
Figure 2. Symbol of a ship about 600 BC on a painted vase found in the Polledrara tomb near Vulci in Etruria, now in the British Museum (after Torr 1964, Pl. 3; drawn by Anna K. Zając)
In ancient sources (Torr 1964, 40) we learn that there was no stern-post; nor was there a stem-post, unless a ship was built to carry a ram. And thus in war-ships and merchantships alike the after-part of the keel curved slowly upwards till it reached the level of the deck; while in the merchantships the fore-part made a similar curve towards the bows. Some time ago it was beyond doubt that, as late as the 4th century BC, Greek ships never carried more than one mast and one sail. Nowadays, thanks to a few new clues, we can state that even at the time of colonization there were ships carrying two sails (Torr 1964, 40).
Figure 3. Warship about 600 BC from fragments of a painted vase found near the Dipylon at Athens, one fragment is now in the Louvre, the other missing (after Torr 1964, Pl. 3; drawn by Anna K. Zając)
On each bow of a ship there generally was a huge painted eye, as in Figures 2, 3, 5, 6, and sometimes more than one. These pairs of eyes must owe their origin to the belief that a ship is a living thing and must see its way. After some time they probably were turned to account as hawse-holes for the anchor cables. The anchors used to be suspended from the catheads a little way abaft of these hawse-holes (Torr 1964, 69). The ram could be a treacherous weapon during a sea battle, since it was slender enough to be wrenched off the ship in delivering its blow, and damaging to her timbers as it broke away. In most cases it had three teeth, so that it looked like a trident when viewed from the side. But in the Greek ship of about 600 BC presented in Figure 3 the ram has only a single tooth: and here the ram curves slightly upward, whereas a trident ram curves downwards as though it was intended to heave an enemy over. This downward curve appears again in one of the Greek ships dated about 550 BC in Figure 5. While the curve points upward in the other, so both forms were in use at the same time. And it seems that the earlier form was developing into the curious type depicted on Athenian ships of about 500 BC in Figure 6, where the ram assumes the form of a boar’s head (Torr 1964, 65).
Figure 4. Part of a warship, about 600 BC depicted on fragments of a painted vase found near the Dipylon Gate at Athens, Louvre (after Torr 1964, Pl. 3; drawn by Anna K. Zając)
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Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Figure 5. Two warships in action, about 550 BC, from a painted vase by Aristonothos found at Caere in Etruria, now in the new Capitoline Museum at Rome (after Torr 1964, Pl. 3; drawn by Anna K. Zając)
Figure 6. Above: warship and merchantship about 500 BC on a painted vase found at Vulci in Etruria, now in British Museum; below: two warships of about 500 BC from a painted vase by Nicosthenes, found at Vulci in Etruria, now in the Louvre (after Torr 1964, Pl. 4; drawn by Anna K. Zając)
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Maciej Czech: Greek Seafaring in the Age of Colonization in the Black Sea Area
We can alas only speculate on the steering devices of this particular period because there are no relevant underwater finds. But long before, we know from a splendid fresco from Akrotiri on Thera, that the Minoans were using single helmsmen, except when under sail there were two in tandem. It is possible that the Mycenaeans adopted twin (port and starboard) steering devices from Minoan seamen (Gillmer 1999, 188-189) and passed this technique on to their successors. Thanks to these images, we can say that at this period a twin rudder was employed on warships and single rudder on merchant-ships, although later on a twin rudder became more popular (Figure 6). After this period we know that, for example, the Kyrenia ship of the 4th century BC was undoubtedly a twin rudder ship under sail alone (Gillmer 1999, 189). Its replica Kyrenia II has been sailed as such. The tiller was by then fastened to the rudder head and projected horizontally inboard. The ships of classical Greece beyond any doubt carried twin side rudders. This applied to both merchant- as well as warships. One of the most spectacular achievements of ancient Greek shipbuilding was lead sheathing. This term refers to a thin layer of lead that was affixed to the outer surface of wooden-hulled ships. The lead was attached with small copper tacks with large heads. During the time that lead sheathing was used, two thirds of all ships were covered in this manner. Unfortunately, ships are not found with lead sheathing prior to the 4th century BC. But lead patches are found over a longer period, from the 6th century BC (Kahanov 1999, 219). These patches served to repair the hull or the lead sheathing itself. We can presume that if it was used in the time of colonization it was uncommon. Still it is possible that at least some ships were made in this way. Lead plates which were found during the excavation of Kyrenia wreck were between 1.7 and 2m2 (Steffy 1985, 83, 98) and 1mm thick. The Kyrenia ship had lead sheathing up to the gunwale to protect the wood from microorganisms (Gould 2000, 133). This improvement provided a number advantages. It protected the hull against the wood-boring bi-valve teredo navalis and other crustacea, it served as an additional sealing, and it helped improve the ship’s stability (Kahanov 1999, 221).
But we can assume that it may have been used. The first shipwreck with such fibrous material, in this case moss, was the Briggs Dugout found in England and dated 1100-700 BC. Another wreck with evidence of fibrous material, in this case probably agave or hemp, was the Kyrenia ship dated 310-300 BC (Black 1999, 61). It can be seen that this idea was known before the Age of Colonization, and was not forgotten after this time, so it is very probably that this kind of material was also used during colonization. Another aspect of ship construction connected with fibres and textiles was caulking. This was supposed to protect the hull from worms, crustacea, and microorganisms but also from abrasion caused to the hull by the metal sheathing rubbing against the wood. It also protected against rot resulting from microorganisms or water penetrating between the sheathing and the wooden hull (Black 1999, 53). According to Kahanov (1999, 220) pieces of woven textile were first soaked in an oily material to become water resistant. After that they were inserted between the wood and the lead sheathing. It has been stated (Kahanov 1999, 220) that this use of textiles was found in only about 25% of the cases where lead sheathing was discovered. It is probably because of the poor state of preservation of the fibres. Depending of the region there were many fibres used for caulking such as esparto and halfa grasses, agave leaves, seaweed, papyrus, moss, or hair from goats or other animals. Wool was spun from sheep and camel hair, while other textiles were woven from cannabis (into hemp) or flax (into linen). The latter, flax, has been called (Black 1999, 60) the most popular material in the eastern Mediterranean. To sum up we can say that a ship during the Age of Colonization was already very complicated. Thanks to many shipbuilding developments, ancient Greeks fast became leaders in seafaring throughout the region. Bibliography Black, E. 1999. Fibers and textiles used in the construction of the ship’s hulls. In H. Tzalas (ed.), 53-64. Czech, M. 2008. Prospects of archaeological underwater research of the Black Sea basin. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia]. Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11), 4750. Kraków. Delgado, J. P. 1997. Encyclopedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology. London. Gillmer, T. C. 1999. The rudder: the use and development of steering devices in ancient boats. In H. Tzalas (ed.), 185-192. Gould, R. 2000. Archaeology and Social History of Ships. Cambridge. Kahanov, Y. 1999. Some aspects of lead sheathing in ancient ship construction. In H. Tzalas (ed.), 219-223.
There were also fibres and textiles used in the construction of the ship’s hull. Plant fibres were used as sennit for plank reinforcement, and for ropes for rigging, nets, mooring, and attaching anchors. Fibres and textiles were also very helpful as a construction technique for strengthening the hull in hogging and sagging trusses. Fibres were also employed to sew hull planks together. In the Mediterranean region we know that the Gela ship was entirely sewn and the Ma’agan Micha’el ship was partially sewn (Black 1999, 53). In ancient times fibres were hammered between strakes of the hull into the seams, providing a sealant as the wood swelled, just as in ships in northern Europe and Belgium. Fibres were also placed on the inner surface of the hull and smeared over with a thicker substance, or placed on the inner surface of the hull, with metal sheathing outside (Black 1999, 61). We have alas no evidence of the use of such an improvement during the time of colonization.
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Papuci-Władyka, E. 2001. Sztuka starożytnej Grecji [Ancient Greek Art]. Warsaw-Kraków Parker, A. J. 1992. Ancient Shipwrecks of the Mediterranean and the Roman Provinces. Oxford. Steffy, J. R. 1985. The Kyrenia ship: an interim report on its hull construction. American Journal of Archaeology 89, 71-101. Torr, C. 1964. Ancient Ships. Chicago. Tzalas, H. (ed.) 1999. Tropis 5, Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity, Nauplia, August 1993. Athens.
Vichos, Y. 1999. The Point Iria wreck, in W. Phelps, Y. Lolos and Y. Vichos (eds), The Point Iria Wreck: Interconnections in the Mediterranean ca. 1200 BC, 28-83. Athens. Walde Swiny, H. and Katzev, M. L. 1973. The Kyrenia shipwreck: A fourth century B.C. Greek merchant ship. In D. J. Blackman (ed.), Marine Archaeology, 339-55. London.
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Chapter 11 Greek Amphora Stamps from the Black Sea and Mediterranean Areas in the Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Collection Agata Dobosz
c/o Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Department of Classical Archaeology Kraków, Poland [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: The Collection of Antiquities is housed within the Institute of Archaeology at the Jagiellonian University and has been kept there since 1867. Within the collection one can find, amongst other objects, 24 stamped Greek amphora handles, as well as two of Roman origin. The majority of them are Rhodian stamps dating from the second half of the 3rd to the end of the 2nd century BC. Among the most interesting of these are stamps of the fabricant Hippokrates (with the secondary stamps omicron with star and ‘rho’ retrograde), as well as a stamp with the name of the eponym Anaxiboulos, to my knowledge appearing for the first time in a retrograde inscription. The second largest group consists of Sinopean stamps, which date to between the second half of the 4th and the beginning of the 2nd century BC. Worthy of special note is a stamp bearing the name of the astynomos Naupon I and the fabricant Pythes I, the latter most probably written over the name of the fabricant Geron II. Rounding off the Greek part of the collection, the Thasian stamps all come from the period 360-350 BC, whilst the Knidian stamp dates from the time of the duoviri (107-78 BC). Although we do not know where these stamps were excavated, they nevertheless form an interesting group for iconographic and epigraphic reasons. Keywords: Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Collection, amphora stamps, Rhodos, Thasos, Knidos, Sinope
Within the Institute of Archaeology at the Jagiellonian University there are two separate departments which deal with the archaeology of the Mediterranean area, namely the Department of Egyptian and Near East Archaeology and the Department of Classical Archaeology. These departments replaced the Mediterranean Archaeology Department (which concerned itself with both areas) and they jointly own the Collection of Antiquities, which has been kept at the University since the creation of the Archaeology Office in 1867. Most of the collection was donated by prominent Poles of the last two centuries (including, amongst others, Jan Matejko the renowned painter, and Prince Władysław Czartoryski the famous collector). Other parts were bought using University funds whilst the remainder of the collection came from various other sources. The objects contained within it, dating from the Bronze Age to Late Antiquity, originate from the Black Sea and Mediterranean areas, with the objects from the Mediterranean coming from Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Asia Minor and North Africa.
some based on the chronology of Greek amphorae. In the light of this activity, it is now necessary to re-examine the Greek amphora handle stamps from the Jagiellonian University collection and to publish the new conclusions. Since the collection of stamped Greek amphora handle fragments was not published in its entirety in 1976 it is now an opportune moment to publish an analysis of the remaining fragments alongside the re-analysis of the fragments which appeared previously. The collection was also been referred to in the recent Egipt, Grecja, Italia… edited by Joachim Śliwa (2007a), although the publication did not contain detailed information about the fragments. 24 fragments from stamped Greek amphora handles as well as two of Roman origin are to be found in the collection. Seven of them were donated privately by Karol Stahel, most of whose collection came from the Black Sea region (see Śliwa 2007b). Unfortunately, it is difficult now to ascertain the exact circumstances under which the remainders came into our possession. 16 of the 24 Greek fragments originate from the Mediterranean area (12 from Rhodes, three from Thasos, one from Knidos) and seven from the Black Sea area (all from Sinope) with one additional fragment of unknown origin.
The majority of this collection was closely examined for a publication which contained a chapter on a group of seventeen stamped Greek amphora handles by Grażyna Kałka-Tobołowa (1976) who included stamp readings, basic descriptions and dates, but no drawings or photographs. Since the publication of this catalogue, ceramic epigraphy has come under intensive study, resulting in the publication of many new breakthrough studies in the field, including
The Rhodian fragments date to the second half of the 3rd to the end of the 2nd century BC. Among the most interesting
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this eponym was dated to Period III on the basis of his connection with the fabricant Nysios (Porro 1914, 385, Nos 47-48; cf. Grace 1952, 528: Period III; Z. Sztetyłło1991, 25, Nos 16-18: Periods III-IV, around 175 BC). I have not come across any parallel stamps. On all the stamps of this eponym the inscription is written from the left and the name of the magistrate appears together with the name of month.
of these are stamps of the fabricant Hippokrates (Cat. Nos 8, 9), with the secondary stamps omicron with star and rho retrograde as well as a stamp of the eponym Anaxiboulos (Cat. No. 1), to my knowledge appearing for the first time in a retrograde inscription. The Sinopean stamps originate from the second half of the 4th to the beginning of the 2nd century BC. Worthy of special note is a stamp bearing the name of the astynomos Naupon I and the fabricant Pythes I (Cat. No. 21), the latter most probably written over the name of the fabricant Geron II.
2. Inv. No. 738. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, 4.3x1.5cm. Unpublished. EPIJAKK Head of Helios IJQATEUS
Rounding off the Greek part of the collection, the Knidian stamp dates from the time of the duoviri (107-78 BC), whilst the Thasian stamps all come from the period 360350 BC.
Stamp of the eponym Kallikrates (Figure 1:2). This official held authority during Period IIIc, from 177-175 BC (Finkielsztejn 2001, 192, Tab. 19: similar stamp; cf. Börker and Burow 1998, 91, Nos 224, 225: Period III(?), from Pergamon; Jöhrens 1999, 52, Tab. 7: Period IIIc; Sztetyłło 2000, 82, No. 32: Period III, from Tell Atrib). Shelov (1975, 57, Nos 124-127) placed the activity of the eponym Kallikrates at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. C. Habicht (2003, 551) identified the eponym Kallikrates as a priest of Helios, son of Euphranidas. The name of this magistrate occurs on stamps together with the name of the months and also on circular stamps with the emblem of the head of Helios or a rose (Nicolaou 2005, 79, Nos 163-167).
I have based my dating of the Rhodian stamps on the chronology proposed by G. Finkielsztejn (since rendered more precise by other researchers), as it is the one accepted by most scholars in this field. The only Knidian stamp uses the chronology of V. Grace as its base, while the stamps from Thasos are dated according to Y. Garlan’s criteria. These criteria are used since they take into account his most recent research, which has mainly focused on ancient Thasian stamps, examples of which appear in the catalogue presented. N. Conovici’s absolute chronology of Sinopean amphora stamps, which is very similar in its criteria to that of Y. Garlan, is used to date stamps originating from this place. Apart from the abovementioned works I have also made use of the contributions of other scholars in the field for making comparisons. However, due to space constraints the references for each stamp is not entirely complete.
3. Inv. No. 739. Place of discovery: unknown. Circular stamp, diameter 3.3cm. Unpublished. EPIJAKKIJQATIDADAKIOU Rose
Catalogue
Stamp of the eponym Kallikratidas II (Figure 1:3). His activity can be placed at the beginning of Period IIId, 175173 BC (Finkielsztejn 2001, 192, Tab. 19; cf. Börker and Burow 1998, 31-32, Nos 224-245; Period III). V. Grace (1985, 9) dated this eponym between 188-186 BC. A similar stamp has been presented by Shelov (1975, 58, No. 132), who dated the activity of Kallikratidas II between the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 2nd century BC. The eponym Kallikratidas II is one of the three magistrates connected with secondary stamps in the shape of a small rose introduced by the fabricant Damokrates I (cf. Cat. No. 6). The name of this eponym also occurs on rectangular stamps with the head of Helios (Sztetyłło 1976, 46, Nos 102-103; Nicolaou 2005, 81, No. 170).
Rhodes Eponym Stamps 1. Inv. No. 429. Place of discovery: unknown, donor K. Stahel (on whom see: Śliwa 2007b, 269; Tab. LVI: picture of handle). Rectangular stamp, 4x1.8cm. Retrograde inscription. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 245, No. 529: first half of 3rd century BC. EPIAMAN IBOUKOU ←
4. Inv. No. 740. Place of discovery: unknown. Circular stamp, diameter 3.2cm. Unpublished.
Stamp of the eponym Anaxiboulos (Figure 1:1). His activity can be placed in Period Va, c. 145-134/133 BC (Finkielsztejn 2001, 195, Tab. 21; cf. Nicolaou 2005, 35, Nos 53-56: Period Va). J. Burow (Börker and Burow 1998, 82, No. 58, Pl. 23) dated the activity of the eponym Anaxiboulos in Periods IV-V. In the older publications
EP[I][PQATOV]AMEOUSACQIAMIOU Rose
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Figure 1. Rhodian amphora stamps of the eponyms: 1 – Anaxiboulos; 2 – Kallikrates; 3 – Kallikratidas II; 4 – Pratophanes; and of the producers: 5 – Agesilas I; 6 – Damokrates I; 7 – Eukleitos; 8-9 – Hippokrates (photo W. Machowski and A. Dobosz)
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On the stamp there are the final letters of a name, which I believe to be that of Pratophanes (Figure 1:4) and the name of the month of Agrianios. Pratophanes was the eponym during the Period IIIb, c. 188 BC (Finkielsztejn 2001, 192, Tab. 19; cf. Grace and Savvatianou-Petropoulakou 1970, 294 footnote 2; Jöhrens 1999, 75, No. 199: Period IIIb, about 201 BC). Stamps of this eponym were found in Pergamon (Börker and Burow 1998, 37, Nos 304-306) and in Villanova (Maiuri 1924, 257-258, Nos 23-26: 190-180 BC). The name of this eponym often appears on rectangular stamps with the emblem of the head of Helios (Finkielsztejn 1998, 4, No. Rh 16).
Dorkylidas, Sodamos (IIIa), Archokrates II, Aristokrates II, Kleonymos II, Philodamos (IIIb), Agemachos, Ainetor, Kallikrates (cf. Cat. No. 2) (IIIc), Kallikratidas II (cf. Cat. No. 3), Kleukrates I, Symmachos, Nikasagoras I (IIId) and with Ariston (IIIe) (Nicolaou 2005, 149, Nos 370-384). During the time of the first three eponyms mentioned from period IIId, Damokrates I began the custom of placing a small secondary stamp in the shape of a rose in addition to the main stamp. This type of secondary stamp is typical only of this fabricant (Finkielsztejn 2001, 113 §III.1.1). Probably in the time of the eponym Nikasagoras I, perhaps c. 188 BC, the type of secondary stamp changed and took the form of a single letter (Nicolaou 2005, 149, Nos 370384).
Fabricant Stamps
7. Inv. No. 432. Place of discovery: unknown, donor K. Stahel. Rectangular stamp, 4.5x2.3cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 247, No. 530: 275 BC.
5. Inv. No. 7046. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, 3.7x1.5cm. Unpublished. H[ESL]OVOQI
EUJKEI OUACGCIKA TOU
Stamp of the fabricant Agesilas I; month Thesmophorios (Figure 1:5). I. Nicolaou (2005, 127) placed the activity of the fabricant Agesilas I in Period IIIa, c. 198-190 BC, on the basis of his previously unknown connection with the eponym Thestor, whose term is placed in this period. Scholars previously dated the activity of Agesilas I slightly earlier, in Period II (Lungu 1990, 215, Tab. I: 212/211 or 209 BC, from Independenta; Finkielsztejn 1998, 119: 202190 BC; Jöhrens 1999, 36, No. 83: the end of Period II; Sztetyłło 2000, 91, No. 53: Period II, c. 210 BC, from Tell Atrib). There are known connections of this fabricant with other eponyms previously dated in Period IIc, but only on the basis of this connection with Agesilas I: Iasikrates (Grace and Savvatianou-Petropoulakou 1970, 303, No. E4, from Delos), Tharsipolis (Nicolaou 2005, 71, No. 145, and 418, No. 62, from Paphos, House of Dionysios) and Damothemis (Lungu 1990, 215).
Winged caduceus r. Stamp of the fabricant Eukleitos (Figure 1:7). He was active from the end of Period IV (160-146 BC) until Period V (145-108 BC) according to Finkielsztejn`s chronology (2001, 135; cf. Sztetyłło 1991, 69, Nos 115-119: the end of Periods IV-V, from Paphos, House of Aion and Villa of Theseus; Jöhrens 1999, 88-89, Nos 236-237: second half of 2nd century BC, but before 129 BC). The fabricant Eukleitos is connected with many eponyms from the end of Period IV and Period V: Heragoras (IVa), Aleksimachos (IVb), Andrias, Aristakos, Astymedes II, Thersandros, Timodikos, Teisagoras (Va), Androneikos, Klenostratos, Timotheos (Vb) (Nicolaou 2005, 168, No. 422). Other magistrates are mentioned by G. Finkielsztejn (2001, 136137): Anaxandros, Lapheides, Alexiadas, Archembrotos I (Va), Aristogenes, Leontidas, Kallikrates III, Nikasagoras II and Polyaratos II (Vb).
6. Inv. No. 443. Place of discovery: unknown, donor K. Stahel. Circular stamp, diameter 3cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 246, No. 531: 220-180 BC.
8. Inv. No. 445. Place of discovery: unknown, donor K. Stahel. Circular stamp, diameter 3.3cm. Rectangular secondary stamp with retrograde inscription. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 247, No. 534: 220-180 BC.
DALOJQATEUS Rose
IPPOJQATEUS Stamp of the producer Damokrates I (Figure 1:6). He was active between Periods II and III, which cover c. 234-161 BC according to Finkielsztejn`s chronology (2001, 113 §III. 1.1; cf. Nicolaou 2005, 149, No. 370-384: Periods II-III, from Paphos, House of Dionysos). Some scholars shorten the period of his activity (Grace 1985, 9: the end of his activity in 185 BC, in the time of the eponym Nikasagoras; Akamates 2000, 66, No. P31, from Pella: Period III; Sztetyłło 2000, 95, No. 63-65: Period III, probably 188183 BC, from Tell Atrib). Damokrates I is connected with eponyms from Periods IIc-IIId: Pausanias II (IIc),
Rose Secondary stamp Q ← Stamp of the fabricant Hippokrates (Figure 1:8). The activity of this fabricant can be dated between Periods IIIb and Vb, which cover 189-121 BC according to Finkielsztejn`s chronology (2001, 114; cf. Grace 1985, 9,
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Damaged Stamps
46, No. 3c: from the time of the eponym Nikasagoras I until the mid-2nd century BC, from the Middle Stoa; Sztetyłło 1991, 74, No. 128: the end of Period III-beginning of Period IV, before 150 BC, from Paphos, Villa of Theseus; Börker and Burow 1998, 91, No. 221-223, Pl. 27: Periods IIIc-IV, from Pergamon; Nicolaou 2005, 181, No. 462 with secondary stamp omicron with star, 183, Nos 463464: Periods III-early V, from Paphos, House of Dionysos). The fabricant Hippokrates is connected with eponyms from Periods IIIb-Vb: Hieron I (IIIb), Athanodotos, Theaidetos, Nikasagoras I (IIId), Aratophanes I, Aristodamos II and Aristion II (IIIe), Aleximachos, Autokrates I, Eudamos, Xenophantos II (IVb), Timodikos (Va) and Aristratos (Vb) (Nicolaou 2005, 181, No. 462). Hippokrates was a son of the fabricant Damokrates I and used secondary stamps adopted from his father: A, K, C (sigma lunar), T, U (Grace 1985, 9ff) and his own: B, D, E, O, IC, JA (Akamates 2000, 68, No. P33), O with star (cf. Cat. No. 9) and Q (Palaczyk 2000, 402), which can be seen on stamp presented here.
11. Inv. No. 444. Place of discovery: unknown, donor K. Stahel. Rectangular stamp, preserved width 4.2x1.9cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 247, No. 535: 180-150 BC. EPI [...] [K] or [A] [...] UAJIMHIO[U] Stamp of an eponym whose name is illegible. Name of the month Hyakinthios (Figure 2:11). The name of the month occurred on Rhodian stamps from c. 234 BC, i.e. in Period II according to Finkielsztejn`s chronology (2001, 190, II.3.2-Period II Tab. 18). 12. Inv. No. 441. Place of discovery: unknown. Circular stamp, diameter 3.1cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 247, No. 535: 180-150 BC.
9. Inv. No. 430. Place of discovery: unknown, donor K. Stahel. Circular stamp, diameter 3.2cm. Rectangular secondary stamp. Fragment of other stamp: mistake(?). Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 247, No. 533: 220180 BC; Śliwa 2007b, 269, Tab. LVI: picture of handle (article devoted to the donor).
[E]PI E[...]G[...][UAJIM]HIOU or [E]PI E[...]G[...][SLIM]HIOU Rose
IPPOJQATEUS Stamp of an eponym whose name is illegible. Name of the month Hyakinthios or Sminthios (cf. above) (Figure 2:12).
Rose Secondary stamp O*
Knidos
Part of other stamp O
13. Inv. No. 741. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, 5.3x2.4cm. Sigma lunar. Unpublished.
Stamp of the fabricant Hippokrates (Figure 1:9) and his secondary stamp with the letter O and star. See above, Cat. No. 8.
[EUJ]QATGC
10. Inv. No. 431. Place of discovery: unknown, donor K. Stahel. Circular stamp, diameter 3.2cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 245, No. 528: first half of 3rd century BC.
JAIPOKIWAQ Stamp of the duoviri Eukrates and Policharmos (Figure 2:13). The names of magistrates called duoviri appeared on amphora stamps in Period VI, which covers 107-78 BC (Grace 1985, 31). The duoviri Eukrates and Policharmos are known from circular stamps with their names bordered by two concentric circles. On the other circular stamp of the amphorae the name of the eponym Aristomedes appeared (Grace 1956, 159, No. 164; Grace, SavvatianouPetropoulakou 1970, 332, No. E 85; Jöhrens 1999, 205, Nos 668-669). The names of these two magistrates also appear on rectangular stamps alongside the name of the eponym Aristomedes (Grace 1934, 250, No. 130; Jöhrens 1999, 226, Nos 754-756). To my knowledge, there are no parallels for the names of these two magistrates connected by the conjunction kai.
WQGSILOU Rose Stamp of the fabricant Chresimos (Figure 2:10). His work can be dated to Periods IIb-IIc, which cover 219-199 BC (Finkielsztejn 2001, 102 §II. 9.4, Pl. XII.225; cf. Nicolaou 2005, 223, No. 596). Sometimes the activity of Chresimos is placed slightly earlier (Shelov 1975, 123, No. 477: first half of 3rd century BC; Calvet 1982, 35, No. 97: 3rd century BC, from Kition; Sztetyłło 2000, 118, No. 126: first half of the 3rd century BC, from Tell Atrib). There is a known connection of this fabricant with the eponym Simylinos dated during the Period IIb (Finkielsztejn 2001, 102 §II. 9.4, Pl. XIII.235).
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Figure 2. Amphora stamps; 10 – of the Rhodian producer Chresimos; 11-12 – with the names of the Rhodian months; 13 – of Knidian duoviri Eukrates and Policharmos; 14 – of the Thasian eponym Philokrates; 15-16 – of the Thasian eponym Megon II; 17 – of the Sinopean astynomos Antimachos II, son of Theupeithos; 18 – of the Sinopean astynomos Delphis, son of Artemidoros (photo W. Machowski and A. Dobosz)
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Thasos
The fabricant Herakleitos is connected with other eponyms from Groups F1 (360-350 BC), F2 (350-345 BC) and G 1-2 (c. 345-335 BC) (Garlan 1999b; Monakhov 1999, 394).
14. Inv. No. 742. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, 3.8x1.8cm. Unpublished.
Sinope
HASI[OM]│[V]IK[O]J[QATGS][P]UKAD[GC] Astynomoi Stamps
Hedgehog (?) or bunch of grapes (?)
17. Inv. No. 747. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, width preserved 5.2x2.5cm. Unpublished.
Stamp of the eponym Philokrates (Figure 2:14). Name of the fabricant Pylades and an ethnicon. All of the words in abbreviated form. The eponym Philokrates held authority between 360-350 BC (Garlan 1999b, 234, 237, No. 698). Y. Garlan placed this official in the stylistic Group F1, which contains stamps made by the same engraver for the eponyms Damastes and Panphaes as well. The eponym Philokrates is not only known through amphora stamps but also from other sources (Garlan 1999b, 234, 237, No. 698; cf. Pridik 1917, 54 No. 418; Bon and Bon 1957, 372, Nos 1507-1510). The fabricant Pylades is connected with many eponyms from Groups F1 (360-350 BC), F2 (350-345 BC) and G 1-2 (c. 345-335 BC) (Garlan 1999b, 202-294; cf. Bon and Bon 1957, 370-372; Monakhov 1999, 278-279, 384-385). The emblem has to remain undefined for now, although there are suggestions that it could be a hedgehog (Garlan 1999b, 237, No. 698) or a bunch of grapes (Canarache 1957, 69, No. 89).
[A]STUMOLOU [AM]TILAWOU Horn (?) [AK?] Stamp of the astynomos Antimachos II, son of Theupeithos (Figure 2:17). N. Conovici (1998, 39, No. 86) placed the activity of this official in Group IV, which covers 279258 BC (cf. Garlan 2004, 172: Group Vb; Conovici and Lungu 2007, 40, No. 7-9, from Callatis). Some scholars dated this astynomos a little bit earlier (Fedoseev 1999, 31, No. 10: 290-284 BC, probably 286 BC; Monakhov 1999, 492: c. 295-275 BC). During the time of Antimachos II the arrangement of the inscription on amphora stamps changed in some workshops: the name of the fabricant was placed on the third row instead of the first (Conovici 1998, 89). It is possible that on this stamp there was the name of a fabricant on the first row (which is partially broken off) or on the third row which contains two visible letters.
15. Inv. No. 439. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, 4.0x1.8cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 251, No. 544: 220-180 BC.
18. Inv. No. 440. Place of discovery: unknown, donor: K. Stahel. Rectangular stamp, width preserved 6.0x2.6cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 250, No. 530: 150-120 BC.
HA[C]I LE│C│PA[US]│A Ivy leaf Stamp of the eponym Megon II. Name of the fabricant Pausanias and an ethnicon (Figure 2:15). All of the words in abbreviated form. The eponym Megon II held authority during 360-350 BC. There are other fabricants connected with this eponym: Satyros, Niskos and Pylades (Garlan 1999b, 201, 204, No. 531; cf. Pridik 1917, 56, No. 457, from Kerch; Bon and Bon 1957, 120, No. 281). Monakhov (1999, 299, Tab. 129) dated other stamps of this fabricant in the decade 370-360 BC.
[ASTU]MO[LOS] DEKVIOSTOU Prow of ship (?) AQTELIDOQOU AQTELOM Stamp of the astynomos Delphis, son of Artemidoros (Figure 2:18). Name of the fabricant Artemon. N. Conovici (1998, 49, No. 146, and 145, No. 554, from Histria) placed the activity of this official in Group Ve with Group V covering 257-190 BC (cf. Garlan 2004, 229: Group IVd). Sometimes this astynomos is dated slightly earlier (Fedoseev 1999, 32, No. 33: 250-220 BC, probably 243 BC; Monakhov 1999, 546, Tab. 228, 5: after 225 BC). The fabricant Artemon was active during Group V and maybe also Group IV (Conovici 1998, 94, No. 234, 142, No. 529, 150, No. 571; cf. Garlan 2004, 289: Group VI). To my knowledge there are no similar stamps.
16. Inv. No. 436. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, 3.2x1.7cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 251, No. 543: 220-180 BC. GQAJKEITO[S]│HA│[SI][O] or [Y][M]│LEC[YM] Kantharos Stamp of the eponym Megon II (see above) (Figure 2:16). Name of the fabricant Herakleitos and an ethnicon. All of the words in abbreviated form. There are known analogical stamps (Pridik 1917, 49, Nos 297-298; Bon and Bon 1957, 205, No. 704; Garlan 1999b, 203, No. 523 the same die (?)).
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19. Inv. No. 435. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, 6.0x2.6cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 249, No. 539: 180-150 BC.
PUHEOUOS Bunch of grapes Stamp of the astynomos Naupon I (Figure 3:21). Name of the fabricant Pythes I. N. Conovici (1998, 38, No. 64, from Histria) placed the activity of this astynomos in Group IIIc with Group III covering 300-280 BC (cf. Shelov 1975, No. 570: Group III; Garlan 2004, 146, No. 165-168: beginning of Group IVc). N. B. Fedoseev dated his activity slightly earlier (1999, 33, No. 119: 310-305 BC, probably 307 BC). It seems that the stamp here presented is an exact analogy to the example published by Makhneva (1994, 115, Fig. 2/6; from Kerkinityda), where under the last letter ypsilon of the name of Pythes one can see the letter tau. According to the opinion of Y. Garlan (2004, 82 footnote 356) the letter tau and the following letters omicron and sigma belonged to the name of Geron II (gen. Gerontos), father of Pythes I.
ASTUMOLOU DGLGTQIOU Head of Herakles l. CKAUJIAS Stamp of the astynomos Demetrios I (Figure 3:19). Name of the fabricant Glaukias II. The astynomos Demetrios I was active at the beginning of Group IV, which covers 279-258 BC (Conovici 1998, 39, No. 75, from Histria; cf. Garlan 2004, 160: Group Va). N. B. Fedoseev dated his activity between 295-290 BC, probably in 291 BC (1999, 32, No. 34). Demetrios I is connected with fabricants from the end of Group III and from the beginning of Group IV (Conovici 1999, 54). The fabricant Glaukias II, son of Kallistratos, was active during the Groups II-IV (333-258 BC) (Conovici 1998, 34-35; cf. Garlan 2004, 49-50 (F9): Groups III-V). N. Conovici (1999) proposed the existence of two separate astynomoi Demetrios III (cf. Cat. No. 20) and Demetrios I, who are sometimes considered as the same person.
22. Inv. No. 433. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, width preserved 5.2x2.2cm. Published: KałkaTobołowa 1976, 250, No. 541: 150-120 BC. ASTUMOLOU MAUPYMOSTOU Ship’s rudder
20. Inv. No. 434. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, width preserved 3.4x2.5cm. Published: KałkaTobołowa 1976, 249, No. 538: 180-150 BC.
JAKKISHEMOU PQYTOS
[ASTUM]OLOU
Stamp of the astynomos Naupon, son of Kallisthenes (Figure 3:22). Name of the fabricant Protos. N. Conovici (1998, 48, No. 100, and 115, Nos 367-368, from Histria) placed the activity of this astynomos in Group Vb with Group V covering 257-190 BC (cf. Garlan 2004, 192-193, Nos 364-365: Group VIb). N. B. Fedoseev (1999, 34, No. 121) placed his work during 280-250 BC, probably 273 BC. There are three fabricants with the name Protos. It is not possible to establish when they replaced each other. On the basis of their connection with officials Y. Garlan (2004, 73 (F65) placed their activity between Groups IVc and VId. To my knowledge there are no other examples of a connection between the astynomos Naupon, son of Kallisthenes, and the fabricant Protos.
[DGLG]TQIOU Crowned head l. [GVAIS]TIOS Stamp of the astynomos Demetrios III, son of Heroxenos (Figure 3:20). Name of the fabricant Hephaistios. N. Conovici (1998, 39, No. 89, and 97, No. 261, from Histria) placed the activity of the astynomos Demetrios III, son of Heroxenos, whose emblem is a head, at the end of Group IV, which covers 279-258 BC (cf. Fedoseev 1999, 32, No. 35: 290-284 BC, probably 285 BC; Garlan 2004, 83, from Elizavietovskoe and, 174, No. 286 with a man`s head facing left and with the name of the fabricant Hephaistios, from Tanais: Group Vc). N. Conovici (1999) proposed the existence of two separate astynomoi, Demetrios III and Demetrios I (cf. Cat. No. 19), who are sometimes considered as the same person. There are two known fabricants with the name Hephaistios. It is not possible to define which is connected with the astynomos Demetrios III (Garlan 2004, 50, F10-11).
Fabricant Stamps 23. Inv. No. 442. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, 5.6x2.7cm. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 248, No. 537: 220-180 BC. MEULGMIOUTOU
21. Inv. No. 437. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, width preserved 6.6x2.2cm. Published: KałkaTobołowa 1976, 248, No. 536: 200-183 BC.
KAJYMOS Ivy leaf Stamp of the fabricant Neumenios II (alternative versions: Noumenios or Nemenios), son of Lakon I (Figure 3:23). N. Conovici (1998, 34 from Histria) placed the activity of this fabricant in Group IIc, with Group II covering 333296 BC (cf. Garlan 2004, 45 (F4): Groups IIa-IIIb). To my
MAUPYMOS ASTUMOLO[U] Young man`s head r.
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Agata Dobosz: Greek Amphora Stamps from the Black Sea and Mediterranean Areas
Figure 3. Amphora stamps of the Sinopean astynomoi: 19 – Demetrios I; 20 – Demetrios III, son of Heroksenos; 21 – Naupon I; 22 – Naupon, son of Kallisthenes; 23 – of the Sinopean producer Neumenios II, son of Lakon I; 24 – stamp of unknown origin; 25 – Roman stamp produced in a workshop owned by Junius Melissus; 26 – stamp with the inscription of Antio (photo W. Machowski, A. Dobosz, K. Mirczak and P. Gąsior)
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knowledge there are no similar stamps. On all of the stamps which I have seen, the name of this fabricant appears with the name of the astynomos, although an example without the name of the astynomos has been mentioned by B. N. Grakov (1929, 135, No. 41) and N. F. Fedoseev (1999, 38, No. 183).
the stamp of F. Paterni appearing on the other (Figure 3:25). M. H. C. Callender (1965, No. 1289, No. 879b [IVNII MELISSI]) placed the activity of Junius Melissus in the first half of the 2nd century AD, during the reign of Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161). 26. Inv. No. 6. Place of discovery: unknown, donor B. and J. Wyrozumski. Place of origin: Italia. Rectangular stamp, width 3x1cm. Unpublished.
Stamp of unknown origin 24. Inv. No. 438. Place of discovery: unknown. Rectangular stamp, 2.2x1.6cm (Figure 3:24). Orange clay with light pinkish slip. Published: Kałka-Tobołowa 1976, 251, No. 542: 4th century BC, Thasos.
ANTIO ← Stamp with the inscription of Antio (Figure 3:26) incised on the Greco-Italic amphora originating from Italia. An analogical stamp comes from Plaza de la Virgen, Calle Caballeros (Valencia, Spain) and is dated to the 2nd century BC (CEIPAC 9833). Both my re-analysis of the amphora stamps previously examined by G. Kałka-Tobołowa and my study of the unpublished stamps from the Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Collection have produced significant results. In many cases I have been able to correct or add extra information to errant or incomplete inscription readings made in the 1976 catalogue. With regard to this publication, I have also been able to identify errors made in emblem interpretation and have brought to light hitherto disregarded secondary stamps. All of the stamps have also now been dated in accordance with the most recent research in the field and for the first time they are accompanied by pictures and rubbings.
The closest analogy of this stamp comes from Pantikapaion and was provided by Pridik (1917, 104, Nos 11-12 monogram 8), but without classification or date. Other examples were found in the Athenian Agora (Lawall 1995, 191), Kerameikos (Knigge 1975, 456, 457, Fig. 4 [non vidi] after Lawall 1995, 191 footnote 68: ‘a piece which is dated by its stratigraphic position to before c. 440 BC’), Samothrace (unpublished, Lawall 1995, 191 footnote 68), in Israel in Tell Keisan (Briand and Humbert 1980, 253, Pls 87.90a and 135.90a [non vidi] after Lawall 1995, 191 footnote 68) and in Tel Michal (Conrad 1989, 339, Fig. 28.2 and Pl. 74.4 [non vidi] after Lawall 1995, 191 footnote 68). The most popular suggestion of the reading of this stamp is AVU (cf. Lawall 1995, 191; Garlan 2002, 162, No. 70). M. Lawall (1995, 191-193) believes that it must originate from the southern Aegean due to the shape of the amphoras and monogram stamps that can be found on the so-called Samian-Milesian amphoras. On the other hand, Y. Garlan (2002, 162, No. 70) has suggested its connection with the city of Aphytis in Macedonia.
Indices Numbers written below correspond to the numbers in the catalogue. Personal Names Greek
I would like to thank Mrs N. Mateevici, Ms T. Panagou and Mr P. Dupont for the information about this stamp and for the bibliographical referencing.
ACGSIKAS f. Rh.: 5 AMANIBOUKOS ep. Rh.: 1 AMTILAWOS II (HEUPEIHOUS) ast. S.: 17 AQTELYM f. S.: 18 CKAUJIAS f. S.: 19 DALOJQATGS f. Rh.: 6 DEKVIS TOU AQTELIDOQOU ast. S.: 18 DGLGTQIOS I ast. S.: 19 DGLGTQIOS III (GEQONEMOU) ast. S.: 20 EUJKEITOS f. Rh.: 7 EUJQATGS duov. Kn.:13 GQAJKEITOS f. Th.: 16 GVAISTIOS f. S.: 20 IPPOJQATGS f. Rh.: 8, 9 JAKKIJQATIDAS ep. Rh.: 3 JAKKIJQATGS ep. Rh.: 2
Roman stamps 25. Inv. No. 446. Place of discovery: Monte Testaccio, Rome 1872, as stated by S. Larysz-Niedzielski, the donor (see Śliwa 2007c, 107 No. 142). Place of origin: Italica in Baetica (west part of Roman Empire). Rectangular stamp, width preserved 4.9x1.0cm. Unpublished. [F P]ATERNI Leaf (?) Arrow (?) Amphorae with this stamp could be the product of a workshop owned by Junius Melissus (II IVNII MELISSI). His name often occurs on one handle of the amphora, with
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Agata Dobosz: Greek Amphora Stamps from the Black Sea and Mediterranean Areas
Bibliography
LECYM II ep. Th.: 15, 16 MAUPYM I ast. S.: 21 MAUPYM TOU JAKKISHEMOU ast. S.: 22 MEULGMIOS TOU KAJYMOS f. S.: 23 PAUSAMIAS f. Th.: 15 POKIWAQLOS duov. Kn.: 13 PQATOVAMES ep. Rh.: 4 PQYTOS f. S.: 22 PUHES I f. S.: 21 PUKADGS f. Th.: 14 VIKOJQATES ep. Th.: 14 WQGSILOS f. Rh.: 10
Akamates, I. M. 2000 — Ajalάtgr, I . L. Emsvqάcister kabέr tym alvoqέym apό tgm acoqά tgr Pέkkar [Ensfragistes labes ton amforeon apo ten agora tes Pellas – Stamped amphora handles from the agora in Pella]. Athens. Bon, A. M. and Bon, A. 1957. Études Thasiennes 4. Les timbres amphoriques de Thasos. Paris. Börker, Ch. and Burow, J. 1998. Die hellenistischen Amphorenstempel aus Pergamon. Berlin, New York. Callender, M. H. C. 1965. Roman Amphorae with Index of Stamps. London. Calvet, Y. 1982. Kition-Bamboula 1. Les timbres amphoriques. Paris. Canarache, V. 1957. Importul amforelor stampilate la Istria [Imported stamped amphorae in Istria]. (Biblioteca Istorica 1). Bucharest. CEIPAC database — http://ceipac.ub.edu Conovici, N. 1998. Histria 8. Les timbres amphoriques 2. Sinope. Bucharest, Paris. Conovici, N. 1999. Un astynome sinopéen mal connu Dèmètrios I. In Y. Garlan (ed.), 49-70. Conovici, N. and Lungu, V. 2007. Timbres amphoriques du Musée Municipal de Bucarest. Studii şi cercetări de Istorie Veche şi Archeologie 58, 1-2, 32-54, Figs 1-8. Fedoseev, N. F. 1999. Classification des timbres astynomiques de Sinope. In Y. Garlan (ed.), 27-43. Finkielsztejn, G. 1998. Stamped Amphora Handles and Amphoras (from Shaar ha-Amaquim), unpublished MS, 12/14/98-I, 1-16. Finkielsztejn, G. 2001. Chronologie détaillée et révisée des éponymes amphoriques rhodiens, de 270 à 108 av. J.-C. environ. Premier bilan. (British Archaeological Reports, International Series 990). Oxford. Garlan, Y. (ed.) 1999a, Production et commerce des amphores anciennes en mer Noir. Actes du Colloque international d’Istanbul, 25-28 mai 1994. Aix-enProvence. Garlan, Y. 1999b. Ėtudes thasiennes 18. Les Timbres amphoriques de Thasos I. Timbres Protothasiens et thasiens anciens. Athens. Garlan, Y. 2004. Corpus international des timbres amphoriques 10. Les timbres céramiques sinopéens sur amphores et sur tuiles trouvés a Sinope, Présentation et catalogue. (Varia Anatolica 6). Paris. Grakov, B. N. 1929 — Граков, Ь. Н. Древнегреческие керамические клейма с именами астиномов [Drevnegrecheskiie keramicheskie kleima s imienami astinomov – Ancient Greek Ceramic Stamps with Names of Astynomoi]. Moscow. Grace, V. 1934. Stamped Amphora Handles found in 19311932. Hesperia 3, 197-310. Grace, V. 1946. Early Thasian Stamped Amphoras. American Journal of Archaeology 50, 31-38. Grace, V. 1952. Timbres amphoriques trouvés à Délos. Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 76, 514-540. Grace, V. and Savvatianou-Petropoulakou, M. 1970. Exploration archéologique de Délos 27. Les timbres
Roman ANTIO: 26 PATERNI: 25 Rhodian Months ACQIAMIOS: 4 DAKIOS: 3 SLIMHIOS: 12(?) UIAJIMHIOS: 12(?) HESLOVOQIOS: 5 Ethnics HA-: 16 HASI-: 14, 15 Secondary Stamps P: 8 O with star: 9 Emblems Arrow(?): 25 Bunch of grapes: 14(?), 21 Head crown: 20 Head of Helios: 2 Head of Herakles: 19 Head of young man: 21 Hedgehog(?): 14 Horn(?): 17 Ivy leaf: 15, 23 Kantharos: 16 Leaf(?): 25 Prow of ship: 18 Rose: 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 Ship`s rudder: 22 Winged caduceus: 7 Monogram
24
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Nicolaou, I. 2005. Paphos 5. The Stamped Amphora Handles from the House of Dionysos. Nicosia. Palaczyk, M. 2000. Secondary stamps in the Rhodian amphora production. Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautorum Acta 36, 397-406. Pridik, E. M. 1917 — Придик, Е. М. Инвентарный каталог клейм на амфорных ручках и горлышках и на черепицах Эрмитажнoго собранuя [Iventarnyi katalog kleim na amfornych ruchkakh, gorlishkakh i na cherepitsakh Ermitazhnogo sobraniia – Inventory Catalogue of the Stamps on Amphorae Handles and Necks and on the Tiles of the Hermitage Collection]. Petrograd. Shelov, D. B. 1975 — Шелов, Д. В. Керамические клейма из Танаиса III-I вв до н. э. [Keramicheskie kleima iz Tanaisa III-I vekov do n. e. – Ceramic Stamps of Tanais of the 3rd-1st Centuries BC]. Moscow. Sztetyłło, Z. 1976. Nea Paphos 1. Les timbres céramiques (1965-1973). Warsaw. Sztetyłło, Z. 1991. Nea Paphos 4. Pottery Stamps (19751989). Warsaw. Sztetyłło, Z. 2000. Pottery Stamps. In Sztetyłło, Z. and Myśliwiec K. 2000. Tell Atrib 1985-1995 1. Pottery Stamps, Rescue Excavations, 63-164. Warsaw. Śliwa, J. (ed.) 2007a. Egipt, Grecja, Italia…Zabytki starożytne z dawnej kolekcji Gabinetu Archeologicznego Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego [Egypt, Greece, Italy ... The Ancient Monuments of the Former Collection of the Jagiellonian University Archaeological Cabinet]. Kraków. Śliwa, J. 2007b. Generał Karol Stahel. Pionier archeologii nadczarnomorskiej [General Karol Stahel. A pioneer of Black Sea archaeology]. In J. Śliwa (ed.) 2007a, 268271. Śliwa, J. 2007c. Stanisław Larysz-Niedzielski (1853-1938). In J. Śliwa (ed.) 2007a, 102-110.
amphoriques grecs. L’îlot de la maison des comédiens, 277-382, Pls 53-63. Grace, V. 1985. The Middle Stoa Dated by Amphora Stamps. Hesperia 54, 1-54. Habicht, Ch. 2003. Rhodian Amphora Stamps and Rhodian Eponyms. Revue des études anciennes 105/II, 541-578. Jöhrens, G. 1999. Amphorenstempel im Nationalmuseum von Athen, zu den von H. G. Rolling aufgenommenen “uneditierten Henkelinschriften”. Mit einem Anhang: Die Amphorenstempel in der Sammlung der Abteilung Athen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. Athens, Mainz. Kałka-Tobołowa, G. 1976. Stemple na imadłach amfor [Stamps on amphora handles]. In M. L. Bernhard (ed.), Zabytki Archeologiczne Zakładu Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Katalog [Archaeological Objects from the Jagiellonian University Department of Mediterranean Archaeology, a Catalog], 245-252. Warsaw, Kraków. Lungu, V. 1990. Nouvelles données concernant la chronologie des amphores rhodiennes de la fin du IIIe siècle au début du IIe siècle av. J. C. Dacia 34, 209-217. Makhneva, O. A. 1994 — Махнева, О. А. Керамические клейма Керкинитиды (общий обзор) [Keramicheskie kleima Kerkinitidy (obshchii obzor) – Ceramic stamps from Kerkinityda]. In В. А. Кутайсов [V. A. Kutaisov] (ed.), Северо-западный Крым в античную эпоху [Severo-Zapadnyi Krym v antichnuiu epokhu – Southwestern Crimea in Ancient Times], 105-122. Kiev. Maiuri, A. 1924. Una fabbrica di anfore rodie. Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene a delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente 4/5 (1921/22), 249-269. Monakhov, S. Iu 1999 — Монахов, С. Ю. Греческие амфоры в Причерноморье. Комплексы керамической тары VII-II веков до н. э. [Grechieskie amfory v Prichiernomor’ie. Kompleksy keramicheskoi tary – Greek amphorae in the Black Sea. Complexes of Ceramic Containers of the 6th-2nd Centuries BC]. Saratov.
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Chapter 12 Characterization of the Bug and Dnieper Limans Workshop: Preliminary Laboratory Results and Comparative Typological Studies
Pierre Dupont
CNRS-UMR 5138 Maison de l‘Orient Méditerranéen Lyon, France [email protected]
Vasilica Lungu
Romanian Academy of Sciences Institute of South-East European Studies Bucharest, Romania [email protected] Abstract: The archaeometry laboratory in Lyon has submitted to chemical analysis some 150 pottery samples from Berezan and Olbia, about one third of which have been shown to correspond to local products. The individualization of a specific chemical pattern has been obtained for the Bug liman region, distinct from that of the nearby Dniester liman, and from the more remote Istro-Pontic ones. It is formed of several groups, of which the two main groups contain samples from both Berezan and Olbia. Since the Olbian samples cover a much wider span of time than the Berezan samples restricted to the Archaic period, we might tentatively assume that we have the products of a single manufacturing centre situated in Olbia rather than on Berezan island. For this reason, these two main groups were given the provisional appellations ‘Olbia A’ and ‘Olbia B’. The patterns of East Greek imported wares and of their local imitations in the Pontic area apparently reflect their daily use by Greek residents. The wide range of types of these assemblages (bowls, cups, one-handlers, fish-plates, kraters, lekanai, cooking-pots, oinochoai, amphoras, lamps etc.) includes shapes that are shared by different centres or even areas of manufacture. However, the distribution of this pottery requires more extensive enquiry in order to plot regional patterns over the course of time. Keywords: archaeometry, Berezan, determination of origin, local pottery, regional differentiation, Olbia
The present paper originates in archaeometrical studies undertaken in Lyon in the early 1970s on the identification of the local products of Istros (Histria). At that time, the regional differentiation at the root of their determination of origin had to restrict itself to the immediate surroundings of the site within one day’s walk, except in the case of Orgame located some 40km in the north, where it was possible to conduct a brief geological survey and obtain a batch of samples selected by the excavator. It was only after the fall of the Soviet Union that access to the finds of our Russian and Ukrainian colleagues was possible and that representative samples from North Pontic settlements were available.
The preliminary results obtained on the actual regional products of north-west Pontos revealed a division into several geochemical groups, to which attributions of origin were given, some of them provisional. As in the case of the Istro-Pontic area, the geological facies of both Dniester and Bug liman regions are predominantly loessic, with occasional overlaps of the chemical pattern from one region or, even, from one area to another. The dendrogram of classification (Figure 1) illustrates the existence of two main groups referred to as ‘Olbia A’ and ‘Olbia B’. At the present stage, it seems that this dichotomy results from an arbitrary partition of statistical processing, seemingly connected with too wide a dispersion of calcium contents. This dispersion might well be linked to the fact that Olbian potters used as clay materials both the deeper highly calcareous and the superficial poorly calcareous bed of local loessic deposits, as in one case observed in Istros. This would explain the more restricted size of group B, the lesser calcareous one.
Today the Lyon laboratory bank of chemical data on the Northern Black Sea area includes some 200 samples, of which one third correspond to local products, after comparison with my reference network on the Istro-Pontic area (c. 500 samples from Istros, Orgame, Beidaud, Tomis, Callatis, etc.) and Eastern Greece (more than 1000 samples from the principal sites of Aeolis, Ionia, Doris and the neighbouring islands, such as Rhodos, Samos, Chios, Lesbos, etc.).
On the other hand, it appears that each of these two groups A and B includes samples from both Olbia and Berezan, 95
96 NAD 6 NAD 8
OLBIA B
NAD = NADLIMANSKOE 3
NIK = NIKONION
TYR = TYRAS
OLV = OLBIA
BOR = BEREZAN
DNIESTR B
NAD 3 BOR 120 NAD 7 NAD 9 BOR 80 NIK 5 OLV 69 BOR 108 OLV 7 NAD 11 BOR 62 OLV 23 OLV 66 BOR 82 BOR 64 BOR 85 NIK 3 NIK 4 NIK 1
Planche A : classification hiérarchique ascendante (cluster analysis) des productions locales du liman du Bug et du liman du Dniestr
OLBIA A
Figure 1. Dendrogram of cluster analysis of local products from North-West Pontos
HISTRIA ?
BOR 112 BOR 116 BOR 37 BOR 57 DUP 524 TYR 1 BOR 1 OLV 1 BOR 61 NAD 1 BOR 83 OLV 6 OLV 63 OLV 64 BOR 117 OLV 57 BOR 107 NAD 4 OLV 71 BOR 106 OLV 25 OLV 68 OLV 70 OLV 65 OLV 55 OLV 3 BOR 60 BOR 67 OLV 24 BOR 50 BOR 127 OLV 72 BOR 115 BOR 121 BOR 47 BOR 55 OLV 54 OLV 67 OLV 4 BOR 4 OLV 56 BOR 40 BOR 81 TYR 5 TYR 4 NAD 12
DNIESTR A
BOR 93 OLV 100 BOR 5 BOR 111 TYR 3 NYK 2 TYR 2
O
LB
IA
C
O
LB I
A
OLV 75 OLV 78 OLV 26 OLV 76
D
OLV 73 OLV 77
Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Pierre Dupont and Vasilica Lungu: Characterization of the Bug and Dnieper Limans Workshop
suggesting that we are faced with one and the same centre of manufacture or with the complete overlapping of the chemical patterns of two separate centres. Considering the fact that our samples from Olbia cover a much wider chronological span than those from Berezan, largely restricted to the Archaic period, the eventuality of a single centre centred on Olbia seems more plausible at the present stage, the evidence in favour of a local workshop on Berezan island still remaining far from clear (we refer to a dump pit, full of alleged wasters of misfired pots, discovered by the late V. V. Nazarov and remaining almost completely unpublished). Our group ‘Olbia A’ contains common ware, both grey and buff. As concerns the former, the range of shapes mainly includes: table-amphoras (Figure 2), lids of lekanides or kraters (Figure 3), several variants of mugs with high arching handles (Figure 4), echinus bowls with incurved rim, often underlined by a circular groove (Figure 5), two variants of fish-plates: one with slightly down turned rim and a heavier one, with thicker rim, neatly cut off (Figure 6), also attested at Panskoye (Hannestad et al., 2002, Pls 68 B 222, 69 B224-225). The latter ranges: fine thin-walled Hellenistic jugs with rivet-like plastic ornament on top of handle (Figure 7), echinus bowls, less frequently grooved on the outer rim (Figure 8), reddish brown slipped onehandlers and fish-plates, as well as one thymiaterion. In addition to the common ware, this group also includes some pieces of painted vases, viz. two scraps of amphoras decorated with a scale pattern in the North-Ionian black figure style (Figure 9).
Figure 3. Lid of grey ware krater from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia A’
As for our group ‘Olbia B’, it is less varied and contains only grey ware, mostly dark grey slipped: one tableamphora and one krater, both with incised waveline pattern (Figure 10), one oinochoe with a trozella handle, two lekanai, two mugs with a high arching handle (Figure 11), one imitation of Ionian cup of Villard A2/B2 shape (Figure 12), three echinus bowls and another cup. Figure 4. Grey ware mug with high arching handle from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia A’
Figure 5. Grey ware echinus bowl from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia A’
Figure 2. Grey table amphora from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia A’
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Figure 6. Three fragments of grey ware fish-plates with thickened rim, neatly cut off, from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia A’
In addition to these two main Olbian groups, one notes the presence of two further secondary groups, at least within our sample. Though marginal indeed, they seem to be most probably of local origin as well: the first (‘Olbia C’) consists of two Roman amphoras made of light clay and a Roman brick; the other (‘Olbia D’) of two fragments of bricks – respectively from a Roman kiln and from a modern mudbrick – and of a loom weight, all made of very siliceous clay. Within the latter group there also seems to enter, but in a rather marginal position (not included in the diagram), an odd implement of grey ware, consisting of a large echinus bowl (Ø 30cm), unfortunately fragmentary, fitted with lugs inside presumably to support cooking pots and with a side circular cavity (ash box or vent pipe?) at the bottom. This pot seems to be interpreted as a portable brazier, although it is not made of a clay resistant to repeated thermal shocks as in the case of genuine kitchen ware (Figure 13). Two other groups form special cases. Each of them contains a significant grouping of samples from sites situated on the Dniester liman – Tyras on the right bank, Nikonion and Nadlimanskoe 3 on the left side, suggesting that we are faced with products which do not belong to the Olbian sphere. The first (‘Dniester A’) (Figure 14) includes four pieces from Tyras, one from Nikonion, one from Nadlimanskoe, plus four others from Berezan and one clay sample from Olbia. The second (‘Dniester B’) (Figure 15) consists predominantly in samples from the left bank of the Dniester liman, viz. five from Nadlimanskoe 3 and one from Nikonion, supplemented by two others from Berezan. Incidentally, it should be noted that most samples from Nikonion have revealed a chemical pattern fitting with Istros, a chemical result tallying with further epigraphic and numismatic evidence (Okhotnikov 1990, 66).
Figure 7. Hellenistic jug with rivet-like plastic ornament on top of handle from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia A’
A last group, more enigmatic, raises a keen problem of attribution. It contains at the same time: common wares, both grey and buff (Figure 16) – the latter very close to the Istrian repertory of shapes – associated with three pieces with painted decoration, viz. two fragments of amphoras in the Fikellura style (Figures 17-18) and another one of a krater in the North-Ionian ‘Late Wild Goat’ style (Figure
Figure 8. Echinus bowl with painted rim from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia A’
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Figure 11. Grey ware mug with high arching handle from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia B’
Figure 9. Amphora decorated with scale pattern in the NorthIonian black figure style from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia A’
Figure 12. Grey ware Ionian cup of Villard A2/B2 shape from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia B’
Figure 13. Grey portable brazier (?) from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia D’ (?)
Figure 10. Grey ware krater with incised waveline pattern from Berezan. Group ‘Olbia B’
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Figure 14. Group ‘Dniester A’
Figure 16. Two fragments of brick painted fish-plates from Nikonion. Istrian (?)
Figure 15. Two fragments of grey ware mugs with high arching handle from Nadlimanskoe 3. Group ‘Dniester B’
Figure 18. Amphora of orthodox ‘Fikellura’ style (Cook’s ‘Running Man Group’) from Berezan. Istrian (?)
Figure 17. Amphora of mixed style ‘Fikellura’/‘Late Wild Goat’. Istrian (?)
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a secondary group of Istros, the local origin of which still requires further cross-checking with external references. Conversely, strange though it may seem, an original series of common wares, not especially of better manufacture, are still imported from Eastern Greece. The visual differentiation between them and their colonial counterparts appears often risky, mainly as concerns gray wares: so, among the five sherds illustrated in Figure 20, both the upper one and the lower one on the left appeared to belong to our Olbian group B, the upper fragment of pinax on the right from Northern Ionia (presumably Teos) as well as the lower middle one (presumably from Erythrai), whereas the lower one on the right has revealed an Aeolian origin. Even Miletus was distributing, in addition to batches of grey table amphoras, specimens of a specific new shape of grey plate with a sharp rim and convex bowl resting on a ring (earlier stage) or splayed foot (advanced stage), identified on several North-West Pontic sites, viz. Berezan, Olbia, Istros and Tariverde, but seemingly not imitated by Pontic workshops (Dupont and Lungu 2008, 77-86) (Figure 21). In the same manner, chemical analyses have revealed that a type of thin-walled orange buff slipped round mouthed jug decorated with multiple grooves, well attested at Berezan (Solovyov 2005, No. 68) and Olbia (Figure 22) during the second half of the 6th century BC and assumed to be of local manufacture by the excavators, was in fact of Aeolian origin (Posamentir and Solovyov 2007, 191, 192, Abb. 3: 7). Thus, even regarding the repertory of shapes
Figure 19. Krater in the North-Ionian ‘Late Wild Goat’ style from Berezan. Istrian (?)
19). The two Fikellura pieces reveal unorthodox features, close to similar painted products of the Istrian repertory in the same style (Dupont 1983, 36): both of them bear incised details, a technique quite unusual in the canonical South-Ionian (chiefly Milesian) Fikellura, and the pattern of the jumping goat looking backwards is obviously borrowed from the North-Ionian ‘Late Wild Goat’ repertory. All these pieces show the pale clay proper to North-West Pontic products. Those with painted decoration come from Berezan (Korpusova 1987, 48, Fig. 19: 2); the others, with one exception, from the Dniester liman, chiefly from Nikonion (Korpusova 1987, passim). The problem we are faced with is that the chemical pattern of this group fits with
Figure 20. Samples of grey ware from Berezan BOR 62-66
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Figure 21. Milesian grey ware plates from Berezan. Import
metallic sheen (Figure 20: upper row). But imitatio sive aemulatio? To sum up, these preliminary provenance studies on the north-west Black Sea area already provide interesting pieces of information which shed new light on the problematics of north-west Pontic local wares: 1. The individualization of a specific chemical pattern has been obtained for the Bug liman region, distinct from both the nearby Dniester liman one and from the more remote Istro-Pontic ones, a result based not only on similarities of composition with Olbian local references but on a large-scale regional differentiation. 2. This Bug liman chemical pattern belongs to the same geological facies of loessic type as the Dniester and Istro-Pontic areas. It is made up of several groups, of which the two main ones contain samples from both Berezan and Olbia, the latter being obviously the best candidate for the reasons above-mentioned. The division into two principal groups conventionally referred to as ‘Olbia A’ and ‘Olbia B’ appears rather artificial and does not seem to correspond to any definite archaeological reality. These two main groups ‘Olbia A’ and ‘Olbia B’ contain most samples of Greek common ware, both grey and buff, supplemented by some specimens of Archaic painted pottery of East Greek style and lamps. The main difference between ‘A’ and ‘B’ lies in the calcium content: between 7.6 and 14.9% for ‘A’; between 1.5 and 3.2% for ‘B’, a feature which might be connected with the use of calcareous clay from the deeper loessic deposits for ‘A’ and of decalcified clay from the upper loessic deposits (Lehm) for ‘B’, a situation already observed at Istros. 3. It is normal that group ‘Olbia B’, characterized by low calcium contents, mainly contains grey wares, for which any clay source is suitable, whereas in order to obtain a light clay ground in oxydizing atmosphere, a fortiori when intended for applying painted decoration, the more calcareous clays of group ‘Olbia A’ are much more suitable. It might be also the case for the group ‘Olbia C’, for which clays beds with very high calcium
Figure 22. Aeolian buff painted jug with decoration of grooves from Berezan. Import (Kyme?)
of common wares, the lack of clearly identified primary models presents us with an extremely confusing situation. Perhaps, however, some of these archetypes are to be found in other materials, principally metallic ones (cf. Vickers and Gill 1994; Zimmermann 1998): this is surely the case for those pieces fitted with a rivet-like plastic ornament on the top of the handle (Figures 7 and 20: below, middle), for many of the vessels with carinated body profiles or sharply moulded rims (Figure 20: plate, above r.), and also for highly polished pots that are clearly intended to imitate
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4.
5.
6.
7.
content were surely deliberately selected, in order to obtain amphoras with very pale ground according to the Roman taste of this period. Conversely, the high silica percentages of group ‘Olbia D’ most probably results from the use of unrefined clays by the potter, quite sufficient indeed for the making of household accessories such as loom weights and of course building materials such as mudbricks. The preliminary results obtained on the regional differentiation of north-west Pontos lead us to assume the existence of at least another centre of manufacture on the Dniester liman, located on the right bank by Tyras rather than on the left one by Nikonion. This new track is all the more plausible that the city of Belgorod Dnestrovkii, located on the site of the ancient Tyras, has produced the remains of an important medieval potters’ workshop, whereas on the left bank the situation appears more complex, because one significant part of our samples from Nikonion have revealed the same chemical pattern as Istros. The reason might well lie in the special status of the Nikonion settlement, the relations of which with Istros were especially close, judging by the very large number of Istrian coins produced during the excavations and, above all, by the decree mentioning that Nikonion called Istros for help against Tyras at the beginning of the 3rd century BC. Consequently, the overlapping of chemical pattern observed between one part of our samples from Nikonion and the main local groups of Istros might well be connected with regular imports of Istrian wares by Nikonion, a city that some scholars even consider as a secondary foundation of Istros. As for the last regional group, including several vases with elaborated painted decoration and distinct at the same time from the Istro-Pontic local groups and from those of both Bug and Dniester limans, chemical data are still unable to provide a clear attribution of origin. However, archaeological evidence a priori would rather point to Istros, where archaeometric studies have revealed quite advanced local products, viz. good imitations of Fikellura and other East Greek styles, including specimens of a mixed style to meet the demands of a mixed clientele originating from various parts of Eastern Greece. Concerning the Dniester liman, it appears that the pottery facies of Nikonion is closer to Istros than to Olbia, at least as concerns the shapes of red-slipped common ware (especially fish-plates and one-handlers). Conversely, the facies of Tyras, a site still nearer to Istros, looks somewhat different. Finally, archaeometrical studies clearly indicate too that, contrary to a widespread communis opinio in the former Soviet Union (see lastly Buiskikh 2006, 33), the development of colonial pottery industry did not interrupt but only reduced the import of common ware in daily use from the East Greek motherland, either from Southern or Northern Ionia or Aeolis. Thus, on such sites as Olbia or Berezan, many shapes of common wares seem to have been imported at the same time
as they were (?) locally imitated. In some cases, the question even arises of the regional specificity of certain variants of shapes, viz. the fish-plates made in north-west Pontic workshops, the models for which still remain to be identified in Eastern Greece itself. As for the above mentioned imports of Milesian grey plates and Aeolian orange buff-slipped jugs decorated with grooves, the fact that they seem not to have been imitated by the local workshops of the Istro-Pontic settlements is puzzling. *** At the previous conference on colonial pottery from the Greek colonies in the Black Sea (Bucharest 2004, Proceedings published in Il mar Nero 2009), several papers were devoted to the characterization of local products and the identification of possible imports. During the last few years, more systematic and analytical works on common pottery from the Northern Black Sea region have been undertaken (Krapivina 1987, 71-79; Solovyov, 2005; Buiskikh 2006, 29-57; Chistov 2006, 57-112; Bylkova 2007; Krapivina 2007, 98-106). Part of P. Dupont’s archaeometrical analyses are devoted to these colonial wares and his attributions are reported above. Concurrently, recent advances obtained in the study of Pontic pottery have led to a very stimulating reassessment requiring further joint efforts of analysis and interpretation on the basis of new evidence. Within this framework, a typological study of some rare original pieces of common wares can take place. To investigate the affinities of the common wares from the north-western Black Sea with other groups of Greek wares, our analysis will include some notable observations related to the Pontic colonial samples cluster: 1. with those from the motherland of the colonies; 2. with those of the autochthonous populations; 3. with Aeolian and Ionian traditions considered together. The purpose of this paper is twofold: a) to establish whether the origin of some grey wares found in the northern Black Sea area corresponds with Miletus and Lesbos; b) treating the Pontic examples as local products, owing to their association with the imported models, to determine whether the common wares of the Ionian and Aeolian examples were consistent with production on Pontic sites. Typological analysis based on a comparison between the examples from these areas has been selected for two practical reasons: first, the examples of these wares identified in both Lesbos and Miletus are suspected of having stimulated specific productions in Pontic centres. Second, much of the necessary comparative data is available and the group of examples includes some new unpublished pieces. So, the evidence from our recent studies in Miletus and Lesbos strongly suggests that they both could have been production centres of some grey wares identified at Berezan and other north-west Pontic settlements. This view is also
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supported by the chemical data, the compositions of the Berezan vases and the examples from Lesbos and Miletus showing close resemblances, as shown above by Dupont. Consequently, Lesbos and Miletus could be the sources, or at least some of the sources, of some common grey vases exported to the northern Black Sea. The frequency of some shapes and their distribution pattern are discussed here. Many samples of locally made ribbed-neck jugs come mainly from contexts of the 6th to the 4th century BC in the northern Euxine: from Olbia (Kozub 1974, 64, Fig. 23/2; Parovich-Peshikan 1974, 96-97; Zaitseva 1984, 115, Pl. III/10, 116-117, Pl. IV/2,6; Buiskikh 2006, 39, Fig. 2/7; Schultze et al., 2006, 298, Abb. 4/7; Buiskikh 2007, 40 Fig. 2/11), and Panskoye in Crimea (Hannestad et al., 2002, Pl. 67, B238), in the east Black Sea: Pichvnari in Colchis (Tsetskhladze 1999, 171, Fig. 42/1, 5; Vickers and Kakhidze 2008, 231, Fig. 13), and in the western Euxine, from Apollonia (Ivanov 1963, 46-47, Pl. 56), Istros (Dimitriu 1966, 97, No. 443, Pl. 60; Coja 1968, 316, Fig. 7/2; Alexandrescu 1978, 101, Fig. 22, Cat. 659-661) and Orgame (unpublished; identical to the jug from Pichvnari), and the production continued at Olbia down to the 3rd-2nd centuries BC (Knipovich 1940, 161). The fabric is usually dark grey in colour, occasionally light gray, and the samples include both of covered and uncovered issues by a lustrous slip. In terms of fabric, form and decoration, these vases find close parallels with the corresponding wares from the Aeolian group (Alexandrescu 1978, 101). The local imitations of this Aeolian pattern are quite widespread throughout the northern and western Euxine. The local Olbian or Istrian (Figure 23) lustrous pottery is mostly of a good quality but could not nevertheless compete with the fine lustre of Aeolic wares. However, genuine jugs from Aeolian fabric such those from Larisa (Boehlau and Schefold 1942, Fig. 51/f, Pl. 48/35, 36) or Mytilene (inventory No. Myt 90II P228, Figure 24) involved rarely in overseas trade (Athens, Sparkes and Talcott 1970, 209, note 28, No. 1707, Pl. 79, Fig. 14, 4th-3rd century BC) and are uncommon on Pontic markets. Only a limited number of sites have revealed very rare items: two of them coming from Berezan and Istros illustrate the presence of the original pieces (Figure 25). These pieces share common characteristics which are easily distinguished from the imitations that appear at Istros, Apollonia, Berezan and Olbia. The presence of imported Aeolic ribbed-neck jugs there seems to be quite manifest in their consequences (the success of the type in local Pontic production) for the specific trends of the western and northern Pontic markets. Despite the typological and stylistical homogeneity of this shape, it can be assumed that the production of ribbed-neck jug took place in several regional workshops or production centres (Olbia, Istros, Apollonia, etc.) and that there was no need for an extensive trade of this pottery. The distribution pattern shows examples west north and east of its main manufacture core, including inland Thrace, Scythe and Colchis, and the Ionian colonies on the Black Sea coast, and probably reflects regional Pontic
Figure 23. Grey ware round-mouthed jug with ribbed neck from Istros
Figure 24. Grey ware round-mouthed jug with ribbed neck from Mytilene
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Figure 25. Grey ware round-mouthed jug with ribbed neck from Istros. Import from Mytilene?
trade activities implying the value of the discussed vase as an exchange commodity. On the basis of the available evidence, it is obvious that the original Aeolian grey kantharos (like a variant of karchesion or Sessile kantharos) (Boulter in Blegen et al., 1958, 299, Fig. 306a-b, No. 32, 29, Figs. 317, 12 et 318 a-c: from Troy; Moore 1982, 321, Nos 1-2, 335, No. 17: from Samothrace; Bayne 2002, 146, Fig. 34/3, 203, Fig. 57/6: from Antissa; Polat 2004, 224, Tab. 1: from Antissa; Beschi 2004, 334-337, Figs. 35-36, 42b, d: from Myrina) was not as widespread as the numerous local imitations recorded throughout the northern Black Sea (from Olbia: Zaitseva 1984, 110-124), where most specimens of Olbian kantharoi reveal Chian, Beotian or Attic patterns. With such a variety of influences, it is quite natural that a wide range of foot profiles belonging to different groups (three) do occur among the Olbian products. Other related examples, especially to Zaitseva’s group two come from Tiritake (Gaidukevich 1952, 91, Fig. 109), or from Istria (Alexandrescu 1978, 112, Fig. 28, No. 735, Chian type ?) and from Nymphaion (Chistov 2003, 8, Fig. 11/2-4, Ionian?) (however, Zaitseva’s 1987 group Pl. V and Pl. VI, 19-23, with a carinated wall, could be interpreted as close to the Antissa type). There is only one more complete kantharos among the finds from Berezan (inventory number B 82-339+ Ber 82-389, Figure 26), and some additional rim fragments stored in the Von Stern Fund of the Archaeological Museum in Odessa, which could complete the group of East Greek centres contemporary with the Olbian manufacture of this shape.
Figure 26. Aeolian grey ware kantharos from Berezan (front view and underside). Import
Although in the above mentioned kantharos (Figure 26) both the mouth and the two handles are partly missing, the shape is easily recognizable: this piece is characterized by its bell-shaped thin-walled bowl with out-turned rim, covered outside with a well burnished slip, and resting on a low projecting ring foot with a circular recess at the centre of the stem. Both fabric and shape look very similar to Mytilene specimens which origin occurs in Early Iron Age Lesbian pottery (Bayne 2000, Fig. 17.3 = Hertel 2007, 113, Fig. 10.3, Antissa). Moreover, the central circular recess of the stem is a technical feature common to many finds at the site of Mytilene-Kastro (Myt 88II E.Room 2, Figure 27), that it provides us clear evidence for interpreting the Berezan item as a Lesbian import. Among the materials from Mytilene-Kastro, several specimens of different 105
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shapes most probably originate from the same workshop. On the settlements of north-west Pontus, the distribution pattern of this pottery is different. It is completely lacking in Istros and, until now, only a few specimens have been identified in Berezan. Furthermore, the fact that the very small amount of imported shapes recorded in the Black Sea area might have inspired so many local imitations makes their impact all the more stronger. Among all the various imported grey wares used during Archaic and Classical times on northern Black Sea sites, special attention must be focused on a Milesian type of plate attested at Berezan, Istros and Tariverde (Lungu and Dupont 2008, 77-86). In the meanwhile, some more elaborated items from Berezan have been identified, one of which can be assigned with high probability to the same centre (B. 75-287, Figure 28). It is a small fragment of foot belonging to a stemmed plate. The fabric is dark grey in colour, with flakes of mica. This type of finely moulded stem is widespread among the finds from Miletus and throws a new light on the fragmentary piece from Berezan, but at the same time some isolated pieces of ‘fruit-stands’ with a modelled stemmed foot in the Bronze Age tradition do occur in related Aeolian pottery as well, such as on a complete piece from Larisa (Boehlau and Schefold 1942, 115, Tab. 47/9), as well as in Archaic pottery in Samos (Furtwängler, Kienast 1989, 121-122, Fig. 23.9, Pl. 26, Kat. II/9) or on coppe a piedi alti, cordonati, in Hephaestia (Lemnos: Messineo 2001, 157-158, Fig. 160), which are not especially of better quality but display distinctive features. It is most likely therefore that the fragmentary stemmed plate found in Berezan corresponds to an import from Miletus. It seems to be very close to one fragmentary piece from Samos (Boehlau 1898, 34, Pl. IX/5; Gercke and Löwe 1996, 24-25, Grab 1, 7). Furthermore, the rare occurrence of this shape among the finds of other sites suggests that the interregional trends were probably not yet well developed. The obvious lack of interest in this elaborated shape is reflected by its extreme scarcity in the Pontic area and so, there was no need to develop the manufacture of locally made substitutes.
Figure 27. Aeolian grey ware kantharos from Mytilene (underside).
To sum up, the frequency of some Lesbian or Milesian wares at Berezan and on other sites in the northern Black Sea as well as their distribution pattern are consistent rather with occasional than with regular exchanges. The pattern of East Greek imported wares and of their local imitations in the Pontic area seemingly reflects their daily use by Greek residents. The wide range of types of these assemblages (bowls, cups, one-handlers, fish-plates, kraters, lekanai, cooking-pots, jugs, amphoras, lamps, etc.) includes shapes that are shared by different centres or even areas of manufacture. This distribution of both imported and locally made wares being concentrated on the coastal settlements and only scarcely in the hinterland, it seems unlikely that these vessels were of high commercial value among the native populations. However, the identification of this pottery must be more thoroughly examined, by taking into
Figure 28. Milesian fragmentary stemmed plate from Berezan
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account a wide range of criteria in order to plot regional patterns in the course of time.
Chistov, D. E. 2003 — Чистов, Д. Е. Итоги работы на участке ‘Х’ [Itogi raboty na uchastke „X” (19941998) – Results of work on trench ‘X’ (1994-1998)]. In О. Ю. Соколова [O. Iu. Sokolova] (ed.), Материалы Нимфейской экспедиции [Materialy Nymfeiskoi ekspeditsii – Materials of Nymphaion Expedition] 1, 3-42. St Petersburg. Chistov, D. E. 2006 — Чистов, Д. Е. Работы на острове Березань Aрхеологической экспедиции Государственного Эрмитажа в 2004 году [Raboty na ostrove Berezan’ Arkheologicheskoi ekspeditsii Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha v 2004 godu – Excavation on the island Berezan of the State Hermitage Museum Archaeological Expedition in 2004]. In Я. В. Доманский, В. Ю. Зуев, Ю. И. Ильина, К. К. Марченко, В. В. Назаров, Д. Е. Чистов [Ja. V. Domanskii, V. Ju. Zuev, Ju. I. Il’ina, K. K. Marchenko, V. V. Nazarov, D. E. Chistov], Материалы Березанской (Нижне Бугской) античной археологической экспедиции [Materialy Berezanskoi (Nizhne Bugskoi) antichnoi arkheologicheskoi ekspeditsii – Materials of the Berezan (Lower Bug) Classical Archaeological Expedition] 1, 57-112. St Petersburg. Dimitriu, S. 1966. Cartierul de locuinte din zona de vest a cetatii în epoca arhaica [Settled area in the West side of the city in the archaic period]. In E. Condurachi (ed.) Histria. Les resultats des fouilles 2, 50-51, 97-101, Pl. 58-60. Bucharest. Dupont, P. 1983. Classification et détermination de provenance des céramiques grecques orientales d’Istros. Rapport préliminaire. Dacia 27, 19-43. Dupont, P. and Lungu, V. 2008. Plats milésiens a couverte noire de Mer Noire. Anatolia Antiqua 16, 77-86. Furtwängler, A. E. and Kienast, H. J. 1989. Samos 3. Der Nordbau im Heraion von Samos. Bonn. Gaidukevich, V. F. 1952 — Гайдукевич, В. Ф. Раскопки Тиритаки в 1935-1940 гг [Raskopki Tiritaki v 19351940 gg. – Excavation in Tiritake in 1935-1940). Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 25, 15-134. Moscow, Leningrad. Gercke, R. and Löwe, W. (eds) 1996. Samos – die Kasseler Grabung 1894 in der Nekropole der archaischen Stadt von Johannes Boehlau und Edward Habich. Kassel. Hannestad, L., Stolba, V. F. and Ščeglov, A. N. (eds) 2002. Panskoye 1.1. The Monumental Building U6. Part II. The Finds. Aarhus. Hertel, D. 2007. Der aiolische Siedlungsraum (Aiolis) am Übergang von der Bronze- zur Eisenzeit. In J. Cobet, V. Von Graeve, W.-D. Niemeier, K. Zimmermann (eds), Frühes Ionien eine Bestandsaufnahme, PanionionSymposium Güzelçamli 26. September – 1. Oktober 1999, 97-122. Mainz. Ivanov, T. 1963 — Иванов, Т. Антична керамика от некропола на Аполония [Antichna keramika ot nekropola na Apoloniia – Ancient pottery from the necropolis of Apollonia]. In I. Venedikov (ed.), Аполония. Разкопките в некропола на Аполония през
Bibliography Alexandrescu, P. 1978. Histria. Les resultats des fouilles 4. La céramique d’époque archaïque et classique VIIeIVe s. Bucarest. Bayne, N. 2000. The Grey Wares of North-West Anatolia in the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age and their Relation to the Early Greek Settlements. (Asia Minor Studien 37). Bonn. Beschi, L. 2004. Ceramiche arcaiche di Lemnos: alcuni problemi. Annuario della Scuola Archaeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente 81 [2003], 303-350. Boehlau, J. 1898. Aus ionischen und italischen Nekropolen. Ausgrabungen und Untersuchungen zur nachmykenischen Kunst. Leipzig. Boehlau, J. and Schefold, K. 1942. Larissa am Hermos. Die Ergebnisse des Ausgrabungen 1902-1954, 3: Die Kleinfunde. Berlin. Blegen, C. W., Boulter, C. G., Caskey, J. L. and Rawson, M. 1958. Troy 4. 1-2. Settlements VIIa, VIIb and VIII. Princeton. Buiskikh, S. B. 2006 — Буйских, С. Б. Серая керамика как этнопоказатель греческого населения Нижнего Побужья VI-I вв. до н. э. [Seraia keramika kak etnopokazatel’ grecheskogo naseleniia Nizhnego Pobuzh’ia v VI-I vv. do n. e. – Grey pottery as an ethnoindicator of the Lower Bug region Greek settlements in 6th-1st centuries BC]. In А. И. Айбабин [A. I. Aibabin] (ed.), Боспорские исследования [Bosporskie issledovaniia – Bosporan Studies] 11, 29-57. Simferopol, Kerch. Buiskikh, S. B. 2007 — Буйских, С. Б. Серая гончарная керамика Ольвии и ее хоры VI-I вв. до н. э. (историографический аспект) [Seraia goncharnaia keramika Ol’vii i eë khory VI-I vv. do n. e. (istoriograficheskii aspekt) – Grey wheelmade pottery of Olbia and its chora, 6th-1st centuries BC (historiographical aspect)]. In И. В. Тункина [I. V. Tunkina] (ed.), EUWAQISTGQIOM. Антиковедческо-историографический сборник памяти Ярослава Витальевича Доманского [EUWAQISTGQIOM. Antikovedcheskoistoriograficheskii sbornik pamiati Iaroslava Vital’evicha Domanskogo – EUWAQISTGQIOM. An Antiquarian and Historiographical Miscellany in Memory of Iaroslav Vital’evich Domanskii], 28-44. St Petersburg. Bylkova, V. P. 2007 — Былкова, В. П. Нижнее Поднепровье в античную эпоху (по материалам раскопок поселений) [Nizhnee Podneprov’e v antichnuiu epokhu (po materialam raskopok poselenii) – The Lower Dnieper Area in Antiquity (On the Basis of the Excavations of Settlements)]. Kherson. Coja, M. 1968. La céramique grise d’Histria à l’époque grecque. Dacia 12, 305-329.
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1947–1949 гг. [Apoloniia. Raskopkite v nekropola na Apoloniia pres 1947-1949 gg. – Apollonia. Excavations in the necropolis of Apollonia between 1947-1949], 65264. Sofia. Knipovich, T. 1940 — Книпович, Т. Керамика местного производства из раскопа ‘И’ [Keramika mestnogo proizvodstva iz roskopa ‘I’ – Pottery of local production from trench ‘I’]. In Л. М. Славин [L. M. Slavin] (ed.), Ольвия [Ol’viia – Olbia] 1, 120-170. Kiev. Korpusova, V. N. 1987 — Корпусова, В. Н. Восточногреческая расписная керамика [Vostochnogrecheskaia raspisnaia keramika – East Greek painted pottery]. In S. D. Krizhitskii (ed.), 35-52. Kiev. Kozub, Iu. 1974 — Козуб, Ю. Некрополь Ольвии V–IV ст. до н. е. [Nekropol’ Ol’vii V-IV st. do n. e. – The Necropolis of Olbia 5th-4th centuries BC]. Kiev. Krapivina, V. 1987 — Крапивина, В. Простая столовая керамика [Prostaia stolovaia keramika – Common table ware]. In S. D. Krizhitski (ed.), 71-71. Kiev. Krapivina, V. 2007 — Крапивина, В. Сероглиняная керамика Ольвии VI - V ст. до н. е. [Seroglinianaia keramika Ol’viï VI-V st. do n. e. – Grey ware of Olbia 6th-5th centuries BC]. Археология [Arkheologiia] I, 98-106. Krizhitskii, S. D. (ed.) 1987 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Культура населения Ольвии и ее округи в архаическое время [Kul’tura naseleniia Ol’vii i ee okrugi v arkhaicheskoe vremia – The Culture of the Population Olbia and its Environs in the Archaic Period]. Kiev. Kruglikova, I. G. 1957 — Кругликова, И. Г. Ремесленное производство простой керамики в Пантикапее в VI-III вв. до н. э. [Remeslennoe proizvodstvo prostoi keramiki v Pantikapee v VI-III vv. do n. e. – Craft production of common pottery in Pantikapaion in the 6th-3rd centuries BC]. Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 56, 96-138. Messineo, G. 2001. Efestia. Scavi Adriani 1928-1930 (con contributi di B. Davidde, A. Pellegrino, M. A. Rizzo). Padova. Moore, M. B.1982. Ceramics. The Fill of the Temenos and Terrace. In P. W. Lehmann and D. Spittle (eds), Samothrace 5: The Temenos, 317-382, Princeton. Okhotnikov, S. B. 1990 — Охотников, С. Б. Нижнее Поднестровье VI - V вв до н. э. [Nizhnee Podnestrov’e v VI-V vv. do n. e. – Lower Dniester Region in the 6th and 5th centuries BC]. Kiev.
Parovich-Peshikan, M. 1974 — Парович-Пешикан, М. Некрополь Ольвии эллинистического времени [Nekropol’ Ol’vii ellinisticheskogo vremeni – The Necropolis of Olbia of the Hellenistic Period]. Kiev. Polat, Y. 2004. Daskyleion’dan ele geçen tek renkli gri bir karkesion [A Grey Monochrome Karchesion from Daskyleion]. Tüba-Ar 7, 219-224. Posamentir, R. and Solovyov, S. 2007. Zur Herkunftsbestimmung archaisch-ionischer Keramik: die Funde aus Berezan in der Eremitage von St. Petersburg II. Istanbuler Mitteilungen 57, 179-207. Schultze, E., Magomedov, B. V. and Bujskich, S. B. 2006. Grautonige Keramik des Unteren Buggebietes in römischer Zeit. Eurasia Antiqua 12, 289-352. Solovyov, S. (ed.) 2005 — Соловьев, С. БорисфенБерезань. Начало античной эпохи в Северном Причерноморье. Каталог выставки [Borisfen-Berezan’. Nachalo antichnoi epokhi v severnom Prichernomor’e. Katalog vystavki – Borysthenes-Berezan. The Beginning of Antiquity in the Northern Black Sea Region. Exhibition Catalog]. St Petersburg. Sparkes, B. and Talcott, L. 1970. The Athenian Agora 12. Black and Plain Pottery of the 6th, 5th and 4th centuries BC. Princeton. Tsetskhladze, G. R. 1999. Pichvnari and its Environs. London. Vickers, M. and Gill, D. 1994. Artful Crafts. Ancient Greek Silverware and Pottery. Oxford. Vickers, M. and Kakhidze, A. 2008. Pichvnari 1967-2005; recent work in a Colchian and Greek settlement. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia]. Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March, 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11), 221-237. Kraków. Zaitseva, K. I. 1984 — Зайцева, К. И. Ольвийские кубки и канфары (VI-IV вв. до н. э.) [Ol’viiskie kubki i kanfary (VI-IV vv. d. n. e.) – Olbian cups and kantharoi (6th-4th centuries BC)]. Труды Государственного Эрмитажа [Trudy Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha] 24, 110-125. Zimmermann, N. 1998. Beziehungen zwischen Ton- und Metallgefässen spätklassischer und frühhellenistischer Zeit. Rahden.
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Chapter 13 Greek Graffiti from Pichvnari (1998-2007)
Nino Dzneladze
The Batumi Archaeological Museum Batumi, Georgia [email protected] Abstract: The present article studies the graffiti on ceramics from Greek and Colchian necropolis and Colchian settlement in Pichvnari excavated and studied during the past decade. The material can be grouped into the following chronological groups: the second quarter of the 5th century BC, mid- and second half of the 5th century BC, the 4th century BC, and the Hellenistic period. There are owners’ marks, dedications on imported vessel and potters’ symbolic marks on local vessels. The Pichvnari material clearly show that the influence of Greek culture on the local population began in the 5th century BC. The influence is revealed in ceramics, also the use of Charon’s obols, as well as the red-figure vessels that appear among the burial inventory, and graffiti made on local vessels. Keywords: graffito, inscription, Pichvnari, dedicator, Colchian
The present article studies the graffiti on ceramics from the Greek and Colchian necropoleis and the Colchian settlement in Pichvnari excavated and studied during the past decade. The site is not very rich in materials compared with the Athenian Agora, say, or the northern Black Sea coast. Judging by the Pichvnari burials the material can be grouped into the following chronological groups: the second quarter of the 5th century BC, the middle and second half of the 5th century BC, the 4th century BC, and the Hellenistic period. Most of the inscriptions are made on imported (mostly Attic) ceramics, although some occur on Ionian wares, miniature amphoras and lekythoi from Thasos. There is an example of a graffito on a greyware vessel from the northern Black Sea coast. Ceramics with graffiti are found in graves, on funerary platforms (the remains of commemorative meals), and also in the settlement.
gloss vessel from the settlement; the second is a shortened form of the proper name LUQLGJOS (LÌqlgjor), that actually occurs in full at Pichvnari inscribed on an Ionian vessel of the mid-5th century BC. The first three letters of the name also occur and a ligature. The Doric form of the name, LUQLAJOS, occurs on the northern Black Sea coast inscribed on the bottom of a vessel dated to the 4th century BC. As for the graffito KIS, the double inscription is intriguing, but such a practice is not unparalleled at Pichvnari, where inscriptions were – mirrorwise – placed on both sides of the base of a vessel. The orthography of the Greek letters is always correct and canonical. From this point of view it is interesting to study ligatures including a triangular V and a square O. Such an O is found in the Athenian Agora in the second quarter of 5th century BC (F64), and the configuration of V is occasionally met with in the second half of the 5th century BC (Lang 1976, 28).
Most of the graffiti consist of owner’s marks. They generally include one or two letters inscribed separately or in a ligature. Graffiti from burials of the 5th century BC include the following: HAK (Figure 1:1) on the bottom of a kylix from a funerary platform (near Burial No. 291, 2006), VOIM (Figure 1:2) on the bottom of kylix from a funerary platform (near Burial No. 304, 2001), LUQ (Figure 1:3) on the bottom of kylix from a funerary platform (near Burial No. 311, 2001), KIS (Figure 1:4) inscribed inside and outside the base of a ‘bolsal’ cup in Burial No. 335 (2005), and a ligature consisting of V and O on the outside of a black-gloss skyphos wall (chance find, 2007). The graffiti VOIM and LUQ will have been abbreviated names popular among the Pichvnari population at that time. The first graffito was found both in the cemetery and also on a black-
There is a proper name, Diomusior Keydalamtor (Figure 1:14), inscribed in full on a black-gloss vessel of the 4th century BC (1998, Platform No. 7; Vickers and Kakhidze 2008, 232). The orthography is standard for this period. All the above mentioned graffiti, except the first and last, were found in Colchian burials dating to the 5th century BC, something that is especially important for the study of Hellenic influence on Colchian practice. It is interesting that the only dedicatory inscription was found in a Colchian burial. The script consists of the full forms of both the name of the god, Appakomyii, and of the dedicator Luajador (1976, burial No. 113). The name of god is inscribed in 109
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Figure 1. Greek graffiti from Pichvnari (1998-2007)
Figure 2. Greek graffiti from Pichvnari (1998-2007)
a visible part of the vessel, and the dedicator’s name on the inside of the base of the vessel.
dated to the 5th century BC and excavated in 1968. Here is also a ligature including D and I. A similar arrow-shaped ligature DI (Figure 1:8) is found on a vessel found on a funerary platform (No. 14, 1998). It could be read either as an abbreviation of Dionysos or as the dative case of Zeus’ name, DII.
The second group of graffiti includes dedicatory inscriptions. The ligature AM occurs frequently over a long period beginning in the 5th century BC (Figures 1:5 and 1:6). It could be an abbreviation for a name or of the word AMAHGLA, ‘offering’. Two of them are found in burials, but most of them are found in funerary platforms. Similar ligature is also found on materials dated to the 4th century BC and the Hellenistic period. A similar inscription occurs on a vessel of the Hellenistic period, a chance find made in the village of Sharabidzeebi. A hole had been cut in the side of the vessel. The ligature was clearly so familiar that it did not need any explanation. An abbreviated form of the word AMAHGLA also occurs at Chersonesos (Babinov et al., 1978, 26-27, Nos 216-235), and similar graffiti were found on a black-gloss lamp (F 103) of the 5th century BC in Athenian Agora (Lang 1976, 37), as well as on the base of a terracotta from Mirina (Kassab 1988, 73).
A graffito PO (Figure 1:9) was found on the base of a black-gloss vessel of the 4th century BC (No. 124, 1984, Burial 65). It can be seen that the vessel had been repaired. In addition there was another incised P besides PO. We believe the first graffito, PO, to be an abbreviation of Poseidon, while P could be a dedicator’s initial. Its configuration is rather unusual. Generally, the right legs of P are shorter, but equal legs are known on graffiti from the Athenian Agora dated to the second half of the 5th century BC. There is an unusual graffito on the surface of a fish-plate (BIV: 2002:30) found in a burial dated to the 4th century BC. It could be read in two ways, as AM and DI (Figure 1:13). It might even be that the graffito designed to carry both meanings. A similar merging is to be found on a blackgloss bowl, a part of burial urn, found on Inkerman field at Chersonesos (Solomonik 1984, 38).
Divine names form a distinct category among dedicatory inscriptions. For example, the graffiti PO and DI (Figure 1:7) on a black-gloss ‘salt cellar’ base dated to the 4th century BC (No. 81, 1998, Platform 4). Similar graffiti (Nos 1393-1396) are found among the Chersonesos materials (Babinov et al., 1978), where they are thought to be either abbreviations of an owner or of Poseidon’s name. The graffito was found for the first time on an askos (No. 68 B V: 277) found in a cremation area in Burial No. 20
The ligature GQ (Figure 1:11) could be another abbreviation of a deity’s name, and occurs on a black-gloss stemless cup of the ‘Delicate Class’ of the 30s of the 5th century BC. The ligature was common and is often met as a graffito 110
Nino Dzneladze: Greek Graffiti from Pichvnari
on ceramics and in coin inscriptions along the northern Black Sea coast. A similar ligature was noted on Chian amphora from burials found at Pichvnari in 1967. Since the amphoras were of different sizes the sign cannot have referred to capacity. It could, though, have been a ligature relating to the name of Heracles or of Hera.
but it remains open to question whether the graffiti made on wet clay by Pichvnari potters are relevant to this argument. The Pichvnari materials clearly show that the influence of Greek culture on the local population began in the 5th century BC. The influence is revealed in ceramic imports, the custom of placing ‘Charon’s obols’ in the tomb, and the inscriptions made on local vessels.
The ligature DG (Figure 1:12) on the base of a black-gloss vessel found in a burial of the 5th century BC may be a dedication the goddess Demeter. Next to this graffito is another, the ligature PE perhaps an abbreviation of a dedicator’s name (2006, No. 39, Burial No. 257).
Bibliography Babinov, I., Kurganova, S., Nikolaenko, G., Solomonik, E., Lisevoi, I. and Shevchenko, A. 1978 — Бабинов, И., Курганова, С., Николаенко, Г., Соломоник, Е., Лисевой, И., Шевченко, А. Граффити античного Херсонеса [Graffiti antichnogo Khersonesa – Graffiti of Ancient Chersonesos]. Kiev. Kassab, D. 1988. Statuettes en terre cuite de Myrina (Corpus des signatures, monogrammes, lettres et signes). Paris. Lang, M. 1976. The Athenian Agora 21. Graffiti and Dipinti. Princeton. Solomonik, E. 1984 — Соломоник, Е. Граффити с хоры Херсонеса [Graffiti s khory Khersonesa – Graffiti from the Chora of Chersonesos]. Kiev. Tolstoi, I. I. 1953 — Толстой, И. И. Греческие граффити древных городов Северного Причерноморья [Grecheskie graffiti drevnykh gorodov Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Greek Graffiti from Ancient Cities of the Northern Black Sea Region]. Moscow, Leningrad. Vickers, M. and Kakhidze, A. 2008. Pichvnari 1967-2005; recent work in a Colchian and Greek settlement. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), Pontika 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11), 221-237, Pls 31-32. Kraków.
There is an interesting graffitο found on a ‘bolsal’ cup found in a Greek burial of a male of the 5th century BC and excavated in 2007 (Burial 310). It may be an abbreviation of the word SYTGQ (Saviour) (Figure 1:10). Similar graffiti are found on the northern Black Sea coast, particularly at Chersonesos (Babinov et al., 1978, 114, Nos 1532-1538). SYTGQ is met with as a divine epithet in the form DIOS SYTGQOS on the neck of a black-gloss vessel dated to the 5th century BC and found on Mt Mithridates in Panitikapaion (Tolstoi 1953, 100). A similar shape is met with on the rim of a black-gloss kantharos from the Athenian Agora dated to the 4th century BC (Lang 1976, 54). Most of the Hellenistic graffiti found at Pichvnari are of single letters. They are repetitive, occurring frequently on local pottery, and were applied before firing. They may well have served as potter’s control marks. They include X, W, T, U in various configurations, M (Figure 2:1-5, 7-8 and 10), and axe symbols (Figure 2:6 and 9). Contemporary local pottery found elsewhere in Georgia also carries signs made before firing. These signs may be divided into two groups: Greek characters and unfamiliar letters. The latter have been associated with proto-Georgian scripts by V. Licheli. They appear in southern Colchis and further to the east in Iberia between the second half of the 4th century BC and the 3rd or 4th centuries AD. The archaeological record suggests usage side-by-side of proto-Georgian and Greek characters,
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Chapter 14 Gilded Terracotta Jewellery from Meotian Sites of the Kuban Region: the Problem of Intercultural Contact in the Early Hellenistic Period
Vladimir R. Erlikh
State Museum of Oriental Art Sector for Archeology of the Caucasus Moscow, Russia [email protected] Abstract: Amongst the imported items found in Early-Hellenistic Meotian burial and cult sites, we find jewellery made of gilded terracotta. With the exception of gorgoneia, however, they have never been specially analyzed. In the following, the author will discuss all forms of terracotta jewellery found in the Kuban region: those from well-dated complexes as well as chance finds. Amongst these jewellery items, medallions depicting Medusa and a helmeted Athena are quite widespread. Keywords: Terracotta jewellery
Medallions depicting the Gorgon Medusa
clay of the unfired medallion. Judging by the examples studied from the State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow, far from all of the gorgoneia have gilding over the slip. Some of them were simply coated with a layer of yellowish slip, imitating gold, and some not coated at all.
Medallions depicting the Gorgon Medusa are found quite often in burial and ritual structures of the second half of the 4th century BC. The majority of them show Medusa on the front, both with and without the tongue protruding. A pearl ornament lines the rim, and the reverse has two small suspension holes. Close study of the fractured area of the gorgoneion revealed that the channels were not connected, in other words an open loop had been inserted into the wet
In 1992, Alexei Malyshev (1992, 49-56, Fig. 1) distinguished 13 findspots of these medallions in the Kuban area. Since then, more sites are known, some on the left bank of the Kuban, and at least three on the right (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Map of distribution of terracotta gorgoneia on the northern Caucasus: 1 – Elizavetinskaia stanitsa; 2 – Pashkovski burial site No. 6; 3 – Lenin hutor burial site; 4 – burial site near Starokorsun’skoe; 5 – Voronezhskaia stanitsa; 6 – Ust-Labinski burial site; 7 – Psekups; 8 – Maikop (ex. N. I. Veselovski); 9 – Kurdzhipskii kurgan; 10 – Dakhovskaia; 11 – Besleneevskaia; 12 – Novolabinskaia burial site; 13 – Tenginkoe burial site; 14 – Uliap burial site; 15 – Sereginski burrial site; 16 – Ispravnaia stanitsa; 18 – Tatarskoe; 19 – Karachaevsk; 21 – Baksan Burial site; 20 – Chegem burial site; 21 and 22 – Chegem and Baksan Valley
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Figure 2. Terracotta gorgoneia from Kuban region: 1-7 – burial site No. 2 Starokorsun’skoe site (1 – burial 86e, 2-6 – burial 93e, 7 – burial 356v) (after Limberis and Marchenko 2005); 8 – Ust’-Labinski burial site, chance find (after Anfimov 1951); 9-12 – Kurdzhipskii kurgan (after Galanina 1980); 13-19 – Novolabinskaia burial site, kurgan 1 (after Raev and Bespalyi 2006); 20 – Uliap burial site, kurgan 11, burial 11 (after Leskov et al., 2005); 21-23 – Sereginski burial site (21 – burial 32, 22 – burial 79, 23 – burial 66) (after De Juliis 1984); 24 and 25 – Psekups, kurgan 1; 26 – burial site No. 3 near Lenin hutor, chance find; 27 – burial site No. 3 near Lenin hutor, chance find (after P’iankov); 28 – kurgan 15 near stanitsa Voronezhkaia
I shall only discuss the main finds here. In the Sereginski burial site in Adygea, no less than 12 medallions were discovered in five complexes (Figures 4-6), of which only a small part has been published (Leskov and Noskova 1990, Nos 32, 66, 79). Four further gorgoneia were discovered scattered about in Burial 11 of Uliap Kurgan 11 (Figure 3) (Leskov et al., 2005, 31, 32, 126, Fig. 67, 58). In the
Kurdzhipskii kurgan, no less than 29 such medallions have been found. A number of these still showed traces of gilding (Galanina 1980, 88, No. 29). 13 whole pieces and six fragments were found in Kurgan 1 of the Novolabinsk, excavated in 2003 (Figure 2:13-19). It has been noted that three or four matrices were used for these. On all pieces, traces of white slip are still preserved above the
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Figure 3. Gorgoneia from Uliap burial site, kurgan 11, burial 11
Figure 4. Gorgoneia from Sereginski burial site: 1 – burial 66; 2 – burial 79; 3 – burial 32
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Figure 5. Gorgoneia from Sereginski burial site, burial 104
the medallions formed a single necklace (Limberis and Marchenko 2005, 249-252, 264-265, Figs 11, 12; 14, 18; 36, 15). Another medallion, this time from Kurgan 15 near the village of Voronezhskaia stanitsa, can also be defined as the same type, even though it is unique for its three holes for sewing it into place (Figure 2:28) (OAK 1903, 71, Fig. 128).
depiction, and in four cases a thin layer of gold paint was still preserved above the slip (Raev and Bespalyi 2006, 10, Pl. 7, 1). From the ritual complex of Psekups Kurgan 1 in Adygea, excavated in 2005 by Fatima Djigunova (who has kindly allowed me to discuss it here), come two fragmentary examples with damaged surfaces that are clearly of the same type (Figure 7:1-2).
Two medallions of this type, chance finds in Burial sites 2 and 3 near the village of Lenin hutor, are now in the Krasnodar Museum and have been published by Alexei P’iankov (1998, 3, 4, Figs 12, 13).
On the right bank of the Kuban, gorgoneia of the same kind have twice been found at the Ust’-Labinski burial site. N. V. Anfimov mentions that one was from a burial while the other was found outside the complex (Anfimov 1951, 188, Figs 14, 27) (Figure 2:8).
It should be mentioned that terracotta gorgoneia of this type were also widespread further east, in the Central Precaucasus. Parallels were recently brought to light by Prokopenko (2005, 348, 349, Figs 215, 10,17,18,21,34,35). These medallions were found in the area around the town of Karachaevsk, in a tomb from the Tatarskoe village burial site in Stavropol, in the Chegemski burial site and in the Chegem and Baksan river valleys (these latter belonging to the Zicai and Vyrubov collections).
A number of finds also come from the burial site of the Starokorsun’skoe Settlement No. 2. They are from burials, which the excavators date to the third quarter of the 4th century BC, based on imported finds (Figure 2:1-7). In Burial 93v, four medallions were found in the area of the chest of the deceased. Only here can we assume that 116
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Figure 6. Gorgoneia from Sereginski burial site: 1 – burial 94; 2 – object No. 23; 3 – chance find
In the northern and north-western Black Sea region, I know of terracotta gorgoneion imitations from Kerch, Nikonion and Callatis, but none have been found in Scythia. The early examples of gorgoneia are probably imports from Greece. They are known from a number of burials in Macedonia. Terracotta medallions with Medusa depictions have also been found in the Demeter shrine in Knossos (Coldstream 1973, 172, No. 331, Pl. 99). Terracotta medallions of this type exist in a number of antiquities collections in museums of the world. The British Museum collection includes a pair of such gorgoneia of uncertain provenance. Marshall pointed out that the reverse shows the remains of bronze links (Marshall 1911, 245, Pl. 42, No. 2150). Another such gorgoneion is in the Copenhagen National Museum. It was acquired in Athens in 1870 and probably comes from Boeotia (Вreitenstein 1941, 62, No. 583, Pl.71). However, now it is also possible to distinguish a later version of this kind of jewellery, found in the Kuban region together with amphoras of the 3rd century BC. These medallions have no pearl ornament along the edges. Instead, they have a wide ribbed rim framing a small female head in the centre with ‘radial’ strands of hair. These medallions are made of the poorest quality clay with large inclusions, the resulting stamp is always unclear, and there is no hole in the reverse for attachment (Figure 9:1-8). There are also no traces of gilding or a slip on any of the examples of this version known to me.
Figure 7. Gorgoneia from kurgan 1 near Psekups
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Figure 8. Map of distribution of late terracotta gorgoneiaof type 2: 1 and 2 – burial site near Starokorsun’skoe site No. 2, burial 97e and 223e; 3 – Psekups, kurgan 1; 4 – Tenginskoe burial site, burial 164; 5 – Uliap burial site, kurgan 11, burial 11; 6 – Sereginski burial site, object 20
On some examples, traces of a dark or silvery coating are preserved on the front. Spectral analysis of its composition show it to be tin, painted on an organic base (glue).1 Thus, it can be suggested that the front of these items were coated with a thin layer of tin foil. It should be noted that no similar method of coating ceramic discs to imitate precious metals in the ancient world has been noted before, therefore making this a new discovery.
grave site (Burial 164), in the Starokorsun’skoe gorodishche Burial site No. 2 (Burials 97v and 223v), in the Kurgan 1 shrine near the Psekups village, and also in Burial 11 of the Uliap Kurgan 11, in Ritual Complex 20 of Sereginski cemetery (Figure 9). The medallion in Burial 97v of the Starokorsun’skoe site was found together with a Rhodian amphora of the Villanova type (I-E-1), datable to the 30s or 20s of the 3rd century BC (Limberis and Marchenko 2005, 252, 253, Figs 15, 9, 15). Tenginskoe Burial 164 is also dated to the mid-second half of the 3rd century BC based on imported vessels: a flask and a red ware bowl (Beglova 2005, 12, Fig. 2). Interestingly, in the Psekups, Uliap and Sereginski
Currently, we know of six complexes with gorgoneia of the second, later, group. They are found in the Tenginskoe flatA series of analyses of these medallions was made in 2008 at the State Institute of Restoration in Moscow (GOSNIIR) by S. A. Pisareva and V. N. Kireeva, Candidate of Technical Sciences of the Department of Physical and Chemical Research. 1
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Figure 9. Late imitations of gorgoneia: 1 – Uliap burial site, kurgan 11, grave 11; 2 – Tenginskoe burial site, grave 164; 3 and 4 – Psekups, kurgan 1; 5 and 6 – Sereginski burial site, object 20; 7 – burial site near Starokorsun’skoe site No. 2, burial 97e; 8 – burial site near Starokorsun’skoe site No. 2, burial 223e (after Limberis and Marchenko 2005)
sites, the gorgoneia of the later group are found together with the more typical, supposedly earlier, gorgoneia.
Medallions with depictions of a helmeted Athena (Athena Parthenos)
We know of no parallels for these later gorgoneia anywhere in the ancient world and therefore do not exclude the possibility of their local manufacture. Perhaps Medusa depictions were so popular in Meotian ritual and burial practices that when they stopped being manufactured or distributed in the Kuban region in the 3rd century BC, the Meotian population tried to produce something similar using a lower quality stamp and clay. The lack of gilding and fastening holes suggests that the Meotian population was no longer using these medallions in necklaces or to imitate precious jewellery.
Medallions with depictions of a helmeted Athena (Athena Parthenos), widespread in the ancient world, are found less often in the Kuban region (Figure 10). We know of only four complexes with finds of such medallions: Kurgan 15 near the village of Voronezhskaia stanitsa (excavated by Veselovski in 1903, cf. OAK 1903, 70, Fig. 30), Burial 2v and 83v of the Starokorsun’skoe burial site (Limberis and Marchenko 2005, Figs 3, 10; 10, 5), and Kurgan 1from the Tenginskoe necropolis II (Erlikh 2007, 57, Fig. 5, 12). These finds are easily datable to the second half of the 4th or the beginning of the 3rd century BC by associated imports.
Gilded appliqués with human faces, popular among the local population, were probably being used for their manufacture. One medallion from Psekups depicts a bearded male, perhaps Silenos, instead of Medusa.
Another medallion depicting Athena was known from the Central Caucasus, from the Kamnuta burial site at Digoria (Uvarova 1900, 317, Fig. 250). These medallions were probably manufactured in northern Greece, although we do
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Figure 10. Map of distribution of medallions with depictions of a helmeted Athena: 1-2 – burial site near Starokorsun’skoe site No. 2, burials 2e and 83e; 3 – kurgan N 15 near Voronezhkaia stanitsa; 4 – Tenginskoe II site necropolis, kurgan 1; 5 – burial site Kamunta (after Uvarova, 1900)
Figure 11. Medallions with depictions of a helmeted Athena from Kuban’ region: 1-2 –Voronezhkaia stanitsa, kurgan 15; 3 – Tenginskoe II site necropolis, kurgan 1; 4-6 – burial site near Starokorsun’skoe No. 2 (4 and 5 – grave 2v, 6 – burial 83v) (after Limberis and Marchenko 2005)
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Figure 12. 1 and 2 – Medallions from kurgan 2 of Tenginskoe II site necropolis; 3 – depiction on a fingering from Nymphaion burial VI (after Vickers 1979); 4 – Terracotta from Rhodes (after Higgins 1954)
not exclude the possibility of their manufacture elsewhere in the ancient world.
than 12 terracotta discs depicting Athena, their diameters running from 3.2 to 1.8cm. Traces of gilding are found on some of them. In most cases, their provenance is not known, but some are from Cyrenaica and one from Athens (Marshall 1911, 243- 245, Pl. XLII, Nos 2136, 2134, 2144, 2147, 2148).
A large number of gilded medallions of this type are found in Macedonian necropoleis, mainly of the second half of the 4th century BC in Pindos and Vergina, amongst other places (Tsigarida and Ignatiadou 2000, 27, Fig. 16). Ten such medallions were found in Cremation Burial 1 of Oraiokastro (in the Thessaloniki area), together with parts of a gilded necklace, in a complex containing a red-figure bell-crater with traces of white paint dating to 380-360 BC (Soueref and Matthaiou 2000, 223-236, Figs 5, 6, 7, 9). However, this crater seems to have outlived its own time, and this complex should be dated to the second half of the 4th century BC.
A terracotta necklace, which included two Athena medallions, can be found at the National Museum of Copenhagen (Вreitenstein 1941, 61, No. 569, Pl. 71). It was acquired in 1888 from a dealer in Florence. Perhaps some of the Athena medallions were used as the upper part of earrings. The Taranto Archaeological National Museum possesses a terracotta imitation of gold earrings consisting of a disc depicting Athena and crescents. It was discovered in 1952 in Taranto Burial 1 (De Juliis 1984, No. 72).
In Burial A of the Derveni necropolis, a large number of gilded medallions depicting Athena were discovered. This burial is dated to the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 3rd century BC (Themelis and Touratsoglou 1997, 193-194, 220-222, Pl. 59, A28).
The depiction of the female face framed with a pearl ornament These are represented by two medallions from Kurganshrine II of the Tenginskoe site (Figure 12:1).
Three medallions depicting Athena Parthenos in different sizes (2.2, 1.9, 1.2cm) were also found in the Demeter shrine at Knossos (Coldstream 1973, 172, Nos 328, 329, 330, Pl. 99). The British Museum collection includes no less
The dimensions of these pieces are smaller than those of the gorgoneia and medallions with Athena, and less than one centimetre wide in diameter.
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Figure 13. Terracotta beads with trace of gilding: 1-9 – kurgan 2 of Tenginskoe II site necropolis; 10 – Sereginski burial site, burial 43
The stamp is carefully executed, the facial features, the slight fullness and curve of the lips and chin, clearly shown. The hair on the female head is combed in two directions, resulting in a wavy hairstyle, and crowned with a diadem shaped like two ‘horns’ or a crescent. The woman’s round earrings, decorated with radiating rosettes, are clearly visible. Full parallels for these medallions have yet to be found. The medallions were found together with other parts of a necklace in a complex of the second half of the 4th century BC. The depiction here is stylistically quite close to a terracotta female protome acquired in Rhodes and now in the British Museum (Figure 12:3). The latter displays the same parting of the hair into two parts, round earrings depicting rosettes and a diadem worn like a crescent-shaped ribbon. R. Higgins (1954, 101, No. 295, Pl. 50) dates this terracotta to the end of the 5th century BC.
Nonetheless, the iconography of the female depicted on this medallion can definitely be compared with that of ArtemisSelene characteristic for the Eastern Mediterranean from the early Hellenistic period. Iconographically similar depictions of females can be found down to Roman times in plastic and gems (Brandt 1968, 105, No. 621, Pl. 64; Kahil 1984, 513, Nos 903, 906, 907, 909; Gurz 1994, 524-527, Nos 2, 5, 14, 21). Hopefully, closer analogies to the Tenginskoe medallion will be discovered someday. Pendants shaped like female heads We also find sculpted pendants shaped like female heads in the Kuban region. They are decorated with a palmettoshaped chain link with two holes. A similar pendant was found in Burial 39v of the Starokorsun’skoe burial site together with a black-glazed kantharos and a Sinopean amphora (Figure 14:26) that have been used to date the complex to the end of the 4th century BC (Limberis and Marchenko 2005, 222-223, Figs 5, 11). Another pendant shaped like the head of a young female, whose hairdo turns into the palmetto-pendant with two parallel holes for attachment (Figure 14:25), was found on the territory of Burial site No. 3 near the Lenin hutor, together with other terracotta parts of the necklace, namely amphora-shaped pendants (P’iankov 1998, 9, Fig. 8). It should be noted that a whole range of similar pendants has been found to the east of the Kuban,
The depiction on a finger ring from Nymphaion Burial VI, now in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (Vickers 1979, Pl. XVII, b-e) (Figure 12:2), can be included among early depictions of female faces with horns. It is dated to the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 4th century BC. Michael Vickers has mentioned various opinions concerning the ‘horned’ protrusions on this piece. According to G. Richter, these are small wings. John Boardman suggests they are horns such as river gods have (Vickers 1979, 46). In general, John Boardman based his opinion on a group of Nike depictions mainly from the 4th century BC (Boardman 1970, 223, 299, Pl. 730).
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Figure 14. Terracotta details of necklace: 1-3 – amphora-shaped pendants; 4-12 – spacers-separators shaped like double palmette; 13-25 – conical tubes spacers-separators; 25-29 – sculpted pendants shaped like female heads; 30 and 31 – reconstructions of necklaces (1-10, 25, 30 – burial site near Lenin hutor (after P’iankov 1998); 11, 12, 22-24 – Kurdzhipskii kurgan; 26 – burial site near Starokorsun’skoe site No. 2, burial 39e (after Limberis and Marchenko 2005); 27-29 – British Museum (after Marshall 1911); 31 – Copenhagen National Museum (after Breitenstein 1941)
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13:1-4). Close analogies with gilding now lost have been found in the Sereginski Burial 43 (Leskov and Noskova 1990, No. 251) (Figure 13:10). Terracotta beads of a similar shape with gilding were found in large quantities in the Derveni Burial A. They also display imitation granules, but they have no volutes (Themelis and Touratsoglou 1997, Pl. 62, 117a). Gold-plated terracotta necklaces with similar beads and possibly ‘from Athens’ are found in the Munich antiquities collection (Inv. No. SL 337; Blanck 1976, 27, Fig. 12). The same kind of beads were part of a terracotta necklace from Taranto Burial 1 on the corner of Dante and Leonid Streets dating to the second half of the 4th century BC and excavated in 1976 (De Juliis 1984, 210, 211, No. 140).
in the Central Ciscaucasus. These were compiled by Iu. A. Prokopenko. They come from the area around Baksan and Chegem (part of the the Grand Duke Zichi collection), from the Chegemski burial site (according to V. F. Miller), the Kamunt burial site and the kurgan tomb near the Razdolny hutor in the Stavropol District (Prokopenko 2005, 349, Figs 215, 3, 7, 20, 26). Similar heads were also apparently part of the middle part of the necklace. The necklace from the Copenhagen National Museum already mentioned here also had six such pendants (Вreitenstein 1941, Pl. 71, No. 569) (Figure 14:31). Three similar terracotta heads with palmetto-shaped attachment are now in the British Museum collection. One of them was acquired by the museum from the Castellani collection in 1872 and shows traces of gilding as well as two holes with traces from bronze needles (Marshall 1911, 247, Pl. XLII, No. 2169). Two other smaller pendants from Cyrenaica are also of the same shape. Traces of gilding were preserved on one of them (Marshall 1911, 247, Pl. XLII, Nos 2170, 2171) (Figure 14:27-29).
The Tenginskoe kurgan brought forth miniscule barrelshaped beads with imitation granules and a smooth hole through the centre (Figure 13:5-7). Similar beads also make up the already mentioned terracotta necklace ‘from Athens’ in the Munich collection (Blanck 1976, Abb. 12). In addition to round beads, these necklaces also consisted of varying separator or spacer beads and pendants. In Tenginskoe Kurgan 2, many separator or spacer beads of varying diameters and lengths shaped like gilded terracotta conical tubes with gems and imitation granules on the wider end have been found (Figures 14:13-21). Similar shaped tubes-spacers, alternating with round beads, are part of a gold necklace possibly from Madytos and dating 330320 BC, now in the Metropolitan Museum (Williams and Ogden 1994, 114, No 65). Three spacer beads made of gilded terracotta were part of the Munich necklace already mentioned here (Blanck 1976, Abb. 12). Similar shaped gilded terracotta spacers with imitation granules were also part of the two Taranto necklaces already mentioned dating to the 4th century BC (De Juliis 1984, 210, 211, No. 140, 141). A pair of terracotta spacer tubes of a somewhat different shape has been found in the Kurdzhipskii kurgan and is dated to the third quarter of the 4th century BC based on the complex of finds (Figures 14:22-24) (Galanina 1980, 88, No. 30).
Using other terracotta jewellery found in the Kuban region, it is possible to reconstruct certain details of the necklaces, for example where beads and various separator/spacer beads were used. These are found in the Sereginski and Uliap burial sites, in the Tenginskoe kurgans, the Kurdzhipskii kurgan and a number of burials along the Kuban right bank. Unfortunately, they are quite fragile and often crumble away before they can be studied. These items are obviously imitations of real gold round and spacer beads found in the necklaces. Smooth egg-shaped beads Smooth egg-shaped beads (Figure 13:8-9) belonging to the type 2 of clay beads according to Alexeeva’s classification (1982, 33), were found in Tenginskoe Kurgan II and Grave 11 from Kurgan 11 Uliap burial mounds (Erlikh 2002, 233, Fig. 1, 13; Leskov et al., 2005, 30, Figs 67, 1, 19). Large quantities of similar beads are found in early Hellenistic burials in Northern Greece, for example in Derveni Burials A and D (Themelis and Touratsoglou 1997, Pl. 61, A58; Pl. 123, Δ19) and in the Taranto necropolis (De Juliis 1984, Nos 71, 136, 138, 140, 141). Complete analogies for the Tenginskoe beads are found amongst the beads of two necklaces from Taranto (excavated in 1976 at the corner of Dante and Leonida streets, Burial 1) (De Juliis 1984, 210, 211, Nos 140, 141). Terracotta beads often display imitation granules and filigree.
Gold-plated terracotta spacers-separators shaped like double palmetto have also been found in the Kurdzhipskii kurgan and by chance on the territory of Lenin hutor burial site 2 (Figure 14:4-12) (Galanina 1980, 88, No. 31; P’iankov 1998, 9, Figs 3-7). Similar spacers are also known in the Central Precaucasus: from Tomb 2 of the Tatarski Burial site 1, the Chegemski site and the Chegem and Baksan river valleys (Prokopenko 2005, Figs 215, 6, 19, 25, 30). Close analogies have been found in the Demeter shrine in Knossos (Coldstream 1973, 171, Nos 323-324, Pl. 99). Separator-beads very similar in form belong to the parts of a terracotta necklace from the British Museum (Marshall 1911, ХLII, No. 2190). These terracotta items obviously copied gold strand separators with two rosette-shaped channels or a double-palmette, often found in necklaces of Greek manufacture (Williams and Ogden 1994, Nos 76, 94, 135).
Round and bi-conical beads with imitation granules and filigree Round and bi-conical beads with imitation granules and filigree were found in Kurgan shrine 2 of the Tenginskoe II settlement. The bead halves are decorated with volute pairs imitating filigree, between which we find raised details imitating granules (Erlikh 2002, 233, Figs 1, 9) (Figures
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Figure 15. Boat-shaped pendants: 1 – Kurdzhipskii kurgan (after Galanina 1980); 2-3 – Taranto (after De Juliis 1984); 4 – British Museum (after Williams and Ogden 1994); 5 – Copenhagen National Museum (after Breitenstein 1941)
Amphora-shaped terracotta pendants
Boat-shaped pendant
Amphora-shaped terracotta pendants are also found in Kuban sites, for example in the Lenin hutor burial grounds (P’iankov 1998, 9, Figs 9, 10, 11) (Figure14:1-3). They have a loop with two channels and also serve as strand separators. Traces of pseudo-granulation are preserved on two of them.
A fragment of terracotta jewellery found in the Kurdzhipskii kurgan can be interpreted as a boat-shaped pendant (Galanina 1980, 88, No. 30) (Figure 15:1). Similar pendants were used in diadems (for example, in the Copenhagen Museum diadem, cf. Breitenstein 1941, Pl. 71, No. 569) (Figure 15:5), or in heavy earrings, such as the gold and terracotta earrings from Taranto (Figure 15:2-3) (De Juliis 1984, 159, No. 71).
A group of similar pendants has also been found in the Central Precaucasus, in the Chegem and Baksan river valleys (the Grand Duke Zichi collection), the Chegemski cemetery and the Kobi-Bashi tomb (Prokopenko 2005, Figs 215, 4, 5, 8, 22-24). Amphora-shaped pendants are found in the terracotta necklace from the British Museum, however, these are not strand-separators, as they only have one channel (Marshall 1911, Pl. XLII, Nos 2190-1). Similar amphora-shaped terracotta beads could be used in earrings, as can be seen, for example, in the gilded terracotta earrings from Taranto (De Juliis 1984, 158, No. 70). All these elements imitate gold amphora-shaped or ‘granulated bead’ pendants and are found extremely often in necklaces and earrings.
Interestingly, in all the examples shown, they are found together with a jewellery set containing terracotta medallions. A boat-shaped terracotta pendant of the same type was found in the Demeter shrine in Knossos (Coldstream 1973, Pl. 322, No. 322). The face above the boat may have depicted the head of Medusa. Gold boat-shaped earrings with a Medusa-head above the boat, probably from Taranto, are in the British Museum (Williams and Ogden 1994, No. 146).
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Conclusion
Bibliography
Terracotta imitations of gold jewellery in the ancient world is very widespread in the second half of the 4th century BC. They were most likely manufactured in Northern Greece, even though it is possible that there were a number of production centres, one of which could have been in Southern Italy. Terracotta copies of gold jewellery was produced specifically for burials, even though some were known to have been used as offerings in shrines, for example in the Demeter shrine at Knossos.
Anfimov, N. V. 1951 — Анфимов, Н. В. Меотосарматский Могильник у станицы Усть-Лабинской [Meoto-sarmatskii mogil’nik u stanitsy Ust’-Labinskoi – A Meotian-Sarmatian cemetery near the stanitsa Ust’-Labinskaia]. Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 23, 155-207. Beglova, E. A. 2005 — Беглова, Е. А. Второй ритуальный комплекс из Тенгинского грунтового могильника [Vtoroi ritual’nyi kompleks iz Tenginskogo gruntovogo mogil’nika – The second ritual complex from burial grounds in Tenginskoe], in И. И. Марченко et al. [I. I. Marchenko et al.] (eds), Четвертая Кубанская археологическая конференция. Тезисы и доклады [Chetvertaia Kubanskaia arkheologicheskaia konferentsia. Tezisy i doklady – Fourth Kuban’ Archaeological Conference. Abstracts and Papers], 9-12. Krasnodar. Blanck, I. 1976. Griechische Goldsmuckimitationen des 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. Antike Welt 7, 19-27. Boardman, J. 1970. Greek Gems and Finger Rings. Early Bronze Age to Late Classical. London. Boltrik, Iu. V. and Fialko, E. E. 2007 — Болтрик, Ю. В., Фиалко, Е. Е. Украшениа из скифских погребальных комплексов Рогачикского курганного полия [Ukrashenia iz skifskikh pogrebal’nykh kompleksov Rogachikskogo kurgannogo poliia – Jewellery from the Scythian burial complex at Rogachikskoi kurgan field]. In П. П. Толочко [P. P. Tolochko] (ed.), Старожитности Степового Причерноморья и Крыма [Starozhitnosti Stepovogo Prichernomor’ia i Krimu – Antiquities of the Steppe in the North Black Sea Region and the Crimea] 14, 51-92. Zaporozh’ia. Brandt, E. 1968. Antike Gemmen in Deutschen Sammlungen, Band 1. Staatliche Münzsammlung, München. Teil 1. Griechische Gemmen von minoischer Zeit bis zum späten Hellenismus. Munich. Breitenstein, N. 1941. Catalogue of Terracottas: Cypriote, Greek, Etrusco-Italian and Roman. Danish National Museum. Copenhagen. Coldstream, J. N. 1973. Knossos. The Sanctuary of Demeter. London. De Juliis, E. M. 1984. Gli ori de Taranto in età ellenistica. “Brera 2” Milano, dicembre 1984-marzo 1985. Milan. Erlikh, V. R. 2002 — Эрлих, В. Р. Украшениа из Тенгинских святилищ [Ukrasheniia iz Tenginskikh sviatilishch – Jewellery from Tenginskoe sanctuaries], in V. Zuev et al. (eds), 232-236. Erlikh, V. R. 2007. Archaeological investigation of the sanctuary in the necropolis of the Tenginskoe II site (Preliminary Publication). In S. L. Solovyov (ed.), Greeks and Natives in the Cimmerian Bosporus 7th-1st Centuries BC. Proceeding of the International Conference October 2000, Taman, Russia. (British
The manufacturing technique of gilded jewellery is quite complex and known today as ‘bolo’. This technique has been carefully studied by our German colleagues: a light slip was applied to the moulded items (the gilding only occurred on one side), and above that a special organic glue, bolus (Maier 1998, 177-216). A similar technique was widespread in the early Hellenistic period and used not only for terracotta but for other materials. Terracotta jewellery in Meotian burials clearly mark the ties and preferences of the Kuban region Meotians during the early Hellenistic period. This distinguishes them from the Scythians, who always preferred pure gold. In Scythia, terracotta earrings have only been found in the burial of a young girl (Burial 3, Kurgan 11 of the Rogachinski kurgan necropolis) (Boltrik and Fialko 2007, 70, Figs 6, 18). Complete analogies for these are found in the fragmentary terracotta earring from the central Precaucasus (the Grand Duke Zichi collection) and the terracotta earrings from Taranto (De Juliis 1984, No. 57; 151, No. 58). In Taranto such earrings are also found in gold (De Juliis 1984, 150, 151, Nos 56-58). Finds from kurgans of this period in the Kuban region (Karagodeuash, Zenenski) confirm ties mostly with northern Greece. We do not exclude the possibility of terracotta medallions depicting Medusa having been produced in Macedonia specifically for the Kuban region due to the popularity of these items amongst the Meotians not as jewellery, but more likely as magical apotropaic objects. This is why the later imitations of the 3rd century BC, made of local coarse clay, have no holes for the chain links. It is unlikely that ties with Macedonia in this period were limited to an exchange of gifts between representatives of the northern Greek and Meotian elites, as some experts have suggested (see Treister 2002, 184). It is also unlikely that such gifts would include less stable terracotta copies of gold jewellery that were manufactured in northern Greece specifically for burials. Instead, terracotta imitations of gold jewellery were probably a part of the imported goods coming into the Kuban region in the process of exchange or trade.
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Archaeological Reports. International Series 1729), 51-58. Oxford. Galanina, L. K. 1980 — Галанина, Л. К. Курджипский курган: помятники культуры прикубанских племен IV века до н.э. [Kurdzhipskii kurgan: pamiatniki kul’tury prikubanskikh plemen IV veka do n. e. – Kurdzhip kurgan: Monuments of the Culture of the Tribes of the Kuban Region in the 4th Century BC]. Leningrad. Gurz, F. 1994. S. v. Selene, Luna. Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae 7/1, 524-527. Zurich. Higgins, R. A. 1954. Catalogue of the Terracottas in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities of British Museum. London. Kahil, L. 1984. S. v. Artemis, Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae 2/1, 618-753. Zurich. Leskov, А. М., Beglova, E. A., Ksenofontova, I. V. and Erlikh, V. R. 2005 — Лесков, А. М., Беглова, Е. А., Ксенофонтова, И. В., Эрлих, В. Р. Меоты Закубаня в середине VI – начале III века до н. э. Некрополи аула Улиап. Погребльные комплексы [Meoty Zakuban’ia v seredine VI – nachale III veka do n. e. Nekropoli aula Uliap. Pogrebal’nye kompleksy – Meotian Zakubane from the Mid-6th to the Beginning of the 3rd Century BC. Necropoleis at Uliap Village. Burial Complexes]. Moscow. Leskov, A. and Noskova, L. (eds) 1990. I Tesori dei Kurgani del Caucaso settentrionale: nuove scoperte degli archeologi sovietici nell’Adygeja e nell’Ossezia settentrionale.Rome. Limberis, N. Iu. and Marchenko, I. I. 2005 — Лимберис, Н. Ю., Марченко, И. И. Хронология керамических комплексов с античными импортами из раскопок меотских могильников правобережья Кубани [Khronologia keramicheskikh kompleksov s antichnymi importami iz raskopok meotskikh mogil’nikov Pravoberezh’ia Kubani – Chronology of the ceramic complexes with ancient imports from the excavation of a Meotian necropolis on the right bank of the Kuban River]. In И. И. Марченко [I. I. Marchenko] (ed.), Материалы и исследования по археологи Кубани [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii Kubani – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the Kuban] 5, 219-324. Maier, F. 1998. Manching und Tarent. Zur Vergoldenungstechnik des keltischen Kultbäumschens und hellenistischer Blattkränze. Germania 76, 177-216. Malyshev, A. A. 1992 — Малышев, А. А. Позолоченные терракотовые медальоны с изображением Медузы Горгоны в Прикубанье [Pozolochennye terrakotovye medal’ony s izobrazheniem Meduzy Gorgony v Prikuban’e – Gilt terracotta medallions with the image of Medusa the Gorgon in the Prikuban’], in Ю. Л. Щапова, И. В. Яценко [Iu. L. Shchapova and I. V. Iatsenko] (eds), Граковские чтения на кафедре археологии МГУ 1989-1990 гг. Материaлы семинара по скифосарматской археологии [Grakovskie chteniia na kafedre arkheologii MGU 1989-1990 gg. Materialy seminara po skifo-sarmatskoi arkheologii – Lectures for Grakov in the Chair of Archaeology, Moscow State University
1989-1990. Seminar materials on Scythian-Sarmatian archaeology], 49-56. Moscow. Marshall, F. H. 1911. Catalogue of the Jewellery in the British Museum. London. OAK 1903. Отчет Российскои Императорской археологической комиссии за 1903 год [Otchet Rossiiskoi Imperatorskoi arkheologicheskoi komissii za 1903 god – Report of the Russian Imperial Archaeological Commission for 1903]. St Petersburg. Prokopenko, Iu. A. 2005 — Прокопенко, Ю. А. Историкокультурное развитие населения Центрального Предкауказя во второй половине I тыс. до н. э. [Istoriko-kul’turnoe razvitie naseleniia Tsentral’nogo Predkavkaz’ia vo vtoroi polovine I tys. do n. e. – The Historical and Cultural Development of Central Precaucasian Settlements in the Second Half of the First Millennium BC]. Stavropol. P’iankov, A. V. 1998 — Пьянков, А. В. Керамические украшения с позолотой з Северного берега Краснодарского водохранилища [Keramicheskie ukrasheniia s pozolotoi s Severnogo berega Krasnodarskogo vodokhranilishcha – Ceramic gilt jewellery from the Krasnodar reservoir]. Древности Кубани [Drevnosti Kubani] 6, 6-12. Raev, B. A. and Bespalyi, G. E. 2006 — Раев, Б. А., Беспалый, Г. Е. Курган скифского времени на грунтовом могильнике IV Новолабинского городища [Kugan skifskogo vremenni na gruntovom mogilnike IV Novolabinskogo gorodishcha – A Kurgan of the Scythian Period in the Necropolis of Novalabinski Fort 4]. Rostov. Soueref, K. and Matthaiou, A. 1998 — SouÈqev, J., LathaÊou, A. TavijÇ stoiweÊa apË to YqaiËjastqo HessakomÊjgr [Data from graves at Oraiokastro, Thessaloniki prefecture]. AqwaiokocijË ‚Eqco LajedomÊar jai HqÇjgr [Archaiologiko Ergo Makedonias kai Thrakis] 12, 231-236. Themelis, P. and Touratsoglou, J. 1997 ― HÈlekir, P., TouqÇtsockou, C., Oi tÇvoi tou DeqbemÊou [Hoi taphoi tou Derveniou – The Derveni Graves]. Athens. Treister, M. Iu. 2002 — Трейстер, М. Ю. Металлические сосуды из Зеленского кургана и некоторые находки из Карагадеуашха (к вопросу о контактах Северной Греции и Боспора во второй половине IV в. до н. э.) [Metallicheskie sosudy iz Zelenskogo kurgana i nekotorye nakhodki iz Karagadeuashkha (k voprosu o kontaktakh Severnoi Gretsii i Bospora) – The metal vases from kurgan Zelenskoi and some finds from Karagadeuashkh (on problem of contacts of Nortern Greece with Bosporos)], in V. Zuev et al. (eds), 180-186. Tsigarida, B. and Ignatiadou, D. 2000. The Gold of Macedon. Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. Athens. Uvarova, P. S. 1900 — Уварова, П. С. Могильники Северного Кауказа [Mogil’niki Severnogo Kaukaza – Necropoleis of the Northern Caucasus]. (Материалы по археологии Кауказа [Materialy po arkheologii Kaukaza – Materials of Caucasian Archaeology] 8). Moscow. Vickers, M. 1979. Scythian Treasures in Oxford. Oxford.
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Williams, D. and Ogden, J. 1994. Greek Gold: British Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art. London, New York. Zuev, V. et al. (eds) 2002 — Зуев, В. et al. Боспорский феномен: погребальные помятники и святилища. Материалы международной научной конференции
[Bosporskii fenomen: pogrebal’nye pamiatniki i sviatilishcha. Materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii – The Bosporan Phenomenon: Burial Monuments and Sanctuaries. Materials of the International Scientific Conference] 2. St Petersburg.
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Chapter 15 Handmade Pottery of the Greek Group from Tyras, Olbia and Nymphaion in the Hellenistic Period Nadezhda A. Gavriliuk
Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences Institute of Archaeology Kiev, Ukraine [email protected] Abstract: Relations between local and Greek populations of the Greek centres of the northern Black Sea area are examined in the context of handmade pottery. The relevant material comes from the ‘basic’ sites of the northern Black Sea area: Tyras, Olbia and Nymphaion. They fall into various categories, and this paper presents the Greek group. It consists of handmade imitations of domestic wares: сasseroles, pots, kraters, braziers, frying pans, bowls on stands, lamps. In Olbia vessels of Greek group make up 75.38% of the hand-made pottery, in Tyras 41.5%. The structure and the basic forms of handmade pottery testify to a typological connection with Greek domestic wares. Handmade cooking-pot wares prevailed in the functional group ‘domestic wares’. This group is foremost in the structure of the handmade pottery of the inhabitants of Tyras, Olbia and Nymphaion. Hypotheses about a barbaric protectorate above Olbia, or about the prevalence of a barbaric component in the population of the ancient centres of the northern Black Sea area contradict the archaeological data. Keywords: Greek centres, northern Black Sea area, handmade pottery, сasserole, pots, vessels, krater, brazier, frying pan, bowl, lamps
The study of handmade pottery
The beginnings of the manufacture of handmade lie in the mists of time. It is the most primitive way of manufacturing ceramic. It was consequently assumed for a long time that any handmade ceramics were barbarian. The barbarians were the neighbours of ancient cities and closely interacted with them economically and culturally. Finds in recent years, however, suggest that this statement is only partially true. It order to develop a modern approach to research on relations between local and Greek populations in ancient centres it is necessary to investigate the archaeological materials of each of these centres of the northern Black Sea area. Only detailed research on ceramic complexes as a whole, whether handmade, or wheelmade, pottery, dining room or kitchen utensils, or containers, will allow us to draw conclusions regarding the ratio of barbarous and Greek components in the material culture of the Greek poleis of the Black Sea area. In order to make such a comparison the following issues need to be faced:
It was in 1935 that T. N. Knipovich published the results of her study of the handmade pottery excavated at Elizavetovka hillfort. This was the first work devoted to handmade utensils as a separate category of material culture (Knipovich 1935, 159-176). Later she investigated handmade ceramics from Olbia (Knipovich 1940, 13). The classification of handmade utensils of the local population were developed in parallel by B. N. Grakov (1954, 68-81) in a study of the finds from Kamenka hillfort. In this way, the typology of handmade ceramics of the steppe Scythian culture was established and it is still used today. There followed works on the handmade utensils of Bosporan cities: of Pantikapaion (Kruglikova 1954, 78113), of Myrmekion and Tiritake (Kastanaian 1952, 249288), and of Tanais (Arsen’eva 1965, 169-201; Arsen’eva 1969, 173-219). It was at this time that the view took root that handmade ceramics belonged to the local population.
1. A full publication of collections of handmade pottery from the ‘basic’ sites, from Tyras and Olbia (for the north-west Black Sea area), Nymphaion, Iluraton, Myrmekion, and Pantikapaion (for Bosporos). 2. The definition of an assemblage of handmade pottery, characteristic of any period. 3. Knowledge of the handmade pottery repertoire of the non-Greek population around the Greek centres.
Another view was put forward by V. V. Lapin in 1966. On the basis of a study of the handmade ceramics of Berezan settlement, and a comparison with imported finds from metropolitan Greek centres, he developed the hypothesis that a complex of handmade ceramics from Berezan was related to the material culture of the Greek population. He believed that the ‘existence of both kinds of ceramic manufacture, handmade and by potter’s wheel, represents a natural phenomenon in a society with insufficiently advanced commodity manufacture’ (Lapin 1966, 162). He
Only after this work is done can we begin to compare the handmade ceramics of the Greek centres of the northern Black Sea area with the handmade utensils of the local population and draw any general conclusions.
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won comparatively little support, and it is clear that the problem is still a pressing one.
handmade pottery by the Scythians, the Greeks’ nomadic neighbours, rather than the reverse.
A general work on the pottery of ancient centres of the northern Black Sea area and of the surrounding population appeared in the 1980s. E. G. Kastanaian’s book (1981) was devoted to the characteristic ceramics of Bosporan sites. The study of handmade pottery of Bosporan cities enabled her to draw conclusions concerning its affinities with the ceramics of local tribes (Kastanaian 1981, 127). She also notes elements of Sarmatian and Meotian influences on handmade ceramics in Bosporos (Kastanaian 1981, 127128), and remarks that conclusive results depend on the much larger data set which would result from research on the larger Bosporan picture.
The principle of broad chronological frameworks and the use of statistical methods of research for all ceramic complexes has justified itself in work on the pottery from Olbia, its chora and from steppe Scythian sites of the 6th to 4th centuries BC. The ethnic indicator is not a particular vessel, but a set of vessels. Quantitative analysis plays a major role in estimating a ceramic complex of a particular culture. The mathematical processing of finds reduces the subjective element in drawing conclusions from the material. Such mass processing makes comparisons possible and allows us to speak about tendencies in the development of material culture.
A monograph on the handmade pottery of Olbia and Berezan by K. K. Marchenko (1988) represented the first profound research on handmade ceramics within a broad chronological framework employing a large amount of material. For the first time he used a statistical method of processing a mass of material. After carrying out his calculations and removing built-in bias in the data he succeeded in creating a fascinating picture of the way in which the life of the first Greek immigrants was organised, and to track changes from the 7th down to the first half of the 1st century BC. Another major feature of his work was a quantitative estimate of the pottery from such complex Greek sites as Olbia and Berezan. This research enabled a closer look at the problem of local and Greek elements in popular material culture; the discussion about ‘barbarian’ or ‘Hellenic’ elements within the population of northern Black Sea area in the early Iron Age could be resumed.
In order to simplify the processing of great quantities of material, the computer package ‘Settlement’ was employed. Information technology greatly facilitated the processing of a mass of material from Scythian and Greek settlements (Kryzhitskii et al., 1996, 299-306). It was tested on material from Scythian settlements: new finds from Kamenka hillfort (the excavation of 1987-98) (Gavriliuk 1999), and from 120 settlements nearby. The list of attributions on Greek sites was made by S. D. Kryzhitskii and V. M. Otreshko. Thanks to them, materials from Berezan (excavated in 1979-84) (Gavriliuk 2007), the Western Temenos of Olbia (Gavriliuk 2006, 191-197), Nymphaion (Gavriliuk and Sokolova 2007), Tyras, and sector NGS at Olbia have been processed (from last two sites will be published by the author soon). It is especially urgent to study Hellenistic handmade ceramics, but this is difficult for two reasons. On the one hand, levels in Greek cities are mixed up since the cities were frequently reorganized, and on the other, there are difficulties in dating complexes.
These principles of mass processing handmade ceramics came in useful when I wrote a general work on the handmade pottery of steppe Scythians (Gavriliuk 1981). The handmade ceramics from the funeral monuments of steppe Scythians, the neighbours of Greeks on the north coast of the Black Sea, were the object of study (Gavriliuk 1984). One conclusion was that the ceramic complex of Scythian steppe culture was formed only at the turn of the 6th and 5th centuries BC (Gavriliuk 1981). This developed from the attribution of handmade pottery from layers of the 6th and 5th century BC on Greek sites to the Scythians. Characteristic forms for the handmade ceramics of the Scythian steppe culture are pots with a throat, like a bell (on B. N. Grakov’s classification) that appear for the first time in the archaic layers of the settlements of the Lower Bug: Berezan, Great Chernomorka 2 (Gavriliuk and Otreshko 1982). That is, the inhabitants of the first Greek settlements brought with them the skills of making handmade pottery which were later borrowed by the local population of the steppe zone. Handmade pottery disappears from the archaeological repertoire of the cities of the mother country at approximately the turn of the 7th and 6th centuries BC, but it continued to be used and made in the colonies. Such pottery appears in the early layers of ancient centres, and it is possible to speak in terms of the loan of some forms of
All this has forced us to return to the study of handmade ceramics. We present here assemblages of Hellenistic handmade ceramics from Tyras (400 fragments susceptible of classification), Olbia (589 fragments), and Nymphaion (229 fragments). From among the handmade utensils from Tyras, Olbia and Nymphaion, only the ceramics which have Greek characteristics are presented here, mostly domestic wares. We shall never know who made these vessels. It could have been a Scythian woman who wanted a casserole similar to one she saw at a neighbour’s, or it could have been a Greek woman who could not afford an expensive casserole from the potter. It is clear, however, that handmade vessels of this group display acquaintance on the part of the inhabitants of Tyras, Olbia or Nymphaion with the Greek cultural tradition. The Greek group of handmade ceramics can therefore be excluded from the handmade ceramic repertoire of the barbarian tribes of the northern Black Sea area.
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Tyras (1999-2002)
Olbia, NGS
Number of fragments
%
Number of fragments
%
Casseroles
22
12.2
57
30
Casserole-braziers
10
5.6
5
2.6
Pots
14
7.8
56
29.5
-
-
14
7.4
Type
Casseroles and pots with lids Lids
35
19.4
15
7,9
Craters
31
17.2
7
3.7
Jugs
5
2.8
5
2.6
Bowls on legs
14
7.8
20
10.5
Frying pans
11
6.1
9
4.7
Braziers
7
3.9
Lamps
28
15.6
2
1.1
Industrial pottery
3
1.81
-
-
180
100.00
190
100
Total
Figure 1. The Greek group of handmade pottery from Tyras and Olbia
The Greek group of the handmade pottery
century BC (Marchenko 1988, 86-87, Fig. 16,2). Finds from Myrmekion are dated to the 1st to 3rd century AD (Kastanaian 1981, 144, Pl. VII 2,7). They are met with among the finds from the hillforts of the Lower Dnieper (Liubimovka, A. I. Kuibyshev’s discoveries in 1988).
The Greek group of the handmade pottery was represented by imitations of cooking-pot wares: сasseroles, pots, kraters, сasseroles-braziers, frying pans, bowls on legs, lamps. In Olbia the vessels of the Greek group make up 75.38% of handmade pottery, in Tyras 41.5%.
The third type consists of casseroles with one or two vertical handles fastened to the rim and the shoulder of the vessel (Figure 2:1). Such vessels are found in essentially Hellenistic levels at Tyras, and four fragments were found at Nymphaion. Casseroles from Olbia are dated to the second half of the 4th to the first half of the 1st century BC (Marchenko 1988, 8, Fig. 16, 3). They also correspond to S. Rotroff’s (2006, 72, 167, Pl.11, 9) cooking pot ware chytra, Form 1; Form 4, Nos 555, 625, and find analogies in the Kerameikos (Knigge 2005, Nos 311, 312, Pl. 85). In K. K. Marchenko’s (1988, 87) opinion, the period at which these casseroles began to be made was the end of the 4th century BC, and their greatest distribution occurred in the second half of the 3rd to the 2nd centuries BC. The territory of distribution of handmade casseroles is from Tyras as far as the cities of Bosporos.
Casseroles Fragments of 22 vessels (12.2% of ceramics of the Greek group) are attributed to casseroles from Tyras, 57 (30%) from Olbia (NGS sector) (Figure 1), and 24 (Nos 87111) (Figure 2:1) from the Nymphaion collections in the Hermitage. They consist of vessels of three types. The typology of these vessels depends on their form and on how the handles are attached. Casseroles of the first type have two handles like pockets immediately beneath the rim or on the shoulder of the vessel. They show signs of use, and the surface is carefully smoothed and burnished. The second type of casserole has one or two handles fastened to the rim and the shoulder (Figure 3). Handmade casseroles might be decorated. An unusual kind is represented by a casserole from Olbia decorated with notches at the neck, and another with a triangular stamp. Two handmade casseroles of the second type from Olbia had three handles, two horizontal and one vertical. These vessels find parallels among finds from the Athenian Аgora (Sparkes and Talcott 1970, Pl. 94, No. 1957). They also correspond to S. Rotroff’s (2006, 38, 173, Pl. 11. 9) cooking pot ware chytra, Form 5, Nos 595, 639, 658, and find an analogy in the Kerameikos (Knigge 2005, No. 309, Pl. 85). In Olbia they are dated to the second half of the 4th to the first half of the 1st
Casserole-braziers Casserole-braziers (Figure 3:2) account for 5.6% of handmade pottery of the Greek group at Tyras, and 2.6% in sector NGS at Olbia (Figure 1). A single сasserole-brazier (No. 111) was found at Nymphaion. These are low-walled vessels with upright walls or walls that curve inwards. The broad diameter of a rim coupled with a small and sometimes rounded base does not allow permit them to be classified as casseroles. As a rule, they have a lid and 131
Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
Figure 2. Vessels of the Greek group: 1 – casseroles; 2 – casserole-brazier; 3 – pot; 4 – pot with lid; 5 – lid; 6 – jug; 7-8 – frying pans; 9-10 – bowls on legs; 11 – lamp
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modelled handles in shapes forms seen on casseroles. The external face is smooth. The source of heat during cooking was both above and below the vessel. Casserole-braziers were dug into heated coals and the food was baked in them. K. K. Marchenko (1988) classifies four types of casserolebraziers as handmade saucepans, and dates them to the Hellenistic period. They are known in 2nd-1st centuries BC contexts at Myrmekion (Kastanaian 1981, 141, Tab. IV, 7). Parallels are known in the Athenian Agora: Lopas, Form 2, No. 647; Form 3, No. 641; Form 5 (Rotroff 2006, 180, 183, Pl. 12). Similar vessels from Nea Paphos are described as braziers (Lund 2002, Fig. 4). Pots
Figure 3. Casserole from Nymphaion
Pots (Figure 2:3) with a short, curved neck make up 7.8% of handmade ceramics of the Greek group at Tyras, and 29.5% in sector NGS at Olbia (Figure 1). A variant of the shape is known at Nymphaion (Nos 49-55). They are made of clay to similar to that of casseroles. Sometimes such vessels had the vertical handle fastened to both rim and shoulder.
the 4th-3rd centuries BC. Such vessels are not encountered elsewhere in Greek settlements of Black Sea area. V. V. Ruban (1980, 290) considered its presence to be an ethnic marker for the population of Olbia and its chora in the Hellenistic period, and other have agreed also (Kryzhitskii et al., 1989, 134-135, Fig. 53). But similar vessels have been found in Scythian settlements at Hellenistic Tyras. Ruban’s idea does not therefore hold good.
Only 14 vessels from Olbia were ornamented, and hatching at the rim predominates. Five pots were ornamented by impressed fingermarks at the rim.
Jugs
The pots of the Greek group are found in 6th and 5th centuries BC levels at Myrmekion (Kastanaian 1952, 252), in Hellenistic and Roman levels at Iluraton (Kastanaian 1981, Tab. 29, 1; 31,1) and Tanais (Arsen’eva 1969, 182183, Tab. 2, 2, 3).
Jugs make up 2.8% of the Greek group of handmade ceramics at Tyras, and 2.6% of those in sector NGS at Olbia, while seven examples were found in Nymphaion (Nos 22-29) (Figures 1 and 2:6). They differ from pots in their elongated proportions. Like jugs, they have a high narrow neck with a narrow rim. Sometimes there is a ridge for a lid on the rim. As a rule, jugs are undecorated.
Another type of vessel that evokes the forms of wheelmade wares unites casseroles and pots with lids (Figures 1 and 2:4). They are partly derived from casseroles, and partly from pots with a low curved neck.
The form and the sizes of handmade jugs repeat those of wheelmade vessels. Parallels are known from the Athenian Agora: ‘Jugs, Form 2’ (Rotroff 2006, 76, Fig. 5, Pl. 8), Myrmekion (Kastanaian 1981, 147, Tab. 10, 1-2) and Tiritake (Kastanaian 1981, 155, Tab. 19, 7, 9, 11, 20).
Lids Lids (Figures 1 and 2:5) could belong both to casseroles and pots. They make up scarcely more than 19% of the handmade ceramics of Tyras, and 7.4% of those from sector NGS at Olbia, while there are ten lids known from Nymphaion. The majority of lids are conical, and the rest flat. Some have projecting handles, and some have openings or are decorated (with impressed fingernails, or deep incisions).
Frying pans Frying pans (Figure 2:7 and 8) are found more frequently on sites of the first centuries of our era. They repeat forms of antique frying pans with walls that are vertical or nearly so (Krapivina 1993, 77, Fig. 80). Some frying pans have parallels among wheelmade vessels in the Athenian Аgora (Rotroff 2006, Pan Form 2, 190, Tab. 13; cf. the ‘orlo bifido’ pans Nos 699, 707: Rotroff 2006, 192, Tab. 13). The flat frying pan with a handle repeats the form of a vessel from the Athenian Agora: Pan Form 7’ (Rotroff 2006, 194, Tab. 13).
They occur in the Athenian Agora: Lids, Form 5, No. 733 (Rotroff 2006, 198, Tab.13). Kraters Kraters make up 17.2% of the Greek handmade pottery from Tyras, and 3.7% of that from sector NGS at Olbia, (Figure 1), but such vessels are not found at Nymphaion. The nearest parallels are finds the Greek settlement of Didova Khata situated in the Olbian chora and dated to
Braziers Braziers make up 3.9% of the group of the Greek ceramics at Tyras (Figure 1). They are thick-walled open vessels,
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with walls 1.5-2.5cm thick and sides 5-6cm high. When analysed, the clay proved to contain impurities of an organic nature. The external and internal surfaces of the walls of braziers always show evidence of use. Rough braziers with vertical walls are known from Scythian hillforts. In Olbia they are met with in Hellenistic levels (Gavriliuk and Krapivina 1999, 300-301). Bowls on stands Bowls on stands make up 7.8% of the Greek group of ceramics from Tyras, and 10.5 % in sector NGS at Olbia (Figures 1 and 2: 9-10). They are also known at Nymphaion (for example Nos 180-186) (Figure 4). These are bowls made in imitation of wheelmade wares. The earliest vessels of this type appear on steppe sites in the 5th century BC (Gavriliuk 1984, 21). At Iluraton (Kastanaian 1981, 175, Tab. 40, 2, 5) they are dated to the end of the 1st to the middle of the 3rd century AD and thought to be lamps. The fullest account of wheel-and handmade cups on a stand is by K. I. Zaitseva (1997; 2001). K. K. Marchenko (1988, 98-99, Fig. 29) following T. N. Knipovich calls these vessels ‘bowls on a leg’ and compares them to type 17 ceramics from Olbia. He believes that these bowls appear in Olbia in the second half, or even at the end, of the 4th century BC. They were most widely distributed in the 2nd century or the first half of the 1st century BC. ‘Bowls on legs’ are a feature of finds from Scythian hillforts (Gavriliuk and Abikulova 1992, part 2, 8-9). They are met with among finds from sites elsewhere: in the Crimea (Dashevskaia 1958, 252; Vlasov 1997, Tab. 8, 7; Vnukov and Lagutin 2001, 96), and in Tanais (Arsen’eva 1965, 172), Myrmekion and Iluraton (Kastanaian 1981). A wooden example (Lorents 2008, 90, No. 38) was preserved.
Figure 4. Bowl on leg from Nymphaion
Open vessels are not frequently met with on ancient on Hellenistic and Roman settlements. An open lamp with a handle was found in Burial 11/4 in the Kara-Tobe necropolis (Vnukov and Lagutin 2001, 107, 111, Fig. 7, 3). An open lamp was also found in the cellar of manor KE at Tanais and is dated to the 2nd-3rd centuries AD (Arsen’eva and Naumenko 1992, 101, 205, Fig. 89,2). Unfortunately, open lamps do not provide precise dating for a monument (Arsen’eva 1988, 90). Conclusions
Lamps
The study of handmade ceramics from key sites of the northern Black Sea area allows us to draw some conclusions.
Lamps form a significant group among handmade ceramics at Tyras, where there were 28 specimens of different types found, or 15.6% of the handmade ceramics of the Greek group. Unfortunately, the majority of the complete vessels have been deposited in the museum at BelgorodDnestrovskii, and it is not possible to associate them with any constructions or levels at Tyras. Handmade lamps are in fact unusual in the northern Black Sea area. In Olbia only two handmade lamps were found (Figures 1 and 2:11), and at Nymphaion 11 open lamps (Nos 200-209, 212, 213) and eight closed (Nos 214-222).
1. The structure and the basic forms of handmade pottery testifies to a typological connection with wheelmade wares of Greece and of the Greek centres of the northern Black Sea area. Handmade kitchen pottery predominates among the cooking-pot wares (Figure 5). That is, in the Greek centres of the northern Black Sea area in the Hellenistic period, there was a separate group of Greek handmade pottery consisting of casseroles, pots, frying pans, braziers, kraters on stands, bowls on legs, lamps. 2. This ceramic group predominated among the handmade ceramics of the inhabitants of Tyras, Olbia and Nymphaion. In Olbia the vessels of the Greek group made up 75.38% of the handmade pottery, and in Tyras 41.5%. 3. Hypotheses about a barbarian protectorate above Olbia, or concerning the prevalence of a barbarian
Lamps served not merely as lighting devices, but they may also have been involved in rituals. Evidence for the latter is the ritual complex investigated at the Mologa settlement nearest to Tyras (Maliukevich and Prisiazhniuk 2000, 154, 160).
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Nadezhda A. Gavriliuk: Handmade Pottery of the Greek Group
Group
Wheel-made
Hand-made
Number of fragments
Percentage of the sample
Number of fragments
Percentage of the sample
Casseroles
49
28
57
10
Braziers
11
6
5
1
Frying pans
26
15
9
2
Pots
23
13
310
51
Jugs
35
20
5
1
Lids
30
17
15
3
Craters*
-
-
7
1
Bowls on legs
-
-
20
3
Lamps
-
-
2
0.3
Figure 5. Cooking-pot ware, wheel- and handmade, from sector NGS at Olbia
Крыма [Lepnaia keramika Neapolia i drugikh skifskikh gorodishch Kryma – Handmade pottery from Neapolis and other Scythian cities in the Crimea]. In К. Ф. Смирнов [K. F. Smirnof] (ed.), Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 64, 248-271. Gavriliuk, N. A. 1981 — Гаврилюк, Н. А. Лепная ке рамика Степной Скифии [Lepnaia keramika Stepnoi Skifii – Handmade pottery of Steppe Scythia]. Авто реферат диссертации кандидата исторических наук (Avtoreferat dissertatsii kandidata istoricheskikh nauk – Candidate’s thesis). National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences Institute of Archaeology, Kiev. Gavriliuk, N. A. 1984 — Гаврилюк, Н. А. Скіфські імітації форм античного гончарного посуду [Skifs’ki imitatsii form antychnogo goncharnogo posudu – Scythian imitations of ancient wheelmade vessel forms]. Археологія [Arkheologiia] 48, 7-12. Gavriliuk, N. A. 1999 — Гаврилюк, Н. А. История экономики Степной Скифии [Istoriia ekonomiki Stepnoi Skifii – An Economic History of Steppe Scythia]. Kiev. Gavriliuk, N. A. 2006 — Гаврилюк, Н. А. Лепная керамика и общие статистические данные керамических материалов [Lepnaia keramika i obshchie statisticheskie dannye keramicheskikh materialov – Handmade pottery and general statistics of ceramic materials]. In А. С. Русяева [A. S. Rusiaeva] (ed.), Древнейший теменос Ольвии Понтийской [Drevneishii temenos Ol’vii Pontiiskoi – The Oldest Temenos of Pontic Olbia], 191-197. Simferopol. Gavriliuk, N. A. 2007 — Гаврилюк, Н. А. Проблема співвідношення ‘грецького’ та ‘варварського’ компонентів матеріальної культури (за матеріалами ліпної кераміки поселення на о. Березань) [Problema
component in the structure of the population of ancient centres of the northern Black Sea area contradict the archaeological data. 4. An increase in the quantity of handmade ceramics is connected with a reduction of in the number of imports of high-quality potter’s equipment to the northern Black Sea from metropolitan Greece. Perhaps during the Hellenistic period the people of Olbia, Tyras and Nymphaion had grown so poor that they were compelled to replace wheelmade pottery with handmade. Bibliography Arsen’eva, T. M. 1965 — Арсеньева, Т. М. Лепная керамика Танаиса [Lepnaia keramika Tanaisa – Handmade pottery of Tanais]. Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 127, 169-202. Arsen’eva, T. M. 1969 — Арсеньeва, Т. М. Лепная керамика Танаиса. Горшки [Lepnaia keramika Tanaisa. Gorshki – Handmade pottery of Tanais. Pots]. In Античные древности Подонья-Приазовья [Antichnye drevnosti Podon’ia-Priazov’ia – Antiquities of Lower Don and Azov Sea Region]. Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR], 154, 173-220. Arsen’eva, T. M. 1988 — Арсеньeва, Т. М. Светильники Танаиса [Svetil’niki Tanaisa – Lamps of Tanais]. Мoscow. Arsen’eva, T. M. and Naumenko, S. A. 1992 — Арсеньeва, Т. М., Науменко, С. А. Усадьбы Танаиса [Usad’by Tanaisa – Farms of Tanais]. Moscow. Dashevskaia, O. D. 1958 — Дашевская, О. Д. Лепная керамика Неаполя и других скифских городищ
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Chapter 16 Research into Overall Biological Condition of a Group of Individuals Buried in a Necropolis Dating from 4th-3rd Centuries BC in Koshary (Ukraine)
Henryk Głąb
Jagiellonian University Institute of Zoology Department of Anthropology Kraków, Poland [email protected] [email protected]
Krzysztof Szostek
Jagiellonian University Department of Anthropology Institute of Zoology Kraków, Poland [email protected] Abstract: The object of this anatomical and anthropological study comprised skeletons unearthed in the Koshary necropolis (4th-3rd centuries BC) in Ukraine during the 2005-6 excavation seasons. In the light of the development of the cephalic index, a large proportion of dolichocephalic skulls was identified, which suggests that the Scythian element was prevalent in the investigated craniological material. The analysis of the sexual dimorphism index indicates that the condition of the studied human groups was largely good. This was also reflected in physical and chemical properties of teeth. The analysis of the content of strontium, barium and inter-elemental ratios suggests a high share of marine food in the diet of the historic inhabitants of Koshary. Keywords: Koshary necropolis, cranial index, Scythians, Greeks, trace elements
During field and laboratory work, neurocranium and splanchocranium measurements were taken as well as basic measurements of the post-cranial skeleton (limb bones) which enabled the assessment of the intra vitam body height to be made (Trotter and Gleser 1952). Due to the extent of degradation (weathering) and the fragility of bones, the measurements were taken at the cemetery whenever possible, before, during or immediately after exploration. Anatomical traits provided the basis for determining the age at the moment of death and sex of adult individuals according to the Ubelaker methodology (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1996; Malinowski and Bożiłow 1997).
Anthropological research was carried out in the Koshary necropolis, Ukraine, in the years 2005 and 2006. The authors were invited to participate in field work by the following cooperating institutions: the Archaeological Museum in Odessa and the Institute of Archaeology of Jagiellonian University in Cracow. This work is based on data from 25 skeletons in various condition, usually badly preserved, dating from 4th-3rd centuries BC. The most frequent types of burial in the investigated necropolis are niche graves containing a pit entrance and a side niche where the deceased was buried; the entrance was covered with large slabs and stones. Another type are large ‘catacomb’ graves, containing a deep entrance shaft and a grave chamber hollowed out in the ground. The third type are pit graves: shallow and usually most affected by ploughing or erosion. This was the modest type of burial (Chochorowski 1996; Chochorowski et al., 1999; Chochorowski et al., 2000; Chochorowski et al., 2001; Redina and Chochorowski 2001; Papuci-Władyka 2002; Papuci-Władyka et al., 2003; Papuci-Władyka et al., 2004; Papuci-Władyka and Redina in this volume). The material presented in this study comes from such a burial type.
A series of skeletons unearthed in 2005 at the Koshary site by archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University and a team of archaeologists from the Odessa Archaeological Museum was subjected to analysis. Since the analysed series of skeletons constitutes only a small part of the burials in the necropolis explored for the past ten years, it cannot be treated separately from skeletons unearthed in preceding years (1998-2004). A publication by Kaczanowski team provides comparative data (Kaczanowski et al., 2008).
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Grave
Sex
Age
Height (cm)
2 256 257/1 257/2 259 260 261 262 264 265 266 268/1 268/2 269 270 270/1 272 273/1 273/2 273/3 274/1 274/2 274/3 274/4 274/5
Male Female Female Male ? Female Female ? Male ? Male Female Male Female Male Male
Adult Senilis Adultus Ad/Mat Infans I Adult Adultus Infans Maturus Adult Maturus Maturus Maturus Adult Adultus Adult Infans I Infans II Adult Adultus Adult Maturus Adult Adult Infans I/infans II
164 158
Male Female Female Male Female Female
Cranial index
71.3
155 156
79.3
160
75.8
160 156
73.4 67.0
159 164
78.6
172
174
Figure 1. General characteristics of the investigated skeleton series from 2005-6 research
The burial ground, although Greek in cultural terms, reveals Greek-Scythian contacts, as indicated by the items found in the graves. Therefore, aside from the conventional anthropological and anatomical description as well as description of the biological condition of the population (pathology, demography), one of the prospective research issues for the authors will be the question whether bone remains enable us to identify potential individuals displaying morphological variability associated with the Greek colonist type or whether they approach the morphology of the Scythian population.
sex structure and the height of the analysed individuals. The investigated series of skeletons is characterised by a slender and delicate build. With a single exception, where dental caries was reported, the condition of teeth was very good. Note that the attrition of teeth was high in relation to the biological age estimated by means of other methods. The skulls are very similar to one another morphologically, and a paired frontal bone is frequent, which could suggest genetic uniformity of the studied skeleton series. The skulls were dolichocephalic, with narrow faces and the profile of nose and forehead similar to the Greek profile.
Most the skeletons are badly, or very badly preserved. Many of them were unsuitable for morphological measurements and observations; nor was it possible to determine the precise age at death or even the sex of the deceased, so the investigated series presented here is unfortunately comparatively unrepresentative.
Remains of nine individuals were encountered in the skeletal material from the year 2006 represented by three grave clusters. Bones of a child at the infans I age were found in grave 272. The remaining clusters contained mixed bones varied both in terms of sex and age. The shape of long bones of both males is particularly interesting. Their body height and their peculiar solidity was similar. The solidity was demonstrated by very elaborate linea aspera and femoral trochanter. In addition, an unusual flattening of femurs and tibias in the sagittal cross-section (Figure 4) (grave 274/2). This could reflect the fact that those males spent a substantial amount time in the saddle.
In most of the analysed graves, material was only fragmentarily preserved; plundering was the main cause of the destruction of the bone material in historical times, with the soil conditions in which the skeletons had been deposited being another cause. High ambient temperature during exhumation was also a significant factor. Overall, 25 skeletons were studied, among which were nine males, ten females, three individuals whose sex could not be identified, and four child skeletons. Figure 1 shows age,
The present research revealed a considerable variability of male body height. Namely, the graves explored in 2006 (grave 274/2 and 273/1) display considerable body
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Henryk Głąb and Krzysztof Szostek: Research into Overall Biological Condition
The Danube Delta Sr (mg/g) Ca (%) Ba (mg/g) Sr/Ca Ba/Ca Ba/Sr
Koshary
Average
SD
average
SD
635.4 28.5 60.1 22.6 2.09 0.09
209.9 2.8 44.3 8.0 1.40 0.06
616.3 31.1 35.9 19.8 1.19 0.07
207.6 3.4 27.3 6.7 0.94 0.06
Figure 2. Average contents of individual elements and ratio values in studied groups
Wright 1995; Ezzo et al., 1995; Schutkowski 1995; Larsen 1997; Szostek 1998; Schutkowski et al., 1999; Sandford and Weaver 2000; Szostek and Głąb 2001; Humphrey et al., 2008; Szostek et al., 2009; Dolphin and Goodman 2009). The diagnostic value of Zn in evaluating the diet is questioned by some researchers due to the fact that this element plays an important role in the development of an organism (Ezzo et al., 1995; Larsen 1997). Barium proves to be as the most sensitive diet indicator, especially during growth and development of an individual (Bałuszyńska et al., 2001).
height of the buried (174cm and 172cm, respectively), the remaining male skeletons being short (160-164cm). Thus, the average body height is 167.5cm, which is very similar to data reported by Kaczanowski and others (2008). In the case of women, both in the present and past analyses, the average height of women is almost identical (20056: 156.8cm, 1998-2004: 158.0cm), and the variability of this trait is lower than in men. The sexual dimorphism index being the indicator of the biological condition of the population is 6.3% in the present work and identical to results obtained by Kaczanowski and others (2008) (6.2%). The sexual dimorphism index obtained for body height is relatively high, which may suggest quite favourable living conditions of the analysed group; note, however, that no arthritic, degenerative, deficiency-related or strain-related disorders were reported in the studied skeletons.
The present research is aimed to ascertain whether a varied geographical and natural environment, culture and socio-economic relations are reflected in the content of the analyzed trace elements in teeth. The material used in this work comprised 50 human teeth (M1) from individuals inhabiting the area of today’s Ukraine in 4th3rd centuries BC. The Scythian population is represented by individuals (31) coming from barrow burials located in the Danube Delta, in the Izmailsky Raion (longitude 29o east, latitude 45o north) at three sites (Kugurluj, Gradiezka and Dierbient). The second group includes teeth from individuals unearthed at the Koshary necropolis (19), the place where the Scythians mixed with Greek colonizers, in close proximity east of Odessa. The cemetery is located on a marine terrace of the Black Sea. Representatives of the two populations inhabited radically different geographic and natural environments: the swampy wetlands of the Danube Delta and the open, steppe area of the Black Sea littoral.
As regards the variability of the cranial index, the prevalence of dolichocephalic and mesocephalic forms (63.30-79.30) was observed both in this study and the analysis by Kaczanowski and others (2008). The brachycephalic element was extremely rare. Such diversity may suggest the lack of anthropological uniformity of the population inhabiting the investigated area. We should note that dolichocephalic individuals are characteristic of the Scythian form group (Kruts 1979). Consequently, we can assume that the population of those areas in the analyzed historical context was probably dominated by dolichocephalic Scythian populations. However, the explanation of this problem is impossible without specialist molecular and isotope tests. Due to a small number of individuals, no paleo-demographic analysis was carried out.
The situation of the Scythians at the turn of the 3rd century BC had largely deteriorated. Pushed further into unfavourable areas by the Sarmatians, they assimilated with local populations or migrated to the west. Scythia was declining and the remains of Scythian populations were abandoning the nomadic lifestyle in favour of a settled farming economy (Chochorowski 1996; Murzin 1996). A preliminary statistical analysis of the investigated elements revealed no significant differences between sites located in the Danube Delta. Therefore, it was decided that they would be treated as a uniform group. Soil levels of the investigated elements at each site was also determined. Trace element (Sr, Ba, and Ca) concentrations in the analysed teeth were determined. The concentrations were
Moreover, analyses of the concentration of macro- and microelements in terms of reconstructing the nutritional habits of the studied group in relation to the isochronous Scythian group inhabiting the Danube Delta were carried out (Figure 2). The most frequently investigated elements in terms of the evaluation of the diets of historical populations include: Sr, Ba, Ca and proportions between them: Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca and Ba/Ca (Sillen 1981; Schoeninger 1982; Sillen and Kavanagh 1982; Klepinger 1984; Byrne and Parris 1987; Perez-Perez and Lalueza 1992; Sandford 1992; Wolfsperger 1992; Radosevich 1993; Palmieri et al., 1994; Burton and
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The Danube Delta males Sr (mg/g) 585.0 ± 218.1 Ca (%) 28.1 ± 2.7 Ba (mg/g) 53.8 ±35.6 Sr/Ca 21.1 ± 8.6 Ba/Ca 1.9 ± 1.1 Ba/Sr 0.09 ± 0.05 * relevant differences for p< 0.05
Koshary
females
children
males
females
children
714.9 ± 109.8 29.8 ± 3.2 78.9 ± 41.6 24.4 ± 5.6 2.7 ± 1.3 0.12 ± 0.06*
594.3 ± 191.3 28.4 ± 2.1 22.4 ± 3.1 21.2 ± 7.6 0.8 ± 0.1 0.04 ± 0.01*
637.2 ± 291.4 30.9 ± 2.2 42.7 ± 24.4* 20.8 ± 10.0 1.4 ± 0.7* 0.08 ± 0.05*
640.1 ± 213.5 29.0 ± 2.7* 58.5 ± 24.3* 21.7 ± 5.9 2.1 ± 0.9* 0.1 ± 0.07*
635.2 ± 137.4 33.4 ± 3.4* 10.6 ± 4.3* 19.4 ± 5.1 0.32 ± 0.13* 0.01 ± 0.005*
Figure 3. Dimorphic diversification in the analysed Scythian groups
determined by means of a Perkin Elmer ‘PLASMA 40’ ICP AES spectrophotometer. As can be seen in the data presented in Figure 2, strontium content is high for the odontological material of both populations, i.e. the Scythians from the Danube Delta and the inhabitants of the Greek settlement in Koshary. This indicates a considerable proportion of marine food in the diet (Burton and Price 1990; Ezzo et al., 1995). This is not surprising, since the representatives of both groups lives in close proximity of the sea. The teeth of the Danubian Scythes are characterised by significantly higher Ba content. As a consequence, Ba/Ca and Ba/Sr ratios are higher. It seems that the inhabitants of those areas ate more land food. Hunting was in the nature of nomads. Decidedly lower values of Ba/Ca and Ba/Sr ratios in the Koshary population indicate a higher level of marine food in their diet. Already in the 3rd century BC the steppes in the neighbourhood of the Black Sea had been largely exploited both by farming and hunting (Chochorowski 1996; Murzin 1996; Papuci-Władyka 2002). However, a general analysis of the collected data leads to the conclusion that, in spite of a different geographic, cultural and socioeconomic environment, marine resources were dominant in the food economy of both groups. The analysis of the trace elements and macroelements as well as ratios in relation to sexes showed no statistically significant differences between men and women (Figure 3).
Figure 4. Flattened tibias from grave 274/2
human teeth sequences in aspect of diet and dynamics of tooth development. In 3rd International Symposium on Trace Elements in Human: New Perspectives. Proceedings Book, 364-372. Athens. Buikstra, J. E. and Ubelaker, D. H. (eds) 1994. Standards for skeletal collection from human skeletal remains. Arkansas Archaeological Survey Research Series 44, 1-163. Burton, J. H. and Price, T. D. 1990. Paleodietary applications of barium values in bone. Archaeometry 90, 787-794. Burton, J. H. and Wright, L. E. 1995. Nonlinearity in the relationship between bone Sr/Ca and diet: paleodietary implications. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 96, 273-282. Byrne, B. B. and Parris, D. C. 1987. Reconstruction of the Diet of the Middle Woodland Ameridian Population at Abbot Farm by Bone Trace-Element Analysis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 74, 373-384. Chochorowski, J. (ed.) 1996. Koczownicy Ukrainy [Nomads of Ukraine]. Katowice. Chochorowski, J. 1996. Koczownicy wielkiego stepu. Z mroków prehistorii do debiutu na arenie dziejowej [Great steppe nomads. From the darkness of prehistory to appearance on the stage of history]. In J. Chochorowski (ed.), 9-30.
This could suggest a lack of hierarchy in both studied populations as far as access to food is concerned. The soil content of the analyzed elements excludes the possibility of their significant influence on accumulation in teeth when buried in the grave. Summing up, the lack of biological uniformity of the group inhabiting Koshary, Ukraine, in the investigated historical period needs to be stressed. In the light of both morphological and physical/chemical tests, their overall biological state is assessed as good. Bibliography Bałuszyńska, L., Szostek, K. and Haduch, E. 2001. Distribution Analysis of macro and microelements in the 142
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Antropometria. Methods, technology standards]. Warsaw, Łódź. Murzin, V. 1996. Nadczarnomorska Scytia [Black Sea Scythia]. In J. Chochorowski (ed.), 49-64. Palmieri, A. M., Coppa, A. and Francalacci, P. 1994. Problems of an aquatic diet in trace element analysis: the coastal site of Qurum RH5 (Sultanate of Oman, 3.7003.200 B.C.). Human Evolution 9, 155-164. Papuci-Władyka, E. 2002. Kultura grecka nad Morzem Czarnym [Greek culture on the Black Sea area]. Alma Mater. Miesięcznik Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego 41, 10-16. Papuci-Władyka, E., Chochorowski, J. and Redina, E. F. 2003. Zespół stanowisk antycznych (osiedle i nekropola) w Koszarach koło Odessy po trzech latach badań. Streszczenie referatu wygłoszonego na posiedzeniu naukowym Komisji Archeologicznej O/PAN w Krakowie 27 lutego 2001 r. [Archaeological ancient sites (settlement and necropolis) in Koshary near Odessa after three years of research, a summary paper delivered at the meeting of the Scientific Archaeological Commission O/PAN in Kraków, 27 February 2001]. In Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Komisji Naukowych PAN [Reports of the meetings of the Scientific Committee of The Polish Academy of Sciences] 45/I, 2001, 1-4. Kraków. Papuci-Władyka, E., Chochorowski, J. and Redina E. F. with contribution by Bodzek, J., Machowski, W., Nosova, L. V. and Kokorzhitskaya, T. N. 2004. Koszary - grecka osada nad Morzem Czarnym w świetle pięcioletnich badań polsko-ukraińskiej ekspedycji (1998-2002) [Koshary - Greek settlement on the Black Sea in the light of a five-year study of Polish-Ukrainian expedition (1998-2002)]. In D. Qurini-Popławska (ed.), Portolana. Studia Mediterranea 1, 47-64. Kraków. Perez-Perez, A. and Lalueza, C. 1992. Dietary reconstruction from historical information and trace element analysis in a medieval population from Catalonia (Spain). International Journal of Anthropology 7, 51-57. Radosevich, S. C. 1993. The six deadly sins of trace element analysis - A case of wishful thinking in science. In M. K. Sandford (ed.), Investigations of Ancient Human Tissues: Chemical Analysis in Anthropology, 269-321. New York. Redina, E. F. and Chochorowski, J. 2001. Koshary. In T. L. Samoylova (ed.), Ancient Greek Sites on the Northwest Coast of the Black Sea, 139-154. Kiev. Sandford, M. K. 1992. A reconsideration of trace element analysis in prehistoric bone, in S. R. Saunders and M. A. Katzenberg (eds), Skeletal Biology of Past Peoples: Research Methods, 79-105. New York. Sandford, M. and Weaver, S. 2000. Trace element research in anthropology: perspectives and challenges, in M. A. Katzenberg and S. R. Saunders (eds), Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton, 329-350. New York. Schoeninger, M. J. 1982. Diet and the Evolution of Modern Human Form in the Middle East. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 58, 37-52. Schutkowski, H. 1995. What you are makes you eat different things - interrelations of diet, status and sex in
Chochorowski, J., Papuci-Władyka, E. and Redina, E. F. 1999. Polish-Ukrainian Archaeological Research of Ancient Settlement and Necropolis in Koshary, Odessa district. Preliminary Report. In J. Śliwa (ed.), Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 9, 55-63. Kraków. Chochorowski, J., Papuci-Władyka, E. and Redina, E. F. 2000. Polsko-ukraińskie badania wykopaliskowe zespołu stanowisk z okresu antycznego w miejscowości Koshary koło Odessy [Polish-Ukrainian Archaeological Research of Ancient Settlements in Koshary near Odessa]. Materiały i Sprawozdania Rzeszowskiego Ośrodka Archeologicznego 21, 185-202. Chochorowski, J., Papuci-Władyka, E. and Redina, E. F. 2001. Polsko-ukraińskie badania wykopaliskowe zespołu stanowisk z okresu antycznego w miejscowości Koshary koło Odessy [Polish-Ukrainian Archaeological Research of Ancient Settlements in Koshary near Odessa], in J. Lech and J. Partyka (eds), Z archeologii Ukrainy i Jury Ojcowskiej [The archaeology of Ukraine and Polish Jura Chain], 495-514. Ojców. Dolphin, A. E. and Goodman, A. H. 2009. Maternal diets, nutritional status, and zinc in contemporary Mexican Infants Teeth: Implications for reconstructing paleodiets. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 140, 399409. Ezzo, J. A., Larsen, C. S. and Burton, J. H. 1995. Elemental signatures of human diets from the Georgia Bight. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 98, 471481. Humphrey, L. T., Dean, M. C., Jeffries, T. E. and Penn, M. 2008. Unlocking evidence of early diet from tooth enamel. Proceedings of National Academy of Science. USA 105, 6834-6839. Kaczanowski, K., Kosydarski, A. and Niedźwiecka, E. 2008. Results of 1998-2004 anthropological studies at ancient burial site at Koshary (the Ukraine). In E. PapuciWładyka (ed.), PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11), 53-61. Kraków. Klepinger, L. L. 1984. Nutritional assessment from bone. Annual Review of Anthropology 13, 75-96. Kruts, S. I. 1979 — Круц, С. И. К антропологии древнего населения запорожской Украины [K antropologii drevnego naseleniia zaporozhskoi Ukrainy – By the anthropology of the ancient population of Zaporizhia Ukraine]. Палеоантропологические материалы из могильников Украины [Paleoantropologicheskie materialy iz mogil’nikov Ukrainy – Paleoanthropological materials from Ukraine necropoleis], 3-48. Kiev. Larsen, C. S. 1997. Bioarchaeology, interpreting behaviour from the skeleton. Cambridge. Malinowski, A. and Bożiłow, W. 1997. Podstawy Antropometrii. Metody, techniki normy. [Basic
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Szostek, K. and Głąb, H. 2001. Trace Element Concentrations in Human Teeth from a Neolithic Common Grave at Nakonowo (Central Poland). Variability and Evolution 9, 16-27. Szostek, K., Głąb, H. and Pudło, A. 2009. The use of strontium and barium analyses for the reconstruction of the diet of the early medieval coastal population of Gdansk (Poland): a preliminary study. Homo 60, 359372. Trotter, M. and Gleser, G. C. 1952. Estimation of stature from long bones of American whites and negroes. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 10/IV, 463-514. Wolfsperger, M. 1992. Trace element analysis of medieval and early modern skeletal from western Austria for reconstruction of diet. Homo 43, 278-294.
the early medieval population of Kirchheim unter teck, FGR. Human Evolution 10, 119-130. Schutkowski, H., Herrmann, B., Widemann, F., Bocherens, H. and Grupe, G. 1999. Diet, Status and Decomposition at Weingarten: Trace Element and Isotope Analyses on Early Mediaeval Skeletal Material. Journal of Archaeological Science 26, 675-685. Sillen, A. 1981. Strontium and diet at Hayonim Cave. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 56, 131137. Sillen, A. and Kavanagh, M. 1982. Strontium and paleodietary research: A review. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 25, 67-90. Szostek, K. 1998. Variability of trace element content in human tooth sequences – a multivariate analysis. Anthropological Review 61, 63-75.
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Chapter 17 Two Pelikai from the Collection of the National Museum in Kraków: Form and Decoration
Dorota Gorzelany
The National Museum in Kraków Princes’ Czartoryski Museum Kraków, Poland [email protected] Abstract: This essay is a contribution to the research concerning shape and decoration of the two pelikai from the collection of the National Museum in Kraków, one of which originates from Olbia and the second was bought in Kerch. Both vessels, different in shape and decoration, belong to the group of black-gloss vases with painted and gilt decoration. Among the vessels of this type there are distinguished vase profiles typical of the workshops in Attic and northern Black Sea centres. The investigation of clay conducted during the restoration works helped to confirm a place of production in the Black Sea workshops. The form of both vases reveals the assimilation of the metallurgy tradition. A stylistic analysis of the decoration, simple but elegant ornaments inspired with a formerly gilt tendril motif and necklaces, indicates analogies among vases of the late 4th-early 3rd century BC and the dispersion of this kind of ornamental motifs in the Mediterranean area. Keywords: pelike, black-gloss, ceramics, metalwork, gilding
In the collection of the National Museum in Kraków there is a group of objects coming from the north coast of the Black Sea (Moczulska 2006). Among them are two pelikai belonging to the group of black-gloss and gold decorated vases. Although they both come from the same region, they entered the Museum via different art collectors. One was the Kraków antiquary, Marek Schwarz, who in 1898 donated to the Museum of Technique and Industry, established in Kraków in the year 1868, several Greek and Roman objects found in Olbia. Among them was a black-gloss pelike, described below as Pelike A (Bulas 1935, 65, Pl. 95: 1; Inv. No. MNK XI-A-765; Figures 1 and 2). After World War II, the Museum of Technique and Industry was closed down and its collection incorporated into the National Museum in Kraków.
Both vessels were partially damaged and underwent conservation in 2003. Pelike A to have the lip reconstructed, while Pelike B, already reconstructed before being sold to Terlecki, had a new handle, which was again renewed during conservation, together with reconstruction of parts of the neck and lip (Szczepaniak 2004). Samples of the gloss and painted decoration were taken at that time from the walls of both vessels. The similar mineral composition of the clay in both samples indicated that the clay came from the same mineral deposit. Similarly, the painted decoration of both pots was done with the same pigments: yellow and red ochre, and burnt umbra. In three places, golden leaf attached by means of a protein binder remains in vestigial form over the painted motif on the body and neck of Pelike A. The material porosity method describing density and size of the pores disclosed equivalent results for these two objects, which means that both the raw material and production technology of the two vessels were similar. There is a certain remaining difference in the gloss of the vessels: tightly attached to the surface, yet thin, brittle and graphite-shaded in the case of Pelike A and thicker, shiny and unequally shaded in the case of Pelike B.
The second pelike of the same type, described below as Pelike B (Inv. No. MNK XI-A-764; Figures 3 and 4), entered the collection of the National Museum in Kraków as part of a group of objects donated in 1908 by Ignacy Terlecki (1860-1916), a doctor at the Border Guard Corps hospital in Kerch. Being a member of the Society of History and Antiquities in Odessa, well known for his collector’s passion, he often had an opportunity to choose objects from newly excavated materials, brought to him by local treasure-hunters. In many cases, he had the privilege of being the first to choose. We can assume that the pelike was acquired in such a way and that it was presumably found near Kerch.
Despite the fact that both pelikai differ in the profiles of the shoulders and bodies, yet the black-gloss coating of both is graphite coloured. The bottom part of the body noticeably narrows on both pots, and there is a similar form of the flat, profiled feet with a single ring for Pelike B, and a double ring for Pelike A, both highlighted in yellow. The handles
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Figures 1-2. Black-gloss pelike, Inv. No. MNK XI-A-765, height 48.5cm, late 4th-early 3rd century BC, Black Sea workshop
in each case have a visible marked ridge, and the lips with a schematically depicted egg-and-dart motif are similar. Comparing both Kraków pelikai with the list published by Kopcke (1964, 73), we find them close to a vessel from Taman that he dates to the last quarter of the 4th century BC. Its profile with its emphatic transition from the body to the shoulders, together pelikai in Würzburg (Kotitsa 1998, 40-42) and St Petersburg, caused Kopcke to attribute them to local, Black Sea workshops.
the influence of black-gloss and gold decorated pottery, becoming a popular pattern on later Gnathia vessels. Attic influences on Apulian pottery can also be seen in the profiles of the vessels, and the assimilation of different workshop features is easy to see in the case of the pelike from Kerch that has a similar body decoration (Alexandropoulou 2002, 164). A neatly painted spearhead necklace is the decorative motif on both sides of the neck of Pelike A. A comparable design is to be found on one side of the neck of Pelike B, while the other side one is decorated with a more elaborate necklace. Spearhead necklaces are known from numerous archaeological finds dated to the late 4th BC, e.g. from Macedonia (Tsigarida and Ignatiadou 2000, 72) and the Black Sea area (Trofimova 2007, 264, 274). An identical motif, also gilt, was used to decorate neck of Kerch vases (Schefold 1934) and later ‘West Slope’ vessels.
Pelike A with its ribbed spherical body is decorated in the widest part with a band bearing a floral motif. A similarly elongated profile and decorative scheme is known on Gnathia-style vessels of the early 3rd century BC. The ribbing comes two thirds of the way up the body, and is divided into two parts by a smooth band with painted ornament, S-shaped lines (Kotitsa 1998, 67-68) or tendrils. The divided parts are emphasized with a white line that stresses the ending of the ribbing, similar to that of Kraków pelike A. The neck of the vessels in this group is decorated with spearhead necklaces from c. 340 BC under
There are, however, rather few surviving examples of this motif, which appears in pottery decoration in the late 146
Dorota Gorzelany: Two Pelikai
Figures 3-4. Black-gloss pelike, Inv. No. MNK XI-A-764, height 46.5cm, last quarter of the 4th century BC, Black Sea workshop
Therefore, Pelike A could be considered as an example of a vessel coming from the final production phase of blackgloss and gold-decorated pottery, coinciding with the earliest ‘West Slope’ ware.
4th and early 3rd century BC, including that of ‘West Slope’ vessels (Kopcke 1964, 63-64; Kotitsa 1998, 45). A fragment of a necklace consisting of several pieces, each with a pendant in shape of an amulet or an animal was found in Olbia (Videiko 2001, 8). A rich variety of chain pendants, treated rather sketchily on vases, is reflected in the elaborate forms of earrings (Tsigarida and Ignatiadou 2000, 84), chains with single figural pendants (Olbia, first quarter of the 3rd century BC), and pendants in the form of a chain tail (Pfrommer 1990, 20, 28). The radiate pendants of temple-rings, such as ones found in graves in Vani, Georgia (Lordkipanidze 2007, 36) also have a similar form.
The form of the floral ornament of Pelike A is comparable to tendrils of Attic type, with a rather solid body, rhythmically scrolled, and a limited number of flowers. Similar examples exist from the middle of the 4th century BC on Macedonian painted monuments, e.g. the border of the back of the throne in the Tomb of Eurydice at Vergina (Touratsoglou 1998, 245), as well as a relief motif decorating gilded ware, diadems (Besios and Pappa 1995, 102) and iron pectorals with gilt decoration (Tsigarida and Ignatiadou 2000, 25). It can also be found on the fastenings of the Heracles-knot necklaces, e.g. the one found in Olbia and dated to the first quarter of the 3rd century BC; the proportion of its knot and the shape of a palmette placed at the centre, clearly indicates the Italic tradition adopted by workshops active in Black Sea costal territories (Pfrommer 1990, 28-30).
Such a combination of a necklace and tendril motif occurs on both Gnathia and ‘West Slope’ ware, sometimes placed on the body of a vessel (Drougou 1991, 116-117), as it is on Pelike A. Here, the tendril motif constitutes a sequence of volutes and palmettes. A similar ornament is only known from a few remaining black-gloss and gold-decorated vessels and their remains dated to the last three decades of the 4th century and the beginning of the 3rd century BC. There are furthermore a few examples bearing a similar tendril motif with volutes on fragments of a ‘West Slope’ kantharos, guttus and pyxis lid dated to the end of the first quarter of the 3rd century BC (Rotroff 1997, 256).
It would seem that the decoration on the body of Pelike A is not purely a floral ornamentation, and can be perceived as an example of the application of another element of gold jewellery, namely diadems decorated with, or made 147
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of, similar motifs. Relevant examples were excavated in the tombs in Macedonia dated to the late 4th or early 3rd century BC; objects such as the diadem decorated with a repoussé tendril with palmettes from Tomb B in Derveni, a diadem from the cemetery of ancient Lete consisting of tendrils, oak leaves and five-petalled flowers with a female head at the centre, a diadem of lyre-shaped parts decorated with acanthus leaves, tendrils and palmettes found in Cistgrave Γ’ at Sedes (Pfrommer 1990, 13-16; Tsigarida and Ignatiadou 2000, 70, 83, 86).
Comparable vessels have been excavated in burial chambers in the Black Sea area (Fless 2001, 242). A black-gloss pelike with a laurel branch encircling neck of the vessel was found in the Kurgan No. 4 of Yuz Oba ridge (Trofimowa 2007, 252). This type of vessel was imported from Athens, as were the popular Kerch style vases (Zhuravlev 2007, 93-94). There are, we now know, copies executed in local workshops, working for Scythian clients who constituted an important part of the diverse society of the Greek cities in the Black Sea area. The Scythians’ high skills in metallurgy influenced the final form of the commissioned ware, combining forms and decorative motifs of Greece, northern Greece and Asia Minor. Hence good quality pottery is also known from the chamber tombs in the Scythian kurgans, characterized by the funerary equipment rich in pottery and metalware, e.g. the necropolis of Pantikapaion (Fless 2002, 86-88), whence comes one of the pelikai in Kraków.
A good example of vegetal ornament in jewellery decoration is a pectoral executed in a Greek or Scythian workshop in the middle of the 4th century BC, and found in a female tomb in Tolstaia Mogila. Three strips are decorated with motifs belonging to the Greco-Scythian iconographical repertoire: two external, openwork friezes depict: below, groups of griffins attacking horses, and above Scythians among animals with young, and in the middle, a frieze adorned with a flowered tendril and birds (Dally 2007, 294). The form of tendril scroll, its delicacy and finelydetailed workmanship as well as the size of the flowers, indicate Italic traditions indebted also to Macedonia and Asia Minor, while the rosettes themselves have analogies in the Macedonian-Thracian and Greek circles (Pfrommer 1982, 157-158).
The individual shape and decorative elements of both pelikai reveal on one hand the assimilation of the pottery and metallurgical traditions, and on the other hand the vivid exchange and dispersion of ornamental motifs in the Mediterranean area in the early Hellenistic period, not limited to simple imitation but creatively transformed in the light of the aesthetic requirements of the local population.
The way in which the gilding of the necklace motif and tendril of the pelike A are carried out, typical for this pottery group, is akin to the way in which silver ware was decorated (Vickers and Gill 1994; Zimmermann 1998, 132-140), found among the excavated vessels in Scythian kurghans in the northern Black Sea area (Alekseev 2007, 248), in Macedonia (Besios and Pappa 1995, 87), and MogilanskaTumulus, Rogozen and Borovo in Thrace (Frings 2004, 143, 151, 195), in the latter case the ivy tendril on the neck of the rhyton of the first quarter of the 4th century BC repeats a similar decoration on earlier red-figured vessels. In this way, separate elements of the figurative representations were stressed, as well as the ornament itself executed in a relief technique or engraved. A motif of such a type, consisting of a so-called herring-bone pattern framed with a wavy line on both sides, is also placed on both pelikai, below the handles.
Translated by Olga Jaros Bibliography Alekseev, A. Iu. 2007. Skythische Könige und Fürstenkurgane. In W. Menghin (ed.), Im Zeichen des goldenen Greifen. Königsgräber der Skythen, 242-255. Munich. Alexandropoulou, A. 2002. Gnathia- und Westabhangkeramik. Paderborn. Besios, M. and Pappa, M. 1995. PÌdma [Pydna]. Thessaloniki. Bulas, K. 1935. Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Pologne – Fascicule 2, Collections de Cracovie. Warsaw, Kraków. Dally, O. 2007. Skythische und graeco-skythische Bildelemente nördlichen Schwarzmeerraum. In W. Menghin (ed.), Im Zeichen des goldenen Greifen. Königsgräber der Skythen, 291-298. Munich. Drougou, S. (ed.) 1991. Hellenistic Pottery from Macedonia. Thessaloniki. Fless, F. 2002. Rotfigurige Keramik als Handelsware. Erwerb und Gebrauch attischer Vasen im mediterranen und pontischen Raum während des 4. Jhs. v. Chr. Rahden-Westf. Fless, F. 2003. Akzeptanz und Integration attischer Keramik des 4. Jhs. v. Chr. in die materielle Kultur griechischer Poleis und außergriechischer Gesellschaft – Pantikapaion als Fallbeispiel, in B. Schmalz and M. Söldner (eds), Griechische Keramik im kulturellen Kontext, 241-243. Münster.
The state of preservation of both vases shows they could have been discovered in a necropolis. Both could be of a ritual purpose, used as urns for the ashes or funerary equipment as their luxury character and impermanent gilt decoration prove. Black-gloss and gold-decorated vases occur in tombs in the northern Greece: a hydria with two myrtle twigs painted on the neck and used as an urn comes from the necropolis in Amphipolis (Lazaridis 1997, 65), a pelike decorated with a spearhead necklace discovered in the western necropolis of Pella in a rock-cut tomb dated on the third quarter of the 4th century BC (Siganidou 1979, 301).
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Frings, J. 2004. Die Thraker. Das goldene Reich des Orpheus. Mainz. Kopcke, G. 1964. Golddekorierte attische Schwarzfirniskeramik des vierten Jahrhunderts v. Chr. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung 79, 22-84. Kotitsa, Z. 1998. Hellenistische Keramik im Martin von Wagner Museum der Universität Würzburg. Würzburg. Lazaridis, D. 1997. Amphipolis. Athens. Lordkipanidze, N. (ed.) 2007. Medeas Gold. Neue Funde aus Georgien. Berlin. Moczulska, K. 2006. Zabytki antyczne z północnych wybrzeży Morza Czarnego w Dziale Sztuki Starożytnej w Muzeum Narodowym w Krakowie [Ancient artefacts from the northern Black Sea area in the Department of Ancient Art at the National Museum in Kraków]. In J. Bodzek (ed.), Skarby znad Morza Czarnego: złoto, rzeźba, ceramika z Muzeum Archeologicznego w Odessie. Katalog wystawy w Muzeum Narodowym w Krakowie, marzec-czerwiec 2006 [Treasures from the Black Sea Coast: Gold, Sculpture, Pottery from the Archaeological Museum in Odessa. Catalogue of the Exhibition at the National Museum in Cracow, MarchJune 2006], 59-71. Kraków. Pfrommer, M. 1982. Grossgriechischer und mittelitalischer Einfluss in der Rankenornamentik frühhellenistischer Zeit. Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 97, 119-190. Pfrommer, M. 1990. Untersuchungen zur Chronologie früh- und hochhellenistischen Goldschmucks. Tübingen. Rotroff, S. I. 1997. The Athenian Agora 29. Hellenistic Pottery. Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material. Princeton.
Schefold, K. 1934. Untersuchungen zu den Kertscher Vasen. Berlin, Leipzig. Siganidou, M. 1979 — SicamÊdou, M. PÈkka [Pella]. AqwaiokocijËm DektÊom [Αrchaiologikon Deltion] 34 B’2, 300-301. Szczepaniak, A. 2004. Badania technologiczne oraz konserwacja dwóch czarnofirnisowanych greckich pelike z 2. poł. IV w. p. n. e. z Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie [Technological research and conservation of two Greek black-gloss pelikai of the second half of the 4th century BC from the National Museum in Kraków]. Unpublished diploma thesis, Academy of Fine Arts. Kraków. Touratsoglou, I. 1998. Makedonien. Geschichte, Monumente, Museen. Athens. Trofimova, A. A. (ed.) 2007. Greeks on the Black Sea: Ancient Art from the Hermitage. Los Angeles. Tsigarida, B. and Ignatiadou, D. 2000. The Gold of Macedon. Athens. Vickers, M. and Gill, D. 1994. Artful Crafts. Ancient Greek Silverware and Pottery. Oxford. Videiko, M. Iu. 2001 — Видейко, М. Ю. Первые Города Европы [Piervyie goroda Evropy – The first European cities]. Древний мир [Drevnii mir] 2, 10-13. Zimmermann, N. 1998. Beziehungen zwischen Ton- und Metallgefäßen spätklassischer und frühhellenistischer Zeit. Rahden-Westf. Zhuravlev, D. and Lomtadze, G. 2007. Ancient Vases in the State Historical Museum: History of the Collection and Some Problems of Restoration, in M. Bentz and U. Kästner (eds), Konservieren oder Restaurieren – die Restaurierung griechischer Vasen von der Antike bis Heute, 93-100. München
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Chapter 18 The Influence of Greek Military Art on the Military Science of Scythians of the Lower Don (5th-4th Centuries BC)
Sergey Iu. Iangulov
Scientific – Methodological Centre South Federal University Institute of Pedagogy Rostov on Don, Russia [email protected] Abstract: Archaeological finds from ancient centres of the northern Black Sea reveal the influence of barbarians on the military science of Greek colonists. In the other direction, finds from barbarian monuments show evidence of the inverse process. Today the Elizavetovskoe settlement and necropolis are the most thoroughly investigated monuments of the Scythian period, and are consequently the most informative. Fragments of a Greek bronze helmet were found in addition to other types of offensive and defensive weaponry including the remains of a coat of mail and shoulder armour in Burial Mound No. 5 (excavations of 1910), which is dated to the second half of the 5th century BC. Such a discovery is an evidence of borrowing of leading types of Greek armour by the Don Scythians already in the 5th century BC. The remains of armour with Greek characteristics are found in complexes of the 4th century BC. They are greaves and a bronze helmet. We may suppose that the influence of Greeks became apparent not only in borrowing of some types of armour, but also in the necessity to use new types of weapons and correspondingly of new tactics by Scythians. To such innovations one can refer the appearance of long spears and tactics of lava by the Nizhnedonskie (Lower Don) Scythians already in the 5th century BC, which could most effectively resist the Greek phalanx. Keywords: Scythians, Greeks, armour, helmet, coat of mail, greaves, spears, lava, phalanx
The interplay between the military art of Greek colonists of the northern Black Sea region and the barbarians who surrounded them has frequently been the object of study. A. I. Meliukova, E. V. Chernenko, Iu. A. Vinogradov, V. I. Guliaiev, E. I. Savchenko are among the scholars who have touched upon different aspects of this theme, having analyzed archaeological finds made at ancient centres of the northern Black Sea region and at Scythian monuments.
only of the period of use of some types of weapons by Scythians, but also to date changes in tactics of the Scythian army more accurately. In view of the cross-fertilization between the military science of the Greeks and Scythians, we must conclude that each had a high opinion of their own military organization and weaponry. This is why borrowings of some types of armament took place gradually and with different success.
Research on armour from the graves of the Elizavetovskoe necropolis permits a re-assessment of existing ideas on the influence of ancient Greek military art on the military science of Scythians.
Materials from the Elizavetovskoe necropolis and from other sites show that Scythians borrowed articles of protective armour from the Greek arsenal such as helmets and greaves which were not obligatory for Scythian warriors.
The Elizavetovskoe settlement and necropolis are the most thoroughly investigated monuments of the Scythian period, and are consequently the most informative. During the past century and a half, about 305 burial mounds have been excavated in the Elizavetovskoe necropolis. Some 415 graves were opened, 273 of which are closely dated, 154 by means of imported Greek ceramics. In 147 complexes, or 35% of the graves, armour or weapons were found. The presence of imported Greek ceramics in most of them allows us to date them within narrow chronological limits (up to a quarter of a century). It allows consideration not
E. V. Chernenko (1968, 76) once divided into seven types all the helmets he knew that had been found on the territory of Scythia. These included what he termed Chalcidian, Corinthian, Attic and ‘Thracian’ helmets. Only two helmets were found in graves of the Elizavetovskoe necropolis ground. In the Burial Mound No. 5 (excavations of 1910), dated to the second half of the 5th century BC by I. B. Brashinskii (1980) on the evidence of Lesbian amphorae, fragments of a Greek bronze helmet were found in addition
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to other types of offensive and defensive weaponry including the remains of coat of mail and shoulder armour. The helmet was so fragmentary that Chernenko did not feel confident in associating it with any type. V. P. Kopylov, however, succeeded in a partial reconstruction and compared it to helmets of Attic type on the basis of this reconstruction. Such a discovery is evidence for the borrowing of leading types of Greek armour by the Don Scythians already in the 5th century BC. The fragments of another Greek helmet were found in Burial Mound 18 (excavations of 1911, Figure 1). Following B. Z. Rabinovich, Chernenko classified this helmet as Thracian, having referred it to the second group together with helmets from the Bubuj (Moldavia) hoard, and from a burial mound excavated by A. Ashik at Kerch in 1834 (Cherneko 1968, 87). The group of weaponry found in this complex is one of the most impressive in the Elizavetovskoe necropolis. Besides the helmet, and coat of mail, a complete set of offensive weaponry – arrows, two spears and a sword – were found here. I. B. Brashinskii (1980) dated the complex to the first half of the 4th century BC on the basis of the amphora evidence.
Figure 1. Fragments of bronze helmet from Burial Mound No. 18 (after Rabinovich 1941)
According to A. I. Meliukova (1989, 95) the presence of a helmet was not obligatory even for the upper echelons of the Scythian nobility. The evidence for this is the absence of a helmet in the Chertomlyk burial mound, which is well known as one of the richest Scythian burial mounds. This view can be supported by the lack of helmets in the aristocratic funeral complexes of the burial mounds of the so-called Five Brothers group, including the richest Burial Mound No 8. Besides helmets the remains of such a widespread element of Greek protective armour as greaves were found in two complexes of the Elizavetovskoe necropolis dated to the 4th century BC (Burial Mound No. 7, excavations of 1954, and the burial mound of the Five Brothers group, excavations of 1959). The remains of the upper part of a bronze greave for the left leg were found in Burial Mound No. 7 near the west wall of the tomb pit of the totally robbed grave (Figure 2; Shilov 1959, 15). A pair of greaves found in Burial Mound No. 8 were better preserved. There are two parallel notches made by a cutting tool along the inner edges of both greaves. There are five holes on side cuts with the aid of which the greaves were sewn on a soft base that protected warriors’ legs from grazing during movement. Single holes above and below were for narrow thongs to fix the greaves on the shins. There was another pair of holes on the left side of the left greaves for sewing on a soft base. According to Shilov (1962, 60-61) the length of greave was 42.3cm, the holes were 2mm in diameter, and the holes were between 1 and 1.2cm apart.
Figure 2. Fragments of bronze knemida from Burial Mound No. 7
It is generally agreed that greaves were one of the most widespread types of protective armour in antiquity (Galanina 1965, 15; Chernenko 1968, 112; Savchenko 2004, 223). According to Meliukova (1964, 75), however, they were not obligatory ‘even for the richest groups of the Scythian aristocracy’. At the same time E. V. Chernenko (1968, 113) supposed that ‘on the territory of the northern Black Sea region and in the Kuban area this typically Greek armour was widespread’, and indicated 39 sites 152
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Figure 3. Scabbard and sword from Burial Mound No. 8 of the group of Five Brothers
It was E. V. Chernenko (1984, 68) who first paid attention to the employment by Scythians of spears longer than 2.2m, believing that they only appeared in the 4th century BC. Chernenko (1984, 68-69) and then E. I. Savchenko (2004, 248-249) expressed the view that the Scythians frequently used heavy-armed horse alongside light-armed cavalry. One of the important arguments in favour of such a conclusion is the employment of long spears by Scythians. On the basis of data from complexes in the Central Don region, E. I. Savchenko notes that long spears were widely used by Scythians in the 4th century BC. The Elizavetovskoe necropolis finds show that this type of weapon was deployed by Scythians in the first half of the 5th century BC. It allows us to suppose that lava tactics were already being used by Scythians then. These tactics were based on the use of long spears, or pikes. In our view, the appearance of heavy-armed horsemen in the Scythian army not earlier than the 5th century BC can be explained by the fact that military confrontation between Scythians and Greeks of the northern Black Sea region began in exactly this period, and as a consequence it became necessary to withstand successfully the Greek phalanx. The use of long spears by Scythians is corroborated by images on Scythian metalwork. The central composition on the gold scabbard mount from Burial Mound No. 8 of the Five Brothers
where greaves had been discovered in support of his view. Scholars agree that the greaves in question are very much alike, and Chernenko (1968, 115) speaks of them all belonging to ‘a single general type’. All are made from thin bronze sheet, very occasionally gold-plated. We might suppose that Greek influence came about not only in the borrowing of some types of armour, but also in the need to employ new types of weapons, and which led in turn to the adoption of new tactics by the Scythians. To such innovations one can refer the appearance of heavy-armed horsemen in the armies of the Scythians of the Lower Don already in the first half of the 5th century BC. They used spears more than 2.2m long, and corresponding lava tactics, which could most effectively resist Greek the phalanx. In considering the long spears (more than 2.2m in length) from graves in the Elizavetovskoe necropolis, we observed that most of them had tips of elongated form (Iangulov 2001, 360). It was possible to establish the lengths of spears from butt to tip in 13 graves of the necropolis. In 11 cases the spears were more than 2.2m long, hence the reference to long spears. Seven of these 11 specimens, moreover, are from graves which dated to different periods of the 5th century BC.
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group of the Elizavetovskoe necropolis represents a struggle between Greek infantry and two Scythians. One of the latter is horseman with a long spear in his right hand (Figure 3). Similar scenes of fights between Greeks and Scythians decorate the scabbards of swords from the Chertomlyk necropolis and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Shcheglov and Katz 1991).
spiked helmet]. In Мелюкова А. И. [Meliukova A. I.] (ed.), Археология СССР. Степи европейкой части СССР в скифо-сарматское время [Arkheologiia SSSR. Stepi evropejskoi chasti SSSR v skifo-sarmatskoie vremia – Archaeology of the USSR. The Steppes of the European Part of the USSR in Scythian and Sarmatian Times], 92-100. Moscow. Rabinovich, B. Z. 1941 — Рабинович, Б. З. Шлемы скифского периода [Shlemy skifskogo perioda – Helmets of the Scythian Period]. (Труды отдела историu первобытной культуры Государственного Эрмитажа [Trudy otdela istorii pervobytnoi kultury Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha – Proceedings of the Department of History of the Primitive Culture of the State Hermitage]). Leningrad. Savchenko, E. I. 2004 — Савченко, Е. И. Вооружение и предметы снаряжения населения скифского времени на Среднем Дону [Vooruzheniie i predmety snariazheniia naseleniia skifskogo vremeni na Srednem Donu – Arms and weapons of the population of the Scythian period on the Middle Don]. In В. И. Гуляев [V. I. Guliaev] (ed.), Археология Среднего Дона в скифскую эпоху [Arkheologiia Srednego Dona v skifskuiu epokhu – Archaeology of the Middle Don in the Scythian Period], 1-280. Moscow. Shcheglov, H. N. and Katz, V. I. 1991. A fourth-century B.C. royal burial mound in the Crimea. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum Journal 26, 97122. Shilov, V. P. 1959 — Шилов, В. П. Раскопки Елизаветовского могильника в 1954 и в 1958 г. [Raskopki Elizavetovskogo Mogil’nika v 1954 i v 1958 g. – Archaeological excavations at the Elizavetovskoe necropolis in the years 1954 and 1958], in К. А. Величко, Ю. К. Кириенко, А. П. Пронштейн, К. А. Хмелевский, П. А. Шестаков [K. A. Velichko, Iu. K. Kirienko, A. P. Pronshtein, K. A. Khmelevskii and P. A. Shestakov] (eds), Известия Ростовского областного музея Краеведения [Izvestiia Rostovskogo oblastnogo muzeia Kraevedeniia – Proceedings of Rostov Regional Museum of the Study of Local Lore], 1 (3), 13-29. Shilov, V. P. 1962 — Шилов, В. П. Золотой клад скифского кургана [Zolotoi klad skifskogo kurgana – A golden hoard from a Scythian burial mound], in С. И. Капошина, С. М. Марков, Д. Б. Шелов [S. I. Kaposhina, S. M. Markov and D. B. Shelov] (eds), Археологические раскопки на Дону [Arkheologicheskiie raskopki na Donu – Archeological Excavations on the Don], 52-69. Rostov-on-Don.
Bibliography Brashinskii, I. B. 1980 — Брашинский, И. Б. Греческий керамический импорт на Нижнем Дону [Grecheskii keramicheskii import na Nizhnem Donu – Greek Ceramic Imports on the Lower Don]. Leningrad. Chernenko, E. V. 1968 — Черненко, Е. В. Скифский доспех [Skifskii dospekh – Scythian Armour]. Kiev. Chernenko, E. V. 1984 — Черненко, Е. В. Битва при Фате и скифская тактика [Bitva pri Fate i skifskaia taktika – The Battle of Fata and Scythian Tactics]. In Е. В. Черненко [E.V. Chernenko] (ed.), Вооружение скифов и сарматов [Vooruzheniie skifov i sarmatov – Scythian and Sarmatian Armour], 59-75. Kiev. Galanina, L. K. 1965 — Галанина, Л. К. Греческие поножи Северного Причерноморья [Grecheskiie ponozhi Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Greek greaves of the northern Black Sea area]. In Пиотровский Б. Б. [Piotrovskii B. B.] (ed.), Археологический сборник [Arkheologicheskii sbornik – Archaeological Collection] 7, 127-141. Moscow. Iangulov, S. Iu. 2001 — Янгулов, С. Ю. К вопросу об использовании скифами длинных копий в V-IV вв. до н. э. [K voprosu ob ispolzovanii skifami dlinnikh kopii v V-IV vv. do n. e. – On the question of the use of long spears by Scythians in the 5th-4th centuries BC]. In Кияшко В. Я. [Kiiashko V. Ia.] (ed.), Историкоархеологические исследовния в Азове и на Нижнем Дону в 1999-2000 гг. [Istoriko-arkheologicheskiie issledovaniia v Azove i na Nizhnem Donu v 1999-2000 gg. – Historical-Archaeological Researches in Azov and on the Lower Don in 1999-2000] 17, 359-363. Azov. Meliukova, A. I. 1964 — Мелюкова, А. И. Вооружение скифов [Vooruzheniie skifov – Scythian Armament]. Свод археологических источников [Svod arkheologicheskikh istochnikov – Collection of Archaeological Sources] D 1-4, 1-198. Moscow. Meliukova, A. I. 1989 — Мелюкова, А. И. Скифская материальная культура. Оружие, конское снаряжении, повозки, навершия [Skifskaia materialnaia kultura. Oruzhiie, konskoie snariazhenii, povozki, navershiia – Scythian material culture. Weapon, harness, carts,
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Chapter 19 Tsikhisdziri Cemetery Nino Inaishvili
N. Berdzenishvili Batumi Research Institute 6010 Batumi, Georgia [email protected] [email protected]
Nineli Vashakidze
The Batumi Archaeological Museum 6010 Batumi, Georgia [email protected] Abstract: Tsikhisdziri is one of the most significant archaeological sites of the south-eastern Black Sea littoral. It is situated on the coastline, 25km north of Batumi. The Tsikhisdziri cemetery was found in a narrow coastal strip north of the Petra city-fortress acropolis and settlement, and it figures large among the archaeological monuments of Tsikhistziri. A total of 315 burials have been excavated in Tsikhisdziri cemetery, most of which (305 of them) date to the Classical and Hellenistic periods. There are two principal types of burial found in Tsikhisdziri cemetery: inhumation pit-burials and amphorae-burials. Judging by the grave goods the Classical and Hellenistic burials in the Tsikhisdziri cemetery belong to the 5th to 1st centuries BC. Two of the burials date to the 2nd-1st centuries BC. An analysis of the burial goods found on the part of the Tsikhisdziri cemetery that has so far been investigated shows that most of the burials were those of modest folk. For the most part mourners could only afford plain burials, in some cases with a wooden coffin or a wooden roof. They placed a few locally made clay vessels and occasionally imported wares in the burials. Many burials, however, contain no grave goods at all. Some of the distinctive burial customs as well as the grave goods perhaps point to the presence of an ethnic Greek element. During the Hellenistic period the process of hellenization is obvious. Keywords: Cemetery, burial, amphora-burial, cremation, inhumation
Tsikhisdziri is one of the most significant archaeological sites of the south-eastern Black Sea littoral. It is situated on the coastline, 25km north of Batumi. Scholars identify Tsikhisdziri with the Petra mentioned in 6th-9th century Byzantine sources. It used to be one of the most important strategic city-fortresses and Episcopal sees in ancient Lazica.
The excavations of the Tsikhisdziri cemetery were conducted in 1983-7 by the south-western Georgia Archaeological Expedition of the Niko Berdzenishvili Research Institute of the Georgian Academy of Sciences. A total of 315 burials have been excavated in Tsikhisdziri cemetery, most of which (305 of them) date to the Classical and Hellenistic periods. A relatively small number (10) Late Roman and Early Byzantine burials have been excavated. This article is concerned with the early Classical and Hellenistic burials alone.
As a result of archaeological research conducted by the Batumi Research Institute in the 1960-70s remains of the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods were excavated: fortification walls, towers, baths, a palace-villa, churches, cisterns, etc. The ancient settlement was also studied which contained cultural deposits from the late Bronze to the early Byzantine periods.
The burials are arranged rather compactly in a single wide strip from north-east towards south-west. The burial pits are cut into sandy layers 1.4-2m deep from the present surface of the soil. It should be noted that this layer is famous for altars composed of stands characteristic of the 8th-7th century BC dune settlements as well as the fact that it was cut into by later burials, although examples of this are unusual. There are two circular burials, however.
The Tsikhisdziri cemetery was found in a narrow coastal strip north of the Petra city-fortress acropolis and settlement, and it figures large among the archaeological monuments of Tsikhistziri. Today, the western border of the cemetery can be distinguished in the sandy coastal area, while to the east it is bounded by the road. Its northern and southern extremities have not been established so far.
There are two principal types of burial found in Tsikhisdziri cemetery: inhumation pit-burials and amphorae-burials. Only two cases of cremation were found. In one case, the 155
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cremation of the deceased must have been performed in the burial pit itself. The deceased might have been placed on wooden logs joined with nails. Pottery, both black-gloss and painted wares were presumably placed here. In the other case, the cremation of the deceased (a new-born baby) was performed elsewhere and later the calcined bones were roughly placed on a small fragment of a Colchian pithos.
Almost half of the 295 burials with the finds belong to 5th-4th centuries BC. To this period belong the amphoraeburials with the amphorae coming from different centres (Chios, Mende, north Aegean, Lesbos), as well as cremation burials with ritual platforms containing Greek painted and black-gloss pottery, terracotta figurines and glass perfume vessels. The second large group consists of Hellenistic burials in which imported Greek pottery is found in relatively less quantity while local wares, metal jewellery, beads and coins prevail. The number of coins in the burials varies in different places: sometimes one, two, three or more coins are found. A total of 122 coins were found in 66 burials, mostly Colchian ‘tetri’ and only two Sinopean drachmae. Two of the burials date to the 2nd-1st centuries BC.
Pit-burials are oval or round. They vary in size, in length between 0.8m and 2.5m; and in width between 0.5m and 1.5m. Most of the burials had wooden roofs, as indicated by the discovery of iron nails in the upper levels. Inhumation burials, with only a few exceptions, are oriented to the east. Likewise, amphorae-burials are also placed in oval or round pits with the deceased in horizontal or bent positions. They mostly point towards the north. All the vessels were covered with amphora wall fragments, and sometimes with flat stones. Some amphorae were surrounded with large pebbles.
An analysis of the burial goods found on the part of the Tsikhisdziri cemetery that has so far been investigated shows that most of the burials were those of modest folk. For the most part mourners could only afford plain burials, in some cases with a wooden coffin or a wooden roof. They placed a few locally made clay vessels and occasionally imported wares in the burials. Many burials, however, contain no grave goods at all. In this respect it differs from the Pichvnari cemetery where mostly burials appear to be somewhat more prosperous (Kakhidze 2007a; Kakhidze 2007b; Vickers and Kakhidze 2004). Some of the distinctive burial customs as well as the grave goods perhaps point to the presence of an ethnic Greek element. During the Hellenistic period the process of hellenization is obvious.
Since organic matter (wood, bone) does not survive in sandy soil, we can only estimate the position of the deceased by the size of the burial, the position of the nails of the coffin or roof, as well as the arrangement of burial items. It would appear that most of the dead buried in Tsikhisdziri necropolis were buried in a crouched position (on the left or right side), while the rest are laid prone on their backs. Two ritual platforms were found on the cemetery. One was simply a burnt patch with no archaeological material, while the other contained fragments of a large painted lekythos and a that had been broken during the funerary feast.
Bibliography Kakhidze, A. 2007a. Pichvnari 2: Results of Excavations Conducted by the N. Berdzenishvili Batumi Research Institute Pichvnari Expedition 1967-1987. The Classical World in the Eastern Black Sea Area: The Fifth Century BC Greek Necropolis at Pichvnari. Oxford, Batumi. Kakhidze, A. 2007b. The Greek Necropolis of the Classical period at Pichvnari, in D. V. Grammenos and E. K. Petropoulos (eds), Ancient Greek Colonies in the Black Sea 2/II, 1143-1178, Figs 1-68. (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1675). Oxford. Tsetskhladze, G. and Vashakidze, N. 1994. Terracotta figures of animals from Colchis. Dialogues d’Histoire Ancienne 20, 109-125. Vashakidze, N. and Inaishvili, N. 2002a. Greek imports of the Late Archaic and Classical periods in Tsikhisdziri, in M. Faudot, A. Fraysse and É. Geny (eds), Pont-Euxin et Commerce: la genèse de la ‘Route de la Soie’. Actes du IXe Symposium de Vani (Colchide) 1999, 235-250. Paris. Vashakidze, N. and Inaishvili, N. 2002b. Local 5th century BC pottery from the Tsikhisdziri Cemetery,in G. Kvirkvelia and D. Kacharava (eds), Urbanism in the Black Sea area in the Archaic and Classical Periods: Polis Hellenis and Polis Barbaron. The 10th international symposium on the ancient history and archaeology of the Black Sea Area, Vani 23-26 September 2002. Abstracts of papers. 12-13, 69. Tbilisi.
Most burials (295) contain grave goods; only ten were without any finds at all. Most of the grave goods were concentrated around the head. The archaeological material included local ceramic wares (Vashakidze and Inaishvili 2002b, 69) and imported pottery (Vashakidze and Inaishvili 2002a, 235-250, Figs 1-5), metal jewellery: bronze and iron torcs, gold and silver ear-rings, silver, bronze and iron bracelets, bronze and iron finger-rings, hardstone and glass beads and pendants (Vashakidze and Inaishvili 2005, 106-108), terracotta figurines (Tsetskhladze and Vashakidze 1994, 109-125), polychrome core-made glass vessels, Colchian and Sinopean coins, petrified rectangular wooden sharpeners which are mostly arranged in the central part of a burial. Pottery is sometimes found at the feet as well. There were several examples of iron weapons and tools (spearhead, daggers and knives). In two burials the dead were accompanied by lead weights for fishing nets. Infant amphora-burials, as a rule, contain no grave goods. However, imported miniature clay skyphoi were found in two of them. Judging by the grave goods the Classical and Hellenistic burials in the Tsikhisdziri cemetery belong to the 5th to 1st centuries BC.
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Nino Inaishvili and Nineli Vashakidze: Tsikhisdziri Cemetery
Vickers, M. and Kakhidze, A. 2004. Pichvnari 1: Results of Excavations Conducted by the Joint British-Georgian Pichvnari Expedition 1998-2002. Greeks and Colchians on the East Coast of the Black Sea. Oxford, Batumi.
Vashakidze, N. and Inaishvili, N. 2005. Hellenistic bead ornaments from Tsikhisdziri cemetery, in D. Kacharava and G. Kvirkvelia (eds), The Black Sea Area in the Hellenistic World System. The 11th international symposium on the ancient history and archeology of the Black Sea Area. Vani, 24-30 September 2005. Abstracts of Papers. 26-28, 106-108. Tbilisi.
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Chapter 20 A Geto-Dacian Coin Hoard from the 1st Century BC in the Light of X-ray Fluorescence Analysis
Theodor Isvoranu
Romanian Academy Parvan Vasile Institute of Archaeology Bucharest, Romania [email protected]
Viorel Cojocaru
National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering ‘Horia Hulubei’ Bucharest, Romania [email protected] Abstract: The authors present the results of XRF-analyses made on 34 silver coins from the hoard found at the Geto-Dacian settlement of Cârlomăneşti, Buzău County, Romania. These represent a later version of the last stage of the ‘Vârteju-Bucureşti’ type, belonging to the last stage of the imitative coinage based on Macedonian prototypes. It is the first attestation of a hoard in which struck and cast coins are associated. The X-ray fluorescence analysis also detected two different structural groups of coins. The struck ones are composed of a quaternary alloy (Ag+Cu+Sn+Pb) with minor traces of other elements, whereas the cast pieces have a strange composition: a binary alloy comprising only Ag and Cu. Keywords: monetary, hoard, coin, mint, currency, metal, settlement, Geto-Dacians, densitometry, XRF-analyses
T. Isvoranu
degradation stage’ of the Sattelkopfpferd type of Pink) and implicitly to the large group of so-called ‘late imitations of Philip II’, because they reproduce, but very abstractly, a bearded human effigy on the obverse and a horseman on the reverse, like the tetradrachms of the above mentioned Macedonian ruler but with visibly decreased dimensions and fineness. They do, however, have their own idiosyncrasies.
The coins of the hoard we discuss here belong to one of the latest issues of the east-European imitative coinage of the Macedonian prototype. In his book on the coinage of the eastern Celts and the neighbouring communities, K. Pink (1939, 77-78) named mit Sattelkopfpferd (‘saddlehead horse’) a large group of such imitations, characterized by a stylization of the iconographic elements and a gradual debasement of the metal. Their geographical concentration in the Lower Danube region and the increasing differences in comparison with the Celtic style determined Pink (1939, 130) to attribute the Sattelkopfpferd type to the Dacian communities. He divided these issues in a ‘good style’, and another four in increasing stages of decline, and dated them to the 1st century BC (Pink 1939, 77-78, 125).
In excavations in 1972-4 made by an archaeological team under the leadership of Professor M. Babeş in the davasettlement of Cârlomăneşti, Buzău County (near to Buzău city), a coin hoard of 124 and another 12 isolated GetoDacian silver coins were discovered. It was one of the rare circumstances when a coin hoard from that period came from a settlement, as a result of systematic archaeological research (Babeş 1975, 125-139).
Based on the stylistic and metrological analyses, Romanian numismatists, notably C. Preda, have later classified them again. Three categories of stylistic succession and gradual degeneration were determined, according to the main findspots in southern Romania: the ‘Adâncata-Mânăstirea’, ‘Vârteju-Bucureşti’ and ‘Inoteşti-Răcoasa’ types (Preda 1973, 198-270, 446-447; Preda 1998, 182-196).
This archaeological site is situated in the northeastern Walachia, the sub-Carpathian area. The main part of the Geto-Dacian settlement was found on a hill like a kind of natural acropolis that dominates the right side of the Buzău river valley. The hoard was found in the southeastern side of the ‘citadel’. The coins had been deposited in a small pit with a maximum depth of 60-65cm, maybe with a perishable cover, which has left no trace. Partially they were dispersed around the pit, perhaps because of
From the iconographic aspect the coins we present belong to the ‘Vârteju-Bucureşti’ type (equivalent to the ‘second
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Inventory Number*
Cu
Zn
Sn
Au
26399a 14.3 0.12 12.9 0.45 26405 25.8 n.d. ≤0.05 ≤0.01 26408 13.0 n.d. 11.1 0.29 26410 25.1 0.14 8.44 0.43 26414 20.1 0.19 6.47 0.34 26417 27.2 0.15 3.39 0.26 26422 23.1 0.26 ≤0.03 ≤0.01 26423 30.7 Tr. 12.4 0.37 26428 25.3 0.15 n.d. n.d. 26435 13.1 0.12 7.25 0.29 26441 22.6 n.d. ≤0.04 ≤0.01 26442 31.6 0.21 12.3 0.36 26447 26.4 n.d. 8.9 0.21 26448 24.4 n.d. 12.2 0.17 26454 23.1 0.15 n.d. n.d. 26455 32.7 n.d. 10.2 0.26 26456 17.6 n.d. ≤0.10 ≤0.02 26457 15.5 n.d. 13.1 0.44 26459 39.7 0.32 8.7 0.27 26465 19.1 n.d. 11.8 0.27 26469 21.7 0.14 6.95 0.27 26470 46.7 n.d. 12.4 0.35 26476 21.3 0.22 n.d. n.d. 26478 24.9 n.d. ≤0.08 ≤0.02 26480 21.9 0.13 n.d. n.d. 26481b 16.4 n.d. ≤0.1 ≤0.02 26483 22.9 0.14 n.d. n.d. 26485 8.1 n.d. 12.0 0.33 26488 21.2 0.11 6.60 0.26 26496 21.0 n.d. ≤0.1 ≤0.02 26507 23.3 0.17 n.d. n.d. 26513 13.4 ≤0.1 13.9 0.31 26514 15.6 0.10 ≤0.1 ≤0.01 26526c 31.4 0.18 8.04 0.30 (Ob/Rv)Cu≈0.5; b) Fe ≈ 2%; c) (Ob/Rv)Cu = 2.2; n.d. = non detected; Tr = traces; Ob = obverse, Rv = reverse. * The coins are preserved in the collection of the County Museum of Buzău, Romania.
Pb
Bi
1.87 n.d. 2.05 1.65 1.46 2.26 n.d. 1.91 0.03 1.87 0.04 2.07 1.76 1.46 0.013 2.10 ≤0.01 1.39 1.89 2.27 2.03 1.80 0.04 ≤0.014 0.03 0.015 0.03 2.04 1.49 ≤0.014 0.02 1.66 ≤0.01 1.61
0.15 n.d. n.d. 0.15 0.13 0.11 n.d. 0.11 n.d. 0.17 n.d. 0.18 0.10 0.11 n.d. 0.09 n.d. 0.10 0.10 0.15 0.15 0.09 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0.09 0.13 n.d. n.d. 0.21 n.d. 0.13
Figure 1. Element concentrations (in percents) of the other metals in silver coins, determined by XRF. The whole surface of coin was irradiated.
the burrows made by animals, owing to the tree roots, or for other reasons. Both the coins of the hoard and the 12 isolated pieces discovered in the settlement belong to the last habitation stage of this dava as an autonomous centre of power (Babeş 1975, 130-131; Babeş et al. forthcoming).
The coins of the hoard themselves divide into two main categories of issues: 55 pieces were struck, but a significant number (69 pieces) were cast. All the 12 isolated coins were struck. All have a concave-convex form and, at first sight, seem to be made from an alloy based on silver and copper. Their variable aspect results from the technical process that has been used. The struck coins have a smaller weight (about 4-5g) and their surfaces are penetrated by numerous oxide traces, whereas the flan area of the cast pieces has a unitary appearance of the silver stratum and the weight goes beyond 5g. All these have been identically reproduced in conformity with three struck prototypes. Their flans have air bubble traces and remains of metal disposed in the same place on each cast piece, like the prototype. On the reverse of a single cast coin it is easy to see the impression made by
An important point is the evident metrological discrepancy between these coins and the majority of the common ‘Vârteju-Bucureşti’ issues. Usually, these coins weigh about 7-8g; in comparison the Cârlomăneşti pieces are visible lighter: 4 to 6g. Their diameter is also different. This category of ‘light’ imitations, well represented in the Cârlomăneşti hoard, seems to be, from the chronological point of view, later than the common one.
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Theodor Isvoranu and Viorel Cojocaru: A Geto-Dacian Coin Hoard
Figure 2. Struck (1-2) and cast (3-4) coins from the Cârlomăneşti hoard. The pieces 1-2 were struck with the same die as the prototype of the 3-4 ones.
tongs (Babeş et al. forthcoming). 33 coins of the hoard and one of the isolated coins found in the area of the settlement have been analysed by means of the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics and Engineering of Bucharest (Figure 1). The investigations have also detected two structural groups, confirming the numismatist’s observations. 20 analysed struck coins consist mainly of four elements (silver, copper, tin and lead), while the 14 cast coins are made of binary alloy: silver and copper. Only the elements in significant quantity were taken into account. Also, the cast coins are made of a heterogeneous alloy of silver and copper, with different concentrations of the elements at various points1.
the last habitation level, therefore the small treasure was presumably buried in haste, the two categories being in this way associated. For this variant of the ‘Vârteju-Bucureşti’ type few analogies are known, and only for the cast pieces and their prototypes. For striking several coins from the hoards of Curtea de Argeş, Argeş County (Preda and Dicu 1983, 90) and Rafov, Prahova County (Savu 2003, 37-45), both from the Sub-Carpathian zone, the same dies were used. These two hoards however consist only of struck pieces, not cast. The coins under discussion, widespread mainly in the plain zones of Oltenia and Walachia, ceased in the first half of the 1st century BC, as numismatists generally agree. Although their lighter analogues continue the iconographic line, they have not been found in the same area, but, as it seems, in the Sub-Carpathian. That shows at least a chronological difference between them. We presume that the late variant of the ‘Vârteju-Bucureşti’ type continued till about the middle of the 1st century BC, maybe up to c. 50-40 BC.
It is difficult to appreciate which was the parity between the two different groups of coins from the hoard, or if they ever functioned normally (as money). A certain relation presumably exists, because two struck coins were made with the same dies as the coin used as a pattern for a few of the cast pieces (Figure 2). The struck pieces do not follow a weight standard, weighing between three and five grams, while the cast ones display smaller variance. Also, it is difficult to prove if the coins belong to the same mint or whether the mint was situated inside the Cârlomăneşti settlement. Because no cast coin was found outside the hoard, we can suppose that they had not been used. Archaeological research shows a sudden end of that settlement, perhaps towards the middle of the 1st century BC or later. The hoard appeared, as we already said, in
Experimental
V. Cojocaru
A number of 34 coins of type under discussion were analyzed by the dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) using radioactive isotopic sources: 238Pu and 241Am. An HPGe detector with beryllium window, special for X-ray detection was used. The gamma spectra were processed by means of the Origin program and, in order to find the
See the considerations about the X-ray analyses’ results, infra.
1
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element concentrations, the area of lines were processed by a XWDCOL program (Marginean et al., 1997). This was done for every coin with both excitation sources and usually both faces of the coin were analyzed. The densitometry was also used to get information on these coins. Finally, a coin fragment, accidentally broken in the experiment was carefully analyzed in order to see the difference between the surface and the interior of the coin.
A broken coin (No. 26459) proved to possess an internal dendritic structure and different fineness for various fragments: between 16 and 19% inside, but 56% for the non-corroded surface of the coin, showing a lack of homogeneity and a strong corrosion effect. Conclusions 1. The studied coins can be divided into two distinct types: (1) quaternary alloy (Ag+Cu+Sn+Pb) with minor components of Au and Bi, and (2) binary alloy (Ag+Cu) with trace elements under 0.02%. 2. A silver free of gold is very rare in antiquity and unprecedented in the Dacian coinage. 3. In contradistinction to C. Preda (1973, 243), who believed that all the Vârteju-Bucureşti coins came from a single mint, the present results seem to suggest that there were at least two mints in the case of the ‘light variant’ of the type.
Results The results concerning the element concentrations found by XRF are given in Figure 1. In calculation it was considered that the sum concentration of the visible elements is 100%. Iron was omitted because its provenience is not sure. It must be taken into account that the XRF method analyses only the surface of the coin (thickness 20-40μm). One can easily notice that there are two types of coins: 1) A quaternary alloy type (about 3/5 of total) in which tin and lead represent major components near silver and copper. The average concentrations are 64±10, 24±10, 10±3, 1.8±0.3% for Ag, Cu, Sn and Pb, respectively. In every one gold is also present, the average concentration being (0.31±0.7)% 2) A binary alloy type (about 2/5of total) in which only silver and copper can be seen. Their average fineness is (78±3)%. No gold, lead and bismuth could be detected.
Bibliography Babeş, M. 1975. Problèmes de la chronologie de la culture géto-dace à la lumière des fouilles de Cârlomăneşti. Dacia, new series 19, 125-139 Babeş, M., Constantinescu, E. M. and Isvoranu, T. forthcoming. Descoperirile monetare şi semnificaţia lor [Monetary finds and their significance]. In M. Babeş (ed.), Cârlomăneşti 1. Culegere de studii şi articole [Cârlomăneşti 1. Collection of Studies and Articles]. Bucharest. Marginean, N., Cojocaru, V. and Rusu, C. 1997. Inhomogeneous samples analyses using XRF and γ-Ray transmission. Proceedings Supplement of Balkan Physics Letters 5, 2167-2170. Pink, K. 1939. Die Münzprägung der Ostkelten und ihrer Nachbarn. Budapest. Preda, C. 1973. Monedele geto-dacilor [The coins of GetoDacians]. Bucharest. Preda, C. 1998. Istoria monedei în Dacia preromană [The History of Coinage in Pre-Roman Dacia]. Bucharest. Preda, C. and Dicu, P. I. 1983. Monede geto-dacice descoperite pe teritoriul judeţului Argeş [The GetoDacian coins found in the territory of Arges County]. Buletinul Societăţii Numismatice Române 75-76, 90. Savu, E. 2003. Tezaurul de monede de tip Vârteju-Bucureşti descoperit la Râfov, judeţul Prahova [A hoard of VârtejuBucureşti type coins discovered at Râfov, Prahova county]. In E. Nicolae (ed.), Simpozion de Numismatică Chişinău, 24-26 septembrie 2002; comunicări, studii şi note [Numismatic Symposium - Kishinau, 24-26 September 2002; Communications, Studies and Notes], 37-45. Bucharest.
The first type of coins are usually highly corroded and some of them present exfoliations. In contrast, the second type of coins has a nice black patina, without any corrosion. It is worth noting that on average the weight of the binary coins is about 25% higher than that of the quaternary coins. The wrong impression that a quaternary coin is made of a copper core covered with a silver alloy layer is confirmed by the compositions of a corroded spot and a non-corroded one belonging to coin No. 26459. The ratios of corroded/ non-corroded concentrations are 67/33, 21/55, 9/7 and 1.3/3 for Cu, Ag, Sn and Pb, respectively. In conclusion, the composition seems to be similar, the variation in concentration being only the effect of the high corrosion. At first glance it appears that the binary coins are coated with foils. On two coins (Nos 26422 and 26441) one can even observe on the edge a joining of the two foils. If they are plated, the coat had to cover a core of cheaper metal (Cu, Fe). Two facts seem to contradict this hypothesis: 1) the experts’ opinion that they are in fact cast (the same images and the aspect of the surface) and 2) the results of the densitometry. A density analysis of six binary coins showed that, within the limits of error, the fineness of the volume is approximately the same as that of the surface measured by XRF. At this stage, without an intrusive analysis, nothing more can be said.
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Chapter 21 Queen Dynamis and Tanais
1
Askold I. Ivantchik
Ausonius: Institut de recherche sur l’Antiquité et le Moyen-Age, Bordeaux, France Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia [email protected]
Sergey R. Tokhtas’ev
Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia [email protected] Abstract: In this article two Greek inscriptions are published which originated from excavations at Tanais in 1993. The first relates to the reign of Queen Dynamis and is a dedication of a monumental building associated with the sanctuary of Apollo. The second is a decree proposed by the prohedroi of the Boule in honour of an unknown who was son of Mathianes. It would appear to date from the middle of the 1st century АD. That same Mathianes, son of Zaidar-, was probably mentioned in an epitaph now in the Temryuk Museum, which had been erected by Queen Dynamis. Mathianes was clearly a member of the queen’s close entourage; to judge from his name and patronymic he was of Sarmatian descent. Keywords: Epigraphy, Bosporan kingdom, Tanais, Dynamis, honorary decree, Sarmatians
monumental entrance to the Agora (Quadrant 12, east section, Find No. 839; Quadrants 5-7, Find No. 444; Quadrant 8, Find No. 550). The sizes of the fragments are as follows: 24.8x15.4cm; 14.9x7.3cm; 14.8x13.4x7.3cm. The inscribed field of Fragment A measures 21.5x13.9cm: it is chipped at the top, to the left and at the bottom and on the right its edge was sawn off when it was being re-used: near the top it has been charred with soot. The surviving inscribed field on Fragment B measures 9x12cm: it is chipped on all sides apart from the top. The inscribed field on Fragment C measures 13.4x12.5cm: it is chipped on all sides except the left. On the left side, however, the block fragment would appear to have had its edges sawn off. The letters of the inscription were carved quite deeply and carefully. They were decorated with small apices. The omicron and the omega were smaller (1.8-2cm). In the third line the sigma was smaller (1.5cm) and written above the line, covering the omicron slightly. The vertical hasta of the phi extended far beyond the upper limit of the line. The size of the upper margin is 5.3cm. The height of the letters is between 2.3 and 2.7cm and the average distance between the lines is 2.0cm. Fragment B has already been published by Iu. G. Vinogradov in a preliminary form – with a photograph, a restored text and a short commentary.
In the course of excavations during the past decade inscriptions have been found in Tanais that provide new information concerning Bosporan history at the end of the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD. The information relates to, among other things, the history of relations between Tanais and the central power in the Bosporan kingdom and, in particular, with Queen Dynamis. I. The first of these inscriptions dates from the era of Queen Dynamis (Figure 1). It was carved on a block of yellowish local limestone. The front surface is carefully smoothed. The top is less carefully worked. The other surfaces are chipped or their edges have been sawn off when the limestone was the object of secondary use. The front surfaces of the second and third fragment have been seriously worn by the elements. A total of three non-joining fragments have survived. They are kept in the Archaeological Museum ‘Tanais’ (Inv. No. JP301/AC100/33, 27, 32). They were found during excavations in 1993 in Trench XIX, where they had been re-used as part of the fabric for houses built in the 4th century AD over the remains of the destroyed 1 This study was carried out with financial support from the Russian Foundation for the Humanities, research project ‘Corpus of Greek Inscriptions from Tanais’ (Project No. 05-01-01063a).
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Figure 1. Dedication of the reign of Queen Dynamis
A+B [‚Up]Áq bZ[sikÊssgr DumÇleyr vikoqylaÊou t±r Ñj lecÇkou basikÈ]zr Vaq[mÇjou, to³ Ñj basikÈyr basikÈym LihqadÇtou] [E]ÕpÇtoqor [DiomÌsou Û d±lor ’Elpoq(e)it´m t´m jatÀ BËspoqom Øa]uto³ [syteÊqar jaà eÕeqcÈtidor eÓr tÄ ÚeqÄm vel tÄm maÄm to³] [’Ap]Ëkkymor [ - - - ] [ - - - ]or LemÊ[ppou? ] 5 [ - - - ‚E]stiaÊou [ - - - ] [---] C [ . . ] . vac.? oÚ Ñp[à - - - ] jaà O? . [ - - - ] [ . ]qÇtou [ - - - ] [---]
1: [BasÊkissam DÌmalim tÂm Ñj basikÈ]yr Vaq[mÇjou] Vinogradov || 2: [vikoqÍlaiom Û d. to³ d. vel Û d±lor Û Tamaeit´m tÂm Øa]uto³ [eÕeqcÈtim] Vinogradov
For Que[en Dynamis, friend of the Romans, daughter of the great ki]ng Phar[naces, son of the King of Kings, Mithradates E]upator [Dionysos, the people of Emporion, which is in the Bosporos] their [saviour and benefactress in the sanctuary or temple of Apo]llo [ - - - ], the son of Meni[ppos, - - - ], the son of Hesti[aios - - - ]
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Despite the fact that Vinogradov did not link the three fragments together, he recognized that the inscription had been erected in honour of Queen Dynamis (Arsen’eva et al., 1995, 217-219, Fig. 3 = Arsen’eva et al., 1996, 65-66, Fig. 6). The linking together of these three fragments confirms this suggestion, although it makes necessary amendments to Vinogradov’s reading.
refuted by those who reject this hypothesis and therefore it is more likely that Dynamis ruled alone during that period. Another indication which would support this suggestion is the relatively large number of inscriptions which Dynamis left behind her: CIRB 31, 38, 978, 979, 1046, the epitaph of Mathianes (see below); cf. too an inscription in honour of an ambassador sent by her to Tauric Chersonesos (IOSPE I², 354). It is hardly likely that all these inscriptions were set up in a short period between the death of Asander and Polemon’s accession to the throne. In addition, during this period Dynamis was married to Scribonius and the fact that there is no mention of him in all the inscriptions would be most surprising, even if he had not officially become king. For this reason it would seem more likely that the date of the whole series of inscriptions was between 9 BC and AD 9.
Line one. The titles of Dynamis as a sole ruler have been recorded in inscriptions CIRB 31 and 979, which differ from each other in so far as in the first Mithradates is only referred to as basileus and in the second as basileus basileon. We shall select the second version as the grander, which corresponds better to the type of the inscription. In addition this longer version fills better the lacuna at the end of the second line.
The restoration of Dynamis’ titles in the first line makes it possible to calculate more or less not only the number of letters in the line (c. 92), but also the approximate length of the inscription – 2.5-3m. This means that what we have is not the usual base for a statue, but a more monumental structure, the base of a sculptural group or even a building. This means that we have at our disposal direct evidence for the fact that in Tanais during the reign of Dynamis as sole ruler, i.e. soon after the destruction of the city by Polemon, monumental construction was being undertaken. This would serve to refute the hypothesis that Tanais lost its status as a city and was lying in ruins right up until the reign of Sauromates I (Arsen’eva et al., 1995, 222, Note 13, cf. ibid., 219). To all appearances this would imply that the city was either only partially destroyed, or that it was restored more or less immediately after the destruction and, most likely of all, both suppositions are correct. The dedication of one of the first buildings in the town undergoing restoration to the health of Queen Dynamis confirms another hypothesis put forward long ago (Rostovtsev 1916, 18; Rostovtzeff 1919, 104; cf. Shelov 1970, 230-233) to the effect that in the struggle for the throne between Polemon and Dynamis, Tanais supported the latter and that Polemon destroyed the city precisely in view of that and not because he conquered Tanais so as to incorporate it into the Bosporan kingdom. It is perfectly logical that Dynamis, after her victory, should have wished to reward the city which suffered because it supported her, and probably that she had paid in part for its restoration, as a result of which she was referred to as ‘saviour and benefactress’.
The question as to the time when Dynamis was the sole ruler of the Bosporos is open to discussion. According to the point of view, which seems to us best substantiated, she reigned together with her first husband Asander (Asandrochos) 2 until his death (probably in 20 BC) (See Karyshkovskii and Frolova 1990, 89-112 = Frolova et al., 1993, 63-81; for amendments to the chronology, see Sidorenko 2004, 313f). Then Dynamis married Scribonius, but it is not clear whether he officially became king or not. In the year 14 BC Dynamis married a new husband, Polemon, who became king of the Bosporos. Polemon and Dynamis ruled together until 12 BC and then Polemon divorced her and married Pythodoris. Dynamis, however, could not reconcile herself to this loss of power and regained the throne after Polemon had died in 9/8 BC in a battle against the Aspurgians. She ruled on her own until at least AD 8/9. No later than AD 14 the throne was occupied by Aspurgos, son of Asandrochos/Asander and, evidently, Dynamis. Therefore, according to this version of events, Dynamis was the sole ruler on two occasions: from the moment of Asander’s death until 14 BC (if Scribonius did not indeed become king) and after the death of Polemon, i.e. from 9/8 BC till AD 8/9. Several scholars, however, reject the suggestion that Dynamis ruled during a second period and suggest that she died soon after 12 BC and that Aspurgos acceded to the throne immediately after the death of Polemon (for the literature on this, see: Saprykin 2002, 97-99; Saprykin himself supports the second point of view). The main arguments in favour of the idea that Dynamis reigned a second time is the decipherment of the monogram on Bosporan gold staters of between 8 BC and AD 7 as containing the name Dynamis. That argument was not
Line two. In the second line of the inscription, the dedicator should be mentioned after the name of Mithradates Eupator Dionysos. To judge from Øa]uto³, which has survived on Fragment B, the dedicator should have been mentioned in the singular, therefore it is impossible that a group of persons should be indicated here, for example a board of magistrates, or another formula with the plural, like bouk jaà d±lor, pqËedqoi bouk±r or the citizens of the city. One could suppose here a restoration of the name and office of a person, but a long list of names partly preserved in lines four-five of the Fragment A and in the Fragment
The inscription CIRB 40 and the recently discovered dedication from Phanagoria (Kuznetsov 2006, 157) render the name of Aspurgos’ father as Asandrochos (Asamdqowou). This Asandrochos is, without doubt, the same person as Asander („Asamdqor), about whom Cassius Dio writes (XLII, 46, 5); another variant of that name is represented in an inscription from the so-called residence of Chrysaliskos (Sokol’skii 1976, 40f): Asoamdqor. From this it follows that „Asamdqor is only a Hellenized form of the Sarmatian (or Persian?) name (Tokhtas’ev 1994-5, 138f) found both in its complete form (also strongly Hellenized) Asamdqow- (*Ašvandara-vahu-?) and in the hypocoristic Asoamdqor (*Aš-vandara-?; cf. Avestan aš.vandara- ‘highly extolled, on which praise is lavished’, Bartholomae 1904, 265). 2
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C is incompatible with it. The persons mentioned here were probably directly connected with the dedicated building, so that the inscription should be made in name of the city, or a thiasos. If we take into account the scale of the building and its dedication for the Queen the first possibility would seem more credible, although the second is not ruled out. Iu. G. Vinogradov suggested Û d±lor Û Tamaeit´m as one of the possible restorations. Yet, we do not have a single inscription at our disposal that indicates that Tanais was the official name of the city. Elsewhere arguments have been cited in support of the hypothesis that the name of the city was Emporion (cf. Alex. Polyh., FgrHist 272 F 134; see Tokhtas’ev 2006, 44-45, Note 123; Ivantchik 2008a, 65-66; Ivantchik 2008b, 98-99). The inscription published below (No. II) shows that this name could have been accompanied by the specification jatÀ BËspoqom. If we take into consideration the size of the lacuna, it is possible to put forward the restoration Û d±lor ’Elpoq(e)it´m t´m jatÀ BËspoqom.
belonging to highly placed individuals associated with the dedication for the sanctuary of Apollo. The position of Fragment C in relation to the other fragments is not clear. In the second line of that fragment we find oÚ Ñp[Ê, probably the beginning of the name of some kind of office, ‘chiefs over …, governors of …’ (cf. CIRB 327 from the reign of Sauromates I and numerous references in Bosporan inscriptions to the governors of the Island, of Gorgippia, of Theodosia as well as the ‘master of the palace’ and ‘chief of the eunuchs’ etc.). In line fourth the beginning of one of the names has survived, which commences with Lemi-; in the Bosporos the names LÈmippor (cf. CIRB 7163; 1137 B II16) and LemÊdyqor (CIRB 128224)4 are known and the latter name would appear not to have been encountered anywhere other than in Tanais. In the Bosporos of the Roman period, the name ‚Estia²or which is, generally speaking, very common, has only been found up until now in one inscription from Tyri(s)take (Matkovskaia and Tokhtas’ev 2006, 204f, No. XI). In line four of Fragment C the end of one of the numerous names ending in -stqator or -jqÇtgr has survived (in Tanais LemÈstqator, MeijËstqator and TeilojqÇtgr have been recorded, see LGPN 4, s. vv.). Thus, all the names which have survived in the inscription belong to the common Greek range.
Line three. At the beginning of the third line the word [’Ap]Ëkkymor has survived. Given that the name of the deity3 is not in the dative but the genitive, it is not the simplest formula for dedication (‘to Apollo’) which has been used, but a more complicated one, which had most probably included the words ‘sanctuary/temple of Apollo’. This could either be a dedication of something (for example, a group statue) for a shrine or temple of Apollo (eÓr tÄ ÚeqÄm / maÄm to³ ’ApËkkymor) or a building dedicated to Apollo, for example tÄm maÄm / tÄm bylÄm to³ ’ApËkkymor, tÂm pÌkgm to³ Úeqo³ to³ ’ApËkkymor and so on. The fact that the three fragments of one inscription were found after being re-used in one and the same sector of the town, although not in one and the same place, enables us to assume that the shrine of Apollo referred to here was situated nearby. It was already known that there had been a sanctuary of Apollo in Tanais thanks to a dedicatory ex voto by Antimachos son of Chariton made during the reign of Tiberius Julius Eupator (AD 154-73, CIRB 1239). If the restoration of the last line in the CIRB is correct, this Antimachos held the office of royal presbeus in Tanais. It can be assumed that in Tanais, as in many other Ionian cities (insofar as Tanais, having been founded by Bosporan Greeks who were mainly Ionian in origin, can be regarded as an Ionian city), the cult of Apollo inherited from its metropolis, Pantikapaion, was one of the main cults, if not the main cult. Perhaps in the future it will prove possible to identify from among the buildings dating from the beginning of the 1st century AD the structure to which the inscription had belonged and also the sanctuary of Apollo itself. At the present time, however, such an identification does not appear possible.
II. Another important inscription of a later period from Tanais turns out to be indirectly connected with the inscription honouring Queen Dynamis; its preliminary publication was also made by Iu. G. Vinogradov (Figure 2) (Arsen’eva et. al., 1995, 222-223, Fig. 6 = Arsen’eva et al., 1996, 71, Fig. 9). It consists of three contiguous fragments, which were found in 1993 during excavations of the same part of the site, where the fragments of the inscription honouring Queen Dynamis had been found (Trench XIX, Quadrant 12, Find No. 833, Quadrant 13, Find No. 1110); they too had come from the layer of destruction of the monumental entrance to the Agora and from the collapsed walls of the house next to it dating to the 4th century AD. The inscription is kept in the Archaeological Museum ‘Tanais’ (Inv. No. JP301/AC100/58). It was carved on a block of white marble, the surviving dimensions of which were 20.6x30.1cm, while the thickness was 15.4cm. The front surface of the block had been carefully smoothed, the left roughly worked (there were traces of tools on it), the upper and reverse surfaces had also been smoothed, while the others were chipped. The upper left part of the inscription had survived on this block. The inscribed field measured 14.8x22.9cm and it was chipped to the right and at the bottom. The upper margin of the inscription was 1.5cm and the left margin 0.4cm. The letters were carved, using lines which had been incised in advance, fairly carefully and some of them had been decorated with apices; the omicron and theta were reduced in size (0.9 to 1cm high). The upper and lower horizontal hastae of the epsilon protruded a long way to the left beyond the vertical. In the case of the alpha, delta and lambda the upper end of the sloping right line protruded conspicuously upwards
Lines four and five. In the subsequent lines from Fragment A and also on Fragment C there is a list of names probably The personal name ’ApËkkym has not been recorded in the Pontic region despite the readings of CIRB 162 and 877: in the first instance the right part of the stone together with the end of the name has been broken off (probably, ’ApokkÍm[ior]) and in the second we find APOKKYMOI on the stone, cf. LGPN 4, s. vv. 3
Most likely from LemodÍqou, similar to LatqidÍqz (CIRB 967); for other explanations see Tokhtas’ev 1992, 194, note 69, with bibliography. 4
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Figure 2. Decree in honour of Mathianes’ son
beyond the point where it intersected the left sloping line. The sigma had horizontal hastae. The diagonal line of the nu joined the vertical lines not at their ends but nearer to the middle of those lines. The omega was in the shape of a circle open at the bottom, under which at the lower ruling of the line, two horizontal strokes had been arranged. The horizontal stroke of the theta is joined to its circle. The vertical hasta of the phi extends beyond the limits of the line as far as the rulings of the next lines both above and below. In the inscription round or triangular dots are used as word-separators. On the basis of the specific features of the script used, this inscription could be dated to the second half of the 1st or the beginning of the 2nd century AD (cf. CIRB 986, 79/80). The text of the inscription reads as follows:
5
SauqolÇtou] Vinogradov || 3: [Tamaeit´m t´m Vinogradov 1995, [TamÇÞdor t±r Vinogradov 1996 || 4: BËs[p]oqom the first omicron is written above a wrongly carved omega || 5: Ü[iÄr Ðcah´m te? Vinogradov 1995, p[a²r? comÈym] Vinogradov 1996; the last letter is definitely an upsilon: the upper end of the sloping left hasta can be made out reliably on the stone || 6: jaà tqovÈ[ym hqevh]eÃr æm m[³m vÊkor?] Vinogradov 1995, jaà tqovÈ[ym. . . . . ]. ósym m[³m dÁ t©] Vinogradov 1996, of the letter to the left of the iota all that has survived is the very top corner and it is impossible to form an impression of its shape || 7: basike² b[asikÈym jaà t]¨ patq[Êdi, ¿ste] Vinogradov 1995, basike² b[oghÉsar? t]Âm pÇtq[iom c±m] Vinogradov 1996; in front of the pi only the uppermost parts of the letter have survived, which could belong either to an eta or a nu || 8-9: [e.g. pokÊtar eÕeqcete² jaà - - - ] Vinogradov 1995, [ëqour t±r pËkeyr Ðpojata-] | s[t±mai? jtk.] Vinogradov 1996.
vac. 4 litt. Ba[si]kÈy[r - - -] vikojaÊsaqor jaà [vikoqylaÊou eÕse-] bo³r pqËedqoi bouk±r [’Elpoq(e)it´m t´m] jatÀ BËs[p]oqom e∙pam Ñ[peidÂ Û de²ma] Lahiamou cemmgheÃr OU[- - -] jaà tqove[- - ca. 5 - -].ir æm m[³m? - - -] basike² b[asikÈym jaà t]¨ patq[Êdi] jaà toÅr [- - -] S [- - -] [- - -]
In the reign of King [- - -] friend of Caesar and [friend of Romans, dev]out, the prohedroi of the Council [of the people of Emporion, which is] in the Bosporos have proposed: in [so far as - - -] son of Mathianes, born [- - -] and a tutor, n[ow] to the King of K[ings and] to the homeland [- - -] This inscription constitutes the first reliably recorded resolution of the city authorities in Tanais and it contains new information about its constitution. First and foremost it is made clear that a Council existed in the city, which appears to have been its supreme administrative body,
In Vinogradov’s publication there are no word-separators throughout and nor are there any dots beneath the letters. 1: Ba[si]kÈy[r vac.
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given that the honorary decree was issued precisely in its name. In the Roman period Councils existed in other cities of the Bosporan Kingdom as well: we know of Ù bouk jaÃ Û d±lor of Agrippia (Phanagoria) (CIRB 982, AD 130; cf. SEG XLI 625, 88/87 BC; at the same time the inscriptions CIRB 979; 983 were issued in the name only of the ‘Demos of the Agrippians’), of Hermonassa (CIRB 1100) and of Gorgippia (SEG XXXVI 699, AD 173-210; cf. SEG XL 623, early 2nd century AD and CIRB 1118 issued in the name of the ‘Demos of the Gorgippians’). Admittedly all the above-mentioned inscriptions were not city decrees (with the exception of SEG XLI 625, which still dates from the Mithradatic period), but were mainly honorary inscriptions carved on the bases of statues of kings. These statues were however erected in accordance with decisions taken by the city’s administrative bodies and in the name of the whole urban community. It is interesting to note that unlike Phanagoria, Hermonassa and Gorgippia, where there are references in inscriptions to the ‘Council and People’ or simply to ‘the People’, in the decree from Tanais – or at least in the part which has survived5 – the Council alone is mentioned and moreover represented by the prohedroi (in other Bosporan inscriptions, they seem not to have been mentioned). Thus, the polis institutions hardly existed in Tanais in the 1st century AD in the same form as in these ancient cities. It is also doubtful that any democratic form of government had ever existed there at all. Otherwise the city, after incorporation into the Bosporan kingdom, would have retained, to some extent at least, its traditional administrative structures. So, in the 1st century AD, and probably earlier as well, the supreme body for the administration of Tanais was the Council headed by the prohedroi. It stood at the head of the city’s community consisting of two parts: the Hellenes headed by the Hellenarch and the Tanaitai headed by the archontes. The King’s presbeus (CIRB 1239 et al.) surveyed the activities of the administrative bodies of the city and made sure that they were loyal with regard to the supreme power.
99).6 This in its turn would explain why Tanais was not mentioned in the titles of the Bosporan kings together with the Bosporos and Theodosia, which served as one of main arguments in favour of the hypothesis to the effect that it was incorporated into the Bosporan kingdom later (Shelov 1970, 200). Indeed, if Tanais had been regarded as part of the Bosporos earlier on as well, it was not mentioned in the titles of the Bosporan kings, just like other cities which were covered by this name. The decree in question was issued in honour of an individual, whose name is lost, apart from his patronymic, son of Mathianes. The name Lahiamgr is encountered on two other occasions in Bosporan inscriptions. A certain Lahiamgr DqoÌsou is mentioned in a list of names from Gorgippia dating from the end of the 2nd or beginning of the 3rd century AD (Kruglikova 1967, 194, No. 9, 24; Boltunova 1968, 67). Another Mathianes is mentioned in an epitaph carved in a relief depicting a horseman and erected in the name of Queen Dynamis: basÊkissa DÌmalir Lahiamgm Faidaqou [lmÉ]lgr wÇqim (the precise findspot is unknown; the inscription is now kept in the Temryuk Museum; Figure 3) (Iailenko 1987, 19, No. 8; Iailenko 1995, 220-224)7. The erection of an epitaph in the name of reigning ruler is a unique occurrence in the Bosporos, which would indicate that a special degree of intimacy existed between Mathianes and Queen Dynamis and also that he enjoyed very high status. V. A. Goroncharovskii (2000, 56 = 2006, 44f; 2003, 33-37) suggests that Mathianes had been one of the leaders of the Sarmatian tribe of the Aspurgians, which supported Dynamis in the course of her struggle against Polemon. This hypothesis cannot be ruled out, although there are insufficient data available to support it. If we take into account the rarity of the name of Mathianes and the high status both of the privileged member of Dynamis’ entourage and of the person honoured in our inscription, it can be assumed that the Mathianes mentioned in the Temryuk epitaph and the one mentioned in the Tanais inscription were one and the same person.
In this inscription, after the mention of the Council, there must without doubt have followed the official name of Tanais, however, it unfortunately did not survive and it is left to us to seek to restore it. Of interest in this regard is the specification jatÀ BËspoqom, which would have been superfluous, if a clearly identifiable geographical name had been provided, such as Tanais, but was perfectly appropriate, if a less definite name were used formed from the appellative, like ’ElpËqiom. This specification indicates also that Tanais – in any case in the 1st century AD – was a part of the wide politico-geographical unit known as ‘Bosporos’ (cf. Tokhtas’ev 2006, 44-45, note 123; Ivantchik 2008a, 65-66; Ivantchik 2008b, 98-
The name Lahiamgr would seem to be Iranian, just as the name of his father, Faidaq-, but in both cases there are no equivalents to be found in the known Iranian range of names. This makes any interpretations problematic. Lahiamgr formally speaking is an adjective ending in *-(i)ya- with a (quasi)patronymic suffix *-āna-, cf. Old Iranian *Čirya-āna-, *Parvya-āna- (Hinz 1975, 74, 183). The stem *maθa- (which derives from *man- ‘to think’, Ossetian a-mon-yn ‘monere’ < *ā-man- in the zero degree of the root with the suffix -θa-) is represented in the Ossetian mæt ‘care, anxiety, worry’ (Abaev 1973, 107). Yet what we have here is most likely to be not the adjective *maθya-, raised to the rank of a proper name, but the hypocoristic form with the suffix *-ya or *-iya of a name with two stems (cf. Mayrhofer 1973, 286. On the suffix *-iya in
Admittedly it is still possible that the People could have been mentioned in the lower part of the inscription, which did not survive, as was the case in certain decrees issued in Tauric Chersonesos during the same period: they begin with a mention of the fact that the prohedroi (not of the Council, but of the whole of Chersonesos) put forward a proposal which was to be ratified by the Council and the People, see, for example: IOSPE I², 357; 359; 362 et al. 5
At issue here, of course, is political, not geographical, terminology which does not correspond to that which was used outside of the Bosporan kingdom. Strabo, for example, definitely drew a distinction between Tanais and the Bosporus (XI. 2,3-4, cf. ХI. 2,11). 7 Autopsy carried out by A. Ivantchik in July 2006. 6
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Figure 3. Epitaph of Mathianes, son of Zaidar-
to ī (Schmitt 1989, 70, 84);8 in Greek the name Laqij°r which is to be traced back to the Old Persian marīka- (< *mariyaka-) has been recorded in the last quarter of the 5th century BC in a fragment of Eupolis (fr. *203 FCG), in Aristophanes (Nub. 553) et al. and also in the 3rd century BC in inscriptions (tagos of Pharsalus) (Decourt 1995, No. 53. See Masson 1980, 317; Cassio 1985, 38-42; Morgan 1986, 529-531). However, it would seem that nothing
Sarmatian see Tokhtas’ev 2007, 108ff: Cosalvkiar, Ouqciou, Patiar, Subkiacour et al.). Since Mathianes belonged to the immediate entourage of Queen Dynamis, Mithradates’ grand-daughter, it is possible in principle that the name is Persian, derived from *maθ- ‘long, large’ (Old Iranian *mas-), cf. Old Persian *Maθika (Hinz 1975, 162). The derivative of *maθya- we find in the first component of the Middle Persian name Meh-būd (Gignoux 1986, 122: ‘devenu (plus) grand’). In Old Persian, as early as the time of Xerxes, the -iya- group underwent contraction
A similar phenomenon would appear sporadically to have been present in the Inlaut position in certain Sarmatian dialects as well, see Tokhtas’ev 2007, 109 (Vkiamor, Vkil(a)maj/cor, Keilamor et al. < *friya°). 8
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(at least in part, with a reduction to *ay);9 cf. Afiaiou (IOSPE I² 1424; cf. Afiacor 8610),10 Joufaiou (IOSPE I² 13710), Joujair (IOSPE I² 1484) < *Kūkaya (cf. Tokhtas’ev 2002, 84ff), Pouqhaior, -air (IOSPE I² 435 et al.; 837) < *Puθraya-, Sadaiou (IOSPE I² 948 = I.Olb. 81; I.Olb. 434) < *Sātaya- or *Š(y)ātaya-. This means that if the etymology suggested here is correct, the name could only be Sarmatian. Accordingly this would also mean that the name Lahiamgr was also Sarmatian.
would prevent us interpreting Lahiamgr as containing the suffix *-ya (like in Meh-būd). This why the Persian etymology for this name would appear to be satisfactory, if it were to prove possible to explain the name of Mathianes’ father with reference to Persian as well. Faidaq- could be presented as Old Iranian *Zaya-dāra‘holding a weapon, armed’: cf. Avestan zaiia- ‘weapon’ (Bartholomae 1904, 1662) and Old Iranian *dar- ‘to seize, hold, possess’, Avestan dar-, Ossetian daryn. In Sarmatian onomastics this stem is found possibly only in Abdaq-ajor (CIRB 128715), which can be interpreted in different ways (for example, *Ab-dar- derived from *ap- ‘water’, cf. New Persian āb-yār ‘supervisor of water use’; *Abi-dar- with the preverb *abi-) and Aqdaqor, Aqdaq-ajor, -isjor (often in the Bosporos, including CIRB 12634 et al., see: LGPN 4, 41). In Ossetian there are several appellatives with the element *dar-, which has a meaning close to a suffixal one (like German -haber): ag-dar ‘owner/keeper (of the public) cauldron’, æstæg-dar ‘skeleton’ (æstæg ‘bone’), ʓag-dar ‘cup-bearer’ (literally ‘holder of a full (vessel)’), ʓyvyl-dar ‘tomtit’ (literally ‘wielding a plough’), fars-dar ‘supporter’ ‘holding the side of someone’, xæzna-dar ‘treasurer’ (cf. Abaev 1956, 347); also in the participial form: cæst-daræg ‘looking after someone’ et al. The word ældar/ærdar ‘ruler, prince’ usually compared to Aqdaqor has no convincing etymology (see Tokhtas’ev 1994-5, 139142; cf. also Sims-Williams 1992, 59). Words formed in a similar way are known from Middle Persian (appellative and personal name štl-dl-, Štry-d’r, New Persian šahryār ‘lord’, possibly also Vas-yār, New Persian bis-yār < *-dār (Salemann 1901, 282); Ādur-dār, Vardag-dār, Vin-dār (Gignoux 1986, 33, 174, 183): all of them are probably derivatives from titles), from Parthian (šhr-d’r ‘city governor’ and so on), from Sogdian (Manichaean, Christian δēn-δār ‘priest’, βāγ-δār ‘gardener’ et al.), from Bactrian (-kaqo and -kgqo, cf., for example, vqala-kaqo = Sogdian frm’nδ’r, þaqo-kgqo = Middle Persian štl-dl-, Parthian šhr-d’r) (Sims-Williams 2000, 201, 230) and from Khorezmian (the name Bāγ-δārak, cf. Sogdian βāγ-δār) (Livshits 1984, 269, Doc. III, 5; 284, Note 110). The data cited above make it possible to relate the appearance of this model in Ossetian to at least as far back as Sarmatian antiquity. Faidaq- can be traced back to a similar Iranian appellative *zaya-dāra- ‘chief of the arsenal’ (?); cf. Avestan zaēna-, synonym of zaiia- and Bactrian fgmo-bido, Middle Persian zynpt, Parthian zynpty (Gignoux 1972, 39, 68), fgmipit (ŠKZ), Armenian (from the Parthian) zina-pet ‘Waffenmeister’ < *zaina-pāti (Henning 1960, 50, Note 9; Harmatta 1965, 160).
In line sixth of the inscription published here the word ‘tutor’ is mentioned, but given that the ending has not survived, it is not clear to whom it applies. If it were to be restored as tqove[Ìr, it can be assumed that Mathianes’ son was the tutor of someone from among high-ranking individuals, so that there would have been some point in mentioning it in such a context. Yet it might have been possible to restore it as a genitive tqovÈ[yr and then it would have implied a tutor of Mathianes’ son himself: it was precisely this interpretation which Iu. G. Vinogradov suggested, deciding for some reason when doing so to restore the plural tqovÈ[ym. In general, the restorations proposed by Vinogradov for lines fifth-eight are not particularly well borne out in the text, as can be clearly seen from his own hesitations. Unfortunately we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact that it is not possible to find a really reliable solution of this problem. A further possibility for the interpretation of this word is that it may not mean ‘tutor’, but rather ‘breadwinner’. As has been pointed out by L. Robert, this term was one of the honorary titles, which in a number of cities in Asia Minor was given to the euergetes, who used to distribute food to his fellow citizens in difficult times (Robert 1949, 74-81; Robert 1950, 76-77; Robert 1960, 569-571). This meaning for the word would be perfectly appropriate in an honorary decree. Nevertheless, in the Bosporos and in the North Pontic region in general this title has not been recorded, which obliges us to view such an interpretation with caution. The identification of Mathianes mentioned in this inscription with the Mathianes who was part of Dynamis’ close entourage, provides some pointers for the dating of this inscription. Mathianes died or perished while Queen Dynamis was still alive, i.e. before AD 7/8. This means that his son must have been born no later than the first years AD. If the inscription mentions the tutor of Mathianes’ son, this most likely testifies to the fact that the son at the moment of his father’s death was still a child and was being brought up after his father’s death by a guardian. The Tanais inscription is connected with his merits, through which he distinguished himself most probably at a time when he had already reached maturity: this means that it must have date from around the middle of the 1st century AD (the end
What would indicate Sarmatian attribution of the name is the fact that as early as late Old Persian a contraction aya > ē began to be observed (Schmitt 1978, 29f.; Mayrhofer 1979, I/2, 31; Schmitt 2002, 66), i.e. in the Hellenistic period the Persian name should look like *Zēdar resp. *Fgdaq-. On the contrary, this group survived in Sarmatian
See, for more detail Tokhtas’ev 2007, 109; the falling away of *-y (with a further reduction *-ă > Ossetian -æ: Thordarsson 1989, 459) relates to a much later period. 10 See Tokhtas’ev 2007, 109 and Note 185. 9
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Bartholomae, Chr. 1904. Altiranisches Wörterbuch. Strassburg. Boltunova, A. I. 1968 — Болтунова, А. И. Новая надпись из Горгиппии и несколько замечаний об организации управления государственным доходами Боспорского царства [Novaia nadpis’ iz Gorgippii i neskol’ko zamechanii ob organizatsii upravleniia gosudarstvennymi dokhodami Bosporskogo tsarstva – A new inscription from Gorgippia and some remarks about the organisation of the administration of state income of the Bosporan kingdom]. Eirene 7, 67-76. Bowersock, G. W. and Jones, C. P. 2006. A new inscription from Panticapaeum. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 156, 117-128. Cassio, A. C. 1985. Old Persian marīka-, Eupolis Marikas and Aristophanes Knights. Classical Quarterly 35/I, 38-42. CIRB — Struve, V. V. et al. 1965. Corpus inscriptionum regni Bosporani. Kopпyc боспорских надписей [Korpus bosporskikh nadpisei – Corpus of Bosporan Inscriptions] I. Moscow, Leningrad. Decourt, J. C. 1995. Inscriptions de Thessalie 1. Les cités de la vallée de l’Enipeus. Paris. FgrHist — Fragmente der griechischen Historiker, ed. by F. Jacoby, Berlin 1923-1930; Leiden 1940-1958. Frolova, N. A., Karyshkovskii, P. O. and Delfs, M. 1993. Zur Chronologie der Herrschaft Asanders im Bosporos. Chiron 23, 63-81. Gignoux, Ph. 1972. Glossaire des inscriptions pehlevies et parthes (Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, Suppl. 1). London. Gignoux, Ph. 1986. Noms propres sassanides en moyenperse épigraphique (Iranisches Personennamenbuch II/2). Vienna. Goroncharovskii, V. A. 2000 — Горончаровский, В. А. Аспургиане и военно-политическая история Боспора на рубеже нашей эры [Aspurgiane i voennopoliticheskaia istoriia Bospora na rubezhe nashei ery – Aspurgians and the military and political history of the Bosporos at the beginning of the Christian era]. Таманская старина [Tamanskaia starina] 3, 54-58. Goroncharovskii, V. A. 2003 — Горончаровский, В. А. Между империей и варварами [Mezhdu imperiei i varvarami – Between the Empire and the Barbarians]. St Petersburg. Goroncharovskii, V. A. 2006 — Горончаровский, В. А. Аспургиане и военно-политическая история Боспора на рубеже нашей эры [Aspurgiane i voennopoliticheskaia istoriia Bospora na rubezhe nashei ery – Aspurgians and the military and political history of the Bosporos in the last years BC and the first years AD]. In С. Л. Соловьев [S. L. Solovyov] (ed.), Греки и варвары на Боспоре Киммерийском VII-I вв. до н. э. Материалы международной научной конференции Тамань (Россия), Октябрь 2000 [Greki i varvary na Bospore Kimmeriiskom VII-I vv. do n. e. Materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii Taman’, Rossiia, Oktiabr’ 2000 – Greeks and Natives in the Cimmerian Bosporus 7th-1st centuries BC. Proceedings of
of the reign of Aspurgos, the reign of Mithradates VIII or the beginning of the reign of Cotys I). It was approximately to the same date that another version of events would also point: the suggestion that the son of Mathianes was himself a tutor – of the king, for example (cf. the encomium in honour of an unknown person, who died after a long and dazzling career and who had been, among other things, tutor to King Sauromates) (Vinogradov and Shestakov 2005, 42-44; Saprykin 2005, 45-81 [with a date from the reign of Sauromates I]; cf. Bowersock and Jones 2006, 117-128 [with a date during the reign of Sauromates II]). In this case it is possible to assume that his birth was earlier, but that the inscription in his honour was erected most likely at a time when his pupil was already an adult and the tutor accordingly advanced in years. In either case it is most unlikely that we could give the inscription a date much later than the middle of the 1st century AD. Nor does an interpretation of the term tqoveÌr as a title for an euergetes contradict such a dating. It can be assumed that this special link between Tanais and the family of Mathianes, which manifested itself in the fact that the city honoured its son with a special decree, was a continuation of special relations between Tanais and Dynamis, with whom the family of Mathianes was on close terms. Yet the sad state of the sources prevents us from clarifying the nature of these relations. Special attention should be paid to the fact that the Tanais inscription is the only honorary decree known to us today – not only in Tanais, but in the Bosporan cities of the Roman period in general.11 The uniqueness of this document indicates once more the prominent status of Mathianes’ son from one site and his close connection with Tanais from the other. Bibliography Abaev, V. I. 1956 — Абаев, В. И. Историкоэтимологический словарь осетинского языка [Istoriko-etimologicheskii slovar’ osetinskogo iazyka – Historico-etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language]1. Leningrad. Abaev, V. I. 1973 — Абаев, В. И. Историкоэтимологический словарь осетинского языка [Istoriko-etimologicheskii slovar’ osetinskogo iazyka – Historico-etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language] 2. Leningrad. Arsen’eva, T. M., Böttger, B. and Vinogradov, Iu. G. 1995. Griechen am Don. Die Grabungen in Tanais 1994. Eurasia Antiqua 1, 213-263. Arsen’eva, T. M., Böttger, B. and Vinogradov, Iu. G. 1996 — Арсеньева, Т. М., Беттгер, Б., Виноградов, Ю. Г. Новые исследования в Танаисе [Novye issledovaniia v Tanaise – New Research in Tanais]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] III, 54-71. The fragment of a marble slab from Panticapaion (probably dating from the 1st century AD) might also claim similar status. It was a chance find on the acropolis and is kept in the Kerch Museum, but without an inventory number. The fragment was re-discovered in the lapidarian collection by S. R. Tokhtas’ev in the autumn of 2005. In line fifth of this inscription we read clearly [jakÄr] jÇcahËr and in line sixth p°sgr vikotilÊa[r]. 11
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monuments of Gorgippia]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] II, 182-197. Kuznetsov, V. D. 2006 — Кузнецов, В. Д. Новые надписи из Фанагории [Novye nadpisi iz Fanagorii – New inscriptions from Phanagoreia]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] I, 155-171. LGPN 4 - Fraser, P. M. and Matthews, E. (eds) 2005. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names 4. Macedonia. Thrace. Northern Regions of the Black Sea. Oxford. Livshits, V. A. 1984 — Лившиц, В. А. Документы [Dokumenty – Documents]. In Топрак-Кала. Дворец [Toprak-Kala. Dvorets – Toprak-Kala. Palast]. Moscow. Masson, O. 1980. Remarques sur les noms en -°r en attique. In O. Masson, Onomastica Graeca selecta, 315-320. Paris. Matkovskaia, T. A. and Tokhtas’ev, S. R. 2006 — Матковская, Т. А., Тохтасьев, С. Р. Малоизвестные и неизданные стелы керченского лапидария [Maloizvestnye i neizdannye stely kerchenskogo lapidariia – Lesser known and unpublished stelai of the Kerch Lapidarium]. In Научный сборник Керченского заповедника [Nauchnyi sbornik Kerchenskogo zapovednika – Scientific Miscellany of the Kerch Museum] 1, 179-210. Mayrhofer, M. 1973. Onomastica Persepolitana. Vienna. Mayrhofer, M. 1979. Die altiranischen Namen.1: Die awestischen Namen. 2: Die altpersischen Namen (Iranisches Personennamenbuch I/1, 2). Vienna. Morgan, J. D. 1986. Laqij°r. Classical Quarterly, 36/II, 529-531. Robert, L. 1949. Sur une monnaie de Synnada. TqoveÌr, Hellenica. Recueil d’épigraphie, de numismatique et d’antiquités grecques 7, 74-81. Robert, L. 1950. Addenda au tome VII. TqoveÌr, Hellenica. Recueil d’épigraphie, de numismatique et d’antiquités grecques 8, 76-77. Robert, L. 1960. Addenda aux tomes I-X. TqoveÌr et ’AqisteÌr, Hellenica. Recueil d’épigraphie, de numismatique et d’antiquités grecques 11-12, 569-576. Rostovtsev, M. I. 1916 — Ростовцев, М. И. Бронзовый бюст боспорской царицы и история Боспора в эпоху Августа [Bronzovyi biust bosporskoi tsaritsy i istoriia Bospora v epokhu Avgusta – A bronze bust of a Bosporan queen and the history of the Bosporus in the Augustus era]. Древности. Труды Московского Археологического общества [Drevnosti. Trudy Moskovskogo Arkheologicheskogo obshchestva] 25, 1-31. Rostovtzeff, M. 1919. Queen Dynamis of Bosporus. Journal of Hellenic Studies 39, 88-109. Salemann, C. 1901. Mittelpersisch, in W. Geiger and E. Kuhn (eds), Grundriss der iranischen Philologie 1/III, 249-332. Strassburg. Saprykin, S. Iu. 2002 — Сапрыкин, С. Ю. Боспорское царство на рубеже двух эр [Bosporskoe tsarstvo na rubezhe dvukh er – The Bosporan Kingdom on the Edge of two Eras]. Moscow. Schmitt, R. 1978. Die Iranier-Namen bei Aischylos (SB Wien 337). Vienna.
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Chapter 22 Common and Distinguishing Features of Greek Colonization in the Black Sea Area
Emzar Kakhidze
Batumi State University Batumi, Georgia [email protected] Abstract: Greek colonization in the Black Sea area occurred in a variety of political, economic and social situations. As a result, at the beginning of the Classical period different circumstances developed in various parts of this region. Thus, in the northern and southern Black Sea areas, where there were no local states, the Greeks created a relatively powerful polis infrastructure. In the western and eastern Black Sea areas this process was hampered by the existence of local states. This was manifested most clearly in the case of Colchis, whose geographical remoteness and scarcity in the commodities that Greeks found most attractive, namely grain and slaves, meant that it was less interesting to potential colonists, and consequently there was less Hellenisation of the local élite. In general, Greek colonization left a significant imprint on the life of the local population of the Black Sea area. In the first place, the development of commodity relations is noteworthy, which in their turn facilitated the acquaintance of different populations with one another, as well as the diffusion of foreign religious and cultural values. Keywords: Black Sea, Greek colonization, northern and southern Black Sea areas, Odrysian and Colchian states
The great Greek colonization movement deeply influenced the political and economic life of the Black Sea area. It stimulated a commodity output, extended social differentiation, strengthened local statehood, and – most important, altered the local religion. Unlike some regions, where Greeks succeeded in establishing a powerful polis system, the influence of Classical civilization was less.
extent have been due to the remoteness from the Greek world and the fear factor with respect to the aggressive tribes. From the 430s it was ruled by the Spartocid dynasty of ‘barbarian’ origin, who, unlike their predecessors, struggled against the autonomy of the poleis (Kallistov 1949, 196; Kallistov 1950, 27-36; Blavatskaia 1959, 19ff). Their power, in spite of a number of limitations (Kolobova 1953, 47-71; Brashinskii 1965), was strong. They clearly acted as judges and priests (Gaidukevich 1955). Judging by its structure, Bosporus resembled a Hellenistic state (Zhebelev 1953, 126ff). That is, preconditions of Hellenicbarbarian unity were identifiable a century before the campaigns of Alexander the Great.
At the beginning of the colonization of the Black Sea area, the local population: the Mariandyni, Paphlagonians, Cappadocians, Scythians, Taurians and other tribes were at different stages of development. Most of them were distinguished by weak self-organization. Although at the time of the arrival of the Greek colonists the Cappadocians were a relatively stable unity and hindered the Greeks in their colonization activities, they began to struggle for their statehood only after the death of Alexander the Great (Maksimova 1956, 171). This probably explains why the Greeks established the most powerful polis system in the coastal regions of Asia Minor and in the northern Black Sea area. The most intense activity of colonists was observable in the northern Black Sea area, rich in grain. It should be noted that here too, as in the case of the southern Black Sea area, the local state came into being at a late stage. D. Kallistov (1949, 95) noted: ‘The struggle of the Greeks with the Scythians acquired the character of the struggle of state life with pre-state life’. Here a unique phenomenon for the Greek world emerged when the Bosporan Kingdom was formed in the 5th century BC as a result of the unification of several Greek colonies. This phenomenon must to a certain
The situation was in fact mirrored in the southern Black Sea area as well. Sinope formed a fairly strong confederation of Hellenic cities, but it was not as powerful as Bosporus (Hind 1976, 6; Maksimova 1956, 67). It is also noteworthy that in contrast to the main centres of the southern Black Sea area: Sinope, Amisos and Heraclea Pontica, a strong barbarian element played a great role in the city of Trapezus (Maksimova 1956, 408-411). In the western Black Sea area, more precisely in southern Thrace, the state of the Odrysian Kingdom emerged very early, in the first half of the 5th century BC, where the peculiarities, unlike those of the Classical world, were especially noticeable (Danov 1960, 3-30; Danov 1969, 172175; Zlatkovskaia 1971, 6, 56ff). This historical reality was strongly based. Tribal confederations came into being in 175
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Thrace as early as the 7th century BC (Zlatkovskaia 1968). The existence of royal power is also noteworthy in that it was within the limits of social development characteristic of a pre-class society (Zlatkovskaia 1971, 198, 210). Although these confederations were not powerful (Hdt. 5. 3), the Thracians offered strong resistance to the Greek colonists (Thuc. 1. 100; 2. 100; 4. 103; Hdt. 9. 75; Paus. 1. 29. 4). There was the very important existence of a cult of Dionysos shared by the Thracian tribes (Hdt. 7. 3).
Among the colonization activities of the Greeks, the expedition of Pericles to the southern Black Sea area is especially interesting. It is assumed that, in addition to Sinope (Plut. Per. 20. 2), there was a stronger influence of Athens elsewhere in the region (Maksimova 1956, 97-102; Fedoseev 2003, 132-140). M. Inadze has suggested that before the Peloponnesian War, apart from Ionian colonies, Athenian settlements also emerged on the Colchian coast, rich in the raw materials necessary for the construction needs of the navy. They clearly represented an extension of the chain of the Attic centres founded by Pericles centred on Sinope in the southeastern Black Sea area. This is indicated indirectly by the fully-fledged economic relations between Pichvnari and the centres of this region (Inadze 1982, 145147, 158-159).
In the Odrysian state the king personally decided issues linked with foreign policy. The functions of lay ruler and priest were united in his hands (Zlatkovskaia 1967, 31-46), but his authority was not distinguished by strength or stability (Zlatkovskaia 1971, 230ff). The country was divided into districts, where paradynasts enjoyed almost absolute power (Thuc. 2. 97. 3; Xen. Anab. 7. 2. 32-34, 7. 26; in detail, see: Zlatkovskaia 1971, 69ff). The stable character of the tribal way of life should be noted in the Thrace of Roman times as well (Murynina 1951, 14).
Neither the available archaeological evidence, nor the historical sources, however, allow us to assign Pichvnari or northern Colchian sites such as Eshera and Gyenos to poleis or even polis-type settlements (Inadze 1975, 63). A significant role here must have been played by peculiar colonization practices of Athens proper, and by the existence of the local state. Although Colchian statehood did not enjoy such a sophisticated mechanism as that in Syria and Phoenicia, this factor still inhibited colonization activity. There are strong parallels between the process of the emergence and development of the state of the Thracian tribes and similar phenomena under way in Colchis. Statehood probably started in these countries before Greek civilization could have taken root; in addition, in both places the characteristic features of early class society remained for a longer period and more completely. It must be due to the existence of the Colchian and the Thracian states that, unlike the southern and especially the northern Black Sea areas, the political institutions of the Greek poleis were not formed there. On the other hand, proximity to the Greek world had a certain accelerating role in the economic and social development of Thrace as well as of Colchis (Inadze 1994, 42-43). In addition, the latter did not experience such profound effects of colonization as occurred among the upper strata of the Thracians. The phenomenon had parallels elsewhere at the time (e.g. on the eastern coast of Spain and Lycia), and we might call it an incomplete form of colonization. It should also be borne in mind that, in contrast to other regions of the Black Sea area, Colchis did not have the natural or human resources that might have attracted the special attention of the Greeks (Gamkrelidze 2001, 21). Its relative geographical remoteness is perhaps also relevant.
The districts with which Greek cities traded in an earlier period, after the consolidation of the Odrysian Kingdom (431-424 BC), united into a single region, which facilitated the relations with the local population (Blavatskaia 1952, 57). In such a situation the Hellenic poleis found themselves in need of the protection of a single royal power. This did not harm the political independence of the cities, for their autonomy was protected. Ultimately, such intensive interrelations caused the strong Hellenisation of the Thracian aristocracy (Blavatskaia 1952, 61). The first Georgian pre-state confederations, being under the influence of the Eastern civilizations, emerged even earlier in the late Bronze Age (Mamuladze et al., 2005, 271-272). The unified state of Colchis formed in the last quarter of the 6th century BC, which at first paid tribute to Persia, followed a different path. The main reason for this was precisely colonization. Relations with the Greeks introduced a number of progressive elements into ancient Colchian society. Numismatic evidence shows that the coinage of kolkhidki began; burial customs, pottery shapes, religious beliefs changed, and the local population engaged in intra-Black Sea trade, etc. (Lordkipanidze 1989, 220224; Vickers and Kakhidze 2004, 157-165, 205-209). Apparently, against the background of the foreign pressure, the Colchian state was also consolidated. Herodotus (4. 37), Pseudo-Scylax (Asia 81), Strabo (9. 2. 15-17), PseudoArrian (PPE, 55) name a single people from Dioscurias to Apsaros, namely the Colchians. There were other tribes as well, but this points to the unity of the Colchian Kingdom. The existence of royal power is clear from the accounts of Xenophon (Anab. 5. 6. 36) and Pliny (N. H. 33. 52). But, rather like the Odrysian example, the king was restricted by the power of the rulers of administrative units, the Skeptuchoi (Strabo 11. 2. 18). Archaeological evidence confirms the existence of social differentiation in Colchian society (Inadze 1982, 170; Lordkipanidze 1989, 225-227; Vickers and Kakhidze 2004, 165).
There were however other reasons, not simply geographical factors but also cultural. As noted above, in the very first stages of its creation, Georgian civilization was already influenced by the east, but it did not take on the social or political characteristics of Asian despotism. The same happened with regard to the Classical world when Georgian tribes appear to have greatly desired to maintain their native roots, and to have aspired towards preserving their own originality. From the point of view of today it is
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Prichernomor’ia v antichnuiu epokhu – Historical Problems of the Northern Black Sea Region in Antiquity], 195-204. Moscow. Brashinskii, I. B. 1965 — Баршинский, И. Б. О некоторих династических особенностях правления Спартакидов [O nekotorikh dinasticheskikh osobennostiakh pravleniia Spartakidov – Some characteristics of the dynastic rules of the Spartocids]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevnei istorii] I, 118-127. Danov, C. 1960. Social and economic development of the ancient Thracians in Homeric, Archaic and Classical times. In Études historiques à l’occasion du XI Congrès International des Sciences Historiques à Stockholme 1, 3-30. Göteborg. Danov, C. 1969 — Данов, С. Древна Тракия [Drevna Trakiia – Ancient Thrace]. Sophia. Fedoseev, N. F. 2003 — Федосеев, Н. Ф. Археологические свидетельства об афинской клерухии в Синопе [Arkheologicheskie svidetel’stva ob afinskoi kleruchii v Sinope – Archaeological evidence for Athenian klerouchia in Sinope]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevnei istorii] III, 132-140. Gamkrelidze, G. 2001. Kolkhologiuri narkvevebi [Colchiological Essays]. Tbilisi. Gaidukevich, V. F. 1955 — Гайдукевич, В. Ф. История античных городов Северного Причерноморья [Istoriia antichnykh gorodov Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – The ancient history of the northern Black Sea cities], in В. Ф. Гайдукевич, М. И. Максимовa [V. F. Gaidukevich and M. I. Maksimova] (eds), Античные городa Северного Причерноморья [Antichnye goroda Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Ancient Cities of the Northern Black Sea Region], 22-148. Moscow, Leningrad. Hind, J. G. 1976. The eagle-head coins of Sinope. Numismatic Chronicle 16, 1-6. Inadze, M. 1975. Atheni da aghmosavlet shavizghvispireti (dzv. ts. V s meore nakhevarshi) [Athens and the Eastern Black Sea region (second half of the 5th century BC)]. Matsne 1, 43-63. Inadze, M. 1982. Aghmosavleth shavizghvispiretis berdznuli kolonizatsia [Greek Colonization in the Eastern Black Sea]. Tbilisi. Inadze, M. 1994. Dzveli kolkhuri sazogadoeba [Ancient Colchian Society]. Tbilisi. Kakhidze, E. 1999. Samkhret-aghmosavlet shavizghvispiretis berdznuli kolonizatsiis tsanamdzghvrebisa da zogierti thaviseburebebis shesakheb [Greek colonization in the south-eastern Black Sea: antecedents and individual characteristics]. Kulturis istoriis sakithkhebi 6, 183-190. Kakhidze, E. 2002. Bizantia da samkhret-aghmosavlet shavizghvispireti konstantine didis mmartvelobidan justiniane I khanamde [Byzantium and the south-eastern Black Sea between the reigns of Constantine the Great and Justinian]. Dzveli istoria 2, 112-134. Kakhidze, E. 2004. The Christianization of Georgia. In Past, Present and Future. Abstracts of an International Inter-disciplinary Conference on the Black Sea Region, Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture
clear that while other peoples of the Black Sea area had rather intensive relations with the Classical world, only the Georgians appeared able to preserve their native language and original customs, the roots of which are to be found in the mists of time, long before Greek civilization came on the scene (Kakhidze 2007, 36-42). We cannot, however, say the same about the southeastern Black Sea littoral where tribes of Georgian origin also lived. Perhaps foreign influence made the local population less inclined to independent statehood. But in spite of these circumstances, this region was never integrated in the Classical world (Kakhidze 2002, 130-133). Thus, colonization did not have profound effects in Colchis, but the fact that the Georgian world found itself within the sphere of influence of Classical civilization is significant, and ultimately meant that country was among the peoples who adopted Christianity. In contrast with this situation, no single Greek colony or Roman fort was ever established on the north Caucasus littoral between Novorosiisk and Bichvinta/Pitsunda. This clearly had a serious influence on the historical development of the whole region (Kakhidze 1999, 187-190; Kakhidze 2005, 144-147). With respect to the eastern Black Sea area and the whole of Georgia the significance of Oriental influence should not be overlooked, for it played a balancing role. This was reflected later in the rivalry between Byzantium and Persia in the 5th -6th centuries AD, when Georgia primarily as a result of an internal decision remained within the Christian world, but the eastern ‘heritage’ also favoured certain distancing from the Byzantine Empire (Kakhidze 2004, 50-51). It is true that the East, from the Arabs onwards, ‘reminded itself’ so to speak of its former borderland, but the decision taken in the 6th century AD proved the final, civilizational choice. At the same time we should never forget that Georgian civilization did not become a major participant in the handing down of the traditions of the Classical world; rather, it managed to preserve its own originality with all its characteristic features – a more than adequate culture, and one far older than the Classical one. Bibliography Blavatskaia, T. V. 1952 — Блаватская, Т. В. Западнопонтийске города в VII-I веках до н. э. [Zapadnopontiiskie goroda v VII-I vekakh do n. e. – West Pontic Cities in the 7th-1st Centuries BC]. Moscow. Blavatskaia, T. V. 1959 — Блаватская, Т. В. К вопросу о боспоро-афинских отношениях во второй половине V века до н. э. [K voprosu o bosporo-afinskikh otnosheniiakh vo vtoroi polovine V v. do n. e. – On Bosporan-Athenian relations in the second half of the 5th century BC]. In А. П. Смирноф [A. P. Smirnov] (ed.), Проблемы истории Северного Причерноморья в античную эпоху [Problemy istorii Severnogo
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Murynina, N. F. 1951 — Мурынина, Н. Ф. Фракия и Рим. Борьба фракийских племeн против римской агрессии во II-I вв до н. э. I в. начале I в н. э. [Frakiia i Rim. Bor’ba frakiiskikh plemen protiv rimskoi agressii vo II-I vv. do n. e. i v nachale I v. n. e. – Thrace and Rome. The Struggle of Thracian Tribes against Roman Aggression in the 2nd-1st Centuries BC to the Early 1st Century AD]. Abstract of Candidate thesis. Moscow. Vickers, M. and Kakhidze, A. 2004. Pichvnari 1: Results of Excavations Conducted by the Joint British-Georgian Pichvnari Expedition 1998-2002. Greeks and Colchians on the East Coast of the Black Sea. Oxford. Zhebelev, S. A. 1953 — Жебелев, С. А. Северное Причерноморье. Исследования и статьи по истории Северного причерноморья античной эпохи [Severnoe Prichernomor’ie. Issledovaniia i stat’i po istorii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia antichnoi epokhi – The Northern Black Sea Region. Studies and Articles on the History of Antiquity in the Northern Black Sea Region]. Moscow, Leningrad. Zlatkovskaia, T. D. 1967 — Златковская, Т. Д. О происхождении некоторых элементов кукерского обряда у болгар [O proiskhozhdenii nekotorikh elementov kukerskogo obriada u bolgar – On the origin of some elements of the kukeri rite of the Bulgarians]. Советская этнография [Sovetskaia etnographia] 3, 31-46. Zlatkovskaia, T. D. 1968 — Златковская, Т. Д. Ранные монеты южнофракийских племен. К вопросу о происхождениу культа Диониса [Rannye monety iuzhnofrakiiskikh plemen. K voprosu o proiskhozhdeniiu kulta Dionisa – Early coins of south Thracian tribes. On the origin of the cult of Dionysos]. Нумизматика и эпиграфика [Numizmatika i epigrafika] 7, 3-22. Zlatkovskaia, T. D. 1971 — Златковская, Т. Д. Возникновение государства у фракийцев. [Vozniknovenie gosudarstva u frakiitsev – The Origin of the Thracian State]. Moscow.
and British Academy Black Sea Initiative. 50-51. Istanbul. Kakhidze, E. 2005. Shavizghvispiretis berdznuli kolonizatsiis shedegebi [Results of the Greek colonization of the Black Sea]. Batumis shota rustavelis sakhelobis sakhelmtsifo universitetis shromebi [Transactions of the Shota Rustaveli State University, Batumi] 8, 141-149. Kakhidze, E. 2007. Qartul-berdznuli urtiertobebis adreuli etapi [Early stages of Colchian-Greek relations]. Samkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos istoriis sakitkhebi [Problems of the History of South-East Georgia] 2, 3646. Kallistov, D. P. 1949 — Каллистов, Д. П. Очерки истории Северного Причерноморья античной эпохи [Ocherki istorii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia antichnoi epochi – Essays on the history of antiquity in the Northern Black Sea Region]. Leningrad. Kallistov, D. P. 1950 — Каллистов, Д. П. Измена Гилона [Izmena Gilona – The treason of Gelon]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevnei istorii] I, 27-36. Kolobova, K. M. 1953 — Колобова, К. М. Политическое положение городов в Боспорском государстве [Politicheskoe polozhenie gorodov v Bosporskom gosudarstve – The political position of cities in the Bosporan Kingdom]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevnei istorii] IV, 47-71. Lordkipanidze, O. D. 1989 — Лордкипанидзе, О. Д. Наследие древней Грузии [Nasledie drevnei Gruzii – Legacy of Ancient Georgia]. Tbilisi. Maksimova, M. I. 1956 — Максимовa, М. И. Античные города Юго-Восточного Причерноморья [Antichnye goroda Iugo-Vostochnogo Prichernomor’ia – The Ancient Cities of the South-Eastern Black Sea Area]. Moscow, Leningrad. Mamuladze, S., Khalbashi, M. and Kakhidze, E. 2005. Apsarus in the first half of the 1st millennium BC, in D. Kacharava, M. Faudot and É. Geny (eds), Pont Euxin et Polis: Polis Hellenis et Polis Barbaron. Actes du Xe Symposium de Vani, 23-26 septembre, 2002, 271-276. Paris.
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Chapter 23 Daily Life in Ancient Koshary: Some Comments. Part 2
Marta Kania
c/o Institute of Archaeology Jagiellonian University Kraków, Poland [email protected] Abstract: This article, based on research carried out between 1998 to 2007 by the Polish part of the Koshary (Ukraine) archaeological expedition, presents the role of crafts in the daily life in ancient Koshary. While agriculture, fishing and animal husbandry (described in the Part 1 of my research, Kania 2008) were connected with trade and exchange, craftsmen satisfied local needs and produced the most necessary items used on a daily basis. Inhabitants of the settlement in Koshary produced small objects that did not require complicated production techniques and professional tools. The craftsmanship: home pottery production, jewellery made of shell and stone, as well as bone and horn processing are present on a small scale. Many loom-weights and spindle whorls found in waste pits and houses indicate that among the common daily activities of the inhabitants spinning and weaving were widespread. Keywords: ancient handicraft, weaving, Greek colony, archaeological excavations
hand-made lamps found on the site were not produced by local craftsmen. Unfortunately, there are usually only fragments, sometimes bearing traces of fierce fire. In similar fashion, we can assume the some kinds of jewellery were locally made. They could be made of simple and easily available materials: bones, mollusc shells or even small stones. In particular, pendants made of mollusc shells were a very popular kind of local handicraft (19 finds); in addition three pendants made of polished stone and three of bone were found. These ornaments made of stones and shells had not been decorated (Figure 1).
The present article was prepared on the basis of the research carried out from 1998 to 2007 by the Polish part of expedition team working in the site in Koshary, Ukraine (Trench IV, VII and VIII, see Papuci-Władyka (ed.) 19982007; for excavation in generally see Papuci-Władyka and Redina in this volume). In the previous part of my research on daily life in Koshary, I discussed economic basis and organization in the settlement (Kania 2008). We know that the main occupation of the inhabitants was land cultivation and animal husbandry, mainly cattle breeding. Many fishing net weights as well as mollusc shell and fishbone dumps constitute the evidence that inhabitants were engaged in fishing as well. Remains of wild animal bones indicate that hunting satisfied dietary requirements and demand for hide. In Part 2, I present some comments on artifacts that show that the inhabitants of the ancient settlement in Koshary were also engaged in handicraft.
Among the common daily activities of the inhabitants of the Greek settlements on the Black Sea coast, spinning and weaving were widespread (Gansiniec 1975; Schoeser 2003). The yarn was spun into thread using a spindle and a distaff. These are the tools that had been in use from the earliest times and their form had not noticeably changed for centuries. The spindles and spinners were made mainly by the local craftsmen who used easily available materials, such as wood, bones and potsherds (Koshelenko et al., 1984, 173, Tab. LXI, 7-12, 14-17; Peters 1986, 57-60). Artefacts made of precious materials, such as for example ivory, glass or silver were imported from the metropoleis (e.g. from Olbia) or even from Greece. Since the items used for textile production were mainly made from organic materials, they have rarely survived. We can learn much about methods of spinning, weaving and the decoration of prepared materials, all elements of women’s work elements, from scenes on Greek painted vases of the 6th and 5th centuries BC (a beautiful example is the well-known red-figure vases of the so-called Penelope Painter from Chiusi, dated to c. 440 BC, decorated with a vertical loom with loom-weights). Painted
It is believed, that the fragments of black-gloss wheel-made lamps, as well as coloured beads made of glass paste, bronze earrings, pendants and bracelets, the pieces of which were found in excavations in Trenches IV, VII and VIII, were not made locally. These artefacts, in addition to gold jewellery and high quality imported vessels, constituting elements of grave goods in the wealthy necropolis graves, were imported from Greek centres (mainly Athens) and probably also from Olbia or other Pontic colonies as luxury goods. Nevertheless, it is certain that the inhabitants of the settlement in Koshary produced small objects that did not require complicated production techniques and professional tools. There is no reason to assume for example that the
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images attest that at different periods of time, in different parts of the Greek world, the same type of workshop and the same tools were used. In the many lands subject in antiquity to Greek cultural influence these, we might say, universal items were in use without significant modifications until the late Middle Ages. There are no reasons to assume that in Koshary any other loom than the vertical loom with weights was used, as well as wooden or bone shuttles and needles, although these items have not been found in the recovered material. The high number of spindle whorls and weights for weighting the warp indicates that, as in many Greek settlements in the Black Sea area, the inhabitants of the Koshary settlement produced textiles, although probably for personal use only. Bone and horn prickers, awls and needles used for spinning, sewing and weaving constitute the most poorly represented category in the material from the settlement at Koshary, but the finds from many Greek sites on the Black Sea coast, dating to the period from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, including Nikonion, Olbia, Tyras, Tanais, Chersonesos, Pantikapaion and others, attest that these kinds of tool were in use (Peters 1986, 171-174, Tab. XII, 1-22). Since they were made of organic materials, hence with a low capacity for survival, easily destroyed in the material mixed with waste in pits, these objects are badly preserved, and items as tiny as needles are scarcely represented in the archaeological record. It should be also taken into account that their owner might have taken away such items, the necessary tools of every woman, when the settlement was abandoned. In addition, attempts to identify the function of the surviving items poses difficulties: a surviving fragment of a bone object could be part of an awl or a pricker, or perhaps of a bone pin. Preliminary analysis of the bone objects allowed the identification of only three pieces of prickers, and four of awls or needles (Figure 2).
Figure 1. Simple jewellery made of shell and bone, Trench IV, excavated in 1998-2002
Figure 2. Pricker and two needles made of bone, Trench VIII, excavated in 2006 and 2007
The spindle whorls known from Koshary are mostly made of fired-clay and are wheel-made as well as handmade. They were made from clays of different colour and quality (grey and terracotta spindle whorls were found, some bearing traces of burning). All of 24 artefacts found in Trenches IV, VII, VIII identified as clay spindle whorls, and three spindle whorls made of stone, have a perforation drilled vertically through the exact centre. They have many forms: globular, or with a sharply carination, and some are bell-shaped (Figure 3). The wheel-made spindle whorls are made very carefully, but usually those found in the material from settlement have no decoration or trace of ornamentation. Only in two cases were traces of decoration in the form of engraved lines (vertical strokes or circles) to be seen. Thanks to the loom-weights, the vertical loom is the only type of weaving implement indicated by the archaeological finds. The ends of the warp on the vertical loom were tied into knots and weighted with loom-weights of clay, stone or potsherds (Figure 4). The latter, made mainly from the sherds of amphora walls, is relatively often found. They
Figure 3. Clay spindle whorls from different trenches, excavated in 1998-2006
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fired-clay or pottery sherds – fragments of the wheel-thrown vessels, a bottom or a rim (Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006, 370, Fig. 43). As far, no remnants of workshops (pottery, metallurgic or weaving) have been discovered yet, but such a situation is not exceptional in comparison with the other sites in the northern Black Sea area. The separate place for metal items production has not been discovered for example in Nikonion, although the remnants of slag and a few moulds used for small jewellery and application production were found in the material from the settlements (Sekerskaia 1989, 64). It is known that the metallurgical workshops were often set up outside the settlements for the sake of security and health of the inhabitants, who might have been exposed to dangerous substances. In Olbia for example, the rooms with kilns designed for roofing tiles, big vessels, as well as fishing net-weights and spindle whorls baking were constructed outside the city limits (Bławatskij 1959/1960, 14-15). Therefore, it is possible that in the future the excavations in Koshary will allow to identify the place where metal or fired-clay artefacts of daily use were produced. Some kind of argument for this could be a find in one of the rooms explored by the Ukrainian expedition, where the lumps of substances left after metal casting, mould for loom weights and a small mould used to produce application in the form of a wild boar head were found. This exceptional object is a ‘logo’ of Koshary site and Koshary Project and is exhibited in the Archaeological Museum in Odessa (Redina and Chochorowski 2001, 144).
Figure 4. Conical loom weights for weighting warp made of pottery sherds and u-shaped loom-weight made of stone, Trench IV, excavated in 1999 and 2000
were made in characteristic, trapezoidal or cone-shaped form with the perforation in the narrower part. Some weights made of polished stone were also found. Most of them are weights of u-shaped or triangular shape. The stone loom-weights are smaller and lighter than the weights identified as fishing net weights; additionally net weights have the surface characteristically polished by water. The loom-weights discovered in the settlement in Koshary bear no traces of decoration; there are no signatures or signs that sometimes are found on the relics from the other sites in the northern part of the Black Sea area. Loom weights or their fragments are usually discovered in the waste pits and inside homesteads. The large heap of clay weights was found inside the cellar explored in the Trench IV during the season 2001 (Object 1, House No. 2, Trench IV; for description of the object and its function see: PapuciWładyka et al., 2006, 360-61, Figs 6-8). So far, in the material from Trenches IV, VII and VIII 14 loom-weights made of fired-clay have been found, as well as four relics made of a sherd of amphora belly and seven relics identified as loom weights made of polished stone.
To sum up both part of my researches on economic and handicraft organization of daily life in Koshary site we can accept that the main occupation of its inhabitants was land cultivation and animal husbandry, mainly cattle breeding. Fishing also played an important role in the economy. The craftsmanship – metalwork, weaving, home pottery production as well as bone and horn processing were also present on a small scale. While agriculture, fishing and animal husbandry were connected with trade and exchange, craftsmen satisfied local needs and produced the most necessary items used on a daily basis. Bibliography Bławatskij, W. D. 1959/1960. Badania antycznych zabytków na północnych wybrzeżach Morza Czarnego w ostatnim czterdziestoleciu [Research on the antiquities of the northern Black Sea coast during the last forty years]. Archeologia 11, 13-35. Gansiniec, Z. 1975. Włókiennictwo [Textile Industry]. In K. Majewski (ed.), Historia kultury materialnej starożytnej Grecji. Zarys [An Outline History of the Material Culture of Ancient Greece] 1, 397-493, Wrocław. Kania, M. 2008. Daily life in ancient Koshary: some comments (Part 1). In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие
Loom-weights, spindle whorls or small fragments of bone tools are usually discovered in the waste pits, next to pottery sherds, and sometimes inside homes. It is worth to mention that tools for spinning are also the elements of funerary equipments in the graves in the Koshary necropolis. The items offered to the dead had to serve them in the afterlife (pottery for eating and drinking, drinks and food); therefore no wonder that goods for everyday use were also put inside the graves. In women and children graves the most often discovered relics of this kind are spindle whorls made of 181
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исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11), 63-73, Pls 11-13. Kraków. Koshelenko, G. A, Kruglikova, I. T. and Dolgorukov V. S. (eds) 1984 — Кощеленко, Г. А., Кругликова, И. T., Долгоруков, В. С. Античные государствa Северного Причерноморья [Antichnye gosudarstva Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Ancient States of Northern Black Sea Area]. (Aрхеология СССР [Arkheologiia SSSR – Archaeology of the USSR] 9). Moscow. Papuci-Władyka, E., Redina, F. E., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2006. Greek settlement on the Northern Black Sea coast. Polish-Ukrainian excavations in Koshary (Odessa province): Third preliminary report – Seasons 2000-2003, in W. Blajer and J. Poleski (eds), Recherches archéologiques de 1999-2003, 354-374. Kraków.
Papuci-Władyka, E. (ed.) 1998-2007. Koшары. Отчeт [Koshary. Otchet – Koshary. Unpublished excavation Annual Reports]. Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology, Kraków and Archaeological Museum NANU, Odessa. Peters, B. G. 1986 — Петерс, Б. Г. Косторезное дело в античных государствах Северного Причерноморья [Kostoreznoe delo v antichnykh gosudarstvakh Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – The Bone Industry in Ancient States on the Northern Black Sea Area]. Moscow. Redina, E. F. and Chochorowski, J. 2001 — Редина, E. Ф. and Chochorowski J. Kошapы [Koshary]. In T. L. Samoilova (ed.), Ancient Greek Sites on the Northwest Coast of the Black Sea, 139-154. Kiev. Schoeser, M. 2003. World Textiles. A Concise History. London. Sekerskaia, N. M. 1989 — Секерскaя, Н. М. Античный Никоний и его округа в VI – IV вв. до н. e. [Antichnyi Nikonii i ego okruga v VI-IV vv. do n. e. – Ancient Nikonion and its Environs in the 6th-4th centuries BC]. Kiev.
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Chapter 24 Tschatyrdag, an Unknown Roman Sentry Post on the Southern Crimean Coast?
Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski Warsaw University Institute of Archaeology Warsaw, Poland [email protected]
With contributions by V. Mys and A. Lysenko
(Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) Abstract: Since 1997, researchers from the Institute of Archaeology, Warsaw University have been finding traces of Roman military presence in Crimea. Excavations have helped to discover several structures connected with the presence of Roman troops on the north coast of the Black Sea. The first Roman military installation to be discovered and excavated in the Crimea was the ruins of a fort on the Ai-Todor cape (ancient Charax). In the neighborhood of the fort, a barbarian burial ground was found which revealed a burying tradition atypical of the Crimea: cremation in common, the deposition of ashes in amphorae and equipping graves with iron tools and pieces of weaponry. Such a burial site is practically unique in the Crimea. The most similar typologically, and that has been excavated and described in print is the necropolis at Tschatyrdag. It is important to establish whether people from the barbarian garrison were buried near a fort which had been built by Roman soldiers. An initial survey of Tschatyrdag in the spring of 2008 produced several sections of stone embankments and many single well dressed stone blocks. In the course of fieldwork in the summer of 2008, the best preserved part of the defensive wall with the straight line of the wall face was found. Research so far suggests that the fortification was built in first centuries of AD. Further excavations may produce more information. Keywords: Ai-Todor , Crimea, Charax, Defensive walls, Limes, Limes Tauricus, Roman army, Roman fortifications, Tschatyrdag (Chatyrdag)
The ruin of a fort on the Ai-Todor cape (ancient Charax) was the first Roman military installation in Crimea (Figures 1 and 2) to be discovered and excavated (Rostovtzev 1900; Rostowcew1902). A double enclosure wall made of irregular and mostly huge stone blocks was uncovered on the site. It was built on an irregular plan and the stones were laid without mortar (Novichenkov and Novichenkova 2002). The stone blocks on the face were hewn in order to obtain more or less even surface. Near the fort, just outside the walls, a barbarian burial ground
Figure 2. South-West Crimea - map (P. Zakrzewski)
was found which revealed burying tradition untypical of Crimea: cremation in common, the deposition of ashes in amphorae and equipping graves with iron tools and pieces of weaponry (Blavatskii 1951; Orlov 1987). Such a burial
Figure 1. Black Sea. North Coastline - map (P. Zakrzewski)
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Figure 3. Tschatyrdag - contour map of the site with overlapping preserved sections of stone embankments. Point 1 - point of exposition face of the wall. Point 2 - the presumed highest point where fortification was located (P. Zakrzewski)
site is practically unique in the Crimea. The most similar typologically, and that has been excavated and described in print is the necropolis at Tschatyrdag (Mys et al., 2006).
case, then the presence of a necropolis similar to the one on the Ai-Todor cape in a place where no traces of a Roman military fort are known should encourage a search for such fortifications. Therefore, a research was initiated near the only burial ground whose resemblance to the necropolis on Cape Ai-Todor is unquestionable. The initial survey on Tschatyrdag site took place in March and at the end of August and the beginning of September 2008. No extensive excavation work was done. The research comprised surface survey, laser tachometer measurements, aerial photography
It is important to establish whether the proximity of the burial site to the fort on the Ai-Todor cape is purely coincidental. According to some publications, people of the barbarian garrison which was brought in the 3rd century AD after the Roman troops had been evacuated were buried there (Zubar’ 1998, 148-150). If this was the 184
Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski: Tschatyrdag
from a paraplane and a kite (spring 2008) and clearing the discovered relics of grass and leaves and photographing them (summer 2008). The research helped to find several sections of stone embankments near the burial ground. These structures do not form a self-contained whole. They differ in height and width, as well as in the size of stone blocks visible on their surface. These differences led to distinguishing three types of stone embankments: Type 1. The most massive stone embankments made of massive stone blocks, some of which bear the signs of hewing. They are characterised by massive stone blocks on the face and angular gravel in the core. Figure 4. One of the biggest stone blocks visible on surface (M. Bogacki)
Type 2. Less visible embankments made almost entirely of medium sized blocks. They required much less building material than the embankments of the first type. Type 3. Clearly visible embankments, yet less massive than those of the Type 1. They are built of large stone blocks, fine crushed stone and soil. The embankments of this kind run along the local asphalt road. This diversity of embankments may be interpreted as follows: Type 3 embankments came into existence in the second half of the 20th century, when the ground was being levelled for the asphalt road, while Type 2 embankments are probably present-day field boundaries. Both their size and the material employed indicate that it did not cost much effort to build them, which is not at all true of Type 1 embankments. Regardless of their date, it must have taken a huge effort to build them, including the organisation of the work and the coordination of people.
Figure 5. Fragment of preserved wall - aerial view (M. Bogacki)
The extraordinary distribution of the building material in the embankment, i.e. the facing of huge stone blocks and the core of rock aggregate, may suggest that this stone structure was destroyed. The total destruction of a stone embankment laid without mortar might have been due to a large earthquake. Big earthquakes occur in this part of Crimea. In one of them a village was completely destroyed when the local Demerdzi mountain fell apart leaving a vast rock debris field on its slope. Assuming a similar situation on Tschatyrdag, the wall was built of huge stone blocks for the face and angular gravel mixed with soil for the core. Due to a large seismic shock the wall faces could have fallen outwards and inwards, the core of the wall got loose and marked the original alignment of the wall.
One difficulty in the study of the supposed defensive wall is the predominance of stones with no traces of working. Only some of the blocks have one or two faces dressed. The stones were probably hewn only when it was necessary to make the face of the wall even. Single well dressed stones scattered round the preserved structure, however, support the idea that the embankments are the remains of a defensive wall (Figure 7). These blocks are big and one of them was even prepared to be part of an obtuse angle construction (Figure 4). In the course of new fieldwork season in summer 2008, the best preserved part of the defensive wall was distinguished (see Figure 3 Point 1). Turf, weeds, and accumulated leaves from nearby trees were removed in the designated area. After clearance the straight line of the wall face was evident (Figure 6). In some places only one row of massive stones remained. However, in one stretch of the structure a second and third layer of stones was preserved. The embankment was very massive there. A more detailed analysis helped to determine a probable line of the other face of the wall
So far three stretches of the embankments have been classified as belonging to Type 1. Because of their location they may have been fragments of the original enclosure wall. In all three cases they were found in places easy to defend, as the potential enemy would have to attack up the slope (Figures 3 and 5). Most of the embankments of Types 2 and 3 lack this important feature.
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and to estimate the original thickness of the curtain wall to be 3.5m. The dating of Type 1 embankments is problematic. Since no excavations of these relics have been undertaken, it is impossible to solve this problem. So far it has been established that: 1. The building material and its use in places where the wall face is preserved resemble the building technique of the walls on the Ai-Todor cape. 2. The presumed highest point of the fortification is located on Tschatyrdag burial site which is of the Ai-Todor type (see Figure 3 Point 2). When the stratigraphical relationship is taken into account, the unpreserved or unbuilt section of the wall must have been anterior to the burial ground which was in use in the 3rd-4th centuries AD. If this was the case then the wall may have been contemporary with the defences on Cape Ai-Todor .
Figure 6. Exposed face of the wall (R. KarasiewiczSzczypiorski)
Neither the movable finds collected during the surface survey and the embankment clearing, nor the reports on chance discoveries made by local people helped to establish the chronology. An antoninianus of Philip the Arab (information from A. Lysenko) and fragments of Bosporan amphorae dating from the 2nd-3rd centuries AD (Zeest 1960, 76 type, identified by V. Nessel) may come from the last phase of Roman military presence on the southern Crimean coast. This date corresponds to the presumed time of the evacuation of Roman troops from Charax. However, the same artefacts could have been part of the equipment of early graves similar to those on Cape Ai-Todor and connected with the alleged presence of a barbarian garrison. We should also mention a few pieces of hand-made ceramics discovered during the clearing of the conjectural wall. These fragments are small and unusual. They have been various described as ‘not from the Middle Ages’ (V. Mys) or ‘late antique’ (O. Savelia). We should, however, bear in mind that they were found on the surface near a pile of rubble which may indicate that they had moved down the slope from higher up in the site.
Figure 7. Dressed stone blocks on the site (M. Bogacki)
period of time, did not include any buildings nor did it accumulate rubbish such as ceramics. The Roman sentry post on Kavkaz Bair could also have been left unfinished. During the fieldwork very little stone material from the enclosure wall was found. There were also no Roman roof tiles which should have remained after the tower roof had collapsed (unpublished information). Remains of a tiled roof were discovered on Kazatskaya Hill (Sarnowski et al., 2004; Sarnowski et al., 2009). Clearly, the material could have been used at some later time in other buildings, but we might expect some traces of materials such as tile fragments to be present in situ. Their complete absence may indicate that either the post was not completed or it was built in haste from the materials available at that time, such as clay and timber. A parallel situation may apply at the Tschatyrdag site, since the enclosure wall there was either left unfinished or the gaps in the fortification were filled with impermanent materials. Further construction of the walls without the use of stones may have been the work
The research done so far leads to the following conclusions: 1. Type 1 embankments seem to be the remains of a defensive wall. 2. The fortifications most probably were not completed. The fact that only stretches of the presumed enclosure wall were found, as well as the presence of scattered dressed stones at a certain distance from the preserved embankments, argue for the second conclusion. The material may have been abandoned on its way to the building site. The hypothesis of an unfinished investment would account for the small number of movable artefacts accompanying the supposed fortifications. The fort, which had not been inhabited or had only been used for a short
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Крыма [Materialy k etnicheskoi istorii Kryma – Materials for the Ethnic History of the Crimea], 106125. Kiev. Rostovtsev, M. I. 1900 — Ростовцев, М. И. Римске гарнизоны на Таврическом полуострове и Ай-Тодорския крепост [Rimskie garnizony na Tavricheskom poluostrove i Ai-Todorskiia krepost – Roman garrisons on the Tauric peninsula and on the fortress of Ai-Todor]. Журнал Министерства Народного Просвещениа [Zhurnal Ministerstva Narodnogo Prosveshchenia] 308, March, 140-158. Rostowcew, M. I. 1902. Römische Besatzungen in der Krim und das Kastell Charax. Klio 2, 80-95. Sarnowski, T., Savelja, O. and Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski, R. 2004. Extra fines Imperii. Rzymski posterunek wojskowy w okolicach Sewastopola na Krymie [A Roman military outpost in the area of Sevastopol in the Crimea]. Światowit 4 [45]/A [2002], 167-172. Sarnowski, T., Savelja, O. J. and Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski, R. 2009. Roman military sentry posts in the border zone of Crimean Chersonesos. Archeologia 57 [2007], 57-67, Pls. V-IX. Zeest, I. B. — Зеест, И. Б. 1960 — Керамическая тара Боспора – Keramicheskaia tara Bospora – Ceramic containers of Bosporos], (Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 83). Moscow. Zubar’, V. M. 1998 — Зубаръ, В. М. Северный Понт и Римская Империя (середина I в. до н. э. – первая половина IV в.) [Severnyi Pont i Rimskaia Imperiia (seredina I v. do n. e. – pervaia polovina IV v.) – Northern Pontos and the Roman Empire (Middle of the 1st Century BC - First Half of the 4th Century AD)]. Kiev.
of the barbarians whose cremation burial site was found nearby. It must be stressed that even when all the data in taken into account, it is not absolutely certain that at the Tschatyrdag site the cremation burial ground was adjacent to an older Roman sentry post as at Cape Ai-Todor . The remains of the conjectural enclosure wall provide a new argument in favour of a Roman military presence on the southern Crimean coast. Further excavations may bring clinching arguments to this still unsettled issue. Bibliography Blavatskii, V. L. 1951 — Блавацкий В. Л., Харакс [Kharaks]. In Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials for Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 19, 250-291. Moscow. Mys, V. L. et al. 2006 — Мыс, В. Л. Чатыр-даг, некрополь римской эпохи в Крыму [Chatyr-dag,nekropol’ rimskoi epokhi v Krymu – Chatyr-dag, a Necropolis of Roman Times in the Crimea]. St Petersburg. Novichenkov, V. I. and Novichenkova, N. G. 2002 — Новиченков, В. И., Новиченкова Н. Г. О нижней оборонительной стене римской крепости Харакс [O nizhnei oboronitel’noi stene rimskoi kreposti Kharaks – The lower defensive wall of the Roman fortress Charax]. In Материалы по археологии, истории и этнографии Таврии [Materialy po arkheologii, istorii i etnografii Tavrii – Materials for the Archaeology, History and Ethnography of Tavria] 9, 27-35. Orlov, K. K. 1987 — Орлов, К. К. Ай-Тодорскии некрополь [Ai-Todorskii nekropol’ – Ai-Todor necropolis]. In Материалы к этнической истории
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Chapter 25
Flat-graves Necropolis of Artyushchenko II in the South of the Taman Peninsula
Sergey V. Kashaev
Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of the History of Material Culture St. Petersburg, Russia [email protected] Abstract: The rural settlement of the Classical period Artyushchenko II is situated 15km south-east of the village of Taman on the shore of the Black Sea. During 2003-8, an area of c. 2000m2 was excavated at its necropolis. Here 66 burials with various grave goods: weapons, personal adornments and pottery have been unearthed. Diverse ceramic wares were found in the burials: bowls, pitchers, amphorae, Attic black-glazed ware and handmade pottery. The majority of the graves are dated to the 5th century BC. During excavations of the Artyushchenko II necropolis certain elements of the burial rite have been distinguished: funerary structures, grave goods and the position of the interred, ritual deposits, structures above the grave, and cenotaphs. Excavations of the Artyushchenko II necropolis have yielded archaeological materials which will be helpful in the solution of principal problems connected with the Greek colonization of the Asiatic Bosporos, particularly that of contacts between Greeks and the local population. Finds from the necropolis under consideration introduce fresh evidence to archaeological science, and show a mutual permeability and merging of the Greek and barbarian cultures in the Bosporos, each represented by its distinctive assemblage of finds. Keywords: Artyushchenko II, Greek and Roman period, flat-grave necropolis, burials, Greek pottery, weapons, adornments
The rural settlement of Classical period Artyushchenko II is situated on the shore of the Black Sea 15km southeast of the village of Taman, or the ancient Hermonassa (Temryuk district, Krasnodar Krai). Excavations of the settlement have been conducted since 1998 (Rogov 1999, 210), and in 2002 its flat-grave necropolis was revealed south of the settlement. In the next season the Taman Team of the Bosporan Expedition, Institute of the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences, started its excavation (Kashaev 2005, 63).
finds suggest that it was part of a necropolis of the Classical period that had been disturbed by the abrasion. In 2003-8 an area slightly less than 2000m2 extending from west to east along the steep shore was excavated at the necropolis. From the south, the necropolis is bounded by the precipice. An important achievement of the excavations of 2006 was the discovery of the western boundary of the cemetery. This boundary is constituted by a line of burials and mud-brick tombs extending from north to south. The definition of the northern and western limits will allow us in future to judge the dimensions of the preserved burial ground.
It is fairly difficult to detect sites of this type from the surface. Most often they are found during construction and excavation or where natural disturbances take place as in our case. After the rainy winter of 2001/2002 a considerable area of the Black Sea shore collapsed. The presence of fresh taluses and disturbed layers enabled us to carry out a careful investigation of the shore precipices and slopes near the settlement of Artyushchenko II. During the season of 2002, two fragmentary human skeletons were found among collapsed soil deposits beyond the eastern boundary of the settlement. These skeletons originated from burials completely destroyed by the abrasion of the shore (Vinogradov and Kashaev 2003, 234-235). Separate bones were collected from the surface of the collapsed heap but no remains of any burial structures were preserved. These
At present, the distance between the most remote burials (viz. from Burial No. 26 in the west to Burial No. 14 in the east) is about 200m. This fact suggests that the necropolis is fairly large and extensive from west to east. It has been investigated for a length of about 25m to the north-east. If the numbers specified are taken for the minimal dimensions then the area of the cemetery amounts to at least 0.5ha. Over the period specified, 66 burials with various grave goods have been found throughout the excavated area and in the collapsed heaps of the sea shore: weapons, adornments and pottery. The assemblage of the ceramic
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Total of the registered burials Disturbed burials Excavated burials
Amount of burials
% of all registered
numbers of graves
Amount of skeletons
66
100
1-66
75
6
9,09
1,2,4,5,8,36
6
60
90,91
3,6,7,9-35,37-66
69
3,6,15,16,17,23,26,29,31, 18 Female, individual 18 27,27 33,45,47,50,51,57,58,59,66 7,9,11,13,14,19,22,34, 15 Male, individual 15 22,73 40,48,49,62,63,64,65 Children, individual 8 12,12 12,20,39,41,46,53,54,55 8 10,21,24,25,27,28, 28 Collective burials 13 19,70 32,37,42,43,44,52,61 Cenotaphs 6 9,01 18,30,35,38,56,60 0 Male burials with weapons, total Individual burials with weapons Paired burials with weapons
7,10,13,14,21,24,25,32,34, 24 17 25,76 40,43,49,52,62,63,64,65 10
15,15
7,13,14,34,40,49,62,63,64,65
10
7
10,61
10,21,24,25,32,43,52
14
Figure 1. Statistic data on the investigated burials
ware unearthed from the graves is extremely diverse, from bowls and pitchers to amphorae, Attic black-glazed ware and handmade pottery. The majority of the burials revealed date to the 5th century BC, while the whole chronological frame of the area excavated may be defined as the late 6th to the early 4th century BC. Some of the burials devoid of grave offerings may be attributed to a later period but their precise dating is unclear. The table in Figure 1 shows the summarised data on the burials, the sex of the deceased and the number of the skeletons. The male burials with weapons are analysed more minutely.
grave containing the remains of two deceased there were both an oinochoe and an amphora (Burial No. 32). The drinking vessels are black-glazed cups: various forms of kylikes and skyphoi that are imports of Attic or Asia Minor production. Noteworthy is a series of stemmed kylikes (Figure 2) which possibly date to 480-460 BC (Sparkes and Talcott 1970, Nos 413, 437, and 442). Our finds are closely paralleled by kylikes found in the Lower Dniester region (Okhotnikov 2008, Fig. 19,2). Plain red-ware bowls, similar to the oinochoai, are found in many graves. They are mostly of local Bosporan manufacture, but there are some examples that are presumably imported. These are distinguished by their high quality, the composition of the clay paste and ornamentation.
During the excavations at the Artyushchenko II necropolis and in the course of analysis of the finds it proved to be possible to determine and systematise certain elements of the burial rite, six of which are the most frequently repeated. These are funerary structures, grave goods and the position of the interred, ritual deposits, structures above the graves, and cenotaphs. Almost all of the elements enumerated are represented by several variants.
Black-glazed saltcellars found in the graves are mostly high-quality vessels of Attic manufacture (Burials Nos 25 and 32) but in two cases the saltcellars were fashioned from parts of other vessels (jug and kylix). In addition, a few plates of small diameter have been recovered (10-12cm). These included both glazed (Burial No. 28) and unglazed examples (Burial No. 21).
Of considerable interest are the objects found among funerary offerings. The entire assemblage of ceramics from the burial may be divided into a number of subgroups. The majority of the graves contained the ‘basic set’ of pottery composed of three objects: a vessel for wine, a drinking cup and a bowl. Oinochoai were the most frequent vessels for wine (Burials Nos 6, 10, 13, 27, 28, 32, 37, 43, and 44). It is these vessels that are the most common finds represented by diverse forms and sizes. Jugs (Burial No. 16) or amphorae (Burials Nos 3, 24, 40, 45, and 47) also were sometimes used as vessels for wine. In a relatively ‘rich’
The toilet vessels comprised lekythoi of three types: cylindrical, aryballos-shaped and examples with a globular body. A number of painted cylindrical lekythoi (Figure 3), similar to the kylikes, date to the late first to the early second quarter of the 5th century BC; one example (Figure 2:5) is interesting for its painted scene. Judging by available parallels it represents a wedding procession (Gorbunova 190
Sergey V. Kashaev: Flat-graves Necropolis of Artyushchenko II
subgroup. The unusual vessels include the kalpis (Burials Nos 18 and 39), a hydriskos (Burial No. 17), a guttus (Burial No. 39) and an askos (Burial No. 52). In many burials were found various weapons: swords, spears, arrows and knives. All weapons are made of iron, only arrowheads were manufactured both of iron and bronze. The swords found in the burials all are different kinds of akinakes; they were usually worn at the hip. The spearheads most often are found to the right of the skull (Burials Nos 7, 13, 24, 34, and 40), and spear-butts are near the sole of the right foot, thus correlating with the position of the spearhead. Arrowheads have been registered in different areas of the burials: at the feet, head etc. Only in one case (Burial No. 24), has it proved possible to register the original arrangement of the arrowheads: a sword and five arrows were neatly placed along the southern wall at intervals. In certain burials there were only bronze arrowheads, and in others only iron, although some graves contained both iron and bronze examples. Besides conventional types of arrows, it seems, there were some specialised kinds, armour-piercing varieties or those intended for hunting (Burials Nos 10 and 34). Personal adornments were found in individual female graves or in collective graves with remains of women. In a few graves were found bronze finger-rings with bezels (Burials Nos 24, 37, and 45), on which could be seen engraved representations, although they are often difficult to restore reliably due to the poor state of preservation of the metal; on one of the examples is a floral design, while on others there are depictions of animals. Plain bronze rings have also been unearthed. So-called spiral pendants were found near the skull: bronze (Burial No. 24), silver-plated bronze (Burial No. 27) and silver (Burials Nos 6 and 45). In a number of burials, beads (pendants) made from diverse materials were encountered: gold, silver, glass or jet. In most of the graves one or two beads are found (Burials Nos 6, 24, and 25); however in one case (Burial No. 16) about 40 beads of different shapes and material were found near the neck. Other kinds of pendants include cowrie shells (Burial No. 21) or scallops (Burial No. 25) and tiny glass pyramids (Burial No. 25).
Figure 2. Black-glazed kylikes from excavations of Artyushchenko II necropolis
1983, Nos 124 and 125). Our lekythos, like those from the Hermitage, may be attributed to the Haimon Painter Group (Gorbunova 1983, Nos 124 and 125).
Some of the grave offerings were domestic objects and tools. Boxes, mirrors, needles, and awls were found in female burials (Burials Nos 3, 6, 16, and 17); needles, bells and strap ornaments were in male ones (Burials Nos 13 and 34). Spindle whorls have been recovered from both female and male graves (Burials Nos 17 and 21). Astragals were found in a child’s burial (Burial No. 12), and bronze kyathoi were in adult male graves (Burials Nos 27 and 40). Boxes were of two types: ceramic and wooden. Ceramic pyxides come in two parts: the base and the cover (Burials Nos 10 and 47). The frame of the wooden box was not preserved; all that did survive were decorative bone plates with a
Three amphoriskoi probably also belong to the group of toilet vessels. One is an Attic black-glazed example with a stamped pattern (Burial No. 27) and two are made of polychrome glass (Burials Nos 6 and 66). In female burials (Nos 10, 16, 43, 45, and 66) were found small bowls with a handle used presumably for cosmetic purposes. The vessels represented so far only by single finds are attributed to the subgroup of unusual pottery. Further excavations may well change the picture here, with inevitable consequences for the composition of this
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Figure 3. Painted lekythoi from excavations of Artyushchenko II necropolis
carved meander. In a single burial (No. 33), a coin was found beneath the right elbow with no other grave goods. Animal bones placed as food for the dead are commonly found (Burials Nos 3, 6, 10, 12, 16, 24, 25, 32, 40, 45, and 47), in that they were a constant element of the funerary rite. These have been identified by Alexei K. Kasparov as the bones of cows and goats. Burial No. 15 is unique in that all that was found was an animal bone.
be unusual objects: snake skeletons and small stones. Their presence in the graves seems to be not fortuitous although it is still too soon to draw final conclusions regarding their purpose. Snake skeletons have been found in five burials (Nos 6, 17, 24, and 25). They were all headless, something that impeded exact identification of the reptile species. Snakes were noted in female burials or in collective burials including a female skeleton. Where it proved possible to establish the position of the snake it was lying in the form
Two categories of finds which were not attributed to any of the so far mentioned groups might also be considered to 192
Sergey V. Kashaev: Flat-graves Necropolis of Artyushchenko II
of the letter ‘S’. There are good reasons to suppose that snakes were put in female graves for some ritual purpose. Snakes were perhaps regarded as guides, allies or helpmates of women in the other world or as amulets. Small stones are the second class of unusual finds. They were found both among the grave offerings and between the bones of the skeletons (Burials Nos 16, 24, 27, and 43).
Kashaev, S. 2005. Excavation of the necropolis Artyushchenko II and the rate of erosion of the southern shore of the Taman Peninsula. In Third International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities (Pontic Congress), Prague, 11-18 September 2005, Abstracts, 63. Prague. Okhotnikov, S. B. 2008 — Охотников, С. Б. Античные поселения городов Нижнего Поднестровья (VI в. до н. э. – Ш в. н. э.) [Antichnye poselenia gorodov Nizhnego Podniestrov’ia (VI v. do n. e. – III v. n. e.) – Ancient settlements of the Lower Dniester area towns (6th century BC – 3rd century AD)]. In E. PapuciWładyka (ed.), PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006, 123-133, Pls 19-20. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11) Kraków. Rogov, E. Ia. 1999 — Рогов, Е. Я. Разведки на юге Таманъского полуострова [Razvedki na iuge Taman’skogo poluostrova – Survey in the south of Taman Peninsula]. Археологические открытия 1998 г. [Arkheologicheskie otkrytiia 1998 g.], 210-211. Sparkes, B. A. and Talcott, L. 1970. The Athenian Agora 12. Black and Plain Pottery of the 6th, 5th, and 4th Centuries B.C. Princeton. Vinogradov, Iu. A. and Kashaev, S. V. 2003 — Виноградов, Ю. А., Кашаев С. В., Боспорская экспедиция ИИМК РАН [Bosporskaia ekspeditsiia IIMK RAN – Bosporan Expedition of the Institute of the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences]. Археологические открытия 2002 г. [Arkheologicheskie Otkrytiia 2002 g.], 234-235.
The excavations of the Artyushchenko II necropolis have produced numerous interesting finds. Their study will be helpful in the investigation of a series of major problems associated with the Greek colonization of the Asiatic Bosporos, and with the kind of economic activity as well as the trading and cultural connections of the settlers. One of the most important of these problems is the question of contacts between Greeks and the local population of the region. Handmade pottery is traditionally considered to be a reliable indication of the presence of the native population among the inhabitants of the cities and settlements of the Greek period. It is such a group of finds that attracts the special attention of researchers involved in the problems of the presence of a barbarian population at a given settlement, its origins and numbers. Finds from the necropolis under consideration introduce fresh evidence to archaeological science and show a mutual permeability and merging of the Greek and barbarian cultures in the Bosporos, each represented by its distinctive assemblage of finds. Bibliography Gorbunova, K. S. 1983 — Горбунова, К. С. Чернофигурные аттические вазы в Эрмитаже [Chernofigurnye atticheskie vazy v Ermitazhe – Blackfigure Attic vases in the Hermitage]. Leningrad.
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Chapter 26 Greek-Barbarian Relations in the Lower Don Region in the 7th-3rd Centuries BC
Viktor P. Kopylov Nadiezhda V. Andrianova
Scientific-Methodological Centre of Archaeology Pedagogical Institute South Federal University Rostov on Don, Russia [email protected] Abstract: This paper covers the issues of Greek-barbarian relations in the Lower Don region between the 7th century BC and the 3rd century BC. The author distinguishes between the four stages of development of these relations and points out that their dynamics at different stages depended on the rulers, who possessed the main centre in the strategic area, the mouth of the Tanais. It is also noted that Greeks were interested in contacts with the local population mostly because of the possibilities of acquiring grain from the foreststeppe regions of the northern Black sea region, as well as metals, which reached the Don delta from various deposits. It is proposed to regard the expensive and exclusive Greek items in the burials of Scythian aristocracy as diplomatic gifts, presumably for providing for the safety of Greek trading expeditions into remote parts of Scythia. A new hypothesis is that the Bosporan state forced out the Scythians from the mouth of the river Tanais at the end of the 4th century BC. As a result they first founded their own settlement at the place of the Scythian Elizavetovskoe settlement, and after its ruin the settlement moved to Nedvigovskoe settlement. Keywords: Greeks, Scythians, barbarians, relations, Low Don, exclusive Greek ceramics, diplomatic gifts, settlement, Bosporan state
A monograph recently published by colleagues in St Petersburg covers the problems of Greek-barbarian contacts, and relations in the northern Black Sea region in Scythian times (Marchenko et al., 2005), but it pays little attention to the history and development of Greek-barbarian contacts in the Lower Don region. We will try to fill this vacuum here and study the dynamics of Greek-barbarian relations in this region, which once was the area of some of the most vigorous contacts between Scythian and Hellenic civilization. We shall base our analysis on all the sources available, including the most recent.
by Bosporos on the site of the Scythian Elizavetovskoe settlement. The fourth stage starts after the destruction of the large Greek settlement in the Don delta, and is connected with the Greek settlement of Tanais, founded by Bosporos on the site of the Nedvigivskoe settlement. Since the first stage of Greek-barbarian relations has not yet been dealt with exhaustively in the scientific literature, unlike the other stages, we will here concentrate on an analysis of data that are characteristic of the early period of formation of such relations in the Lower Don region. The overall importance of this region for Greeks is explained by the fact that goods and raw materials from the Ural Mountains, Siberia and Central Asia, as well as from Central Russia along the Great Caravan Track, entered the Mediterranean world at the mouth of the Tanais. This fact explains the early foundation of a Milesian settlement there, where there was also one of the most important routes connecting Ciscaucasia to the Dnieper region and the Crimea. In estimating the mineral resources and raw materials of the Don region, scholars have noted that it is poor in resources of mineral ore. Nevertheless, its position at a cross-roads between the principal land and water routes enabled the local population to get copper, iron, silver, gold and other metals from the ore-producing regions (Figure 1). It has been estimated for example that over the period down to the 17th century a total of 30,000 tons of ore was produced at the mines in the Bakhmut basin of Donbass, from which
We have distinguished four stages of Greek-barbarian contacts in this region. The first stage (mid-7th century BC- third quarter of the 6th century BC) is closely connected with the period of existence of the Taganrog settlement, the Milesian settlement of Kremnoi. It should be pointed out that the period of time, including the last quarter of the 6th century BC and the first half of the 5th century BC, is noted for the absence of any evidence of Greek-barbarian contacts in this region. The second stage (the end of the first quarter of the 5th century BC to the end of the 4th century BC) coincides chronologically with the period of existence of the Scythian Elizavetovskoe settlement in the delta of the Don. The third stage (end of the 4th century BC to the first third of the 3d century BC) is connected with the period of existence of the large Greek settlement, founded 195
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Figure 1. Sketch-map, indicating location of major mining districts (composed by Dr V. G. Rylov): 1 – iron: Krivoy Rog (1), Kerch (2); 2 – gold-polymetal: Nagol’naia; 3 – gold-cooper: Bachmutskaia kotlovina (3), Urupo-Labinsk (4)
were produced not less than 3000 tons of metal (Dorofeev 2002, 94). There were also lead-zinc and copper deposits there. We might also suppose that metal came to Azov from the Bakhmut basin along the waterways. Copper ore and copper ingots could be delivered to the Tanais delta from the mining region, located in what is today KarachaevoCherkess and Kabardino-Balkariia. In Kabardino-Balkariia, in the basins of the rivers Malka, Baksan, Chegem and Urup, alluvial gold was known from earliest times, and it was clearly an attraction for the Greeks.
of Kremnoi, then the Scythian Elizavetovskoe settlement, which was replaced by a large Greek settlement in the end of the 4th century BC, and finally after its destruction at the end of the first third of the 3rd century BC, by the Bosporan settlement at Nedvigivskoe gorodishche, later Tanais. A palaeographic reconstruction of the coastline at the mouth of the Don indicates that it is impossible to draw an accurate picture of Greek-barbarian historical or cultural relations in the Lower Don region without taking into account the specific situation at any given period.
Metal and copper goods also reached the Tanais delta from the Kargalinskoe copper deposit (Orenburg region), which was already functioning as an important centre of mineworking and metal-production in the mid-2nd millennium BC (Сhеrnykh and Martines-Navarrete 2005, 66-68). The inflow of various goods, but primarily metals – strategic raw materials – from different regions to the Tanais mouth explains the long-term interest of Greeks in this region. This is why many successive centres existed in the Don delta during the whole of the ancient Scythian period. These centres determined the character and development of Greekbarbarian relations. First the Greek settlement in the harbour
At the first stage there developed relations between the Greeks from the Taganrog settlement and local peoples, primarily the Scythians, the masters of the Don steppes who controlled the main transport communications over a huge area. The presence of expensive Greek items in burials of noble Scythians, and in particular (as is shown in the archaeological record), expensive wine in amphorae and prestigious painted ceramics (Figure 2), is explained by a desire on the part of Greek merchants to carry out trade unhindered, and to obtain the goods they required. The presence of a considerable number of prestigious Greek 196
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Figure 2. Fine Greek pottery out of Scythian complexes of Low Don region: 1-2 – Krasnogorovka; 3 – Novoaleksandrovka; 4 – Khapry; 5 – Bushuika; 6 – Esaulovskii Aksaii; 7 – Krivorozhie; 8 – Khopeyrskii
ceramics in the burials of noble Scythians between the last third of the 7th century BC and the first half of the 6th century BC in the Lower Don region can be regarded as an indicator of the special status of a newly emergent aristocracy within Scythian society (royal Scythians).
and raw materials they required. The importation of Greek goods at the forest-steppe Belskoe settlement is indicated by fragments of East Greek pottery in levels dated to between the third quarter of the 7th century BC and the first quarter of the 6th century BC (Zadnikov 2007, 19). In order to provide for the safety of their trading expeditions Greeks had to give valuable presents to representatives of the Scythian noblemen, who in their turn were to guarantee the unhindered penetration of Greek merchants into Scythian areas in which they had a trading interest.
At the first stage of Greek-barbarian relations, the Milesian settlement in the harbour of Kremnoi (the Taganrog settlement) was the major supplier of Greek products to barbarians of the eastern part of Scythia. It should be noted that Greek ceramics of high artistic value were found in burials of noble Scythians, who at an early stage were making the traffic network, connecting the Lower Don and the north-eastern Azov regions with other parts (Figure 3), mainly the forest-steppe regions of the Don region and the left bank of the Dnieper. At the early stages of relations between Greeks and Scythians, the major Greek interest was in waterways, along which they could carry their goods to the forest-steppe area of the northern Black Sea region, and from these regions in turn they could take the grain
We have noted that there are no archaeological finds on sites in the Lower Don region to enable us to make judgements concerning Greek-barbarian contacts in the last quarter of the 6th or the beginning of the 5th century BC. This is clearly connected with the period when the militarypolitical situation was destabilized, as happened across the whole northern Black Sea region. The first evidence of a breach in stable Greek-barbarian contacts can be observed in the Tanais delta, the crossing place, and at the crossing 197
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Figure 3. Sketch map of Scythian complexes, containing East-Greek ceramics: 1 – settlements: Taganrog (1); 2 – burial mounds: Krasnogorovka (2), Novoaleksandrovka (3), Khapry (4), Bushuika (5), Esaulovskii Aksaii (6), Krivorozhie (7); 3 – ocassional finds: Khopeyrskii (8); 4 – border line of forest-steppe zone
be noted that while the Scythian centre at the Don delta functioned, the overwhelming majority of Greek luxury imports were found in the Elizavetovsky burial complex. Alongside items of gold and silver we can also assign to such ‘political gifts’ as expensive painted Greek ceramics (Figures 4-5).
over the Cimmerian Bosporos, major ‘bridges’ along the main Scythian migration routes. This is why the Greek settlements lying on the border between Europe and Asia were the first to feel nomadic pressure. In the third quarter of the 6th century BC the Taganrog settlement in the mouth of the river Tanais ceased to exist, while at the same time the first fortifications in Greek centres of the European Bosporos start to appear (Butiagin 2006, 29).
A bronze hasp with an image of an Amazonomachy, a recent chance find near the ‘Five Brothers’ kurgan (Figure 6), along with two 4th century BC red-figure kraters of South Italian origin, whose fragments were found by us in 2006 in a Scythian level at Elizavetovskoe gorodishche, were probably such political gifts (Figures 7-8).
The foundation of Elizavetovskoe settlement in the Don delta in the first quarter of the 5th century BC, and simultaneous appearance of Scythians in the foreststeppe Don region are connected with the fortification of the eastern boundaries of Scythia and coincide with the beginning of an expansionist policy of Bosporos at this time. In creating their own centre at the mouth of the Tanais, the Scythians determined the dynamics and priorities in Greek-barbarian relations over a huge area during the 5th century BC and for most of the 4th century BC. Political gifts for representatives of Scythian aristocracy, who had control over the estuary area of the Tanais, show that Greek centres, primarily the Bosporan state, were greatly interested in trade contacts with the Don delta. It must
The third stage of Greek-barbarian relations begins at the end of the 4th century BC, when the Bosporan state managed to force the Scythians from the mouth of the Tanais to found there their own settlement on the site of Elizavetovskoe gorodishche, now abandoned by the Scythians. From that point onwards the Bosporos rulers controlled the development of Greek-barbarian relations in the region. The character of the trade and trading partners changed dramatically in this Bosporan settlement, which 198
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Figure 4. Panathenaic amphora (The State Hermitage)
evidently bore the name of Tanais. After the destruction of this settlement in the 70s of the 3rd century BC, its role as the regulator of relations between Greek and barbarian, passed to Tanais on the side of Nedvigovskoe gorodishche.
слое и за его пределами (поселение Горный, Каргалы) [Raspredeleniie radiouglerodnykh dat v kul’turnom sloe i za ego predelami (poselenie Gornyi, Kargaly) – Distribution of radiocarbon data in the cultural layer and beyond its boundaries (Gornyi settlement, Kargaly)], in Е. Н. Черных, В. И. Завъялов [E. N. Сhеrnykh and V. I. Zav’ialov] (eds), Археология и научно-естественные методы. Сборник статей [Archaeologiia i nauchnoestestvennye metody. Sbornik statei – Archaeology and Natural-Scientific methods. Collected Papers], 58-71. Moscow. Dorofeev, V. N, Gorovoi, А. F. and Brovender, Iu. M. 2002 — Дорофеев, В. Н., Горовой, А. Ф., Бровендер, Ю. М. Полезные ископаемые Донбасса в доугольный период [Poleznye iskopaemye Donbassa v dougol’nyi period – Mineral resources of Donbass in the pre-coal period]. In И. А. Богуш [I. A. Bogush] (ed.), Проблемы геологии, полезных ископаемых и экологии Юга России и Кавказа. Материалы III международной научной конференции, посвящённой 100-летию профессора А. В. Пека. 1. Минерагения, полезные ископаемые и минералогия [Problemy geologii, poleznykh iskopaemykh i ekologii Iuga Rossii i Kavkaza.
Bibliography Butiagin, A. M. 2006 — Бутягин, А. М. Мирмекий в архаический период [Mirmekii v archaicheskii period – Mirmekion in the Archaic period]. In С. Л. Соловьев [S. L. Solovyov] (ed.), Греки и варвары на Боспоре Киммерийском VII-I вв. до н. э. Материалы международной научной конференции Тамань (Россия). Октябрь 2000 [Greki i varvary na Bospore Kimmeriiskom VII-I vv. do n. e. Materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii Taman’, Rossiia, Oktiabr’ 2000 – Greeks and Natives in the Cimmerian Bosporus 7th-1st Centuries BC. Proceedings of the International Conference Taman, Russia, October 2000], 26-31. St Petersburg. Сhеrnykh, E. N. and Martines-Navarrete, M. I. 2005 — Черных, Е. Н., Мартинес-Наваррете, М. И. Распределение радиоуглеродных дат в культурном 199
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Figure 5. Red figure pelike (The Rostov Museum)
Figure 6. Bronze hasp with an image of Amazonomachia (The Rostov Museum)
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Figure 7. Red figure krater with an image of Dionysos (Educational Museum of the Pedagogical Institute of The South Federal University)
Figure 8. Fragment of red figure krater with an image of Hercules (Educational Museum of the Pedagogical Institute of The South Federal University)
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Materialy III mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii, posviashchennoi 100-letiiu professora A. V. Peka. 1. Minerageniia, poleznye iskopaemye i mineralogiia – Problems of geology, mineral resources and ecology of the South Russia and Caucasus. Materials of the 3rd International Scientific Conference, Dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of Professor A. V. Peck. 1. Mineragens, mineral resources and mineralogy], 9395. Novocherkassk. Kopylov, V. P. and Rylov, V. G. 2006 — Копылов, В. П., Рылов, В. Г. Историко-географические предпосылки начала освоения греками устьевой области р. Танаис [Istoriko-geograficheskie predposylki nachala osvoeniia grekami ust’evoi oblasti r. Tanais – The historical and geographical background of early Greek colonization near the Tanais mouth]. In В. Г. Кушнир [V. G. Kushnir] (ed.), Древнее Причерноморье. Сборник статей [Drevnee Prichernomor’e. Sbornik statei – The Ancient Northern Black Sea Region. Collected Papers], 86-93. Odessa. Marchenko, K. K., Rogov, E. Ia., Vakhtina, M. Iu., Vinogradov, Iu. A. and Zuev, V. Iu. 2005
— Марченко, K. K., Рогов, Э. Я., Вахтина, М. Ю., Виноградов, Ю. А., Зуев, В. Ю. Греки и варвары Северного Причерноморья в скифскую эпоху. Коллективная монография [Greki i varvary Severnogo Prichernomor’ia v skifskuiu epokhu. Kollektivnaia monografiia – Greeks and Barbarians of the Northern Black Sea Region in Scythian Times. Collective Studies]. St Petersburg. Zadnikov, S. A. 2007 — Задников, С. А. Ранняя античная керамика Бельского городища [Ranniaia antichnaia keramika Bel’skogo gorodishcha – Early ancient pottery from Belskoe fortified settlement]. In В. П. Копылов [V. P. Kopylov] (ed.), Материалы XII международной научной конференции Международные отношения в бассейне Чёрного моря в древности и средние века [Materialy XII mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia v basseine Chernogo moria v drevnosti i srednie veka – Materials of the XII International Scientific Conference International Relations in the Black Sea Region in Antiquity and the Middle Ages], 19-21. Rostov-on-Don.
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Chapter 27 Olbia Pontica in the 3rd-4th Centuries AD: Late Antique or PostAntique?
Valentina V. Krapivina
National Academy of Sciences Kiev, Ukraine [email protected] Abstract: The article is devoted to the final stages of the history of Olbia Pontica, in the last quarter of the 3rd and the 4th century AD. The determination of its character is of great importance for the understanding of not only the reasons for the discontinuation of settlement at Olbia, but also of the specifics of the historical development of the whole Lower Bug region at the time. At this period Olbia coexisted with settlements of the Cherniakhov Culture. The latest of these were in the territory of what had been the chora of Olbia, within a radius of 5-12km of the ancient city which by this time probably had no fortifications, having not been restored after the barbarian invasions of AD 269-270. The Cherniakhov Culture settlements around Olbia were not fortified either, and relations between the two cultures were probably peaceful. Investigations have shown that Olbia preserved antique traditions until the end of its history, and consequently this stage could surely be thought of as Late Antique, rather than Post-Antique. The character of the interaction between the Late Antique and the barbarian cultures in the region still need to be investigated. Keywords: Olbia Pontica, Lower Bug region, Late Antiquity, Cherniakhov Culture, barbarians
The final stage of the history of Olbia Pontica was reached in the last quarter of the 3rd, and the 4th century AD. After the invasions of the Goths in AD 269-270, life there ceased and did not start again until 80s of the 3rd century AD. Roman coins occur from the time of Diocletian (284-305) (Karyshkovskii 1968, 178). For a long period this stage was the least well known in the history of Olbia, and in fact its remains suffered greatly in modern times. They were only referred to in passing by investigators and were not even described. Nevertheless, the nature of the final stage is of great importance for the understanding not only of the cessation of settlement at Olbia, but also of the specifics of the historical development of the whole Lower Bug region at the end of the 3rd, and the 4th centuries AD. We know that Olbia Pontica is the only Ancient centre on the northern Black Sea coast where there is no medieval layer. Life ceased there earlier, at the end of the Ancient period, and was not restored. The nature of the character of this final stage of the history of Olbia depends on the answer to the question as to what sort of place it was at the time.
Material that might enable us to answer the question regarding the character of Olbia during the late 3rd, and the 4th centuries AD has been assembled during the past two decades (Krapivina 1993; Kryzhitskii et al., 1999, 325-341; Krapivina 2007, 608-623). Some of it has been published, but some scholars have overlooked this new evidence, and have classified Olbia as a barbarian centre (Magomedov 2001, 20, 138; Magomedov 2007, 47-54) or as one of the barbarian settlements (Zubar’ and Son 2007, 188-189). It could be said that Olbia ceased to be the centre of a large rural neighbourhood. Its chora now existed only within a radius of 5-10km, while the rest was occupied by the Cherniakhov Culture settlements. It should be stressed that the territory of Olbia itself was not occupied by a Cherniakhov Culture population. Life here was probably renewed earlier, and those returning later from their campaigns will have settled on the territory of the former chora of Olbia. This reflects the process of return of a part of the Gothic barbarians, after their defeat at the hands of the Romans. These settlements were more than twice as numerous as the fortified settlements of the Olbian chora in the 3rd century AD (Kryzhitskii et al., 1989, 159).
If Olbia still preserved its Ancient traditions this stage might be called Late Antique, but if its population was assimilated by the barbarians and it became one of the settlements of Cherniakhov Culture or even the centre of this culture, this stage could be determined as Post-Antique. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the Late Antique stage itself, which was distinguished from the previous Roman phase by the stronger presence of a barbarian population both within the Empire and in the lands beyond that it controlled.
The density of Cherniakhov Culture monuments decreased from west to east. In the area of Olbia, most likely, Greuthungi appeared, whose gradual movement to the Dniester was fixed by Ammianus Marcellinus (31. 3. 1-5) in the middle of the 4th century AD. This information is confirmed by archaeological data. Cherniakhov monuments in the steppe between the Dniester and the Dnieper are 203
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dated to the middle or the second half of the 4th century AD (Gudkova 1987, 16; Gudkova 1989, 43). The topography of Olbia and its earlier chora hillforts on the one hand and the Cherniakhov settlements on the other resembled one another on the whole, but there were differences. Olbia and the hillforts of its chora of the 1st to 3rd centuries AD occupied the highest places in the region, on capes or outcrops some 25-45m above the level of the estuary. The population was most dense on the right bank and the lower reaches of the left bank of the Bug estuary. The upper reaches of the estuaries were sparsely populated (Buiskikh and Ievlev 1986, 71; Kryzhitskii et al., 1989, 157-158). Cherniakhov settlements in the Lower Bug area, in common with the whole area in which the culture spread, were usually situated on gentle hill slopes or the valleys of streams, but sometimes on the steep banks of estuaries or lakes near antique monuments. Sometimes the ruins of separate houses were built on the sites of hillforts of the earlier Olbian chora, but the fortifications were not restored. This was established by excavation and published by the investigators of the Olbian chora (Kryzhitskii et al., 1989, 156-162, 219; Kryzhitskii et al., 1990, 77-97). Thus the claim of Magomedov (2007, 47-54) regarding the restoration by barbarians of fortifications on earlier Olbian hillforts does not correspond to the facts. Two fortified Cherniakhov Culture hillforts, Alexandrovka on the Ingulets and Gorodok on the South Bug, were situated far from Olbia. And the density of Cherniakhov monuments decreased the closer one got to Olbia. Ochakov district, were Olbia was situated, has the fewest Cherniakhov settlements in the north-western Black Sea region (1 per 300 km2) (Magomedov 1987, 13-14, Fig.1). The settlements are unfortified, single-period, with square plans and covering 0.5-7.0ha . No streets can be observed, and the planning is free. The most common buildings were rectangular, built of stone or of clay on a wooden frame, and with two, or more rarely three rooms, one of which was for household purposes (Magomedov 1987, 16-17).
Figure 1. Olbia Pontica. The wall of the house of the 4th century AD, erected from the blocks of the defensive wall
Figure 2. Olbia Pontica. Part of the Main street, the 4th century AD
The territory of the city of Olbia was slightly smaller than before: the southern part of the Upper and the Lower city, apart from the central heights (Krapivina 1984, 210-212). A large productive and economic suburb continued to exist in the Lower city and the port continued to function (Kryzhitskii 1984, 57-63). As it was shown by the investigations over the last two decades, the level of the end of the 3rd, and the 4th centuries AD, is rather thick, and no fewer than three building periods could be distinguished in it (Krapivina and Buiskikh 2004, 177-178). At that time Olbia most probably had no fortifications. These were partly destroyed during the defeat of the Goths in 269-270 and were not restored afterwards. For the present this concerns only the south-eastern part of the defensive wall, which was erected along the steep slope of the estuary. Here drains were erected and large stone
Figure 3. Olbia Pontica. The road of the 4th century AD
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Main street. A stretch 15m long was excavated and it was 7.8-8.8m wide (Krapivina and Khmelevskii 2006, 238-241). Buildings on the slope were terraced, as earlier. In recent years, there was partly revealed a rather large, probably public, building made of stone slabs laid in lime (Krapivina and Buiskikh 2004, 177-178) (Figure 4). This typical Roman structural technique was observed in Olbia for the first time. The building was erected not earlier the end of the 3rd century AD. A bronze coin of Constantine I (AD 306-337) found in stone debris to the east of the building allow us to date the latter to this period. At the level of the stone paving of a room in this building there was found a medium-sized bead done in high relief, and probably of local workmanship. Judging by the iconography it is an image of a sea deity with half-opened mouth. The head was probably used as an inlay in a marble slab of the interior fountain.
Figure 4. Olbia Pontica. Ruins of the building on lime solution
The dwelling houses were made of stone, with one, and sometimes two, storeys. There were no fewer than four to six rooms, usually square and spacious, laid out in order of importance, and with yards between them (Figure 5). Rooms were rectangular, with clay floors. Walls were covered with a clay solution and plastered. In the interiors small columns and marble slabs for facing might be used. Roofs were mainly tiled, at least those of the dwelling spaces and rooms for industrial purposes. The yards were paved with stone, and sometimes contained altars rectangular in plan. In the south-eastern part of the Upper city of Olbia together with dwelling houses evidence for ceramic and metal production were found (Krapivina 1993, 42; Krapivina 2006, 180-188; Krapivina 2007, 609). In the southern part of the Lower city there were also probably dwelling houses. There were investigated no fewer than two building periods in a level of the end of the 3rd to the third quarter of the 4th century AD. A square was found with a drainage system made from a variety of stone and tiles, with wells for accumulation, absorption and even inspection, which helped keep the lower terrace (now destroyed by the estuary) free from water. A supporting wall to the south-east indicated the existence of at least one more terrace in that area. In the south-western part of the excavation two rooms of a large house of the 2nd-3rd centuries AD were reused (Krapivina et al., 2002, 153).
Figure 5. Olbia Pontica. Ruins of the house of the 4th century AD
slabs and blocks from this wall were used for the erection of the outer wall of a dwelling (Figure 1) (Kryzhitskii et al., 1999, 326). The character of building remains of the end of the 3rd and of the 4th century AD in Olbia testifies to the retention of rectangular planning within the separate districts of the city. On the territory of the earlier citadel the Main street was revealed, which was situated on the upper terrace almost parallel with the slope (Figure 2). In the southern part it broadened out and formed a square. It was partly covered with broken limestone, and was partly made from stone slabs. In the south-eastern part it was limited by boundary stones. Here was found a bronze stater of Reskuporis V (AD 325/326). Perpendicular to this street were two lanes leading east, also paved with broken limestone and stone slabs. To the north of the earlier praetorium there was found a road of the 4th century AD (Figure 3) perpendicular to the
Thus the results of excavations in the Upper and Lower city of Olbia testify to the preservation of antique planning and building traditions in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, although their quality had deteriorated, probably for economic reasons. This is not evidence to support a hypothesis about the barbarization of the city (Kryzhitskii et al., 1999, 327). The appearance of new squares and streets in Olbia at the time should be noted. In the central and the northern part of the Lower city the economic suburb continued to exist, consisting of buildings of one or two rooms (Kryzhitskii 1967, 131-133; Kryzhitskii
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1968, 50-75). All these attest to a considerable decrease in trade at Olbia and a sort of ‘naturalization’ of its economy. To some extent it seems to have been off major trade routes. Nevertheless, by this time trading connections with Bosporus, Asia Minor, the western provinces of the Roman Empire, North Africa had been established (Krapivina 1993, 128; Kryzhitskii et al., 1999, 336).
1985, 167-168; Leipunskaia 1988, 72, 78-79). Amphorae and commonplace late 3rd or 4th century AD pottery found in the flooded part of Olbia, attest the existence of warehouses at the port (Kryzhitskii 1984, 57-63). The economic basis continued to be agriculture of a traditional kind. As before hulled wheat, barley, millet, and rye were cultivated. Finds of emmer are rare. The character of the cultivated cereals corresponds completely with the hard dark-brown ‘chernozem’ soil of the capes, where Olbia and earlier the hillforts of its chora were situated, unlike the monuments of Cherniakhov Culture. The Olbiopolitai continued also to cultivate peas, vetch, and lentils. Considerable quantities of domestic grape pips in the late 3rd and 4th century AD levels attest to the continuation of the cultivation of the grape and to the closely connected wine-making industry. Domesticated grape pips were in the majority, but sometimes seeds of the wild forest grape were found, and even one example of what is thought to be an intermediate form (Pashkevich 1991, 101, 104-106, Tab. 2). The absence of wineries permits the conclusion that wine was made for domestic consumption by means of the simplest appliances: troughs and tarapans. The wine trade of Olbia was not highly developed. Livestock raising increased in importance as a natural consequence of the diminution of the Olbian chora. Essentially, the same animals were raised as before: cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, dogs, sometimes cats. There were rather more cattle, and slightly fewer sheep and goats, and together these accounted for 80% of the stock. There were also fewer pigs and horses. The role of handicraft in the economy of Olbia increased, however, mainly thanks to the development of the metal-working and pottery industries (Krapivina 1999, 96-99; Krapivina 2007, 610).
Some trading reorientation of Olbia clearly took place, and trading connections with the surrounding Cherniakhov Culture population became more important. The significance of intermediary trade probably increased. We might guess that trade between Olbia and the Cherniakhov Culture population was mainly through barter, because finds of coins on Cherniakhov Culture settlements are rare (Magomedov 1987, 77-86). The material culture of Olbia on the whole also remained Classical, although the quantity of the materials in the final stage is much smaller than earlier (Krapivina 1993). Amphorae could still as before be divided into two main groups: 1) rather large amphorae with more or less broad throats, made of red, orange or dark pink clay, some of them with light slip on the surface; 2) small amphorae with a narrow throat, made of light clay of different tints (from light yellow to pink). Most were produced in the centres of the south shore of the Black Sea. Some types could have been produced in Bosporus (Krapivina 2010, 21-22). Late Antique Red Slip Ware comprised nearly 2% (197 fragments) of all the red slip ware from Olbia (according to the data from sector R-25). They belong to the main groups of Late Roman Red Slip Ware: Pontic Red Slip Ware (PRS – more than 80%), African Red Slip Ware (ARS) and Phocaean Red Slip Ware (PhRS). The vessels of PhRS found in Olbia are dated mainly to the 4th century AD, while some fragments belong to the late 4th and early 5th centuries AD. North African (ARS) ceramics (c. 12% of the total finds) are dated mainly to the 4th or early 5th centuries AD. The least numerous (c. 5%, or 4 fragments) are the North Aegean vessels produced mainly in Phocaea (LRC/PhRS) and date to the late 4th and early 5th centuries AD. The absence of LRC/PhRS forms typical for the 5th century AD, so popular in other Pontic regions, indicates that at that time trade relations with Olbia had ceased. To establish the moment when regular imports of red slip vessels to Olbia came to an end it is worth comparing this pottery with vessels found in Tanais. Some vessels typical of the 4th century AD are absent in Tanais, while vessels characteristic of the 5th century AD are not present in Olbia. Consequently, the date when imports of such vessels to Olbia presumably ceased can be fixed at the end of the 3rd or the last quarter of the 4th century AD, after the Hun migration (Krapivina and Domżalski 2008, 76-81).
Somewhat different were the farming practices of the tribes of the Cherniakhov Culture, in the environs of Olbia and in the former Olbian chora. The topography of the places in which they settled, however, was somewhat different. The basis of their economy was also agriculture, principally arable farming and stock-raising. Viticulture was absent. The main cereals were emmer, barley, and millet. Finds of hulled wheat and rye are rather rare (Pashkevich 1991, 19, Tab.1). This range of cereals, different from that of the Olbiopolitai, came about through the simpler character of the way they cultivated the soil; the ploughing was not so deep, as was appropriate for the soil of terraces under floodlands and on hill slopes. So far as the livestock raising of the Cherniakhov tribes was concerned, cattle predominated, but there were fewer sheep and goats and more horses than in Olbia (compare: Magomedov 1987, 67-68). Thus the while the farming practices of the Olbiopolitai and their Cherniakhov Culture neighbours resembled one another, there were differences (Krapivina 1999, 96-99; Krapivina 2007, 610).
The necropolis of Olbia of the end of the 3rd, and the 4th century AD has still not been found. It is doubtful that it was situated far from the city. Since the northern part of the Olbian necropolis next to the city has been thoroughly
Olbia did not issue its own coinage at the time. A few finds of Roman coins are known from the time of Diocletian (AD 284-305) through to Valens (AD 364-378) (Karyshkovskii
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pervye veka nashei ery – Antique Culture of the Northern Black Sea Littoral in the First Centuries AD], 64-76. Kiev. Gudkova, A. V. 1987 — Гудкова, А. В. Оседлое население Северо-Западного Причерноморья в первой половине I тыс. н. э. Автореферат диссертации на соискание ученой степени доктора исторических наук [Osedloe naselenie Severo-Zapadnogo Prichernomor’ia v pervoi polovine I tys. n. e. Avtoreferat dissertatsii na soiskanie uchenoi stepeni doktora istoricheskikh nauk – The settled population of the north-west Black Sea coast in the first half of the 1st millennium AD. Habilitation abstract]. Kiеv. Gudkova, A. V. 1989 — Гудкова, А. В. О классификации памятников III-IV вв. в Днепро-Дунайской степи [O klassifikatsii pamiatnikov III-IV vekov v DneproDunaiskoi stepi – On the classification of the monuments of the III-IV centuries in the Dnieper-Danube steppe]. In Т. Л. Самойлова, [T. L. Samoilova] (ed.) Археологические памятники степей Поднепровья и Подунавья [Arheologicheskie pamiatniki stepei Podneproviia i Podunaviia – Archaeological Monuments of the Steppes of the Region of the Dnieper and the Danube], 99-115. Kiev. Karyshkovskii, P. O. 1968 — Карышковский, П. О. Из истории поздней Ольвии [Iz istorii pozdnei Ol’vii – On the history of late Olbia]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevnei istorii] I, 167-179. Krapivina, V. V. 1984 — Крапивина, В. В. К вопросу о застройке Ольвии во II-III вв. н. э. [K voprosu o zastroike Ol’vii vo II-III vv. n. e. – On the question of Olbia’s building development in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD]. In С. Д. Крыжицкий [S. D. Krizhitskii], Античная культура Северного Причерноморья [Аntichnаia kul’turа Sеvеrnоgо Prichеrnоmоr’ia – Antique Culture of the Northern Black Sea Littoral], 201-215. Kiev. Krapivina, V. V. 1993 — Крапивина, В. В. Ольвия. Материальная культура I-IV вв. н. э. [Оl’viia. Mаtеriаl’nаia kul’turа I-IV vv. n. e. – Olbia: Material Culture of the 1st-4th Centuries AD]. Kiev. Krapivina, V. V. 1999 — Крапивина, В. В. Нижнє Побужжя в III-IV ст. н. е. (до історії взаємовідносин греків та варварів) [Nyzhnie Pobuzhzhia v III-IV ct. n. e. (do istorii vzaiemovidnosyn grekiv ta varvariv) – The Lower Bug region in the 3rd-4th centuries AD (on the history of relations between Greeks and barbarians)]. In Україна-Греція: історична спадщина і перспективи співробітництва (м. Маріуполь, 27-29 травня 1999 р.) [Ukraina-Gretsiia: istorichna spadshchina i perspectivy spivrobitnitstva (m. Mariupol’, 27-29 travnia 1999 p.) – Ukraine-Greece: Historical Heritage and Perspectives of Collaboration (Mariupol’, 27-29 May 1999)] 1/I, 96-99. Mariupol. Krapivina, V. V. 2006 — Крапивина, В. В. О застройке Ольвии в конце III-IV вв. н. э. [O zastroike Ol’vii v kontse III-IV vv. n. e. – On the building of Olbia in the late 3rd-4th centuries AD]. В. Н. Зинько [V. N. Zin’ko] (ed.) Боспор Киммерийский и варварский
investigated, we should look for it to the west and southwest of the city, beyond Zaiach’ia ravine. There are thus no data relevant to the quantity of burials of the final stage of Olbia (Zubar’ and Son 2007, 188). The only Cherniakhov Culture burial, discovered in the northern part of the Lower city of Olbia, could be dated to the time of the defeat of the city by the Goths in 269-270. Later, in the 4th century AD, it was covered up by the buildings of the suburb (Leipunskaia 2006, 187-188). A series of skulls supposedly found in Olbia (Magomedov 2007, 47-54) is illusory. In reality the reserves of the National Historical and Archaeological Reserve ‘Olbia’ (of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) there is a series of skulls of unknown origin. According to those who investigated Olbia they were not found there. The character of preservation of these skulls is quite different from those really found in Olbia. In the ‘Olbia’ Reserve are also kept materials from excavations on the territory of the former chora of Olbia. Most likely these skulls were found in a burial ground of the Cherniakhov Culture. There is thus no data indicating the presence of a Cherniakhov population among the inhabitants of Olbia. Olbia and the character of its material culture remained Classical (Krapivina 1993, 155-157; Kryzhitskii et al., 1999, 325-329; Krapivina 2007, 613). The presence of material associated with the Cherniakhov Culture, merely attests contacts between them. In any case data that might make the opposite case are no longer there. Everything attests the end of life at Olbia coming to an end not later than the third or the beginning of the fourth quarter of the 4th century AD, i.e. nearly half a century earlier than the surrounding Cherniakhov settlements. This would be impossible if Olbia had been their centre. The absence of fortifications on Cherniakhov settlements and in Olbia (even partly) testifies to peaceful relations between them. There were of course trading connections, but Olbia can hardly have been the only trading partner for the surrounding barbarians. Olbian artisans probably worked for their needs. Each of these societies, however, had its own specific structure and type of economic activity (Krapivina 2007, 613). During the final stage of its history Olbia preserved Classical traditions, so this stage should surely be considered Late Antique, rather than Post-Antique. But the character of the interaction between the Late Antique and barbarian cultures in the region still needs to be investigated. Bibliography Buiskikh, S. B. and Ievlev, M. M. 1986 — Буйских, С. Б., Иевлев, М. М. О топографии городищ Нижнего Побужья первых веков нашей эры [O topografii gorodishch Nizhnego Pobuzhia pеrvykh vеkov nаshеi ery – On the topography of the fortified settlements of the Lower Bug region in the first centuries AD]. In В. А. Анохин [V. A. Anokhin] (ed.) Античная культура Северного Причерноморья в первые века нашей эры [Аntichnаia kul’turа Sеvеrnоgо Prichеrnоmоr’ia v
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investigations in Ukrаinе in 2004-2005], 238-241. Kiiv, Zaporizhzhia. Kryzhitskii, S. D. 1967 — Крыжицкий, С. Д. Раскопки на территории Нижнего города Ольвии в 1965-1966 гг. [Rаskоpki nа tеrritоrii Nizhnеgо gоrоdа Оl’vii v 1965-1966 gg. – Excavations on the territory of the Lower city of Olbia in 1965-1966]. In Археологические исследования на Украине в 1965-1966 гг. [Аrhеоlоgichеskiе isslеdоvаniia nа Ukrаinе v 1965-1966 gg. – Archaeological Investigations in Ukrаinе in 19651966] 1, 131-133. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D. 1984 — Крыжицкий, С. Д. Основне итоги изучения затопленной части Нижнего города Ольвии [Оsnоvnyе itоgi izuchеniia zаtоplеnnоi chаsti Nizhnеgо gоrоdа Оl’vii – The main results of the investigation of the flooded area of the Lower city of Olbia]. In С. Д. Крыжицкий [S. D. Krizhitskii] (ed.), Античная культура Северного Причерноморья [Аntichnаia kul’turа Sеvеrnоgо Prichеrnоmоr’ia – The Ancient Culture of the Northern Black Sea Littoral], 36-65. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D. 1985 — Крыжицкий, С. Д. Ольвия. Историографическое исследование архитектурностроительных комплексов [Оl’viia. Istоriоgrаfichеskое isslеdоvаniе аrkhitеkturnо-strоitеlnykh kоmplеksоv Olbia. A Historiographic Investigation of Architecturalbuilding Complexes]. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D., Buiskikh, S. B., Burаkоv, А. V. and Оtrеshkо, V. M. 1989 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Буйских, С. Б., Бураков, А. В., Отрешко, В. М. Сельская округа Ольвии [Sеl’skаia оkrugа Оl’vii – The Rural Area of Olbia]. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D., Buiskikh, S. B. and Оtrеshkо, V. M. 1990 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Буйских, С. Б., Отрешко, В. М. Античные поселения Нижнего Побужья (археологическая карта) [Antichnye poseleniia Nizhnego Pobuzhia (arkheologicheskaia karta) – Ancient Settlements of the Lower Bug Region (Archaeological Map)]. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D., Rusiaeva, A. S., Krapivina, V. V., Leipunskaia, N. A., Skrzhinskaia, M. V. and Anokhin, V. A. 1999 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Русяева, А. С., Крапивина, В. В., Лейпунская, Н. А., Скржинская, М. В., Анохин, В. А. Ольвия. Античное государство в Северном Причерноморье [Ol’via. Antichnoe gosudarstvo v Severnom Prichernomor’e – Olbia. An Ancient State on the Northern Black Sea Coast]. Kiev. Lеipunskаia, N. А. 1988 — Лейпунская, Н. А. Предместье первых веков нашей эры в Нижнем городе Ольвии [Prеdmеst‘е pеrvykh vеkоv nаshеi ery v Nizhnеm gоrоdе Оl’vii – The suburb of the first centuries AD in the Lower city of Olbia]. In В. А. Анохин [V. A. Anokhin] (ed.), Античные древности Северного Причерноморья [Аntichnyе drеvnоsti Sеvеrnоgо Prichеrnоmоr‘ia – Classical Antiquities of the Northern Black Sea Coast], 71-82. Kiev. Lеipunskаia, N. А. 2006 — Лейпунская, Н. А. Детское погребение III-IV вв. из Ольвии [Detskoe pogrebenie III-IV vv. n. e. iz Ol’vii – Child burial of the 3rd-4th
мир в период античности и средневековья. Oijor. Материалы VII Боспорских чтений [Bospor Kimmeriiskii i varvarskii mir v period antichnosti i srednevekov’ia.Oijor. Materialy VII Bosporskikh chtenii – The Cimmerian Bosporus and the Barbarian World in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.Oijor. The proceedings of the 7th Bosporan Readings], 180-188. Kerch. Krapivina, V. V. 2007. Olbia Pontica in the 3rd-4th centuries AD, in D. V. Grammenos and E. K. Petropoulos (eds), Ancient Greek Colonies in the Black Sea 2/I, 591-626. (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1675). Oxford. Krapivina, V. V. 2010. Amphorae of the 3rd-4th centuries AD in Olbia Pontica, in D. K. Tezgor and N. Inaishvili (eds), Patabs I. Production and Trade of Amphorae in the Black Sea. Actes de la Table Ronde internationale de Batoumi et Trabzon, 27-29 Avril 2006, 69-73. Paris. Krapivina, V. V. and Buiskih, A. V. 2004 — Крапивина, В. В., Буйских, А. В. Результати досліджень 2002-2003 рр. на ділянці Р-25 в Ольвії [Rezultaty doslidzhen’ 2002-2003 rr. na diliantsi R-25 v Ol’vii – The results of investigations in 2002-2003 in sector R-25 at Olbia]. In Н. А. Гаврилюк, [N. A. Gavriliuk ] (ed), Археологічні відкриття в Україні у 2002-2003 рр. [Аrkhеоlоgіchnі vidkryttia v Ukrаinі u 2002-2003rr. – Archaeological Discoveries in Ukrаinе in 2002-2003], 177-178. Kiev. Krapivina, V. V., Bujskih, A. V., Krutilov, V. V., Khmelevskii, D. N. and Smirnov, A. I. 2002 — Крапивина, В. В., Буйских, А. В., Крутилов, В. В., Хмелевский, Д. Н. and Смирнов, А. И. Охранные раскопки в южной части Нижнего города Ольвии в 2001 году (краткие итоги) [Okhrannye raskopki v iuzhnoi chasti Nizhnego goroda Ol’vii v 2001 godu (kratkie itogi) – Rescue excavations in the southern part of the Lower city of Olbia in 2002 (summary of results)]. In Археологічні відкриття в Україні у 2000-2001 рр. [Аrkhеоlоgіchnі vidkryttia v Ukrаinі u 2000-2001rr. – Archaeological Discoveries in Ukrаinе in 2000-2001], 152-155. Kiev. Krapivina, V. V. and Domżalski, K. 2008 — Крапивина, В. В., Домжальский, К. Позднеантичная Ольвия в светле находок краснолаковой керамики [Pozdneantichnaia Ol’viia v svetle nakhodok krasnolakovoi keramiki – Late Antique Olbia in the of light of finds of Red Slip Ware]. In В. Зуев [V. Zuev] (ed.), Боспор и Северное Причерноморье в античную эпоху [Bospor i Severnoe Prichernomor’e v antichnuiu epokhu – Bosporos and the Northern Black Sea Littoral in Antiquity], 73-81. St Petersburg. Krapivina, V. V. and Khmelevskii, D. N. 2006 — Крапивина, В. В., Хмелевский, Д. Н. Охранные работы на участках Л-1 и НГФ в Olbia в 2004-2005 годах [Okhrannye raboty na uchastkakh L-1 i NGF v Ol’vii v 2004-2005 godakh – Rescue excavations in sectors L-1 and NGF at Olbia in 2004-2005] In Н. А. Гаврилюк, [N. A. Gavriliuk ] (ed), Археологічні дослідження в Україні 2004-2005 рр. [Arkheologichni doslidzhennia v Ukraini 2004-2005 rr. – Archaeological
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centuries AD from Olbia], in Н. П. Сорокина, Д. В. Журавлев [N. P. Sorokina and D. V. Zhuravlev] (eds), Северное Причерноморье в эпоху античности и средневековья [Severnoe Prichernomor’e v epokhu antichnosti i srednevekov’ia – The Northern Black Sea Coast in Antiquity and the Middle Ages], 187-188. Moscow. Magomedov, B. V. 1987 — Магомедов, Б. В. Черняховская культура Северо-Западного Причерноморья [Cherniakhovskaia kul’tura SeveroZapadnogo Prichernomor’ia – The Cherniakhov Culture of the North-Western Black Sea Coast]. Kiev. Magomedov, B. V. 2001 — Магомедов, Б. В. Черняховская культура. Проблема этноса [Cherniakhovskaia kul’tura. Problema etnosa – Cherniakhov Culture. The Ethnic Problem]. Lublin. Magomedov, B. V. 2001 — Магомедов, Б. В. Ольвія і варвари в пізньоантичний період [Ol’viia i varvary
v pizn’oantychnyi period – Olbia and barbarians in the Late antique period]. Археологія [Arkheologiia] 4, 4754. Pashkevich, G. A. 1991 — Пашкевич, Г. А. Палеоботанические находки на территории Украины. Памятники I тыс. до н. э. – II тыс. н. э. Каталог 2 [Paleobotanicheskie nakhodki na territorii Ukrainy. Pamiatniki I tys. do n. e. – II tys. n. e. Katalog 2 – Paleobotanical Finds on the Territory of Ukraine. Monuments of the 1st Millennium BC – 2nd Millennium AD. Catalog 2]. Kiev. Zubar’, V. M. and Son, N. A. 2007 — Зубарь, В. М., Сон, Н. А. Северо-Западное Причерноморье в античную эпоху [Severo-Zapadnoe Prichernomor’e v antichnuiu epokhu – The North-Western Black Sea Coast in Antiquity]. Simferopol.
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Chapter 28 Architectural Representations on Coins of the Southern Black Sea Coast During the Roman Period
Katarzyna Lach
c/o Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Kraków, Poland [email protected] Abstract: During the Roman Empire, the lands of the southern Black Sea coast included the provinces of Bithynia, Paphlagonia and Pontus. Local mints that served a market need for everyday coin, at the same time expressed their own autonomy from the centre. Representations on coin reverses were aimed at inter alia providing information about the individual features of a town or region. A common practice was to use representations of local buildings and architectural elements. Coins might thus show places of worship, such as temples, altars or aediculae, or city walls, arches or a bird’s-eye-view of a town. The manner of showing buildings differed, depending on the place and time of coinage, and on the skills of the mint worker. Local mint traditions survived with some disruption until the second half of the 3rd century AD, when, as a result of the economic and financial crisis of the Empire, as well as military threats from Germany and Persia, the monetary system crumbled. Keywords: Architecture, coinage, temples, city walls, mint
In Roman times the south coast of the Black Sea was divided into the provinces of Bithynia, Paphlagonia and Pontus. They all became Roman protectorates during the 1st century BC. Bithynia was created first, when in 74 BC king Nicomedes IV bequeathed it to the Roman Republic. Ten years later came Pontus, forming a single province with its capital at Nicomedia. Thanks to further conquests, Paphlagonia was subdued in 6 BC, and was attached to Galatia (Jones 1971, 167). In creating these provinces, Rome gained control over maritime and overland trading routes.
the Empire, as well as military threats from Germany and Persia, the monetary system crumbled. The placing on local coins of images of buildings and architectural elements was common. According to Price and Trell (1977, 15) about 800 presentations of various GrecoRoman buildings can be found on ancient coins. Temples appear most frequently, but then so do public buildings, altars, harbours, town walls, triumphal arches, columns (Donaldson 1965, xvi-xxiv), and many others. Some of these subjects can be found on the Roman provincial coinage of the southern Black Sea coast. In most cases, the buildings whose image was placed on an obverse do not survive today, and these representations are often the only evidence for them.
The supervision of provinces also was easier thanks to a coherent monetary system introduced by Augustus. Within the area of a province, the demand for everyday bronze coinage was met by the autonomous issues of larger cities under the supervision of a local governor. The privilege of issuing so-called Greek imperial coins was granted for a given period of time. They were issued in the name of the emperor, whose name and image were placed on the obverse. The reverse was reserved for the town, its names and symbols. Despite such restrictions, local minting became increasingly common. Bronze coinage not only had an economic function related to the needs of local market, but at the same time symbolized the relative autonomy and pride of local inhabitants (Burrell 2004, 7). Thus was spread information about a town’s salient features, new titles acquired, an emperor’s visit, local cults or important buildings. Local mint traditions survived with some disruptions until the second half of the 3rd century AD, when, as a result of the economic and financial crisis of
Temples constitute the most popular architectural motif on the coins, but even in the case of some of the most popular representations of a building’s facade differences in detail often makes identification difficult. For example a coin of Gangra (Paphlagonia) (Figure 1:1) shows the facade of a tetrastyle temple on high crepidoma. The lack of any characteristic elements makes it impossible to attribute this building to a particular cult. On a coin of Comana (Figure 1:2) a statue of a goddess wearing a radial crown and holding a shield and a spear is depicted in the central intercolumniation of the temple. This enables to identify the temple as a cult-place of Ma-Enyo, a deity who combined features of the Persian Mother of Gods and a Greek goddess who personified force and violence. The only existing elements of this temple are the crypt (Roscher 1884-1937, 211
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Figure 1. Southern Black Sea coins with the architectural representations: 1 – Gangra-Germanicopolis, Septimius Severus (AD 193-211) (after SNG Von Aulock IV, 6819); 2 – Comana (Comana Pontica), Septimius Severus (AD 193-211) (after SNG von Aulock I, 126; 3 – Amaseia, Alexander Severus (AD 222-235) (after SNG von Aulock I, 44); 4 – Amaseia, Caracalla (Caesar – AD 196-211) (after RG 79); 5 – Calchedon, Gordian III (AD 238-244) (after SNG von Aulock I, 499); 6 – Nicaea, Claudius (AD 41-54) (after SNG von Aulock IV, 7012); 7 – Nicaea, Macrianus (AD 260-261) (after RG 511, 872); 8 – Nicomedia, Gordian III (AD 238244) (after SNG von Aulock I, 810)
II, 2217), and so the effigy on the coin helps us envisage the general appearance of the temple.
Also from Amaseia comes a coin from the reign of Caracalla with the depiction of a flaming altar (Figure 1:4). Altars of various kinds were placed in front of a temple, but also in public squares, and outside a city, and they often existed before a temple was build. The altar depicted on the Amaseia coin is stone-built, simple in form, with a distinct sacrificial pile on the highest platform. On other coins of this emperor the same altar is shown with a quadriga on top (Price and Trell 1977, 93, Fig. 163).
Placing an image of a deity or ruler in the central intercolumniation reflects its location in the adytum within the temple, at the same time showing the facade and interior of the building. According to another theory (Trell 1965, 242) the representation of a deity between columns should be connected with an eastern tradition. For example, on the walls of the temple of Inin at Uruk (1420 BC) statues of male and female gods are placed in deep niches. On the other hand, a statue of Kybele in a shallow niche with a triangular pediment dated to the second half of the 4th century BC can be seen at Aslankaya in Anatolia (Śliwa 1997, 107).
Another example of this type of monument is the Altar of Apollo at Chalcedon (Stillwell 1976, 217). Today, everything from antiquity is covered by the contemporary city. On a coin of Gordian III (Figure 1:5), the facade of a distyle temple with a Syrian pediment is shown. Inside is statue of Apollo standing by a burning altar. Although the cult place did not survive until today, we can safely assume that there was an altar or small temple in which offerings were made to the god.
An example of the use of civic architecture as a motif on coins are buildings of Pontic Amaseia. The city was situated near the Mt Yelil Irmak (height c. 250m). On a coin of Alexander Severus (Figure 1:3) a bird’s-eye-view of the buildings of Amaseia can be seen. They are placed on the hillside, with the temple of Zeus Stratios the highest point of the town. It was represented on the coin in this way to mark its importance despite its really being situated outside the city walls. Another temple is placed at coin’s lower edge, and is probably a temple of the imperial cult of the 2nd century AD (Burrell 2004, 310).
An interesting image of local architecture is found on a coin of Claudius from Nicaea (Figure 1:6). It shows a twostoreyed building with six columns on each storey. Between the two ranks of columns is a frieze inscribed with the city’s name. Other versions exist of the same building, with side walls shown or with Syrian pediment (Amandry et al., 1992, 2032-2039). According to some historians this is a 212
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temple, although it cannot be identified (SNG von Aulock I, 7012). More probably the image on the coin shows the entrance to a sanctuary (Price and Trell 1977, 99). A similar building can be found in front of the sanctuary of Athena Nikephoros at Pergamon.
Burrell, B. 2004. Neokoroi. Greek Cities and Roman Empire. Boston. Çalik Ross, A. 2007. Ancient Izmit. Nicomedia. Istanbul. Donaldson, T. L. 1965. Ancient Architecture on Greek and Roman Coins and Medals. Chicago. Howgego, C. 1997. Ancient History from Coins. London, New York. Jones, A. H. M. 1971. The Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces. Oxford. Kokowski, A. 2007. Goci. Od Skandzy do Campi Gothorum [Goths. From Skandza to the Campi Gothorum]. Warsaw. Price, M. J. and Trell, B. L. 1977. Coins and their Cities. Architecture on the Ancient Coins of Greece, Rome and Palestine. London. RG – Waddington W., Babelon W., Reinach T. 1904-1925. Recueil général des monnaies grecques d’Asie Mineure. Paris. Roscher, W. H. 1884-1937. Ausführliches Lexicon der Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie. Leipzig. SNG von Aulock – Aulock, von H. 1967. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum Deutschland: Sammlung von Aulock. Nachträge I. Pontus, Armenia Minor, Paphlagonien, Bithynien. Nachträge IV. Supplement. Berlin (reprinted New Jersey 1987). Stillwell, R., MacDonald, W. L. and McAllister, M. H. (eds) 1976. Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Princeton. Śliwa, J. 1997. Sztuka i Archeologia Starożytnego Wschodu [The Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East]. Kraków. Trell, B. L. 1964. The cult-image on temple-type coins. Numismatic Chronicle 17, 241-245. Trell, B. L. 1979. Architecture on ancient coins. Archaeology 29, 6-13.
From the same city comes a coin of Macrinus with an image of the walls (Figure 1:7). This schematic view was supposed to commemorate the rebuilding of the city walls after they had been totally destroyed during the Gothic invasion of AD 256 (Kokowski 2007, 166). On some coins buildings are not the main topic but are merely supplementary. On a coin of Gordian’s III from Nicomedia there is an image of the city’s Tyche holds a miniature temple while offering it to a seated Roma (Figure 1:8). This symbolic scene informs us about the creation of a new neokoria in the city (Burrell 2004, 310) and also illustrates an imperial visit (Çalik Ross 2007, 74). The placing of images of buildings and architectonic elements on a city’s coinage had many functions. In the case of temple images, they showed the ‘trade-mark’ of a specific centre (Trell 1976, 13). They also demonstrated the piety of the inhabitants, and their wealth, thanks to which they could afford to erect sacred as well as other public buildings. From the Empire’s view, such images also had an ideological value, in that they illustrated a province’s wealth; it also corresponded with the imperial ideology, proving its prestige, the emperor’s patronage towards a city, and a city’s loyalty to Rome (Howgego 1997, 86). Bibliography Amandry, M., Burnnett, A. and Ripolles, P. P. 1992. Roman Provincial Coinage 1. London.
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Chapter 29 An Olbian Estate of the 4th Century BC
Svetlana N. Liashko
V. I. Vernadskii National Library of Ukraine Institute of Biographical Research Kiev, Ukraine [email protected]
Valentina A. Papanova
State Bedryansk Pedagogical University Social-Humanistic Faculty Bedryansk, Ukraine [email protected] Abstract: An estate at Olbia of the 4th century BC contained a farmyard and a residential area. The principal occupation of the owners was cattle-raising. The large number of bones in the yard suggest that the cattle were slaughtered at the estate, and arrangements seem to existed for smoking the meat. Grain was also produced. There was perhaps a marble workshop nearby. Keywords: Semi-dugout, cult-place, sacrifice, cattle-raising, smoked meat, grain
Over the past few years, excavations have been conducted in an estate of 4th century BC Olbia, located 2km to the south-west of the settlement, between the First Western Road (Karasev 1956, 9-34) and the north-eastern continuation of Shyroka Balka (Broad Hollow) (Liashko and Papanova 2004, 89).
limestone blocks. The chamber was divided into southern and northern rooms by means of a wall or partition which was made of mudbrick and revetted with stone in its lower part (Liashko and Papanova 2005b, 245; Liashko and Papanova 2008a, 224-225; Liashko and Papanova 2008b, 51). Such construction technology was used both at the settlements at Shyroka Balka (Broad Hollow) and Berezan Island (Rusiaeva and Mazarati 1986, 48).
The remains of two semi-dugout houses, 13 chambers, cesspits, an altar and an ash place have been found to date (Liashko and Papanova 2005a; Liashko and Papanova 2005b; Liashko and Papanova 2006). The buildings were laid out on the principles of parallel design.
An L-shaped trench was dug in the floor of the chamber, parallel to the partition. The trench was triangular in profile, and was filled with large and small stones, and amphora fragments; no mortar was used. There were two Sinopean amphora handles with stamps of the astynomos Poseidon dated to the 4th century BC (Liashko and Papanova 2004, 93). Some stones displayed traces of fire. The edges of the trench were covered with yellow clay, and the bottom with green clay. There were 15 small pits of different sizes beyond the trench. There was an oval pit in the southern corner of the trench. It was filled with ash, scorched amphora fragments and the bones of animals. The floor in this part of the semi-dugout was covered with several layers of clay. There was an oval, open fireplace against the western wall of the chamber (the thickness of the burnt layer was 0.42m).
This complex represents the third type of Olbian estates, i.e. an estate in sole ownership (Kryzhitskii 1982, 121; Kryzhitskii et al., 1989, 42). Only one estate located south of the settlement at Shyroka Balka (Broad Hollow) beyond the Olbia necropolis had been known before excavating of the estate at Olbia (Rusiaeva and Mazarati 1986, 47). Most of the estates were located to the north of the settlement (Kryzhitskii et al., 1989, 150). There are some interesting constructional peculiarities in a semi-dugout complex of three chambers (Semi-dugout House 1), a rare phenomenon for ancient towns and settlements of the northern Black Sea region (Figure 1).
Chamber 2 abutted on Chamber 1 to the north-east (Figure 3) (Liashko and Papanova 2006, 226), and the chambers were connected by a door. The floor in the south-eastern part of Chamber 2 was covered with limestone slabs. There was a niche cut in the north-west wall of the chamber that
Chamber 1 is square (Figure 2) and cut into bedrock. Above the surface, the walls were of stone and mudbrick. A staircase of three steps led into the chamber. Two steps were cut in the rock, and the third was made from four small 215
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Figure 1. Plan of Semi-dugout House 1: 1 – baked clay; 2 – mudbrick; 3 – ashes; 4 – remains of wood
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was separated from the pavement by a partition made of limestone slabs that had been dug in the bedrock. There was a stove with a sloping floor in the north-western corner of the chamber. To the left of the stove, there was the lower part of an amphora that had been embedded in the bedrock. A bronze coin was found dating to 380-360 BC (Anokhin 1989, 39, Pl. IV). There were two cesspits and an arched niche. Chamber 3 was rectangular in plan; it joined Chamber 2 on the east (Figure 4) (Liashko and Papanova 2006, 226-227). These chambers were separated by a stone wall 3.8m long, 0.7-0.8m high, and 0.51-0.55m wide. The doorway was 0.7m wide. Such a design of the partition was rather unusual for semi-dugout houses. The estates of Olbia usually have light wattle and daub constructions (Kryzhitskii 1987, 12).
Figure 2. Chamber No. 1
There was a bed made from a heap of clay by the south wall of the chamber. It was coated with clay and strengthened with 4 limestone plates and adobe bricks. There was a fireplace of an open type to the north of the bed. The floor of the chamber was covered with clay. There was a niche and 4 cesspits with covers in the chamber. A ceiling beam appears to have fallen down in the middle of the chamber. The semi-dugout house performed mixed functions: Room 1 was used for household requirements, Room 2 as a kitchen, and Room 3 as a living room. There was a second small semi-dugout house rectangular in plan, but with oval corners located to the east of semidugout House 1. It had an open fireplace located 0.6m higher than the floor, with some fish bones, shells, small stones and ash nearby. It probably served as a summer kitchen. Some rooms built above ground, as well as further chambers (Nos 9, 12, 13) cut into bedrock (up to 0.35-0.6m deep) were discovered. The height of the stone walls that were set into bedrock was 0.55-1.73m. The above-ground rooms had well preserved basements, and all were rectangular in shape. The basements and walls were built using irregular techniques used in the ancient towns of the northern Black Sea region (Kryzhitskii et al., 1989, 11-14). The settlers used bricks made of stone, marble and adobe. The size and quality of the bricks were similar.
Figure 3. Chamber No. 2
Some cult buildings were found, including an oval hearth (3х2.2х0.5m) containing cattle bones and pottery fragments covered with ash (Liashko and Papanova 2004, 90). Bovine crania predominated. A minimal number of other bones, mostly shoulder, radial, thigh and tibia bones, and the absence of hooves suggested that the place had not been used for slaughtering or for dumping domestic waste. The carcasses of domestic animals were not used for food, but for sacrifice. A bronze coin of the year 330 BC was found in the hearth (Zograf 1951, 127-128, Pl. XXXII).
Figure 4. Chamber No. 3
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at the beginning of the 4th century BC and was in use until the middle of the century. The tradition in which the builders worked was one brought by Greek colonists (see Butiagin 2001, 36-41). The first third of the 4th century BC was marked by the construction of houses above ground with rock-cut basements. The latter were of stone, while the walls were of mixed type (adobe and stone). The estate ceased to exist in the thirties of the 4th century BC, quite possibly as a result of the campaign of Zopyrion’s army. The estate was contemporary with the other estates at Olbia (Kryzhitskii et al., 1999, 112). Figure 5. Stone altar
Bibliography Anokhin, V. A. 1989 — Анохин, В. А. Монеты античных городов Северо-западного Причерноморья [Monety antichnykh gorodov Severo-zapadnogo Prichernomor’ia – Coins of the Ancient Cities of the North-West Black Sea Coast]. Kiev. Butiagin, A. M. 2001 — Бутягин, А. М. Земляночное строительство на архаическом Боспоре (генезис и развитие) [Zemlianochnoie stroitel’stvo na arkhaicheskom Bospore (genezis i razvitie) – Dugout house construction in archaic Bosporos (genesis and development)]. In В. Зуев [V. Zuev] (ed.), Боспорский феномен: колонизация региона, формирование полисов, образование государства [Bosporskii fenomen: kolonizatsiia regiona, formirovanie polisov, obrazovaniie gosudarstva – The Bosporan Phenomenon: Colonization of the Region, the Formation of Towns and States), 36-41. St Petersburg. Karasev, A. N. 1956 — Карасев, А. Н. Планы Ольвии XIX века как источник для топографии Ольвии [Plany Ol’vii 19 veka kak istochnik dlia topografii Ol’vii – Maps of Olbia of the 19th century as a source for topography of Olbia]. Материалы по истории и археологии СССР [Materialy po istorii i arkheologii SSSR – Materials for the History and Archaeology of the USSR] 50, 9-34. Moscow, Leningrad. Kryzhitskii, S. D. 1982 — Крыжицкий, С. Д. Жилые дома античных городов Северного Причерноморья (VI-IV в. до н. э.) [Zhilyie doma antichnykh gorodov Severnogo Prichernomor’ia (VI-IV v. do n. e.) – Private Houses in the Ancient Towns of the Northern Black Sea Region (VI-IV centuries BC)]. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D. (ed.) 1987 — Крыжицкий, С. Д. Культура населения Ольвии и ее округи в архаическое время [Kul’tura naseleniia Ol’vii i eie okrugi v arkhaicheskoie vremia – The Culture of Olbia’s Urban and Rural Population in the Archaic Period]. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D., Buiskikh, S. B., Burakov, A. V. and Otreshko, V. M. 1989 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Буйских, С. Б., Бураков, А. В., Отрешко, В. М. Сельская округа Ольвии [Sel’skaia okruga Ol’vii – The Rural Chora of Olbia]. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D., Buiskikh, and Otreshko, V. M. 1990 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Буйских, С. Б., Отрешко, В. М. Античные поселения Нижнего Побужья (археологическая карта) [Antichnye poseleniia
The hearth (eschara) represented a cult complex. Such escharai were not only located at sacrificial places. An eschara was excavated in the north-western part of the settlement of Katelino 1 which lay in the chora of Olbia (Ruban 1982, 54). The second cult construction was a circular stone altar 2.2m in diameter (Figure 5). The main types of stone used for its construction were limestone and marble rubble. The construction material also contained a considerable number of ceramics, handles and amphora fragments (Liashko and Papanova 2005b, 246). Conclusions First, the territory of the estate was divided into two parts, a farmyard and a residential area. These parts were separated by a stone and adobe wall. The farmyard had housing for small animals and four enclosures for cattle. Second, the inhabitants of the estate raised cattle. The cattle remains in the hearth and around the estate testify to this. The natural resources were favourable for raising cattle. Herodotus (4. 17) described the Lower Bug region (Borysthenes) and observed its beautiful and rich pastures favourable for raising cattle. Third, the cattle were slaughtered at the estate. Thus is suggested by the great number of bones in the yard. Slaughtering requires a lot of water, hence the amphora fragments and louteria (91% of the ceramics found in this part of the estate). Iron carving knives triangular in profile were used. A fragment of such a knife was found there. Fourth, the most popular ways of processing meat were salting, drying and smoking. Room 1 of Semi-dugout 1 was probably used for this purpose. There were some small shallow sockets for suspension poles for smoking the meat. Hot air was supplied through the L-shaped trench. Fifth, the inhabitants of the estate grew grain. A grain pit and a stove for drying grain were excavated at the estate. It is possible that the grain was dried in House 1 (Liashko and Papanova 2008b, 18). Sixth, there was a substantial amount of marble rubble used in the constructions. There was probably a marble workshop not far from the estate, and marble left after processing was used in construction work. There were thus two features that existed on the site at different times. A semi-dugout house complex was created
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Svetlana N. Liashko and Valentina A. Papanova: An Olbian Estate of the 4th Century BC
Nizhnego Pobuzh’ia (arkheologicheskaia karta) – Ancient Settlements in the Lower Bug Region (Archaeological Map)]. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D., Rusiaeva, A. S., Krapivina, V. V., Leipunskaia, N. A., Skrzhinskaia, M. V. and Anokhin, V. A. 1999 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Русяева, А. С., Крапивина, В. В., Лейпунская, Н. А., Скржинская, М. В., Анохин, В. А. Ольвия: античное государство в Северном Причерноморье [Ol’viia: antichnoe gosudarstvo v Severnom Prichernomor’e – Olbia: An Ancient State on the Northern Black Sea Coast]. Kiev. Liashko, S. N. and Papanova, V. A. 2004 — Ляшко, С. Н., Папанова, В. А. Новая ольвийская усадьба [Novaia ol’viiskaia usad’ba – A new Olbian estate]. In В. Зуев [V. Zuev] (ed.), Боспорский феномен: проблемы хронологи и датировки памятников [Bosporskii fenomen: problemy khronologii i datirovki pamiatnikov – The Bosporan Phenomenon: Issues of Chronology and Dating of the Monuments], 89-95. St Petersburg. Liashko, S. N. and Papanova, V. A. 2005a — Ляшко, С. Н., Папанова, В. А. ‘В самой крепости жила только меньшая часть ольвиополитов...’ [‘V samoi kreposti zhila tol’ko men’shaia chast ol’viopolitov…’ – ‘Only a smaller part of Olbia’s inhabitants lived in the fortress…’]. In В. Зуев [V. Zuev] (ed.), Боспорский феномен: проблема соотношения письменных и археологических источников [Bosporskii fenomen: problema sootnosheniia pis’mennykh i arkheologicheskikh istochnikov – The Bosporan Phenomenon: the Problem of Correlating Literary and Archaeological Sources], 192-199. St Petersburg. Liashko, S. N. and Papanova, V. A. 2005b — Ляшко, С. Н., Папанова, В. А. Итоги исследования усадьбы на некрополе Ольвии [Itogi issledovaniia usad’by na nekropole Ol’vii – Results of investigations at the Olbia necropolis estate]. In Н. А. Гаврилюк [N. A. Gavriliuk] (ed.), Археологічні відкриття в Україні: 2003-2004 рр. [Arkheologichni vidkryttia v Ukraini: 2003-2004 rr. – Archaeological discoveries in Ukraine: 2003-2004], 244-247. Zaporizhzhia. Liashko, S. N. and Papanova, V. A. 2006 — Ляшко, С. Н., Папанова, В. А. Ольвийская усадьба (итоги раскопок 2003-2005 г. г.) [Ol’viiskaia usad’ba (itogi raskopok 2003-2005 g. g. – An Olbian estate (results of excavation 2003-2005)]. In В. Кушнир [V. Kushnir] (ed.), Древнее Причерноморье. Сборник статей, посвященных 85-летию проф. П. О. Карышковского [Drevnee
Prichernomor’e. Sbornik statei, posviashchennykh 85-letiiu professora P. O. Karyshkovskogo – The Ancient Black Sea Region. Collected Papers for the 85th Birthday of Professor P. O. Karyshkovskii] 7, 134-140. Odessa. Liashko, S. N. and Papanova, V. A. 2008a — Ляшко, С. Н., Папанова, В. А. Полуземлянка редкой конструкции с ольвийской усадьбы [Poluzemlianka redkoi konstruktsii s ol’viiskoi usad’by – A semi-dugout house of rare construction from an Olbian estate]. In В. Немченко [V. Nemchenko] (ed.), Древнее Причерноморье [Drevnee Prichernomor’e – The Ancient Black Sea Region] 8, 223-229. Odessa Liashko, S. N. and Papanova, V. A. 2008b — Ляшко, С. Н., Папанова, В. А. Охранные раскопки участка ‘Усадьба’ (юго-западная часть некрополя Ольвии). Отчет [Okhrannyie raskopki uchastka ‘Usad’ba’ (yugo-zapadnaia chast’ nekropolia Ol’vii). Otchet – Rescue excavation of an ‘estate’ (south-west part of Olbia necropolis). Report]. Научный архив Института археологии Национальной Академии наук Украины [Nauchnyi arkhiv Instituta arkheologii Natsional’noi Akademii nauk Ukrainy – Scientific Archives of the Institute of Archaeology of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences]. Unpublished report. Kiev. Ruban, V. V. 1982 — Рубан, В. В. Литое свинцовое изображение группы фигур из поселения Кателино 1 [Litoe svintsovoie izobrazheniie gruppy figur iz poseleniia Katelino 1 – Lead cast group of figures from the settlement of Katelino 1]. In В. Баран [V. Baran] (ed.), Новые памятники древней и средневековой художественной культуры [Novye pamiatniki drevnei i srednevekovoi khudozhestvennoi kultury – New Monuments of Ancient and Medieval Fine Arts], 50-59. Kiev. Rusiaeva, A. S. and Mazarati, S. N. 1986 — Русяева, А. С., Мазарати, С. Н. Археологические исследования у Широкой балки близ Ольвии [Arkheologicheskie issledovaniia u Shirokoi balki bliz Ol’vii – Archaeological research at Shiroka Balka (Broad Hollow) near Olbia]. In А. С. Русяева [A. S. Rusiaeva] (ed.), Ольвия и ее округа [Ol’viia i ee okruga – Olbia and its Environs], 40-54. Kiev. Zograf, A. N. 1951 — Зограф, А. Н. Античные монеты [Antichnye monety – Ancient coins]. (Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovania po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 16). Moscow.
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Chapter 30 The Bronze Statuette of a Colchian Horsewoman on Samos: Accident or Design?
Vakhtang Licheli
Tbilisi State University Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Tbilisi, Georgia [email protected] Abstract: The first millennium BC in Colchis was remarkable for metal production. There was an unprecedented flowering of craftsmanship in bronze, all the more remarkable because its success can be followed in the archaeological material found in Colchis. But in order to put the Colchian achievement in context, evidence is presented from other regions as well, in particular, a necropolises and settlements excavated in Colchis and two necropolises from eastern Georgia, all of them dated to the 8th-6th centuries BC. There is a small number of Colchian finds made in the Aegean, and the discovery of a bronze statuette of a horsewoman in the Heraion on Samos is of considerable importance in this context. The piece is generally agreed to be Colchian, but the question arises as to quite how it reached Samos, and this is discussed here. Keywords: Colchian bronze-working, Gonio, Pichvnari, Phasis, Ergeta, ram, Mzetamze, Atskuri, Tlia, horsewoman, Samos
Glimpse to the archaeology of Colchian costal line
In this situation the archaeology of the mouths of navigable rivers is one of the most interesting fields. There are several more or less navigable rivers in Colchis (Figure 1). From south to north they are:
Two cultural areas can be distinguished in Georgia in the period from the end of the 2nd millennium to the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, namely the east/ central part of the country and the western – Colchian region. The Colchian culture of an earlier period, the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, was mainly concentrated along the Black Sea coastline. From time to time during succeeding periods, Colchian Culture developed to such an extent that its area of influence extended beyond western Georgia into neighbouring territories. Nevertheless, the settlements and burial places along the coast deserve special attention.
1. River Chorokhi, the ‘river Phasis’ of early Greek literature Not far from the river, in the village of Gonio, have been found and excavated the remains of a Roman camp mentioned by Arrian (2nd century AD) as Aphsaros and located near the sea (Kakhidze and Plontke-Luning 2002, 7-207).
The Colchian coast is a rather special region from an archaeological point of view. The east coast of the Black Sea between the river Chorokhi and Bichvinta Roman camp was mentioned in ancient Georgian chronicles as the ‘Sea Gulf’, and Strabo (11. 1. 39) refers to it as the ‘Colchian Sea’. This area has a special interest for the investigation of the function of settlements, created near the mouths of rivers at different times. The problem is the absence of convenient natural harbours that might protect ships from winds and storms. For this reason, rivers were used as harbours. After entering the rivers, vessels would be in a more comfortable position. I suspect that this is the reason why settlements were founded close to the river mouths; they performed a specific function that involved functioning as a harbour, communicating with ships, after the mid-1st millennium BC, arranging the redistribution of Greek imported goods.
2. River Choloki basin There are several important archaeological sites in this small area: Namcheduri settlement is located near the junction of the small River Ochkhamuri to the River Choloki, on a hill 300m from the sea. Six cultural strata of the third to first millennium BC were excavated there. Excavations in 1999 at Namcheduri II unearthed remains of thatched wooden constructions of the 1st millennium BC (Figure 2; Chavleishvili 2005, 18-26). Kobuleti-Pichvnari is the most important and best known archaeological site in south-west Georgia dating to the Classical period. It consists of several different sites: a
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Figure 1. Map of the archaeological sites mentioned in the text
The Greek necropolis, which is a one of the best preserved site of Classical period Colchis, is located to the west of the 5th century Colchian cemetery. This is a unique phenomenon in the eastern Pontic area, for necropoleis of native inhabitant and Greek settler to be found side by side (Vickers and Kakhidze 2004, 166). 340 burials were examined, and the grave goods may be divided into eight groups: amphoras, Attic red-figured pottery, Attic blackgloss pottery, other imported wares, Colchian pottery, glass, coins, jewellery.
settlement of the first millennium BC (100ha); a Colchian necropolis of the 5th century BC; a Greek necropolis of the 5th to 4th century BC; a Hellenistic necropolis; a necropolis of the 4th century AD, and a settlement on coastal sand dunes of the 8th century BC. The site is of great importance for Greco-Colchian relations in the mid-1st millennium BC. Earlier finds include a flint spearhead of the 5th millennium BC, and a copper axe of the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. Classical and Hellenistic Pichvnari was a major centre not only of Colchis, but of the eastern Black Sea littoral. The finds illustrate close economic, cultural and trading relations with other centres of the Greek world. It was recently said that ‘judging by the date of the earliest Greek material (around the mid-5th century BC), Pichvnari was settled late by Greeks, the major centres of Poti (Phasis) to the north and Batumi (Bathys Limen) to the south having already been occupied a century earlier’ (Vickers and Kakhidze 2004, 144). The Colchian necropolis, where more than 300 graves were examined, is located on Napurvala elevation. The bulk of the burials were cut into the solid, sandy soil (Vickers and Kakhidze 2004, 147), and funerary dining areas are clearly defined. The grave goods discovered in the Colchian necropolis of Pichvnari can be divided into eight groups: locally made pottery, Greek imports, coins, jewellery, weapons, fibulae, tweezers and beads. All grave goods, as is suggested by the excavators, indicate close contacts between Colchian population and the Greek world (e.g. the custom of burying the dead with the so-called Charon’s obol).
In 2003-4 the joint Georgian-British Pichvnari archaeological expedition excavated 46 burials and 12 ritual platforms in the area of the Hellenistic cemetery (Kakhidze et al., 2007, 43-67). The grave goods are quite numerous and diverse (local and imported pottery, a rich collection of gold, silver, bronze and iron earrings and bracelets, beads, Colchian and Sinopean coins). 3. River Rioni (the ‘Phasis’ of the Greek sources of the Classical and Hellenistic periods) The exact location of the ancient mouth of the river Phasis is notoriously unknown. According to Apollonius Rhodius, writing in the 3rd century BC, the territory of Colchis (western Georgia) was ‘terra incognita’ before the arrival of Jason and Argonauts (Lordkipanidze 2001a, 37-53). During the Greeks’ expansion into the Black Sea in the 6th-5th centuries BC, colonists set up permanent cities, and one of the most outstanding economic and cultural centres on the east coast was the fortified city Phasis with
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Figure 2. Colchian building at Namcheduri (excavated workshop and reconstruction; after Jibladze 2007)
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colossal statues, a theatre and a temple of Apollo. It became a popular destination for Mediterranean merchantmen during the second half of the 1st millennium BC and the 1st millennium AD. The problem of the location of the city of Phasis has been discussed at length (e.g. Berdznishvili 1969, 15-189; Lordkipanidze 2001a, 37). Although it is frequently mentioned in the ancient sources, further evidence is rather meagre. Most references limit themselves to saying that the city lay on the coast, at the mouth of the river. Pseudo-Scymnus, however, specifies that the city was situated on the left bank of the Phasis, and Arrian concurs. The statement of the Byzantine historian Agathias that the river flows on the northern side of the city points in the same direction.
Figure 3. Ship’s representation from Kulevi settlement (after Papuashvili 2005)
Finally, Strabo (11. 3. 4) reports a lake near the city, and elsewhere (11. 2. 17) he says that: ‘On the Phasis is situated a city bearing the same name, an emporium of the Colchi, which is protected on one side by the river, on another by a lake, and on another by the sea’. Thus, all sources indicate that the ancient city of Phasis should be sought in the area of the modern port of Poti, where the Rioni flows into the sea, the latter river being identified with the river Phasis; to the south is a lake, at present called Paliastomi. The question is not, however, solved so easily owing to the complex geomorphologic changes observable in this region (Lordkipanidze 2001a, 47).
Based on the farming tools, jewellery, samples of minor sculpture and other finds, the graves should be dated to the second half of the 9th to the 7th century BC. The Ergeta area is rich in a variety of archaeological sites of the 3rd to 1st millennium BC (Figure 4). One of them, the settlement on the hill ‘Mamuliebis Dikhagudzuba’ (Figure 5) was partially excavated and as a result four cultural strata were investigated: the first and second levels contained the remains of burned wooden buildings, the walls of which were plastered with clay. Pottery of the first and second levels may be divided into two groups, local and imported. Local pottery (pithoi, jugs, goblets, bowls etc.) is typical Colchian ware, dated to the 6th and 5th centuries BC. There are amphoras, louteria, aryballoi, and other types of Greek pottery among imported goods in the same levels (Figure 6). The third level was represented by pottery, most richly decorated with grooved patterns and typical of finds of the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (Figure 6). In my view, some pieces find parallels with ‘kalathos’ type pottery from Hasanlu IV B stratum (1000-850/700 BC; see: Overlaet 2003, 7), which makes possible a more precise date, namely the first quarter of the 1st millennium BC. The fourth level contains ceramic material of the first half of the 2nd millennium BC (Figure 6; Papuashvili 2005, 11-44). Otherwise, there are sites near the rivers Mokvi, Tamishi, Kodori and Kelasuri-Gumista with cultural strata of the 2nd and 1st millennium BC, containing remains of Colchian buildings and different types of pottery (Jibladze 2007, 13-20).
In brief, the main problem is the special geomorphologic situation that emerged after the process of transgression and regression of the Black Sea, and the permanent migration of the bed of the Phasis. In addition, the river brings down millions of tons of silt from the hinterland every year. This is why no settlement of the 2nd-1st millennium BC has been discovered near the mouth of this river. 4. River Khobi On the right bank, 200m from the mouth of the river, there was a partially excavated settlement, which dates to the 2nd millennium BC to the 19th century AD (Kulevi settlement). This is one of the most interesting settlements in Colchis. Apart from objects suggesting agricultural activity and metal production, the finds included special terracotta figurines of animals (Figure 3). Such terracotta figurines were first noted in Vani and later at Nokalakevi. In both cases it was impossible to be certain of their function, but they were deemed to be of a cultic nature on account of their archaeological context. Constructional elements of the small models found in Kulevi are most important, I believe, for interpreting ram figures, and in particular the rectangular details that confirm their function (see below).
Based on such finds we must assume that in the 1st millennium BC not only metal production become further advanced, but that there was some kind of standardization in ceramic production, a process that continued until the 4th century BC. In general, zoomorphic motifs become much more attractive. In this regard, the zoomorphic figures discovered in inland parts of Colchis, namely Nokalakevi and Vani, make this clear. Although some ram figures appear already in the Bronze Age, they become especially popular in Colchis in the 8th-7th centuries BC. They are used as decorative elements on pottery (for example, that from Pichori, Tsarche and Tamish settlements; Figure 7), or
5. River Enguri The best known sites are several sites with Colchian collective graves near the coast in the village of Ergeta. The area of the graves is c. 50-60m2. More than 235 (in some graves 500) individuals were buried in the pit graves.
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Figure 4. Ergeta. Distribution of archaeological sites (after Papuashvili 2005)
(Licheli 2007, 109-115). Such graves usually contain a large number of skeletons and artefacts (Ureki, Nigvziani, Dgvaba, Ergeta). The characteristic features of Colchian collective graves are: cult platforms on the surface, ossuary pits and large collective burial pits with secondary interment of the dead. An optimum model of such graves is: tables arranged on the ground for the treatment of the dead, sacrificial platforms, altars and cremation ovens. A pit was dug for the cremation bones. From this platform, certain unburnt parts of the deceased, wrapped with the grave goods were taken into the vault, through a corridor (Papuashvili 1998, 4-19). A typical example is a grave excavated in Ergeta (Burial ground II, Burial No. 4 of the second half of the 8th century BC to the first half of the 7th century BC; Papuashvili 2004, 152-154). The outline of the burial pit became apparent at a depth of 70-80cm. The dromos appeared in the northern part of the burial, its width reaching up to 3m and directed to the centre. The burial had a pear-shaped plan. The length of the burial including the entrance was 11m, and the width more than
in bronze sculpture. Hardly any such images belong to later periods. It is significant that the increasing role of sheep in farming is not archeologically attested. The growth of a ram cult in Colchis should therefore have some other explanation. In connection with the interpretation of ram figures, a highly stylized fragmentary figure of a ram discovered in Kulevi by Dr R. Papuashvili is relevant. It must come from a small structure, which is attested by the grooves on its body which broaden towards the back. It may have been the decorative prow of a model boat: according to Hecataeus of Miletus, Phrixus came to Colchis in a ramprowed ship, and Diodorus Siculus says much the same. The story of Phrixus’s coming to Colchis was probably known to Colchians in the 8th-7th centuries BC, and may have an explanation in sporadic pre-colonization contacts, reflected both in written sources as well as in archaeological material. One of the most significant archaeological phenomena of 1st millennium BC Colchis are the collective graves
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Figure 5. Ergeta. Excavations on the ‘Mamuliebis Dikhagudzuba’
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Figure 6. Pottery from the four cultural levels of ‘Mamuliebis Dikhagudzuba’
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Figure 7. Ship representation on pottery of the 8th-7th century BC
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Figure 8. Colchian collective Burial ground II, Burial No. 4. Plan of pit (after Papuashvili 2005)
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Bronze objects with close parallels in Colchis are frequent in the burial, including a decorated Colchian axe. Elsewhere in the necropolis are similar iron axes. Near the Mzetamze necropolis, in Telovani, there were discovered slag and a mould for the production of Colchian axes. In addition, a workshop site was discovered 1km to the north.
5m (Figure 8). The thickness of the layer in the central part exceeded 40cm to the north, reaching 10cm at the entrance. The bottom of the pit was at a depth of 80cm in the northern part, and 1.6m in the southern. Any bones had disintegrated, but teeth survived, eroded but preserved in their natural articulation. These were attested in 235 separate groups, and the pit presumably served for the interment, at the very least, of the same number of corpses. Hazel-nuts, chestnuts and millet were found in the burial, as well as 596 items that fall into 44 categories. The material used in making the grave goods were clay, stone, flint, wood, copper, bronze, iron, lead, silver, gold, semi-precious stones, talc, amber and paste. Their functions were diverse: utensils, weapons, farming tools, articles connected with clothes, ornaments, beads, necklaces and small-scale sculpture (Figures 9-10 and 17). A sculptural representation of a reclining ‘leopard’ and a two-headed ram were found in this grave. But in other collective graves (Ureki, Figure 11; Dgvaba, Figure 12; Ergeta, Figures 13-14) were found bronze sculptures of a horsewoman and bulls (Mikeladze 1995, 1-32), which have parallels in the Greek world.
All this suggests that the bronze objects were produced locally. Mzetamze necropolis is mostly composed of the same kind of burials, and about half of excavated burials of all four periods contain items of Colchian type, but in the context of the Eastern Georgian culture. This group of graves dates to the 8th-6th centuries BC. The burials of the successive period, the 6th to 4th centuries BC, are of different types, being cist-graves built of flag stones, again containing burials with crouch remnants. Metal objects are made of iron (axes, knives, spearhead). In the burials of the next period (4th-3rd centuries BC), metal objects are fewer and ceramics characteristic of Borjomi gorge (in Caucasian Iberia) are now prominent. The burials of the last period (the Middle Ages) do not contain grave goods. A similar chronological progression occurs in other necropoleis of southern Georgia (Kviratitskhoveli, Rveli, Chitakhevi).
At this period the Colchian society moved to a new stage of development and this new prosperity led to cultural expansion. This can be observed in adjacent territories (Shida Kartli, Samtskhe, North Caucasus) and another consequence was the spread beyond the borders of Colchis of objects characteristic of Colchian culture. It is necessary however to define the nature and number of objects found outside Colchis. For this purpose, two sites outside western Georgia deserve special attention, namely the Mzetamze necropolis and later, the Atskuri settlement, as well as the Tlia necropolis. Colchian objects form a major part of the material of the 8th-6th centuries BC in both necropoleis, but the number is appreciably higher in the Tlia necropolis than at Mzetamze.
As was mentioned, in general, therefore five chronological groups can be distinguished from the late Bronze Age to the Middle Ages in Mzetamze. Objects of Colchian type are found in the third chronological group (the 8th to 6th century BC). One of the jars from this group is, judging by its shape, a typical Eastern Georgian vessel (Figure 15), but its decoration is unique for this period of Colchian pottery. It does have parallels with Greek geometric ceramics, in particular the meander that corresponds to horizontal meanders near the handles of Geometric pottery (Whitley 1991, 121) and which begins in the 9th century BC and continues to Late Geometric II period at the end of the 8th century BC. Likewise, there is another interesting vessel from the Mzetamze necropolis, namely a beaker the body of which is divided into bands in a way altogether unfamiliar in Colchian and eastern Georgian ceramics, but totally normal in Greek Geometric (Whitley 1991, 121). Similar meanders also occur at this period in eastern Anatolia (Konya area), whence it could easily have spread to the Caucasus. But this is unlikely, since both objects were found among typically Colchian artefacts as well as with ‘Scythian’ arrowheads. At the same time, there are no other examples of Mzetamze type vessels decorated with meanders (such decoration appears only on Colchian metal artifacts). In the light of the above, they presumably appeared in Samtskhe via a western route (Licheli 1997, 33-41).
Direction of connections; where are priorities? Tlia necropolis lay to the east of Colchis and is the subject of special discussion, because of Colchian-Koban cultural relations (on which see Apakidze 2002). From the viewpoint of the infiltration of Colchian culture to the south, Mzetamze necropolis is most significant. Mzetamze is located in the mountain range, in the open valley of southern Georgia. More than 60 burials have been excavated, dating to between the mid-2nd millennium and the Middle Ages, and are divided into five chronological groups. Among the burials of the early period, a ‘pit-burial’ of the 12th-11th centuries BC in the north-east part of the necropolis is of interest. The skeleton was completely decomposed and it was impossible to determine its position. The grave goods were grouped together, and consisted of a bronze pendant disc, decorated with triangles; flat bronze bracelets, pins, etc. The burials of the successive period are arranged in a pit. Due to the poor preservation of the skeletal material it is impossible to determine the age or sex of the deceased, although it is clear that they were buried in a crouch position (Nasidze and Licheli 1990, 201-207).
Not far from Mzetamze necropolis, 38km to the southwest, there is another site that has produced Colchian finds. This is the Atskuri settlement in the Borjomi gorge, occupied between the 1st millennium BC and the 19th century settlement. It produced two rather rich graves of the 16th century BC, but this religious and administrative
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Figure 9. Finds from Ergeta collective Burial ground II, Burial No. 4
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Figure 10. Finds from Ergeta collective Burial ground II, Burial No. 4
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Figure 11. Finds from Ureki
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Figure 12. Finds from Dgvaba
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Figure 13. Finds from Ergeta 1, Grave 5, and Ergeta 3, Grave 2
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Figure 14. Finds from Ergeta 1, Grave 5, and Ergeta 3, Grave 2
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Figure 15. Jar from Mzetamze
Figure 16. Horsewoman statuettes from Colchis and Samos
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Figure 17. Bronzes from Colchian collective graves
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considerable importance in this context. The piece is generally agreed to be Colchian (Lordkipanidze 2001b, 25), and the suggestion of M. Voyatzis (1992, 259-279) that it was produced in a workshop ‘situated somewhere where Greek, Orientalizing and Caucasian elements were all present’ seems to be reasonable. The question arises, however, as to quite how it reached Samos?
centre of the ancient Samtskhe’s main claim to fame is its associations with the arrival of Apostle Andrew in Georgia (Licheli 1999, 25-34). The architectural remains of Atskuri consist of foundations built with cobblestones and ashlar masonry, and it is possible to distinguish two different types of plan: one rectangular, the other circular. The circular structures are characteristic of the 5th-4th centuries BC, while in the subsequent period only rectangular buildings occur.
In my view, the question is best resolved by considering recent work carried out on Samos, and in particular the archaeological context of votive offerings, to which category the Colchian horsewoman belongs. According to the director of the Samos excavations, Professor H. Kyrieleis, votives were found together with the remains of sacrificed domestic animals (mostly cattle, sheep, goats and pigs), a strange collection of wild animals (crocodile, antelope), or an astonishing number of terracotta pomegranate trees, poppy heads and pine cones. In addition, there were an Egyptian ivory statue of a lion, two Babylonian figures of men, stylized models of vessels (of a kind that played a significant role in the rites of the Heraion) as well as imports from Babylon, Phoenicia, Iran, Assyria, Urartu and Cyprus. There was a wooden chair with the image of a horse, and exotic bronze horse trappings that have no parallels in other Greek temples (Kyrieleis 1993, 125-153). On the basis of this evidence, H. Kyrieleis concluded that Hera’s special role was that of a goddess who protected horses and horsemen.
There are two groups of ceramic material – local and imported. The local pottery includes: Colchian (western Georgian – jugs with tubular handles, pithoi, cups), Iberian (eastern Georgian – painted jugs, pithoi, phialai, plates, etc.) and Samtskian (southern Georgian, jugs, cups, plates etc.). A separate group consists of imitations of Greek pottery (louterion, amphorae), dating to the 2nd century BC. But the most interesting is the Greek pottery, unique not only for inland of Georgia, but also for the Transcaucasus. This includes an Ionian cup of the 6th century BC, Attic cups of the first half of the 5th century BC, a 4th century lekythos, black-glazed pottery from Asia Minor of the 3rd or 2nd century BC. There is also a single fragment of a red-glaze Pergamenian plate of the mid-1st century BC. Some of the painted pottery from Atskuri belongs to the Achaemenid world, as well as bronze buckles and bone harness fittings like those found in Sardis or Gordion (Licheli 2000, 139-142). Most important from the point of view of Greek influence, which came via Colchis, is not only a reference in the 11th century Georgian historical chronicle Kartlis Tskhovreba (‘History of Georgia’) to a sanctuary of Apollo and Artemis in Atskuri, but also the existence in the grave No. 4-95 of silver coin of the Pontic king Polemon II (AD 49-63), used as a ‘Charon’s obol’ — another indication of either strong Greek influence or the existence of a Greek population in the town. Several graves of the 4th century BC produced various items, including small statuettes of a rider and a ram, as well as a unique representation of a winged deity of the 1st millennium BC clearly connected with the Achaemenid world.
In the light of all this, the discovery of a Colchian statue on Samos is in no way unexpected, for it was doubtless sacrificed to Hera by a merchant or traveller who happened to have visited Colchis. No statues of Colchian horsewomen are known beyond the borders of Colchis further east or in Anatolia. The dedication may moreover have been a one-off event, and is hardly enough to justify speculation about regular relations between the Aegean world and Colchis in this time (8th-6th centuries BC). Bibliography Apakidze, J. 2002. Gvian brinjao – adrerkinis khanis kolkhuri kulturis qronologia [The Chronology of the Colchian Culture of the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age]. Tbilisi. Berdznishvili, M. 1969. qalaq pasisis istoria [The History of the City Phasis]. Tbilisi. Chavleishvili, I. 2005. Akhali arqeologiuri gatkhrebi pichvnaris nasakhlarsa da dzvel kolkhur nasakhlarze. Recent archaeological excavations at the Pichvnari settlement site and the old Colchian settlement. Batumis arqeologiuri muzeumis shromebi [Activities of the Batumi Archaeological Museum] 3, 18-26. Jibladze, L. 2007. Kolkhetis dablobis dzv.ts. III-II atastsleulis namosakhlarebi [Settlements of the Colchian Lowlands in the 3rd-2nd millennium BC]. Tbilisi. Kakhidze, A. and Plontke-Luning, A. (eds) 2002. Gonio 3. Tbilisi.
Even though Colchian elements occur frequently outside Colchis in 8th-7th century BC Mzetamze and Atskuri, there have been no discoveries of such prestigious Colchian objects as figurines of horsewomen. The same situation prevails at Tlia (to the east), where despite the presence of numerous Colchian artifacts in graves of the 1st millennium BC, there are neither horsewomen, nor two-headed representations. In the light of this, it is natural to conclude that priority of communication was given to the west. From East to West or vice versa? There is a small number of Colchian finds made in the Aegean, and the discovery of a bronze statuette of a horsewoman in the Heraion on Samos (Figure 16) is of
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Kakhidze, A., Vickers, M. and Tavamaishvili, G. 2007. 2003-2004 tslebshi pichvnaris elinisturi periodis saarovanze tsarmoebuli samushaoebi [Fieldwork conducted at the Pichvnari Hellenistic period cemetery in 2003-2004]. Batumis arqeologiuri muzeumis shromebi [Activities of the Batumi Archaeological Museum] 4, 4367. Kyrieleis, H. 1993. The Heraion at Samos, in N. Marinatos and R. Hagg (eds), Greek Sanctuaries. New Approaches, 125-153. London, New York. Licheli, V. 1997. Phrigean fibulae in Transcaucasia. Its diffusion route. In J. Fossey (ed.) Proceedings of the first international Conference on the Archaeology and History of the Black Sea (McGill University, 22-23 November 1994), 33-40. Amsterdam. Licheli, V. 1998. St. Andrew in Samtskhe – archaeological proof? In T. Mgaloblishvili (ed.), Ancient Christianity in the Caucasus, 25-37. Richmond. Licheli, V. 2000. Achaimenidische Fundorte in Samcche (Südgeorgien). Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan 32, 139-142. Licheli, V. 2007. New discoveries in Colchis, an interpretative version. In R. Gordeziani (ed.), The Argonautica and World Culture. Phasis, Greek and Roman Studies 10,109-115. Tbilisi. Licheli, V. forthcoming. Scythian elements in southern Georgia. In Proceedings of the International Conference Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans. Iranian-Speaking Nomads of The Eurasian Steppes. Barcelona, May 2007. Lordkipanidze, O. 1972. Культура древней Колхиды [The Culture of Ancient Colchis]. Tbilisi. Lordkipanidze, O. 2001a. Phasis, the River and City in Colchis. Stuttgart.
Lordkipanidze, O. 2001b. The Golden Fleece: myth, euhemeristic explanation and archaeology. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 20, 1-38. Mikeladze, T. 1995. Grosse Kollektive Grabgruben der frühen Eisenzeit in Kolchis. Archälogischer Anzeiger I, 2-22. Nasidze, H. and Licheli, V. 1990. L’aire de diffusion de la culture colchidienne, in O. Lordkipanidze and P. Lévêque (eds), Le Pont-Euxin vu par les Grecs. Symposium de Vani (Colchide) septembre-octobre 1987, 201-206. Paris. Overlaet, B. 2003. Luristan Excavation Documents 4: The Early Iron Age in the Pusht-i Kuh, Luristan. (Acta Iranica, Textes et Memoires 26). Papuashvili, R. 1998. Kolxuri koleqtiuri samarxebis shedarebiti qronolgia iaragis mixedvit [A comparative Chronology of Colchian Burials according to the Weapons]. Tbilisi. Papuashvili, R. 2004. Collective burial pit 4 of Ergeta II burial ground. Journal of Georgian Archaeology 1, 152160. Papuashvili, R. 2005. Zveli kolxuri namosaxlari sof. ergetashi [The Ancient Colchian Settlement in the Village of Ergeta]. Tbilisi. Vickers, M. and Kakhidze, A. 2004. Pichvnari 1: Results of Excavations Conducted by the Joint British-Georgian Pichvnari Expedition 1998-2002. Greeks and Colchians on the East Coast of the Black Sea. Oxford, Batumi. Voyatzis, M. 1992. Votive riders seated side-saddle at early Greek sanctuaries. Annual of the British School of Archaeology at Athens 87, 259-279. Whitley, J. 1991. Style and society in Dark Age Greece. Cambridge.
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Chapter 31 Children’s Burials in the Koshary Necropolis: Some Remarks
Wojciech Machowski
Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Department of Classical Archaeology Kraków, Poland [email protected] Abstract: One of the most interesting features of the Koshary necropolis is the considerable large number of infant and child burials. Children were buried near adults, or laid together in one area. The chosen form of child burial was inhumation with just one possible exception, namely a child burial found in 2002, where the ashes were presumably placed in a black-gloss bowl and covered with another. The most popular type of child burial was the simple pit grave, but a niche grave and small chamber tombs also occurred. Many child burials lacked any grave goods. The assemblage of a typical child’s grave often included a Grey Ware jug, a marker of pottery manufactured in the Greek colonies of the northern coast of the Black Sea. Keywords: Black Sea, Greek colonization, Koshary necropolis, child burials
One of the most interesting aspects of the Koshary necropolis, is the relatively large number of child burials. The characteristic was already pointed out by J. Chochorowski (2008, 31) and E. F. Redina (Redina et al., 2008, 152) after examining results from the first three seasons of research (1998 to 2000) on the necropolis. During the next six seasons (2001 to 2006) of the excavations too, it was apparent that children’s graves composed a considerable part of all excavated burials (Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006a, 366-371; Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006b, 112).
since the grave was very shallow, and thus being close to the current surface it was badly disturbed and was poorly preserved. A number of children’s inhumation burials were also badly preserved. These were mainly the burials of babies in small simple pit graves. Of these, frequently the only surviving remains were a few grave goods; for example, Grave No. 255 (excavated in 2004) was only recognisable thanks to a few glass beads (Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006b, 112) (Figure 1). In other cases, where skeletal remains were preserved, the deceased were usually placed in the grave in an extended position on their backs, as in Graves Nos 169 and 195 excavated in 2001 and 2002 respectively.
Overall, such burials amounted to 30% of all burials found during the last six seasons of our excavation. K. Kaczanowski, A. Kosydarski and A. Niedźwiedzka, authors of the first anthropological analysis of the skeletons excavated in seasons between 1998 and 2004, concluded that the percentage of child burials in the Koshary necropolis could even be as high as 48% (Kaczanowski et al., 2008, 57), i.e. nearly half of the buried individuals. The anthropological analysis took into consideration only the best preserved skeletal remains. Interestingly the calculation relating to the overall number of children’s burials, was confirmed by the results of excavation in 2004 season (Papuci-Wladyka et al., 2006b, 112), when the percentage of baby and child burials reached exactly 50%.
A few children graves contained burials in a crouch position, on their sides; as probably in Grave No. 188 excavated in 2002. As a general rule the graves were intended for single interments, however there are instances of double burials; e.g. Grave No. 139 excavated in 2001. Children in the Koshary necropolis were buried in a similar manner to adults, in all the various kinds of grave. Most excavated between 2001 and 2006 were simple pit graves. A smaller number of burials were interments in nichegraves. Exceptional are child burials in small chamber tombs, as for instance Grave No. 195 mentioned above recorded in 2002 (Figure 2).
Almost all of the child burials found so far in the Koshary necropolis are inhumations. The only exception was a burial excavated in 2002: a small black-gloss bowl, containing the cremated remains of a child and covered with another bowl was recorded (Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006a, 367). Unfortunately, little more can be said about this feature
As for the children’s grave goods, it has to be stressed that it varied considerably from grave to grave. Many burials had no associated goods at all. For children’s burials that
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Figure 1. Koshary necropolis. Grave No. 255
did have grave goods, the most characteristic items are Grey Ware jugs, a typical pottery form encountered in Greek colonies on the northern Black Sea coast (Kowal 2008, 8587). Apart from jugs, other items included: ceramic vessels, bronze necklaces and bracelets, glass beads, bone pendants, terracotta fragments, astragaloi and shells, sometimes in large numbers, as for instance a few astragaloi recorded in Grave No. 195 and dozens of shells in Grave No. 187 (Figure 3). Interestingly enough, some of the richest graves in the necropolis are children’s burials. Two niche graves (Nos 209 and 211) found in 2003 contained extremely rich and atypical goods. Tomb 209 had one black-gloss skyphos, a kantharos, an unguentarium, and a necklace of bronze and glass beads (Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006a, Fig. 42). Grave No. 211 (Figure 4) contained a Thasian amphora, an Attic black-gloss kantharos, a Grey Ware spouted juglet produced in the Black Sea area (probably Olbia), two silver bracelets in the form of convoluted snakes, and two glass beads (Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006a, Fig. 44). Moreover, the grave contained two bone pendants and a clay vessel of particular interest. One of the pendants was in the form of a comb, and the other in the form of a cicada (Łaczek 2008, 111-119). The clay vessel is a lentoid flask recalling
Figure 2. Koshary necropolis. Grave No. 195
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Wojciech Machowski: Children’s Burials in the Koshary Necropolis
Figure 3. Koshary necropolis. Grave No. 187
Figure 4. Koshary necropolis. Grave No. 211
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Figure 5. Koshary necropolis. Grave No. 191
Figure 6. Koshary necropolis. Graves Nos 201-2 and a burial of young female (No. 178)
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a pilgrim flask. It was either imported from (Asia Minor or Cyprus, cf. Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006a, 370) or of local, Black Sea production (see Papuci-Władyka and Redina in this volume).
the plots themselves with regard to the grave types and the quantity and quality of grave goods. In my view, these facts reflect the social and economic diversity of the deceased children’s families. The burials also show the coexistence of two cultural traditions. Grave types, orientation, burial rites, and grave goods, illustrate the influence of both Greek and local, or barbarian, cultural traditions.
Such a strong diversity of grave goods and grave types in the necropolis is evidence reflecting a marked social and economic diversity among the families of the buried children. This is clearly confirmed by the distribution pattern of the children’s graves within the cemetery. The poorly equipped pit graves and those with no grave goods at all were placed alongside equally poorly equipped adult graves, together forming ‘poorer’ plots in the cemetery. The rich children’s graves including niche-graves Nos 209 and 211 were located near adult graves with similarly rich grave goods.
Bibliography Chochorowski, J. 2008. Social aspects of sacred spatial organization of Koshary necropolis. In E. PapuciWładyka (ed.), 25-45. Chochorowski, J., Papuci-Władyka, E. and Redina, E. F. 2004. Polnisch-ukrainische Ausgrabungen an dem antiken Fundstellenkomplex von Košary bei Odessa, in W. Blajer and J. Poleski (eds), Recherches archéologiques de 1993-1998, 243-265. Kraków. Kaczanowski, K., Kosydarski, A. and Niedźwiedzka, E. 2008. Results of 1998-2004 anthropological studies at an ancient burial site at Koshary (the Ukraine). In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 53-61. Kowal, A. 2008. Grey ware from the Koshary site. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 75-94. Łaczek E., G. 2008. Bone amulets from tomb No. 211 at Koshary, Ukraine. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 111-119. Papanova, V. A. 2006 — Папанова, В. А. Урочище сто могил – некрополь Ольвии Понтийской [Urochishche sto mogil – nekropol’ Ol’vii Pontiiskoi – The Hundred Mounds: the Necropolis of Olbia Pontica]. Kiev. Papuci-Władyka, E. (ed.) 2008. PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia]. Proceedings of the International Conference. Kraków, 18th March, 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilizations 11). Kraków. Papuci-Władyka, E., Redina, E. F., Chochorowski, J., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2006a. Greek settlement on the northern Black Sea coast. Polish-Ukrainian excavations in Koshary (Odessa Province): Third preliminary report – Seasons 2000-2003, in W. Blajer and J. Poleski (eds), Recherches Archéologiques de 1999-2003, 354-374. Kraków. Papuci-Władyka, E., Redina, E. F., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2006b. The Polish-Ukrainian excavation at Koshary (Odessa Province) - Season 2004. Światowit 6 [47]/A [2004-2005], 109-113. Redina, E. F., Papuci-Władyka, E., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2008. — Редина, Е. Ф., Папуци-Владыка, Е., Бодзэк, Я., Маховски, В. Археологический комплекс античного времени у села Кошары - итоги исследования [Arkheologicheskii kompleks antichnogo vremeni u sela Koshary - itogi issledovaniia – The ancient archaeological complex at Koshary - results of investigations]. In E. PapuciWładyka (ed.), 143-160.
An highly interesting feature was noted after the 19982000 seasons. The excavators distinguished a distinctly separate group of children’s graves (Chochorowski et al., 2004, 263-264). This is a phenomenon that is relatively rare in the ancient world. Comparisons are known in some necropoleis on the northern coast of the Black Sea, in for example Olbia, Chersonesos, and in Tanais (Papanova 2006, 77-78). Subsequent excavation, however, failed to discover any further plots containing children’s burials alone. In most cases, during the last six seasons (2001-6), children’s graves were recorded alongside adult graves, thus forming plots belonging to individual families or clans. Some elements of children’s burial rites involve both Greek interment traditions, and local, so-called barbarian, customs. The first is indicated by the placing of a coin in a grave: the well-known fee for Charon, the ferryman of the dead in Greek mythology. A coin was thus found in nichegrave No. 191 excavated in 2002 (Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006a, 370). The burial was disturbed, though it contained the typical ‘child’s’ Grey Ware juglet placed at the head, as well as a bronze coin at the hip (Figure 5). An element with graphic roots in local burial traditions was recorded in 2002 (Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006a, 369), when traces of a small kurgan were brought into light. Within the barrow area, there were two children’s burials (Graves Nos 201 and 202) and the burial of young female (Grave No. 178) (Figure 6). The young woman had met with a brutal death. Her tightly flexed position in the grave indicates that she had been bound with ropes and probably buried when still alive. She was presumably the nurse of the two children buried in the kurgan. Summarizing this, the relatively high percentage of children’s burials among the excavated burials at Koshary has to be emphasized. During the last six seasons (2001-6) of excavations we did not note any particular concentration of children’s burials within the cemetery, but they were situated in groups near to adult graves presumably as part of family/clan plots. We can observe a considerable variety of
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Chapter 32 Amphorae from Dug-out No. 6 of the Ancient Settlement at Koshary (Tiligul Liman, Odessa Province, Ukraine)
Natalia Mateevici
National Museum of Archaeology and History Ancient Section Kishiniev, Republic of Moldova [email protected]
Evgeniia F. Redina
Odessa Archaeological Museum Department of Numismatics Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences Odessa, Ukraine [email protected] Abstract: Dug-out No. 6 is situated beneath House No. 5 within the building complex of the ancient fenced settlement near to the modern village of Koshary. The material within this dug-out forms a closed group containing various categories of ceramics, lamps and a large amount of amphora material. The amphorae of this group originate from centres such as Thasos, Chios, Mende, Heraclea Pontica and Sinope. Thasian amphorae are the most numerous with eight examples, atypical of the region at a time when amphorae from Heraclea Pontica and Chios usually prevail. A stamp on one of the Thasian amphorae bearing the name of magistrate Leophanes allows it to be dated to between 345 and 335 BC. Amphorae from the other centres were present but with far fewer examples in Dug-out No. 6. One amphora that could be accurately dated was from Heraclea Pontica with a stamp most probably of the magistrate Simos (middle of the 4th century BC to the beginning of the 330s BC). The amphorae discovered within the dug-out allow us to give it a chronological timeframe within the 340s and 330s BC. Keywords: Koshary, Greek amphorae, Greeks on the Black Sea, amphora stamps, closed pottery deposit
The ancient archaeological complex near the village of Koshary is situated on the right bank of the Tiligul Liman where it flows into the Black Sea (see Papuci-Władyka and Redina in this volume). The northern sector of this fortified settlement was altered around the end of the 4th century BC or the beginning of the 3rd in order to allow the settlement to expand. This expansion involved a change in the layout of the buildings as well as the destruction of existing features in the area. During the course of excavations in 2005-6, the living area of House No. 5, lying at a NW-SE angle in the northern part of Trench III, was investigated (Papuci-Władyka et al., 2009, 143-4). This complex consisted of three living spaces, a small courtyard and three storage rooms. A set of earlier foundations, on which the house was later constructed, were discovered underneath. They primarily consisted of dug-outs and storage pits.
precisely filled in and packed down. The dimensions were as follows: 3.35m in length, approximately 2m in width and 1.3m in depth (Figure 1). The objects discovered in the dug-out form a closed group which contains a considerable amount of amphora material, fragments of large handmade pottery, handmade lamps and some Gray Ware pottery: a bowl, fragments of jugs and fragments of a fish-plate. The black-glaze pottery was represented by some drinking cups and an olpe; it was possible to reconstruct the profile of some of them and hence accurately to date them. A significant proportion of the objects discovered in Dugout No. 6 were the remains of several amphorae. Many of them had clearly been in a fire and were covered by a thick layer of burnt material. From initial analysis and attempts at reconstruction the picture that emerged was as follows. Amphorae produced in Thasos, one of which had a stamped handle, represented a large part of the material. The stamped amphora was of the conical type of the variant II-C-2 of the ‘Topraisar’ series (Figure 2), which dates from the first half of the 4th century BC and probably continued
Dug-out No. 6, situated beneath wall 115 (dividing the first and second rooms of House No. 5), was of great interest. When it fell out of use, a supporting stone wall was constructed at its base and the remaining space very 247
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Figure 1. Dug-out No. 6 of the Koshary ancient settlement
to be produced into its third quarter (Monakhov 2003, 76). The foot of the amphora was also discovered and, although it could not be connected directly to the rest of the vessel, it undoubtedly belongs to it due to its morphological parameters. The maximum capacity of this kind of amphora was approximately 13l.
belongs to the biconical variant of the advanced II-B-2 series. Amphorae of this type date from the second and third quarters of the 4th century BC (the latest of the series dates from the second half of the 330s BC). The maximum capacity of this type does not exceed 12l (Monakhov 2003, 76).
Nearly all elements of the Thasian stamp remain intact: in the centre is the bucranium and pilos emblem and on its sides are the complete ethnikon and part of the name of the magistrate KeyvÇmgr (Figure 3). According to the chronological table of Y. Garlan this stamp belongs to Group G2 and dates from between 345 and 335 BC (Garlan 1999, No. 838). Aside from the aforementioned amphora, it was also possible to reconstruct a further two Thasian amphorae, which were late variants of the biconical type dating from between the middle and third quarter of the 4th century BC.
In Dug-out No. 6 amphorae from the following other centres were also found: Chios, Knidos, Mende, Heraclea Pontica and Sinope. The island of Chios is represented by several fragments of amphora rims and necks, belonging to the conical body and ‘Calpack’ feet type V, variant V-B (Figure 4). They date from between the first and third quarter of the 4th century BC (Monakhov 2003, 24). An analysis of the collected rim pieces shows that we are dealing with two amphorae. Typically, the maximum capacity of this type of pottery did not exceed 22.5l (Monakhov 2003, 24).
In addition, six Thasian fragments of rims and feet were discovered in the dug-out, belonging to a further five amphorae. It is therefore possible to conclude that there were originally eight Thasian amphorae in the dug-out. An analysis of their morphological characteristics has shown that the majority of the amphora material of this group
Fragments of Knidian amphorae were also found in Dugout No. 6. The rims are those of the conical neck with ‘cubic’ foot variety of the pithoid type, variant II-B. These amphorae appeared from about 330 to the beginning of the 3rd century BC (Monakhov 2003, 110). It is possible that 248
Natalia Mateevici and Evgeniia F. Redina: Amphorae from Dug-out No. 6
there were three different Knidian amphorae as we possess rims of three different shapes. The amphorae from Heraclea Pontica were also, it would appear, not particularly numerous within the dug-out group. One of these amphorae has been nearly completely reconstructed and belongs to type II-2. Their production took place in the second and third quarters of the 4th century BC (Figure 5). The maximum capacity of this type of amphora could reach 6.5l (Monakhov 2003, 144). After
Figure 3. Thasian amphora stamp with part of the name of the magistrate Leophanes, an ethnikon and the bucranium and pilos emblem
Figure 4. Fragment of Chian amphora
Figure 2. Thasian stamped amphora
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completion of the partial reconstruction of this amphora it was possible to attach an englific stamp to its neck, on which only one name remained. This name could be read in full as SÊlor (Figure 6). If we assume that this name belonged to the magistrate, the amphora can be very precisely dated to between the middle of the 4th century BC and the beginning of the 330s BC (Kats 2007, 430). Dug-out No. 6 provided us with only one amphora from Sinope and one from Mende. The former was represented by fragments of its wall and foot, which were of the pithoid type, variant II-D. Amphorae of this type were produced and exported between the middle of the 4th to the middle of the 3rd century BC (Monakhov 2003, 158). The rim of the amphora from Mende (Figure 7) was of the type of pottery with a ‘calyx-like’ foot, Melitopolski variant II-C (second half of the third quarter of the 4th century BC) (Monakhov 2003, 95). The amphorae discovered in Dug-out No. 6 at the Koshary fenced settlement originate from centres which exported great quantities of wine to the north-western regions of the Black Sea and, in particular, to the site of our excavation work. It is somewhat atypical for this site, and for the region as a whole, that there is such a large amount of Thasian amphorae within this group, since wine of Thasian origin was one of the most exclusive wines within the Greek world of the time, being of at least greater quality and more expensive than that of Heraclea or even Chios. As a result of our earlier excavations and analysis of material from the Koshary site it had emerged that the most dominant Greek areas, whose goods were highly thought of by the inhabitants of our not particularly large Greek town in the second half of the 4th century BC, were Heraclea Pontica and Chios. Our analysis of amphora material has allowed us to create a chronological timeframe for our group. In our opinion, Dug-out No. 6 of the Koshary settlement dates from the 340s to the 330s BC. This dating can be confirmed on the basis not only of the pots themselves and the shape of their profiles, but also on the amphora stamps, which in this case are the best dating material. Material discovered in the rooms divided by wall 115 shows that during a later period the dug-out was covered by another living structure – House No. 5. Two handmade lamps in the shape of an hourglass are connected with the period it was in use (Figures 8-9) and they have markings which show they were in a fire (traces of fire and thick burnt material, which were also present on the amphora fragments of the group mentioned above). It is possible that these lamps were used in ritual cleansing before the erection of the new homestead.
Figure 5. Amphora from Heraclea Pontica
Bibliography Kats, V. I. 2007 — Кац, В. И. Греческие керамические клейма эпохи классики и эллинизма. Опыт комплексного изучения [Grecheskie keramicheskie
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Natalia Mateevici and Evgeniia F. Redina: Amphorae from Dug-out No. 6
Figure 6. Englyphic stamp with the name of magistrate Simos on the neck of an amphora from Heraclea Pontica
Figure 7. Fragment of the amphora from Mende
Figure 8. Handmade lamp in the shape of an hourglass
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kleima epokhi klassiki i ellinizma. Opyt kompleksnogo izucheniia – Greek Classical and Hellenistic amphorae stamps. An attempt at complex analysis]. (Боспорские исследования [Bosporskie issledovaniia – Bosporan Studies] 18) Simferopol, Kerch. Monakhov, S. Iu. 2003 — Монахов, С. Ю. Греческие амфоры в Причерноморье. Типология. Каталогопределитель [Grecheskie amfory v Prichernomor’e. Tipologiia. Katalog-opredelitel’ – Greek amphorae in the Black Sea. Typology. Catalogue-classifier]. Moscow, Saratov. Garlan, Y. 1999. Les timbres amphoriques de Thasos. (Études thasiennes 18). Athens. Papuci-Władyka, E., Redina, E. F., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2009. Koshary Project, 2005-2007. Fifth preliminary report on Polish-Ukrainian excavations. Archeologia 58 [2007], 141-156, Pls. XXI-XXVIII.
Figure 9. Handmade lamp in the shape of an hourglass
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Chapter 33 A Tentative Analysis of Mass Amphora Material from the Warsaw University Excavations at Tanais
Marcin Matera
Warsaw University Institute of Archaeology Warsaw, Poland [email protected] Abstract: The article is an attempt, on the one hand, to analyse mass amphora material from the Warsaw University excavations at Tanais, and on the other, to compare the conclusions with results achieved by I. S. Kamenetskii (1969). Keywords: Tanais, Classical Antiquity, amphorae, ceramics mass material
Since 1995 the Institute of Archaeology and the Antiquity of Southeastern Europe Research Centre of Warsaw University have been conducting excavations on the territory of ancient Tanais. The Polish team forms part of the Lower Don Archaeological Expedition from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. The work is supervised by T. Arsenyeva. For twelve years T. Scholl has been in charge of the work of the Warsaw University Group. In 1996-8 the team concentrated their work on the western necropolis of ancient Tanais (trench XVII-2). Since 1999 the focus of research has been on trench XXV located in the western part of ancient Tanais (Scholl 1998; Arseniewa and Scholl 1999; Arseniewa and Scholl 2001; Arseniewa and Scholl 2002; Arseniewa and Scholl 2004; Scholl 2004; Scholl 2005a; Scholl 2005b; Arsenyeva et al., 2006a; Arsenyeva et al., 2006b; Arsenyeva and Scholl 2006; Scholl 2007; Scholl 2008; see also Scholl in this volume).
the first centuries AD (Kamenetskii 1969, 136). In trench XXV we found a Hellenistic defensive ditch and, covered by a dump, the entrance to the western part of the town. Amphora material is one of the largest category of finds on classical sites (Monakhov 1999, 5). This is explained by the fact that in that world amphorae were the fundamental containers for the transportation and preservation of agricultural products such as wine, olive, grain, fruit, garum etc. (Grakov 1934, 159-160, 162, 166-167; Grace 1949, 175; Grace 1961; Monakhov 1999, 5). Besides, we need to remember that the life of an amphora was relatively short (although there are of course examples known, including those at Tanais, of the reuse of whole amphorae as well as their fragments). For that reason the largest part of amphora material consists of fragments, rather than complete vessels. The investigation of such fragments is very difficult, but the process must begin with the identification of diagnostic fragments. This makes it possible to add more variants to the types of particular amphorae. The analysis of such a category of archaeological material as mass ceramics material, and the conclusions that we can draw from it, not only provides us with the possibility to make additional, supplementary, analyses of ancient trade, but by relying on the information provided by ceramic epigraphy, it also enables us to widen the list of trading partners and attempt an estimate of the scale of the import and export of goods in amphora containers for particular trading centres (Monakhov 1999, 10). Amphora material allows us to date archaeological strata (Brashinskii 1984, 19ff), and at Tanais, where coin finds are very rare (in particular those of the Hellenistic period), this is very helpful (Shelov 1970, 1617). Thus, the role of amphora mass material in the process of historical research is clearly very important.
So far in trench XXV a few thousand amphora fragments have been found dating from the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. A systematic analysis of this mass of ceramic material did not, however, begin until 2005. The aim of this paper is to give a brief presentation of the results of our analysis. In the course of the last three seasons 14,294 sherds were found, 10,933, or 76%, of which were amphora fragments. They include fragments of well known types, originating from precisely identified production centres, as well as fragments whose origins are unknown. The problem of elaborating and interpreting mass ceramics material from Tanais has been dealt by I. S. Kamenetskii (1969; cf. also Shelov 1970, 155). He analysed the finds from the adjacent Russian trench VI. In trench VI the remains of a living complex were found, dating from the Hellenistic period. They were covered by a dump dating to 253
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Analyzed group of material
Number of fragments
Margin of error
Unknown production center Pseudo-Koan Red clay amphoras Type D Koan Cоlchian Type Zeest 90
2955 2400 1257 538 192 79 12
0.86% 0.8% 0.6% 0.42% 0.26% 0.16% 0.06%
Figure 1. The results of verification of margin possible error
It goes without saying that the accuracy of any conclusions supported by statistical analysis of amphora material depends first of all on the objectivity of various factors. This in turn depends on the size of the material base. Estimating the level of objectivity it is necessary to keep in mind the accidental nature of archaeological finds. For this reason, the statistical analysis of the composition of amphora finds on its own is relative. But, as I. S. Kamenetskii has suggested, the accuracy of any results can be verified with the aid of the formula:
number consist of the sum of quite unequally differentiated numbers of pieces in relation to their chronology. 28 (9%) were pieces of amphorae from unknown production centres, 46 pieces (14.7%) from Hellenistic amphorae, 216 pieces (69.2%) from amphorae of the Roman period and 22 (7.1%) pieces from Late Antique amphorae (Figure 2). The chronology of all the analysed material provides us with quite a different picture. Among all of the groups of material the fragments of Roman amphorae by far outweigh the others. These represent 50.5% of all finds of amphora fragments. 19.25% constitute fragments of Hellenistic amphorae. Late Antique amphora fragments make up 3.2%, while the remaining 27.05% of the finds can be attributed to unknown production centres (Figure 3).
: 200√ w(1-w) n In this formula ‘w’ indicates the relation between the number of fragments of a particular type and the total number of found fragments; ‘n’ indicates the total number of found fragments. The result shows the margin of possible error (Kamenetskii 1969, 142).
Unfortunately, it is not possible to establish the amount of imported goods from a given centre on the basis of analysed material. Firstly, the data about the overall number of amphorae can be mistaken. Secondly, in the case of some types of amphora, their capacity could vary considerably.
This kind of verification has been carried out on six types of analysed material, chosen from different sized groups: 1) amphorae of unknown production centre, 2955 fragments: the margin of error 0.86%; 2) Pseudo-Koan amphorae, 2400: 0.8%; 3) red clay amphorae, 1257: 0.6%; 4) Type D amphorae, 538: 0.42%; 5) Koan amphorae, 192: 0.26%; 6) Colchian amphorae, 79: 0.16%, and 7) Type Zeest1 90 amphorae, 12: 0.06%. The verification showed that statistical error did not exceed 0.86% (Figure 1).
Thirdly, in analysing only the fragments of amphorae we do not always need to state whether it is a standard or fractional amphora. Finally, in the case of some types of amphorae, we do not know their shapes or capacity. Rhodian amphorae are by far the most numerous among finds of Hellenistic amphora fragments, in that they constitute 82.2% of the total number of such fragments. 9.2% are fragments of Koan amphorae, 3.8% Sinopean, 3.7% Colchian, 0.5% Heraclean, 0.4% Knidian and 0.2% from various North Aegean centres (Figure 4).
The material base for this research consists of 10,933 finds of amphora fragments. From this mass we need to obtain a more or less precise number of amphorae. This can be attained only with the aid of a very close examination of all the diagnostic fragments of vessels – rims, handles and feet – and comparing them to an amphora, examination which is impossible to carry out during the fieldwork season (Lomtadze 2007, 343ff). Taking into account that all amphorae have one foot, however, simply counting the number of feet can give us a rough idea of the number of amphorae we are dealing with (Brashinskii 1984, 52-53). Bearing in mind how insufficient this analysis may be and how inaccurate the obtained results, by counting all the amphora feet we obtained an overall number of amphorae, 312 pieces, or a minimal number of vessels (MNV). This 1
The predominance of Rhodian amphorae is confirmed by the epigraphic evidence. Of the 54 Hellenistic stamps found between 2005 and 2007, 51 are Rhodian and 3 are Sinopean. If, however, we analyse the Hellenistic material taking into consideration the number of vessels, the figures are different. Here too we find a predominance of the Rhodian group, but to a lesser extent. Here Rhodian amphorae only constitute 60.9% of all the Hellenistic amphorae. In second place come the Sinopean and Colchian groups: each at 10.9% of the Hellenistic vessels. Knidian amphorae make
For all Zeest’s amphorae types see Zeest 1960.
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Period
Feet – «Аmphorae»
Percentage
46 216 22 28 312
14.7% 69.2% 7.1% 9% 100%
Hellenistic Roman Late Antiquity Unknown production center Together
Figure 2. Minimal number of vessels from different periods of Tanais history
Period Hellenistic Roman Late Antiquity Unknown production center Together
Rims
Handles
Body fragments
Feet «Amphorae»
Together
Percentage
80 245 49
288 1215 139
1691 3849 135
46 216 22
2105 5525 345
19.25% 50.5% 3.2%
66
88
2776
28
2958
27.05%
440
1730
8451
312
10933
100%
Figure 3. All amphora fragments from different periods of Tanais history
Production center/type Rhodian Koan Sinopean Colchian Heraclean Knidian Centers of North Aegean Area Together
Rims
Handles
Body fragments
Feet «Аmphorae»
Together
Percentage
53 6 17 3 1
204 50 17 17 -
1445 135 41 54 8 3
28 2 5 5 2 4
1730 193 80 79 10 8
82.2% 9.2% 3.8% 3.7% 0.5% 0.4%
-
-
5
-
5
0.2%
80
288
1691
46
2105
100%
Figure 4. All amphora fragments from the Hellenistic period
Production center/type Rhodian Sinopean Colchian Knidian Koan Heraclean Together
Minimal number of vessels
Percentage
28 5 5 4 2 2 46
60.9% 10.9% 10.9% 8.7% 4.3% 4.3% 100%
Figure 5. Minimal number of vessels from the Hellenistic period
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up 8.7%, while Koan and Heraclean come in at 4.3% each (Figure 5).
half of the 2nd and the first half of the 3rd century AD. Together they constitute nearly 50% of the Roman material. To this number we should add the amphorae classified as Type C/D. This classification comes about since while it is possible to distinguish variants of late Type C amphorae from early Type D amphorae, in practice it is impossible to distinguish body fragments. The sum of these three types constitute 55% of the total minimal number of vessels of the Roman period.
The paucity of the material base should make us cautious in interpreting the results. The only thing that can be stated for certain is the great predominance of Rhodian amphorae, in fact confirmed by the finds of stamped amphora handles. This was already stressed by D. B. Shelov (Shelov 1970, 155-156; Shelov 1975, 10; Shelov 1994, 9). We need to treat with caution the relatively high percentage of Colchian and the relatively small percentage of Koan amphorae, all the more that they equal the amount of Heraclean amphorae. We must bear in mind the absence of fragments of Chersonessian, Thasian and Chian amphorae, rarely present in other trenches at Tanais (Shelov 1970, 160).
We can also attribute to Heraclea Pontica amphorae of Type A and B, which together constitute almost 5% of the total number of vessels. The next group are the Pseudo-Koan amphorae. Here we must explain why these amphorae whose production began in Hellenistic times, were only attributed to the Roman period. A clear majority of Pseudo-Koan amphora fragments was found on the slope of a defensive ditch in a stratum formed after the punitive expedition of the Bosporan King Polemon to subjugate Tanais at the end of the 1st century, in 12 or 8 BC, as Strabo informs us. For this reason, the fragments of Pseudo-Koan amphorae have been brought down to the first centuries AD. Earlier, D. B. Shelov (1970, 161) attributed the majority of them to the 1st century BC. Here we should note that of the fragments of Pseudo-Koan amphorae a decisive majority consists of fragments of this type made in Heraclea Pontica. In fact, the attempt to separate the Pseudo-Koan amphora fragments in production at Heraclea Pontica and other centres only began during our last season of research. Nevertheless, it appears that on the basis of this division we can attempt to draw conclusions. During our 2007 season 1248 fragments of Pseudo-Koan amphorae were found, of which 1142 were attributed to Heraclea Pontica and 106 to other centres. This means that the fragments of Heraclean Pseudo-Koan types constituted almost 92% of all finds of this type of amphorae. The total number of Pseudo-Koan feet, of which seven were found during the 2007 season, shows a different result: only four could be attributed Heraclean amphorae of Pseudo-Koan type. This would mean that the production of Heraclea Pontica constitutes 57% of the total number of Pseudo-Koan amphorae, which is a more realistic result. If we tentatively assume that this statistic can be applied to the total number of PseudoKoan amphorae, we get the following result: about 21 of the group of 38 pieces can be attributed to the Heraclean amphorae workshop, or 9.72% of the minimal number of vessels dating from the Roman period. After totalling all the amphorae fragments made in Heraclea Pontica, it appears that almost 70% of the imports to Tanais in the Roman period came from this centre (cf. Vnukov 2006, 197).
Unfortunately, after analysing the fragments of Hellenistic amphorae we have no comparison with I. S. Kamenetskii’s results, because he only analysed 30 diagnostic fragments: four Sinopean handles, three Rhodian handles, one rim, one foot and 20 handles of Koan amphorae, as well as one foot of a Heraclean amphora (Kamenetskii 1969, 139). Even at first sight though, it shows great differences in the amount of Hellenistic material. In Trench XXV we found 414 diagnostic fragments of Hellenistic amphorae, considerably higher than Kamenetskii’s 30 fragments. This is odd, considering that Kamenetskii’s trench was occupied by remains of a Hellenistic residence and the area had not been rebuilt in the Roman period. Of the Roman period amphora fragments, the largest number come from Pseudo-Koan amphorae: 43.5% all of the fragments from this period. Then come fragments of red clay amphorae at 22.82%, Type D amphorae at 9.92%, Type C amphorae at 9.85% and Type C/D amphorae at 5.62%, and finally fragments of light clay amphorae whose types are unknown at 5.45%. The remaining 2.9% of amphora fragments can be distributed between another ten centres and their percentage share varies between 1.2% and 0.02% (Figure 6). If, however, we analyse the composition of finds of amphora fragments with reference to the number of vessels, we can notice a predominance of amphorae of Type C, which constitute 34.7% of the minimal number of vessels from the Roman period. In the second place come Pseudo-Koan amphorae constituting 17.6% of the minimal number, then red clay amphorae and Type D amphorae at 14.8% each, Type C/D at 5.55%, Type B at 4.2%, light clay at 2.78%, Pseudo-Rhodian at 1.85%, Type Zeest 78 at 1.4%, Type А and Type Zeest 72 at 0.93% and finally Type Zeest 75 at 0.46% (Figure 7).
The red clay amphora fragments are the next group, composing different types of amphorae made from red/ reddish clay with impurities of some lime and sand. They were all made in Bosporan centres. Their fragments constitute almost 15% of all Roman amphorae in our trench. Precise dating shows that most come from the 2nd century AD. The remaining groups of amphorae, not being very numerous, have not been analysed precisely, but it should
The group of Type C amphorae can be connected, to a certain degree, with the group of Type D amphorae, as they are connected with the production of Heraclea Pontica (Vnukov 2003, 24-25; Vnukov 2006, 14-16). They are morphologically and chronologically different, but both types of amphorae are met with in complexes of second
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Marcin Matera: A Tentative Analysis of Mass Amphora Material
Production center/type
Rims
Handles
Body fragments
Feet «Аmphorae»
Together
Percentage
Pseudo-Koan Red clay amphorae Type D Type C Тype C/D Light clay amphorae Тype B Тype А Type Zeest 72 Type Zeest 90 Тype А/B Pseudo-Rhodian Type Zeest 83 Type Zeest 75 Type Zeest 78 Type Zeest 89 Together
111 26 36 54 1 1 4 2 1 6 1 1 1 245
389 118 352 259 1 2 43 28 7 6 1 2 4 2 1 1215
1862 1085 128 156 297 292 10 10 8 1 3849
38 32 32 75 12 6 9 2 2 1 4 3 216
2400 1261 548 544 311 301 66 32 20 13 9 7 5 4 3 1 5525
43.44% 22.82% 9.92% 9.85% 5.62% 5.45% 1.2% 0.58% 0.36% 0.24% 0.16% 0.13% 0.09% 0.07% 0.05% 0.02% 100%
Figure 6. All amphora fragments from the Roman period
Production center/type
Minimal number of vessels
Percentage
75 38 32 32 12 9 6 4 3 2 2 1
34.7% 17.6% 14.8% 14.8% 5.55% 4.2% 2.78% 1.85% 1.4% 0.93% 0.93% 0.46% 100%
Тype C Pseudo-Koan Red clay amphorae Тype D Тype C/D Тype B Light clay amphorae Pseudo-Rhodian Type Zeest 78 Тype А Type Zeest 72 Type Zeest 75 Together
Figure 7. Minimal number of vessels from the Roman period
consists of fragments of Type E amphorae, almost 57%. Next come fragments of Late Roman 1 amphorae at 25.8%, Zeest Type 100 amphorae at 9.6% and Late Roman 2 amphorae at 6.1%. The remaining two types make up only 1.7% (Figure 8).
be noted that amphorae Type Zeest 72 and Zeest 75 also come from Bosporan centres and should be added to the overall number of amphorae imported from there. The analysis of the Roman period material shows some correspondence between our results and those of Kamenetskii. The light clay amphorae clearly predominate (Kamenetskii 1969, 147; Vnukov 2006, 197), although the proportion of red clay amphorae is also significant. The analysed material points to the significant role of imports from Heraclea Pontica and centres of the Bosporan kingdom. A greater role played by Bosporan amphorae was in any case to be expected since Tanais in Roman times belonged to the Bosporan Kingdom.
With reference to the minimal number of vessels: 50% of these are Late Roman 1 amphorae, 36.4% Type E amphorae, 9.1% amphorae of Type Zeest 95, and 4.5% Type F amphorae (Figure 9). But the data are too scanty to draw any definite conclusions in the case of Late Antique material. No comparison with Kamenetskii’s results (1969) is possible since Late Antique material was absent in his trench. We should only emphasize the presence of Type F amphora fragments in the Late Antique strata (Il’iashenko 2005, 420), all the more that there appeared to be a
The overall number of Late Antique amphora fragments is not very high, amounting to only 345. The largest group
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Production center/type Тype Е LR 1 Zeest 100 LR 2 Zeest 95 Тype F Together
Rims
Handles 19 5 22 2 1 49
Body fragments
84 45 3 7 139
85 28 8 12 2 135
Feet «Аmphorae» 8 11 2 1 22
Together 196 89 33 21 5 1 345
Percentage 56.8% 25.8% 9.6% 6.1% 1.4% 0.3% 100%
Figure 8. All amphora fragments from the Late Antiquity period
Production center/type
Minimal number of vessels
Percentage
11 8 2 1 22
50% 36.4% 9.1% 4.5% 100%
LR 1 Тype Е Type Zeest 95 Type F Together
Figure 9. Minimal number of vessels from the Late Antiquity period
difference in opinion regarding this fact (Iurochkin and Zubarev 2001, 458-459).
Arsenyeva, T. and Scholl, T. 2006a — Арсеньева, Т., Шoлль T. Отчет об итогах исследований в 2004 году в Танаисе [Otchet ob itogakh issledovanii v 2004 godu v Tanaise – Report on the results of research in Tanais, 2004]. Światowit 6 [47]/A [2004-2005], 59-84. Arsenyeva, T., Scholl, T. and Matera M. 2006b — Арсеньева, Т., Шoлль, T., Mатера M. Отчет об итогах исследований в 2005 году в Танаисе [Otchet ob itogakh issledovanii v 2005 godu v Tanaise – Report on the results of research in Tanais, 2005 ]. Światowit 6 [47]/A [2004-2005], 85-91. Brashinskii, I. B. 1984 — Брашинский, И. Б. Методы исследования античной торговли (на примере Северного Причерноморья) [Metody issledovaniia antichnoi torgovli (na primere Severnogo Prichernomor’ia) – Methods of Research on Ancient Trade (the Example of the Northern Black Sea Region)]. Leningrad. Grace, V. 1949. Standard pottery containers of the ancient Greek world. Hesperia Supplement 8, 175-189. Grace, V. 1961. Amphoras and the Ancient Wine Trade. Princeton. Grakov, B. N. 1934 — Граков, Б. Н. Тара и хранение сельскохозяйственных продуктов в классической Греции VI-IV веков до нашей эры [Tara i khranenie sel’skokhoziaistvennykh produktov v klassicheskoi Gretsii VI-IV vekov do nashei ery – Storage jars and the preservation of crops in classical Greece in the 6th-4th centuries BC]. Известия Государственной Академии Истории Материальной Культуры [Izvestiia Gosudarstvennoi Akademii Istorii Material’noi Kul’tury] 108, 147-183. Il’iashenko, S. M. 2005 — Ильяшенко, С. М. Надписи групы а/п на позднеантичных амфорах Северного Причерноморья [Nadpisi grupy a/p na pozdneantichnykh amforakh Severnogo Prichernomor’ia
In summary, we should stress the considerable role of imports from Mediterranean centres during the Hellenistic period, and the complete change in trading relationships by Roman times. There occurred a significant drop or interruption in trade with Mediterranean centres and the development of connections with Black Sea centres, especially with Heraclea Pontica. In the Late Antique period the scale of imports in amphorae fell significantly. Finally, we should emphasize that the results of this analysis need to be treated with a high degree of caution but that the results appear to allow us to draw conclusions about the quantitative relations between particular groups of analysed material. Bibliography Arseniewa, T. and Scholl, T. 1999. Tanais – trzy lata badań nekropoli zachodniej [Tanais – three years of research in the western necropolis]. Światowit 1[42]/A, 15-16. Arseniewa, T. and Scholl, T. 2001. Sprawozdanie z kampanii wykopaliskowej przeprowadzonej na terenie zachodniej nekropoli Tanais w sezonie 1999 [Report of the excavations carried out in the Tanais western necropolis in 1999]. Światowit 2[43]/A [2000], 13-16. Arseniewa, T. and Scholl, T. 2002. Sprawozdanie z kampanii wykopaliskowej przeprowadzonej na terenie tzw. Zachodniej nekropoli Tanais w sezonie 2000 [Report of the excavation carried out in so-called Tanais Western necropolis in 2000]. Światowit 3[44]/A [2001], 17-19. Arseniewa, T. and Scholl, T. 2004. Sprawozdanie z kampanii wykopaliskowej w Tanais przeprowadzonej w sezonie 2002 [Report on the Tanais excavations carried out in 2002]. Światowit 4[45]/A [2002], 13-20. 258
Marcin Matera: A Tentative Analysis of Mass Amphora Material
– Group of a/p inscriptions on Late Antique amphorae of the northern Black Sea Region], in М. Ю. Вахтина [M. Iu. Vachtina] et al. (eds), Боспорский феномен: проблема соотношения письменных и археологических источников [Bosporskij fenomen: problema sootnosheniia pis’mennykh i arkheologicheskikh istochnikov – The Bosphoran Phenomenon: the Problem of Correlating Literary and Archaeological Sources], 419-427. St Petersburg. Iurochkin, V. Iu. and Zubarev, V. G. 2001 — Юрочкин, В. Ю., Зубарев, В. Г. Комплекс с монетами IV века из раскопок городища Белинское [Kompleks s monetami IV veka iz raskopok gorodishcha Belinskoe – A complex with coins of the 4th century from the excavations of the Belinskoe settlement]. Древности Боспора [Drevnosti Bospora] 4, 454-473. Kamenetskii, S. I. 1969 — Каменецкий, С. И. Опыт изучения массового керамического материала из Танаиса [Opyt izucheniia massovogo keramicheskogo materiala iz Tanaisa – The study of the mass ceramic material from Tanais]. In Д. Б. Шелов [D. B. Shelov] (ed.), Античные древности Подонья – Приазовья [Antichnye drevnosti Podon’ia-Priazov’ia – The Ancient History of the Don–Azov Region], 136-172. Moscow. Lomtadze, G. A. 2007 — Ломтадзе, Г. А. Некoторые проблемы изучения античной керамической тары [Nekotorye problemy izucheniia antichnoi keramicheskoi tary – Some scientific issues in the study of ancient ceramic storage jars]. In N. A. Гаврилюк, А. А. Масленников [N. A. Gavriliuk and A. A. Maslennikov] (eds), Античный мир и варвары на юге Украины и России. Скифия. Ольвия. Боспор [Antichnyi mir i varvary na iuge Ukrainy i Rossii. Skifiia. Ol’viia. Bospor – Greeks and Barbarians in the Southern Ukraine and Russia. Scythia. Olbia. Bosporus], 343-350. Moscow, Kiev, Zaporozh’e. Monakhov, S. Iu. 1999 — Монахов, С. Ю. Греческие амфоры в Причерноморье. Kомплексы керамической тары VII-II в. в. до н. э. [Grecheskie amfory v Prichernomor’e. Kompleksy keramicheskoi tary VII-II v .v. do n. e. – Greek Amphorae from the Northern Black Sea Region. Complexes of Ceramic Storage Jars of the 7th-2nd Centuries BC]. Saratov. Scholl, T. 1998. Tanais 1996 – wykopaliska nekropoli zachodniej – pierwszy sezon badań [Tanais 1996 – excavations in the western necropolis – the first season of research]. Światowit 41, 190-193. Scholl, T. 2004. Polish excavations at Tanais. Novensia 15, 239-245. Scholl, T. 2005a. The fortifications of Tanais in the light of Warsaw University excavations. Études et Travaux 20, 247-259. Scholl, T. 2005b. Polish excavations in Hellenistic Tanais. Eurasia Antiqua 11, 137-145.
Scholl, T. 2007. The western part of Hellenistic Tanais. In S. L. Solovyov (ed.), Greeks and Natives in the Cimmerian Bosporus 7th-1st Centuries BC. Proceeding of the International Conference October 2000, Taman, Russia. (British Archaeological Reports, International Series 1729), 105-109. Oxford. Scholl, T. 2008 — Шолль, Т. Западная часть эллинистического Танаиса. По итогам раскопок Bаршавского Университета [Zapadnaia chast’ ellinisticheskogo Tanaisa. Po itogam raskopok Varshavskogo Universiteta – The western part of Hellenistic Tanais. Results of Warsaw University excavations]. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies /Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11), 177-189. Kraków. Shelov, D. B. 1970 — Шелов, Д. Б. Танаис и Нижний Дон в III -1 в. до н.э [Tanais i Nizhnii Don v III-I vv. do n. e. – Tanais and the Lower Don in the 3rd-1st Centuries BC]. Moscow. Shelov, D. B. 1975 — Шелов, Д. Б. Керамические клейма из Танаиса III-I вв. до н.э. [Keramicheskiie kleima iz Tanaisa III-I vekov do n. e. – Ceramic stamps from Tanais of the 3rd-1st Centuries BC]. Moscow. Shelov, D. B. 1994 — Шелов, Д. Б. Новая коллекция эллинистических керамических клейм из Танаиса [Novaia kollektsiia ellinisticheskikh keramicheskikh kleim iz Tanaisa – A new collection of Hellenistic ceramic stamps from Tanais]. Вестник Танаиса [Vestnik Tanaisa ] 1, 9-43. Vnukov, S. Iu. 2003 — Внуков, С. Ю. Причерноморьские амфоры I в до н. э. – II в. н. э. (Морфология) [Prichernomor’skie amfory I v. do n. e. – II v. n. e. (Morfologiia) – Amphorae of Northern Black Sea Region in the 1st century BC-2nd century AD (Morphology)]. Moscow. Vnukov, S. Iu. 2006 — Внуков, С. Ю. Причерноморьские амфоры I в до н. э. – II в. н. э. Петрография, хронология, проблемы торговли [Prichernomor’skie amfory I v. do n. e. – II v. n. e. Petrografiia, chronologiia, problemy torgovli – Amphorae of Northern Black Sea Region 1st Century BC-2nd Century AD. Petrography, Chronology, the Problems of Trade]. St Petersburg. Zeest, I. B. — Зеест, И. Б. 1960 — Керамическая тара Боспора – Keramicheskaia tara Bospora – Ceramic containers of Bosporos]. (Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on the Archaeology of the USSR] 83). Moscow.
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Chapter 34 The Results of New Archaeological Research at the Bosporan City of Kytaion in 2005-7
Evgenii A. Molev
University of Nizhny Novgorod Faculty of History Nizhnyi Novgorod, Russia [email protected] [email protected]
Natalia V. Moleva
University of Nizhnyi Novgorod Chair of Ancient History Nizhnyi Novgorod, Russia [email protected] Abstract: At the beginning of the 1990s there were discovered the remains of several stone buildings in the south-eastern part of the Kytaion sanctuary. This complex is unique both due to the time of its construction (4th century AD, when the Bosporus was Christian), due to the time it was in use (5th AD), and due to its architectural features. At this stage of research we can only suppose that the architectural complex had a religious nature. Finds including amphora fragments, tableware, animal bones, mussel and snail shells, altars made of stone slabs placed on edge, pebbles and coins are typical of the Late Antique levels of the whole sanctuary. Finds such as dog sacrifices, part of the ceremonial of the cult of Mother Goddess, the presence of a round building and round altars, fragments of terracotta personifying a seated Cybele, a clay statuette of a boy with a goose (possibly Attis, the companion and guard of Cybele), the sacrificial bones of wild allow the conclusion that this complex was connected with the cult of the Mother Goddess, Cybele. Keywords: Kytaion (Kytaia, Kyta, Kyteum, Cytae), sanctuary, religious nature, altars, cult, Mother Goddess, Cybele, dog sacrifice
In the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s, there were discovered large stone piles in the south-eastern part of the sanctuary at Kytaion. This suggested that the massive ash heap of the sanctuary lay within an architectural feature. When excavations at Kytaion were resumed in 2005-6, the key objectives were clearing away and sorting out the stone piles, as well as establishing the nature of the buildings situated at the edge of the ash pit.
building there were found ashes and clay with fragments of a Bosporan louterion and a grinder. Such features were often used as altars in the Kytaion sanctuary and in earlier levels. There was also tableware, a terracotta statuette of an animal, fragments of a lamp, and pebbles. The most numerous among other finds were cattle bones, those of cows being in the majority.
Four buildings were uncovered (A, B, C, D) (Figure 1), three of which were built not earlier than in the second third of the 4th century AD (А, C, D), during the last construction period at Kytaion. One of the buildings (B) was constructed earlier. It was destroyed by fire in the first quarter of the 4th century AD. This complex of religious buildings is unique both due to the time of its construction (4th century AD, when Bosporus was Christian) and to the time it was in use (5th century AD), and due to its architectural features.
At a depth of 1.8m, below ashes and clay was found an anthropoid sculpture lying ‘face’ down, dated to the 2nd1st centuries BC. It was unquestionably re-used, and most probably served as a sacrificial altar during the first centuries AD. The practice of using anthropoid sculptures for such purposes in religious rituals in Bosporos is well-known. They are to be found, for example in the construction of architectural complexes at Myrmekion, at the extra-urban settlement near Myrmekion, at Iluraton and at Kytaion (Moleva 1986, 21; Moleva 1991, 131).
Building A was discovered in 1989 and examined in 1989-92 and 2006. In the upper levels was a continuous layer of grapevine snails mixed with ash and fragments of amphorae dated to the first centuries AD. At a depth of about 1.5m below the modern surface, in the centre of the
In the lower levels of Building A (2-2.5m below surface level) there was a continuous layer of late Bosporan amphorae dated to the 3rd-4th centuries AD together with fragments of other pottery vessels. In addition, there were several fragments of Bosporan tiles, black-gloss vessels, 261
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Figure 1. Plan of Plot II
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Figure 2. Room with amphorae
in situ (Figure 3), which indicates the religious function of the territory on which Building A was later constructed.
bronze nails, a pyramidal loom weight, and animal bones. The principal find was of two large complete Bosporan amphorae sunk into the lower levels of Building A and covered with stone lids (Figure 2). The amphorae could be dated to the 4th century AD. The time of construction of Building A, judging by the amphora fragments found on the floor, was the end of the 3rd century AD.
Building D almost adjoins Building A to the south. In plan it is roughly rectangular, but beginning at a level 90cm from the bottom of the walls there were diagonal ledges (pendentives) in the corners of the building. The ledges gradually protruded forward creating a circle, which transformed into a dome-shaped roof (Figure 4). The masonry corresponds to Type 16 according to the classification of S. D. Kryzhitskii (1982, 24) and dates to the first centuries AD. At the base of the western wall of the building (masonry 12), which has remained to a height of 1.2m, there were found the mandible of a horse and the cranium of a dog, which might come from sacrifices performed in connection with the construction of the building, thus highlighting the religious nature of the building.
In the light of this, it is difficult to say with any degree of certainty whether the function of the building was religious. The fact that some ceremonies might have been conducted there is, however, indicated by such finds as a fragment of a grinder in the ashes in the centre of the building, the anthropoid sculpture and the terracotta statuette. The cranium of a dog, against the western wall (No. 18) of the building, is also significant in this context. A great number of fragments of late Bosporan amphorae and two complete ones, set into specially dug pits let us suppose that Building A had an ancillary character in the complex of adjoining buildings. Apparently it was a storehouse of amphorae containing wine and water used in libation and purification ceremonies.
Masonry 51 is different from all the other masonry of the building. It is a single layer and irregular. This difference must be connected with the fact that it was added to masonry 39 of Building B, constructed at the end of 2nd century AD. It can thus be concluded that Building D was constructed at the end of the 2nd or the very beginning of the 3rd century AD, perhaps a little later than Building B.
In the last year of excavation, in a lower level beneath the building (4th-3rd BC layer) there was found a dog sacrifice
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Figure 3. Dog sacrifice
Before that date the area was covered with material of the 4th to 2nd centuries BC, usual for the ash pit.
a goddess sitting on a throne, probably Cybele (the back of the throne is ornamented, her knees are wide apart, and she holds a cup in her right hand) (Figure 5). A fragment of a red-gloss plate with a stamp in the form of a fawn is also of interest. Among the osteological material bones of dogs prevail (about 50% according to the analysis of А. K. Kasparov); there are also bones of pigs, goats, lambs, horses and cows (the latter comprising only their lower limbs). At the base of masonry 12 there was found a coin of Reskuporis VI (AD 326), which might have got there during the last construction period.
Within this complex of four buildings on the eastern edge of the ash pit, Building D must have played a leading role. This is suggested by the remains of a large stone drain (54) found at its western wall, and by two fragments of Hellenistic anthropoid sculptures with treated left and right edges uncovered in the doorway of the building, and which could have been used to frame the entrance to the building from the east. Among the stones of masonry 12 there was found a Greek terracotta statuette of a naked boy in a cloak clasping a goose to his chest. In the south-western corner of the building near the door frame, there was found a crushed but almost complete late Bosporan amphora of a type corresponding to the complete amphorae in Building A.
A small space between Buildings A and D (at the southeastern corner of Building A and the north-western corner of Building D) 1.8m below the surface and below was occupied by two altars the 1st centuries AD made of stone slabs placed on edge. They are filled with ash, mussel and snail shells. The stones carry no trace of burning.
Apart from amphora fragments and sherds of tableware, there were also found fragments of a terracotta statuette of
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Figure 4. Building D
The religious nature of this building is thus obvious. It is distinguished by its idiosyncratic architecture, the sacrificial heads of a dog and a horse in the base of the building, terracotta statuettes, and altars adjoining the building. After the collapse of the dome of the building at the end of 4th or the beginning of 5th century AD, sacrifices continued to be made. Here there was found a tiny clay pot and a lamp. The place where the building was constructed constituted part of the religious complex in the 4th to 1st centuries BC. This is suggested by the discovery of a pit in the season of 2007. It was filled with ashy soil and finds characteristic of the level of the ash pit of 4th-3rd centuries BC (Figure 6). Here were found two round flat altars (Figure 7), and one made of a rhomboid stone slab with an oval hollow in the middle. The location of the altars is of interest. The round ones were found in the pits, while the diamond-shaped one was found in the level. One of them must have been close to the mouth of Pit 57 and projecting over it. It was thus later found in its filling. The second altar was discovered in situ; its rougher and wider surface was embedded in the wall of Pit 58. The more carefully fashioned part projected over the pit and must have been used for sacrificial ceremonies.
Figure 5. Fragmentary terracotta figurine of Cybele
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of horses, a fox, and a wild saiga (a complete skull and bones). In general, the number of cattle bones was four times smaller. The date of the building was established by means of a stater of Theothorses (AD 291) discovered in masonry 36. Equipment left after sacrifices was dumped into Pit 42, which was located to the north between Buildings D and B. The pit is filled with fragments of amphorae, tableware dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, and large pieces of baked clay. At the bottom a complete dog had been sacrificed and a separate cranium of a dog was found. Similar pits 48, 49, 50 were also discovered in the open area (a yard?) adjoining Building C from the east. Undoubtedly, the religious nature of Building B is indicated by its architecture and the numerous dog sacrifices. Later, at the beginning of 4th century AD, Building B was rebuilt and a new Building C was constructed on its base. In this building the western part of former Building B was kept for religious purposes intended for sacrifices. It is worth mentioning that both buildings were divided by a thick burnt layer up to 30cm thick that contained inclusions of ash, charcoal, burnt ceramics and bones. After the fire at the beginning of 4th century AD, the eastern part of the round building was covered up and above it (half of former Building B) a rectangular Building C was constructed with an exit in the east leading to the open yard (square 17). Building C is related to the latest construction period in the city’s history. From the north, its presumed yard is fenced with the stone wall 46, whose eastern end extends beyond the excavated area. The material of the building level is dated to the end of the 3rd to 5th centuries AD. Among the finds in Building C, as in its western part, there were many animal bones.
Figure 6. Bottom of the Building D
Figure 7. The Altar
Upon the whole, the complex of buildings (A, B, C, D) forms a solid line of western walls, framing the ash hill of the Kytaion city sanctuary in the 2nd to 4th centuries AD. These buildings were repeatedly repaired and reconstructed and existed till the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 5th century AD. We may thus assume that they were a place of pagan worship in the early Christian period.
Building B is partly covered by the later Building C. It is circular in plan, and judging by its material, it was initially constructed at the end of the 2nd century AD. Building C has a rectangular shape with an entrance also from the east. The western wall of this building divided Building B, which had been destroyed by fire, into two parts. Its western part adjoining the edge of the ash heap apparently continued to be used as a place of animal sacrifice, mostly of dogs, the remains of 20 of which were found in 2006. Among them there were both separate skulls (one of them neatly surrounded with leg bones), and whole skeletons placed with the head to the south (Figure 8). Besides the bones of dogs, researchers came across the crania and bones
At this stage of research we can only presume that the architectural complex had a religious nature. The material comprising fragments of amphorae, tableware, animal bones, mussel and snail shells, altars made of stone slabs placed on edge, sea pebbles and coins is typical of the Late Antique levels of the whole sanctuary. The regular discovery of dog sacrifices, which constituted the ceremonial side of the cult of the Mother Goddess (Denisova 1981, 108; Shaub 2007, 104-105), the presence of a circular building and circular altars, fragments of terracotta figurine of a seated Cybele, a terracotta statuette of a boy with a goose (possibly Attis, a companion and guard of Cybele), the bones of wild animals among the sacrificial offerings allow us to suppose that this complex was connected with the cult of the Mother Goddess, Cybele.
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Figure 8. Sacrifice of dogs and cows
This hypothesis can be supported by the fact that such a characteristic emblem as the circle recurs both in the architecture of two buildings out of four and in the shape of the round altars. It should be noted that besides the three altars mentioned here, two more were found in the season of 2007. These were made of flat slabs and were also circular. A circular emblem is frequently found in iconography and among the symbols of the Mother Goddess: for example, the tympanon (disk), a cup in an outstretched hand, the image of a circle in the naos pediment in Asia Minor reliefs. Consider too the existence of circular altars in the sanctuary of the Mother Goddess in the western temenos at Olbia (Rusiaeva 2006, 20-21) and in the sanctuary dated to the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 3rd century BC in the West Generalskoe settlement (Maslennikov 2007, 486, 495).
late Classical times the cult of Cybele became syncretic and blended with religious beliefs of the local population regarding the fertility deity. It could also have incorporated earlier ceremonies connected with the Greek fertility deities Demeter and Aphrodite. We suppose that the cult was practiced in the 4th and 5th centuries AD, at a time when Christianity was spreading in Bosporus. Thus the existence of a whole architectural complex connected with pagan ceremonies is very significant. Bibliography Denisova, V. I. 1981 — Денисова, В. И. Коропластика Боспора [Koroplastika Bospora – Bosporan Terracottas]. Leningrad. Kryzhitskii, S. D. 1982 — Крыжицкий, С. Д. Жилые дома античных городов Северного Причерноморья [Zhilye doma antichnykh gorodov Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Private Houses of Ancient Cities of the Northern Black Sea Region]. Kiev. Maslennikov, A. A. 2007 — Масленников, А. А. Сельские святилища Боспора [Sel’skie sviatilishcha Bospora – The Rural Sanctuaries in Bosporos]. Moscow. Moleva, N. V. 1986 — Молева, Н. В. Антропоморфные памятники Боспора [Antropomorfnye pamiatniki Bospora – Anthropomorphic Monuments of Bosporos].
The worship of the Mother Goddess in the Kytaion sanctuary can be traced back to the middle of 4th century BC (terracottas and graffiti МА, МНТ, М were found). Cybele or the Mother Goddess, the mistress of mountains, forests, and animals, the deity granting inexhaustible fertility, was worshipped in Asia Minor, Greece, Olbia and in Bosporos. It was in Greek times that the cult began to spread most widely. In ancient Rome Cybele, together with Attis, was also worshipped as patroness of cities and the state (Ovid., Fast. 4. 179-372). It is quite possible that in 267
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Beliefs: Sources, Methods, Aims]. (Proceedings of conference). 130-136. St Petersburg. Rusiaeva, A. S. 2006 — Русяева, А. С. Древнейший теменос Ольвии Понтийской [Drevneishyi temenos Ol’vii Pontiskoi – The Ancient Temenos of Olbia Pontica]. Simferopol. Shaub, I. Iu. 2007 — Шауб, И. Ю. Миф, культ, ритуал в Северном Причерноморье (VII - IV вв. до н. э.) [Mif, kul’t, ritual v Severnom Prichernomor’e (VII-IV vv. do n. e.) – Myth, Cult, Ritual in the Northern Black Sea Area (7th – 4th centuries BC)]. St Petersburg.
Unpublished Ph. D Thesis. Leningradskoe otdelenie Instituta Archeologii Akademii Nauk SSSR [Leningrad Branch of the Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Sciences of the USSR]. Leningrad. Moleva, N. V. 1991 — Молева, Н. В. О некоторых особенностях погребального обряда на Боспоре [O nekotorykh osobennostiakh pogrebal’nogo obriada na Bospore – Some features of the funeral rite in the Bosporos]. In В. А. Хршановский [V. A. Khrshanovskii] (ed.), Реконструкция древних верований: источники, метод, цель [Rekonstruktsiia drevnikh verovanii: istochniki, metod, tsel’ – Reconstruction of Ancient
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Chapter 35 The Cult of Achilles on the Coast of the Black Sea
Agnieszka Ochał-Czarnowicz c/o Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Krakow, Poland [email protected]
Abstract: In 1960 in the area of Tormoran Hill identified with the ancient Amisos (modern Samsun, Turkey) a mosaic representing Achilles was found. The mosaic has been dated to the reign of Septimus Severus (AD 193-211). In the central emblem is a nude Achilles holding mantle and a spear in his left hand. Behind him is his mother Thetis seated on a rock. The mosaic’s central section is surrounded by corner panels with busts of the seasons and by panels of Tritons and Nereids. Below them is a rectangular panel with a sacrificial scene. The detailed interpretation of mosaic is still a matter of debate. Some scholars assume that the sacrificial scene refers to the divine aspect of Achilles’ cult. Achilles, the greatest warrior and the central character of Homer’s Iliad, was primarily venerated as a hero. There is no doubt, however, that on the northern shore of the Black Sea he was also perceived as one of the Greek gods. Taking into account the Amisos mosaic it is worth to posing the question whether the cult of Achilles in the Black Sea basin was only limited to the northern shore or was also present on the southern shore. Keywords: Achilles, Achilles cult in the Black Sea, Amisos mosaic, southern shore of the Black Sea
her son is described in detail in the Iliad (19. 1-36). The Iliadic scenes, especially those related to Achilles, were shown on many different mosaic floors throughout the Greek and Roman world. The hero and his mother appear for example in a mosaic from the Villa of Good Fortune in Olynthus, Macedonia (Robertson 1946, Pl. 3), and in The Achilles Mosaic in the Villa with a View in Ptolemais, Libya (Mikocki 2005, 57-68). Within the borders of modern Turkey, apart from the mosaic from Amisos mentioned above, mosaics with representations of Achilles were also excavated in Antioch (Levi 1947, 110-115) and in Zeugma (Abadie-Reynal et al., 2000, 279-336). The mosaics at Zeugma are well dated to the first half of the 3rd century AD (Ergec et al., 2000, 106). The colours of tesserae and the arrangement of the panel borders on in the Amisos mosaic suggest that it was probably constructed at the same time. We know almost nothing about its archaeological context but because of its location and quality it is clear that it must come from a Roman villa. It measures 7x8m, which gives a total of 56m2. It was richly decorated with geometric patterns (Sahin 2005, 423), and in the central emblem is a nude Achilles holding a mantle and a spear in his left hand. The name of the hero is inscribed above his head. Behind him, Thetis is seated on a rock and is also identified by means of an inscription. She is holding a short, broad sword with a scabbard in her left hand (Sahin 2005, 413414). Achilles’ helmet is placed on the rock on which she is sitting (Erciyas 2006, 67). Her face is meditative and her pose is inspired by funerary exempla of the late 5th century BC. The four corner panels with busts of the seasons and the four panels with Nereids riding on fantastic animals
The worship of heroes is one of the most fascinating aspects of Greek religion. Heroes were the essence of the society from which they came. The conception of the hero is well based in the Homeric epic. Admired through the ages Homer’s Iliad, along with the Odyssey, was venerated by the ancient Greeks themselves as the touchstone of their civilization. Many famous heroes inhibited the world created by Homer. Among them was Achilles, who had the attributes of being the most handsome, as well as the bravest. In the epic he had to choose between death in battle (when his ‘glory [would be] everlasting’ (Homer, Iliad 10. 412), or a long life without glory. Honor and glory defined the hero; they were the foundations of every action and response. The fame that resounds even after death was a goal and nothing could change that path. Achilles had chosen glory and indeed, his glory in the ancient world was exceptional. It was visible even in the most distant corners of the oikoumene. The Amisos mosaic, the central emblem In 1960, during work connected with NATO radar construction near Samsun, on the southern shore of the Black Sea, in the area of Tormoran Hill that can be identified with the ancient Amisos, a mosaic representing Achilles and his mother Thetis bringing new armour was found. The mythological theme is known in art from the 5th century BC. We can observe it for example on an Attic redfigure neck-amphora attributed to Hermonax in the Martin von Wagner Museum in Würzburg (Beazley Addenda 1989, 248). The moment when Thetis gave the new armour to 269
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surround the mosaic’s central section. As in the Antioch mosaics the border panels face the spectator, and standing outside the decoration (Figure 1). Such a composition is known, for example, from Room 2 of the House of the Mysteries of Isis (Levi 1947, 165-166, Pl. 102f) also dated to the first half of the 3rd century AD (Levi 1947, 625). The Amisos mosaic: the sacrificial scene Below these panels there is another, rectangular, panel with a sacrificial scene. It is the only panel in the whole complex without a geometric border. Unfortunately the large central section is missing. It is clear however that in this mosaic panel the proprietor of the villa is represented at the moment of making a sacrifice with the help of a victimarius. On the right side stands a man shown en face and wearing a short-sleeved tunic and a mantle. He holds a dish in his right hand while in his left he has an olive branch. Next to him there is a person with an axe held above his head. The latter seems to be about to sacrifice white bull with tethered legs standing to his right (Sahin 2005, 419-420). Similar representations of sacrifice are known from coins. The reverse a sestertius of Commodus of AD 178 (RIC 1594) provides a good comparison for the Amisos mosaic (Figure 2). The panel with the scene of a bull sacrifice is crucial for its interpretation. It is clear that the juxtaposition of the Achilles and Thetis scene and the sacrificial scene (Figure 1) are not unconnected. Figure 1. Amisos mosaic: organisation and dimensions of the different panels (based on Sahin 2005, Fig. 1)
The Amisos mosaic: an interpretation Mythological themes on floor mosaics have more than merely an aesthetic function. Some years ago S. Muth (1998) demonstrated that the mosaics in a Roman villa were not only decorative, but were also deeply associated with the social and religious life of members of the household. Such a connection is particularly clear visible in the Paphian mosaics examined by Ch. Kondoleon (1994, 319ff). During the IX Colloque de la mosaïque gréco-romaine held in Rome in 2001, it was proposed that the iconographical records and specific arrangement of both the central emblem with Achilles and the panel with the sacrificial scene in the Amisos mosaic are evidence for an otherwise unknown cult of Achilles (Daszewski 2005, 425). Arrian in the Periplus of the Euxine Sea (33-34) reports on sacrifices of animals to Achilles. In this context the sacrificial scene is interpreted as one in which the proprietor of the villa is shown at the moment of sacrificing the bull to the god Achilles. Although such an interpretation might be questionable, taking other known indications of the cult of Achilles, it is not at all surprising.
Figure 2. Victimarius representations from 1- a sestertius of Commodus, and 2- the Amisos mosaic
and Kroton (Pausanias 3. 19, 11-13) in South Italy. Unfortunately we know little of the character of sacral practices relating to the hero (Guzman 2004, 3-139; Boedeker and Sider 2001, 168).
Achilles in the Iliad is portrayed as a virtually immortal hero whose glory was eternal. According to the ancient sources, Achilles was worshipped in many places in the ancient world including Lakonia (Pausanias 10. 13,5; 3. 25,4), Astypalaia in the Cyclades (Cicero, De natura deorum 3. 45), Tanagra (Plutarch, Morabilia 299C-300A)
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Figure 3. Settlements on the northern Black Sea coast associated with the cult of Achilles
The cult of Achilles: the northern shore of the Black Sea
place (Okhotnikov 2006, 25). After many years of debate based mainly on literary and epigraphic data, scholars nowadays seem to agree that did indeed existed there a temenos dedicated to Achilles.
The beginnings of the cult of Achilles are lost in the shadows of the Greek Dark Ages. In the Pontic area the first archaeological evidence for special attention granted to Achilles can be seen as early as the second half of the 6th century BC (Figure 3). During excavations at the Beikush settlement several different kinds of Achillesrelated graffiti were observed. Among them were clay disks made from pottery fragments. These had been worked into disks between two and six centimetres in diameter, and were inscribed with the full name of Achilles, or with an abbreviation: A, AWIKK, AWIKKEI (Hedreen 1991, 315). Somewhat similar of disks are also known from Olbia. Most of these, however, are dated to the 5th century BC (Iailenko 1980, 84-87).
Intense research by land and sea by Okhotnikov and Ostroverkhov (1993, 20-28; Okhotnikov and Ostroverkhov 2007, 546) have provided sufficient architectural remains to justify the hypotheses that the first Ionic temple at Leuke was similar to the temple of Apollo Ietros in Olbia and that it was erected at the same time (Rusiaeva 2003, 11). Archaeological finds have also given clear evidence that the first offering made to Achilles were made as early as the second quarter of the 6th century BC. There were various dedications among them. The most famous Leukian inscription is dated to the 5th century BC. On an Attic lekythos the phrase was written: ‘Glaukos, son of Posideios dedicated me to Achilles, lord of Leuke’ (Plekett and Stroud 1980, 869).
The meaning and the function of the clay disks are uncertain. They were been found in what seem to be domestic contexts. The use of clay disks as votive offerings to a hero is known, however, in others parts of the Greek oikoumene. For example, twelve clay disks were found in the Athenian Agora at the corner of the triangular structure next to the stone inscribed TO GIEQO (Lalonde 1968, 123133).
The 5th century BC was a golden age for the temple. The sanctuary enjoyed so wide popularity that references to Leuke island appeared in the works of many famous poets and dramatists including Pindar (Nemean 4. 48-50): ‘but Ajax reigns over his paternal plains in Salamis; in the Euxine sea, Achilles over his radiant isle’, and Euripides (Andromache 1260-1262): ‘Achilles, our dear son, settled in his island-home by the strand of Leuce, that is girdled by the Euxine sea’. Apart from other votives a great number of ceramics, especially painted black- and red-figure pottery attributed to Attic vase-painters Epictetus, Nicosthenes, and
The first phase of the construction of a temple of Achilles on Leuke island can also be dated to the 6th century BC. The first modern description of the island (modern Ostrov Zmeinyi) was written in 1824. It was the Polish scholar J. Potocki who properly recognised the significance of the 271
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Amasis, date to that time (Okhotnikov and Ostroverkhov 1993, 31-32; Okhotnikov and Ostroverkhov 2007, 551). In this period there were probably ceremonial rites peculiar to the hero’s sanctuary established here as well. As can be understood from the inscriptions the cult was created by people from Olbia.
At the same time, there was an exceptionally strong and well attested cult of Achilles among the citizens of Olbia. Dio Chrysostom (Orationes 36. 14) observed that all the Olbians honour Homer and know the Iliad by heart. Indeed in Olbia almost all of the heroes of the Iliad were very popular. Among the numerous graffiti found during excavations there are some with quotations from cyclical poems (Vinogradov 1969, 142-150).
Arrian (Periplus of the Euxine Sea 32) reports that in the temple of Achilles there was an ancient xoanon, while Pausanias (3. 19.11) mentioned that there was a cult statue of Achilles (ðcakla). In the ancient sources we can also find many references to an oracle functioning in the Achilles temple and to the place where the sick were cured (Rusiaeva 2003, 3). The essence of the cult of Achilles was based on a variety of different aspects. The most important was the association of the hero with both underworld and watery elements (Solovyov 1999, 116). Literary accounts of Leuke (e.g. Philostratus Heroikos 55-57) contain many episodes related to sailing. It is not surprising that Achilles, son of the Nereid Thetis, and the lord of the island, was considered to be the divine patron of sailors. Looking at the many aspects of Achilles’ cult, and at the variety of votives dedicated on island, it is worth posing the question: was Achilles treated as a god on Leuke?
Within the state of Olbia Achilles was principally venerated in two incarnations: as a hero and as Pontarches (Rusiaeva 1992, 75). So far about 43 dedications to Achilles are known. Of these, about 28 are dedicated to Pontarches alone (Shelov-Koveolyaev 1990, 49-50). These are public dedications mostly made by representatives of the highest level of the city magistracy: archons, agoranomoi and a strategos (Guzman 2004, 107-123). In Roman Olbia Achilles was surely also venerated as a god. Dio Chrysostom (Orationes 36. 14. 9) wrote the clearest testimony for this. After his visit to the polis he observed that the Olbians used to honour Achilles as their god and that ‘they have actually established two temples for his worship, one on the island that bears his name’. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the intensive excavations have been conducted for more than two hundred years, the exact place where these two temples were constructed is still uncertain. An extremely narrow spit of land called Cape Tendra (modern Tendrovskaia Kosa, Khersons’kaia Oblast’, Ukraine) is also connected with the worship of Achilles. In antiquity Cape Tendra was called AwikkÈyr dqËlor. Such a name appears in the work of Herodotos (4. 5; 4. 76. 4). Some scholars maintain that the name Tendra indicates that there were athletic games held there to honour Achilles. The existence of athletic games arranged by the polis of Olbia is proved inter alia by an inscription dated to the 1st century BC, but the notion that games took place exactly in the area of Tendra is highly hypothetical.
Up to now, different responses have been given and the debate is far from over. Recently Diatropov (2001, 12-13) has maintained Hooker’s thesis (1988) that until the first centuries AD, Achilles in the Pontic area was venerated only as a hero. In my opinion, however, it is most likely that the temple with the xoanon and cultstatue would be used rather for a mixed deity-hero, and not for hero worship alone. According to Greek beliefs, Achilles on Leuke, like other immortal gods, was eternally present in his temple; but in contrast to the Olympians his power was limited. Arrian (Periplus of the Euxine Sea 23) observed: ‘some say that Achilles appeared to them on their ships as they approached the White Island just as the Dioskouroi are wont to do. But Achilles is less powerful than Dioskouroi for they appear to sailors everywhere and can assist them in crisis while Achilles only appears to those who are approaching the White Island’.
According to A. Rusiaeva (2006, 98-123) both numismatic and archaeological evidence suggests that since the late 4th century BC until the third quarter of the 4th century AD a sanctuary of Achilles could have functioned there.
The strength of his cult on Leuke island however is visible up to the end of antiquity. Clement of Rome wrote that just as the Syrians worship Adonis, and the Egyptians Osiris; the Trojans, Hector; Achilles is worshipped at Leuconesus (Clement of Rome Recognitions 10. 25).
The Achilles Island mentioned by Dio was not necessarily Leuke. Several ancient sources including Mela (2. 98) and Dionysios Periegetes (542) refer to an island consecrated to Achilles in the immediate vicinity of Olbia next to the mouth of the Borysthenes river. In that place there is now the Berezan island. It is worth emphasizing that thanks to an inscription published by Shelov-Koveoliaev (1990, 49-62) we can be practically certain that Berezan in Roman times was an island. A phrase employed in the inscription that can be translated ‘O island washed round by the sea, rejoicing in waves’ appears to contradict the widely-held opinion that Berezan remained a peninsula until the end of antiquity (Vinogradov 1994, 18-19). The Greek hero Achilles was worshipped on Berezan from the 5th- 4th century BC. The cult at that period is confirmed by the series of Achilles
Leuke island was not the only place in the Pontic area where constructions devoted to Achilles were erected. In the area of Kinburn spit there was found a cylindrical altar with a dedication to Achilles (Dubois 1996, 105-106; Guzman 2004, 68). According to Strabo (7. 4. 5, 11. 2. 6) and Arrian (Periplus of the Euxine Sea 92) there was also within the borders of the Kimmerian Bosporos a town called Achilleion (Figure 3) with a temple of Achilles.
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related graffiti. Between them there is one with the formula AWIKK-SYTGQI (Rusiaeva 1992, 71, Fig. 20). In the 1st century AD the centre of the cult of Achilles might have been moved to the island of Berezan from Leuke (Solovyov 1999, 116). This could have happened because the control over the Greek sanctuary of Achilles on the island of Leuke had been seized by the polis of Tomis (on the western shore of the Black Sea) and the polis of Olbia itself was defeated by the Getai (Rusiaeva 1992, 80-81). Judging by the large amount of inscriptions found on Berezan dated to the 1st century AD, we know that the cult of the heros-theos was really strong at that time. We do not know, however, whether there was a separate area on the island dedicated to Achilles, since most of the inscriptions were reused for building construction, for example as the base for a column supporting a roof in the next period of permanent settlement (2nd-3rd centuries AD) (Solovyov 1999, 117).
Daszewski, W. A. 2005. Discussion. In H. Morlier (ed.), 425. Diatropov, P. D. 2001 — Диатропов, П. Д. Культ героев в античном Северном Причерноморье [Kul’t geroev v antichnom Severnom Prichernomor’e – The Cult of Heroes in the Northern Black Sea]. Moscow. Dubois, L. 1996. Inscriptions grecques dialectales d’Olbia du Pont. Geneva. Erciyas, D. B. 2006. Wealth, Aristocracy, and Royal Propaganda under the Hellenistic Kingdom of Mithradatids in Central Black Sea Region in Turkey. Leiden. Ergec, R., Önal, M. and Wagner, J. 2000. Seleukeia am Euphrat/Zeugma. Archäologische Forschungen in einer Garnisons – und Handelsstadt am Euphrat. In J. Wagner (ed.), Gottkönige am Euphrat. Neue Ausgrabungen und Forschungen im Kommagene, 104-114. Mainz. Guzman, M. O. 2004. Orígenes y desarrollo del culto de Aquiles en la Antigüedad: Recogida y análisis de Fuentes. Unpublished PhD thesis, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Hedreen, G. 1991. The cult of Achilles in the Euxine. Hesperia 60, 313-330. Hooker, J. H. 1988. The cults of Achilles. Rheinischer Museum für Philologie 131/I, 1-7. Iailenko, V. P. 1980 — Яиленко, В. П. Граффити Левки, Березаньи и Олъвии [Graffiti Levki, Berezan’i i Ol’vii – The graffiti from Leuke, Berezan and Olbia]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] II, 75-116. Kondoleon, Ch. 1994. Domestic and divine: Roman mosaics in the House of Dionysos. New York. Lalonde, G. V. 1968. A fifth-century hieron southwest of the Athenian Agora. Hesperia 37, 123-133. Levi , D. 1947. Antioch mosaic pavements. Princeton. Mikocki, T. 2005. The Achilles mosaic from the Villa with a View in Ptolemais (Libya). Archeologia 56, 57-68. Morlier, H. (ed.) 2005. La mosaïque gréco-romaine 9. (Collection de l’École Française de Rome 352). Rome. Muth, S. 1998. Erleben von Raum - Leben im Raum: zur Funktion mythologischer Mosaikbilder in der römischkaiserzeitlichen Wohnarchitectur. Heidelberg. Okhotnikov, S. B. 2006. Odessa and the Ukrainian-Polish investigations of the antiquities of the North coast of the Black Sea. In J. Bodzek (ed.), Skarby znad Morza Czarnego: złoto, rzeźba, ceramika z Muzeum Archeologicznego w Odessie, Katalog wystawy w Muzeum Narodowym w Krakowie, marzec-czerwiec 2006 / Treasures from the Black Sea Coast: Gold, Sculpture, Pottery from the Archaeological Museum in Odessa. Catalogue of the Exhibition at the National Museum in Cracow, March-June 2006, 24-33. Kraków. Okhotnikov, S. B and Ostroverkhov, A. S. 1993 — Охотников, С. Б., Островерхов, А. С. Святилище Ахилла на острове Левке (Змейном) [Sviatilishche Akhilla na ostrove Levke (Zmeinom) – The Sanctuary of Achilles on Leuke (Viper) Island]. Kiev. Okhotnikov, S. B. and Ostroverkhov, A. S. 2007. Achilles on the island of Leuke, in D. V. Grammenos and E. K. Petropoulos (eds), Ancient Greek Colonies in the Black
Conclusions Achilles, the greatest warrior and the central character of Homer’s Iliad, was primarily venerated as a hero. There is no doubt, however, that on the Black Sea coast he was also perceived as one of the Greek gods. Worship of Achilles represents one of the most interesting phenomena of Greek religion in the Pontic area. It is well attested in such settlements as Bejkush, Leuke, Olbia and Berezan (Figure 3). The crucial question as to why the cult of Achilles was limited to the northern shore of the Black Sea was posed by Hedreen (1991, 323). Using literary testimony she gave an answer based on the concept of the northern shore of the Black Sea, the region of Scythia, being on the opposite edge of the earth (as conceived in antiquity) from the homeland of Achilles’ enemy Memnon (Hedreen 1991, 329). Apart from this explanation, another possible reason for the lack of evidence for the cult of Achilles elsewhere on the Black Sea coast may be the relative lack of excavation in the area. Cult practices in the southern Black Sea are still poorly investigated. Recently (in 1995) a gold appliqué representing Thetis riding on hippocamp was found in a Hellenistic tomb at Amisos (Erciyas 2005, Fig. 50). Such a find indicates that the story of Achilles was well known in the area. With the help of the Amisos mosaic we might suggest that the Achilles cult also existed in the area of the southern shore of the Black Sea. Bibliography Abadie-Reynal, C., Bucak, E. and Bulgan, F. 2000. ZeugmaMoyenne Vallée de l’Euphrate. Rapport préliminaire de la campagne de fouilles de 1999. Anatolia Antiqua 8, 279-337. Beazley Addenda 1989. T. H. Carpenter, with T. Mannack and M. Mendonça, Beazley addenda. Additional references to ABV, ARV² and Paralipomena. Oxford. Boedeker, D. D. and Sider, D. 2001. The New Simonides. Contexts of Praise and Desire. Oxford.
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Sea 2/I, 537-562. (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1675/I). Oxford. Plekett, H. W. and Stroud, R. S. (eds) 1980. Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 30. Leiden. Robertson, D. M. 1946. Excavations at Olynthus, 12: Domestic and Public Architecture. Baltimore. Rusiaeva, A. S. 1992 — Русяева, А. С. Религия и кулъты античной Олъвии [Religiia i kul’ty antichnoi Ol’vii – The Religion and Cults of Ancient Olbia]. Kiev. Rusiaeva, A. 2003. The Temple of Achilles on the island of Leuke in the Black Sea. Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 9/I-II, 1-16. Rusiaeva, A. S. 2006. Русяева, А. С. Cвятилище Ахилла на Тендре в контексте истории и религии Ольвии Понтийской [Sviatilishche Akhilla na Tendre v kontekste istorii i religii Ol’vii Pontiiskoi – The sanctuary of Achilles on the Tendra in the context of history and religion of Olbia Pontica]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] IV, 98-123.
Sahin, D. 2005. The Amisos mosaic of Achilles: Achilles cult in the Black Sea region. In H. Morlier (ed.), 413424. Shelov-Koveoliaev, F. V. 1990 — Шелов-Ковеоляев, Ф. В. Березанский гимн острову и Ахиллу [Berezanskii gimn ostrovu i Akhillu – The Berezan hymn for the Island and Achilles]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] III, 49-62. Solovyov, S. L. 1999. Ancient Berezan: The Architecture, History and Culture of the First Greek Colony in the Northern Black Sea. Colloquia Pontica 4. Leiden. Vinogradov, Iu. V. 1994. A maiden’s golden burial from Berezan, the island of Achilles. Expedition 36/II-III, 18-28. Vinogradov, Iu. V. 1969 — Виноградов, Ю. В. Киклические поэмы из Олъвии [Kiklicheskie poemy iz Ol’vii – Cyclic poems from Olbia]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] III, 142-150.
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Chapter 36 Subjects and Allies: the Black Sea Empire of Mithradates VI Eupator (120-63 BC) Reconsidered
Marek Jan Olbrycht Rzeszów University Institute of History Rzeszów, Poland [email protected]
Abstract: Having gained control of almost the entire circuit of the Black Sea including the Bosporan Kingdom, Mithradates VI Eupator strove for a fundamental strengthening of his kingdom. The rising power of Pontos led inevitably to a conflict of interests with Rome that aspired to an absolute hegemony in Asia Minor. At that time, there was another military and political power in Western Asia which must be properly taken into account, namely the Arsakid Parthian empire. Sources point to the existence of strong connections between Eupator and the Arsakid Empire under Mithradates II (123-87 BC), one of the greatest Parthian kings. Roman military expansion posed a threat to the Arsakid domination in Transcaucasia, Mesopotamia and northern Syria. In 95 BC a new political constellation, initiated by Arsakid Iran, and embracing Pontos, Armenia and Parthia, was formed in Asia. Through diplomacy and skilfull policy, Mithradates Eupator expanded Pontos’ network of foreign connections. Creating bilateral and multilateral coalitions was to ensure favorable balances of power and thereby attain regional objectives at less cost that otherwise would be possible. The decisive Parthian support prompted Eupator to wage an open war on Rome in 89 BC. Initially, the prospects for Pontos were good but the civil war in Parthia in which Tigranes was involved, annihilated the previous political constellation of the 90s and early 80s, in which Pontos, Armenia and Parthia constituted a mighty alliance. After Armenia’s defeat at the hands of Lucullus and Pompey, and after the failure of his own military efforts, Eupator found a strategic sanctuary in the Crimea and Bosporos. There, he tried to gain Sirakoi and Aorsoi but his plans were shattered by a rebellion of his son Pharnakes. Keywords: Mithradates Eupator, Pontos, Black Sea peoples, Parthia, Armenia, Sarmatians, Aorsoi, Sirakoi
A number of studies have been devoted to Mithradates VI Eupator and his long reign (Reinach 1895; Molev 1976; Olshausen 1978; McGing 1986; Heinen 1991; Hind 1994; Ballesteros-Pastor 1996; Saprykin 1996; Strobel 1996; De Callataÿ 1997; Mastrocinque 1999; Olshausen 2000; Olbrycht 2004; Heinen 2005a; Heinen 2005b; Højte (ed.) 2005). That outstanding Pontic ruler formulated a political and military strategy according to which he carried out his policies and conducted wars. Thanks to his correct strategic assessments, Eupator was able to fight Rome for more than 30 years. For it was the Roman state that constituted the major danger. It threatened to subjugate the whole of Anatolia and wished to carry out its intentions. Eupator correctly identified the capabilities and intentions of the Romans. This is why he aimed at consolidation inside Pontos and strengthening its position vis-à-vis the neighboring power.
sphere of direct control or interest, in the Black Sea area, and 3) gaining new powerful allies including the Parthian empire and Parthian-dominated Armenia as well as peoples of the Black Sea region. Point 1) addresses issues which have been investigated for a long time. It should be emphasized that Eupator attached great importance to the erection of fortifications and strongholds. Fortified centres were fundamental to the process of internal consolidation of the kingdom, at the same time becoming the elements of a defense system against the aggression of the neighboring powers. Thus, e.g., Eupator established his hold on Little Armenia and the adjacent country by erecting 75 forts (Strab. 12. 3. 28). Concerning point 2), Mithradates Eupator’s first large-scale military operations were in countries around the eastern and northern shores of the Black Sea (Heinen 1991; De Callataÿ 1997, 245-264; Olbrycht 2004). It was only after subjugating those regions including the Bosporos and the Crimea that Eupator turned his attention to the Anatolian kingdoms of Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Paphlagonia directly bordering the Roman sphere of rule. The present study focuses on point 3). In connection with the basic
Mithradates Eupator’s political strategy towards Rome as can be deducted from the sources was based upon a program that consisted of the following factors: 1) building up the kingdom and its economic as well as military resources, 2) subjugating new territories, chiefly beyond the Roman 275
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Olbrycht 2009). To the north-west of Commagene and Cilicia lay Cappadocia, a country of essential significance for any effective control of eastern and central Anatolia.
security objectives of Pontos, the position of the Parthian empire and its long-standing vassal Armenia is addressed. Also, notice is due to the steppe tribes in the Black Sea and Maiotis area, particularly to the peoples of the Sirakoi and Aorsoi to the east of the Tanais and to the north of the Caucasus as important factors in Eupator’s political and military strategies.
After his enthronement, the very next moves made by Tigranes were an invasion of Sophene (Strab. 11. 14. 15; 12. 2. 1) and an intervention in Cappadocia against Ariobarzanes, a Roman nominee. Moreover, Eupator gave his daughter Kleopatra to Tigranes in marriage. Justin (38. 3. 2) links the marriage between Kleopatra and Tigranes with the latter’s action in Cappadocia. All these facts testify to the existence of specific strategic planning on the part of the Arsakid King of Kings and his Pontic partner, in which Armenia played a special role. Tigranes’ activities in Sophene, then in Cappadocia, and his close cooperation with Eupator must originally have been a Parthian initiative; the Arsakid king, a politician of broader horizons, was apparently aware of Roman predominance in Anatolia and Roman political appetite.
The growing power of Pontos under Mithradates Eupator, a kingdom bordering the Parthian dominated territories in Transcaucasia, must have attracted the attention of the Arsakids. Such interests were surely mutual for Eupator strenuously strove for support in kingdoms beyond the Roman sphere of influence. Considering its resources, wealth, and military potential, the Parthian empire was a highly desirable ally. Some sources point to the existence of strong connections between Eupator and the Arsakid empire under Mithradates II (123-87 BC), known as ‘the Great’ (Iust. 42. 2. 3; Trog. Prol. 42), one of the most significant Parthian kings (Debevoise 1938, 40-50; Wolski 1993, 88ff.; Olbrycht 1998, 96-105). Any active policy by Eupator toward Rome would have been impossible if he had not had his eastern frontier, including Armenia and Parthia as the dominating powers, firmly secured. Thus, Eupator’s interest in Armenia and Parthia must have been quite early. That close relations between Pontos and Parthia were initiated prior to 102/101 BC, is clearly documented by images and inscriptions in a heroon on Delos dedicated to Mithradates Eupator (on the monument and its inscriptions, see McGing 1986, 90-91).
It is hardly a coincidence that just when Tigranes returned to Armenia, Eupator introduced a new era in Pontos and began a new, aggressive policy directed against his Anatolian neighbours and Rome. Moreover, he made significant changes in his coinage. With the new alliance established, Eupator was able to challenge Roman power in Anatolia. At the same time, the Parthians showed their interest in control of northern Syria, Cilicia and Commagene. It is conceivable that the Parthians tried to secure their sphere of interest by annihilating – with the help of either Pontos or Armenia – Roman influence in Cappadocia, a country stretching on the Euphrates and bordering on Commagene, Armenia, and even Cilicia Pedias, i.e. areas which Parthia controlled or intended to subjugate. Of vital strategic importance for Mithradates Eupator, Parthia and for Rome was Cappadocia. It is thus little wonder that just that kingdom remained the main contentious area in eastern Anatolia in the 90s-70s BC (Sullivan 1980; Sullivan 1990).
In 95 BC, a powerful alliance, initiated and supported by Arsakid Iran, and embracing Pontos, Parthia-dominated Armenia and Parthia herself, emerged in Asia, and the anti-Roman actions in Anatolia were intensified. After spending about 25 years at the Parthian court, Tigranes was released by his sovereign Mithradates II the Great and appointed king of Armenia (Manandian 1963; Manaserian 1985; Chaumont 1985-8; Schottky 2002). Justin (38. 3. 1) provides a hint that Tigranes’ enthronement in 95 BC was not an accidental event but a well-thought move made by the Parthian King of Kings to meet Eupator’s wish. Justin underscores that Eupator ‘was eager to entice this man (sc. Tigranes) to join him in the war against Rome which he had long had in mind.’ For about 15 years, Tigranes remained a faithful vassal of Parthia. The strategic position of the Armenian kingdom between Anatolia, the Caucasus mountains and Iran, likewise its military and economic potential, were recognized by Mithradates II. That is why the Arsakids made the control of Armenia one of the fundamental targets in their policy toward Rome up to the end of the dynasty (Wolski 1980; Arnaud 1987; Olbrycht 1998, passim). Additionally, Parthia had a claim to the areas located to the south of the Taurus range and to the west of the Euphrates, i.e. to Commagene, Cilicia Pedias and northern Syria. In fact, under Mithradates II the Great, northern Syria and Commagene remained for a time under Parthian control. Parthian military operations reached even to Cilicia (Dobias 1931; Wolski 1977; Dąbrowa 1992;
Parthian Iran is mentioned in the sources as a major ally of Pontos. That Eupator sought Parthian assistance against Rome, is strikingly confirmed by Memnon of Herakleia: ‘He (sc. Mithradates, MJO) increased his realm by subduing the kings around the river Phasis in war as far as the regions beyond the Caucasus, and grew extremely boastful. On account of this the Romans regarded his intentions with suspicion, and they passed a decree that he should restore to the kings of the Scythians their ancestral kingdoms. Mithradates modestly complied with their demands, but gathered as his allies the Parthians, the Medes, Tigranes the Armenian, the kings of the Scythians and Iberia’ (FgrHist 434 F 22. 3-4 with corrections by McGing 1986, 63, No. 85, and comments by Heinen 2005a, 83-87). Significantly enough, Parthia is listed first. The Medes are often mentioned in the sources separately from the Parthians for they formed one of the major and richest parts of the Arsakid empire. This applies not only to Greater Media (with Ecbatana), incorporated to the royal Arsakid domain
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(Olbrycht 1997, 44), but also to Media Atropatene, ruled by vassal kings (Schottky 1989; Schottky 1990). Armenia was a vassal kingdom of Parthia at this time. Worthy of note is the reference to Iberia (Braund 1994; Lordkipanidze 1996). During the 2nd century BC, Armenia seized some southern parts of Iberia (Strab. 11. 14. 5; cf. Braund 1994, 153). When Armenia was subjugated by the Parthian king Mithradates II in about 120 BC (Schottky 1989), probably also other Transcaucasian lands, including Iberia (and perhaps Albania), were granted to Parthian vassals. A massiv influx of Parthian coins beginning from the time of Mithradates II into Armenia, Iberia and Albania (Olbrycht 2001a; Olbrycht 2001b) suggests that these countries were simultanously incorporated to the Parthian sphere of political and economic domination. The sources testify to the fact that Eupator seized Armenia Minor (Strab. 12. 3. 28; cf. Molev 1979; De Callataÿ 1997, 253) and Colchis (Strab. 11. 2. 18; Memnon FgrHist 434 F 22. 3; cf. Shelov 1980; Lordkipanidze 1996), but he did not try to penetrate and conquer Iberia. Apparently, the Iberian rulers of this time acted as Parthian vassals and supported Eupator as his allies.
when Tigranes, supported by Parthia and Pontos, intervened in Cappadocia, and Eupator sent Sokrates Chrestos to subjugate Bithynia. In 89-88 BC, issues were abundant due to the outbreak of the First Mithradatic War (cf. the table in De Callataÿ 1997, 283. See McGing 1986, 86). Pontos had some natural metal resources (Hind 1994, 135; De Callataÿ 1997, 242-244), but the huge amount of gold and silver minted in the 90s and 80s may partially be explained by Parthian support for Eupator. A perfect parallel is provided by the situation in Syria in 88-84/3 when the Parthian vassal Philippos minted a large body of coins (Bellinger 1949, 79; Hoover 2007, 298), scarcely comparable with the modest emissions of his predecessors. It is worth noting that Parthian coinage under Mithradates II assumed the dimensions of mass production and Parthian coins were pouring into Transcaucasia. In all probability, then, Mithradates II provided Pontos with additional resources to strengthen his Pontic ally in his military activities. Politically significant was the introduction of the so-called Bithynian-Pontic era in Pontos, attested in coinage from 95 BC (year 202 of that era) (De Callataÿ 1997, 29-52; Gabel’ko 2005, 152). From that point onwards, Pontic coins were struck in the name of Mithradates Eupator. This measure must have been linked with the start of a new stage in Eupator’s policy. The dated royal issues of Eupator show a number of new features. The obverse depicts the king’s portrait, the reverse Pegasos or a grazing stag with star and crescent in the field (McGing 1986, 97; De Callataÿ 1997).
The passage by Memnon tallies with another account offered by Appian (Mithr. 15) who reports a speech given before the outbreak of the First Mithradatic War by Eupator’s envoy Pelopidas. While listing Pontic allies and subjects, the ambassador mentions Colchians, Greeks from the Black Sea, ’and the barbarians beyond them’. As allies he names then the peoples of the North Pontic region – Scythians, Sarmatians, Taurians, Bastarnae, Thracians and all tribes roaming on the Tanais (Don), Ister (Danube) and Lake Maiotis (Sea of Azov). At last, Pelopidas states: ‘Tigranes of Armenia is his (sc. Eupator’s, MJO) son-in-law and Arsakes of Parthia his friend (“philos”).’
The support of Parthian dominated Armenia, as well as direct Parthian aid, were in fact a conditio sine qua non for Eupator’s new policy, initiated in 95 BC. The pro-Roman Ariobarzanes, ruling over Cappadocia, was ousted by Tigranes probably in 95 BC or early in 94 BC (Iust. 38. 3. 2-3; App. Mithr. 12. 2. 10.; De Callataÿ 1997, 274 places the action at the beginning of 94 BC).
Poseidonios of Apamea provides further testimony. According to his account, the supporter of Pontos at Athens, Athenion, claimed that the Armenian and ‘Persian’ – i.e. Parthian – kings were Eupator’s allies (in 88 BC) (Poseidonios ap. Athenaios 213 a = F 253, 75f. EdelsteinKidd 1989, cf. the comments in Kidd 1988, 874).
Eupator, convinced by the strength of his allies, took the initiative in Anatolia, disrespecting Roman demands (Sherwin-White 1977, 175). The Roman reaction was to send Sulla to Asia (Badian 1959; Brennan 1992; Dmitriev 2006). The real reason for the expedition was not only to reinstate Ariobarzanes but also to check Eupator’s intentions. Sulla did not have a large army but made extensive use of his allies’ troops. According to Plutarch (Sulla 5), Sulla ‘After inflicting heavy casualties on the Cappadocians themselves, and even heavier casualties on the Armenians, who came to help the Cappadocians, drove Gordios into exile and made Ariobarzanes king’. Sulla’s expeditionary force touched the borders of the Parthian sphere of influence. This is why Parthian envoys came to Sulla’s camp. The Parthians attentively observed the affairs in Cappadocia for they stood behind Tigranes and the Arsakid king tried to check out Roman intentions concerning Cappadocia, Anatolia, and Armenia (Olbrycht 2009).
The evidence provided by Appian, Memnon and Poseidonios demonstrates that prior to the First Mithradatic War, Eupator was allied with Parthia and Armenia. The Arsacid Empire with its vassal kingdoms, including Armenia, was enormously rich in financial resources. Eupator was aware of the importance of the resource base for any serious conflict with Rome and put particular emphasis on financial preparations to war. In this connection, a glance at royal monetary issues of Eupator in the decade just before the First Mithradatic War against Rome is necessary. In the period from May to November of 95 BC, the production of Pontic coinage rose steeply (De Callataÿ 1997, 273-274). This increase took place while an alliance with Tigranes, supported by Parthia, was concluded and major military actions were in sight. Another apex in coinage production occurred in 92 BC,
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Sulla’s intervention in Cappadocia caused the Arsakid king to counter-attack. Operations were conducted by his Armenian vassal and coordinated with Eupator’s operations. An agreement was concluded between the rulers of Pontos and Armenia that the subjugated cities and land would belong to Eupator, the captives and all movable goods to Tigranes (Iust. 38. 3. 5 places this passage after Tigranes’ first intervention in Cappadocia and before the First Mithradatic War). Ariobarzanes was ousted by an army led by the generals named Bagoas and Mithraas in about 92 BC (App. Mithr. 10., cf. Iust. 38. 3. 5; De Callataÿ 1997, 276 proposes the summer of 91 BC). Ariarathes (IX) was again installed in Cappadocia. The names of the commanders, who acted as Tigranes’ generals, are purely Iranian. Indeed they could have been Parthian officials in Armenian service.
died. It was surely a blow to the Pontic king’s policies. Under Mithradates II’s successors Parthia was to plunge in internal struggles at the very end of the 80s (Ziegler 1964, 20-32; Arnaud 1987). The crisis in Parthia offered a powerful incentive for action and Tigranes felt now free to act against the Parthian kings Orodes and Sinatrukes to expand his kingdom. Thus, he subjugated Syria, northern Mesopotamia and Media Atropatene (Schottky 2002). During the Third War Mithradates Eupator sought closer ties to the Parthian kings Sinatrukes and Phraates III, but the Arsakids showed a marked reluctance to get involved in Anatolian quarrels. In 66 BC, Pompey superseded Lucullus in command in the Roman east. Although Eupator was able to mobilize a strong army in 65 BC, Pompey was successful in destroying part of the formidable Pontic cavalry force (Front. 2. 5. 33). The Romans pursued Mithradates as far as Colchis. Then Pompey advanced to Iberia and Albania (Dreher 1996), both kingdoms offering strong resistance (70,000 soldiers were mustered against the Roman army). Military operations of Pompey were directed also against Armenia, Commagene, and Atropatene (App. Mithr. 104-106). Apparently, Pompey was not able to chase Eupator up to the Bosporos for his rear was not secure and the Pontic king’s allies were still dangerous. Driven out of Anatolia by Pompey, Eupator marched from Colchis to the Maiotis region through ‘Scythian’, Heniochian and Achaian territories. The latter’s resistance was promptly crushed. Eupator gave his daughters as wives to the local dynast of the Maiotis region and concluded alliances including, in all likelihood, the Dandarioi and Sindoi-Maiotians (65 BC) (App. Mithr. 102).
While Tigranes operated in Cappadocia, Eupator sent Sokrates Chrestos, Nikomedes’ own brother, with an army against Bithynia (App. Mithr. 10). Thus, one can discern a coordinated anti-Roman action of Pontos and Armenia in Anatolia. But the Parthians did not remain idle neither. At this time they subjugated Commagene (about 92 BC), and probably attacked Cilicia (Olbrycht 2009). It seems that Eupator was ready to a full-scale confrontation with Rome. His rear was now secure, and he had huge financial and military resources at his disposal (Glew 1977). The Roman general Manius Aquilius reinstalled Ariobarzanes at the end of 90 BC or in 89 BC (cf. McGing 1986, 79-80). According to Appian (Mithr. 11), Eupator had his forces in readiness for war, but did not resist the Roman actions. The Pontic king remained inactive even when Nikomedes ravaged western Pontos (App. Mithr. 11, 12-14; Liv. Epit. 74). Moreover, Eupator had Sokrates killed to display his goodwill toward Rome. Tigranes’ troops apparently retreated from Cappadocia. The Pontic king entered negotiations with the Roman legates in Asia and complained of Nikomedes’ hostile actions (App. Mithr. 12). When the Pontic-Roman talks failed, Eupator sent his son Ariarathes with a large army to seize Cappadocia again. Ariobarzanes was quickly driven out (App. Mithr. 15; Hind 1994, 144).
After Eupator retreated to the Crimea and the Bosporos, he decided to look for new opportunities to rebuild his military potential. He was forced to the strategic defensive action because of a decided inferiority in combat power. His withdrawal from action in 65 BC may be classified as a retrograde movement in order to break contact with the enemy and to regain freedom of action. The aim of the manoeuvre was to exhaust the enemy through political actions as well as intermittent combat against Eupator’s former allies in Transcaucasia. Under these circumstances, while in the Bosporos, Eupator tried to gather new forces, to take the active defense, and, finally, to launch a counteroffensive.
In 89 BC, Eupator was at the height of his power. He was secure in the alliance with Parthian-dominated Armenia and Parthia herself. He received support of many peoples, tribes and cities around the Black Sea. As a whole, Eupator recruited huge military forces, numbering more than 200,000 soldiers (Memnon FgrHist 734 F 22. 6; App. Mithr. 17). The events of the First Mithradatic War (89-85 BC) are well known and there is no need to repeat the story here (Magie 1950, 210-31, 1100-1110; Glew 1977; Glew 1981; Sherwin-White 1984, 121-48; McGing 1986, 89-131; Ballesteros-Pastor 1996; Mastrocinque 1999; Olshausen 2000a).
The Bosporos and Crimea enjoyed a geographicallybased, strategic sanctuary because of its isolated position. Eupator made efforts to control the region and to suppress rebellions. Finally, he tried to collect new troops. But the military and economic potential of the Crimea, Bosporos, and some allied tribes of the eastern Black Sea and Maiotis shore was limited. To accomplish his aims, Eupator had to seek new powerful allies.
While Eupator fought the Romans, the Parthians intervened in Syria and made it their protectorate (88/87 BC). In 87 BC, the mighty Eupator’s ally, Mithradates II of Parthia,
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Here it is necessary to remember the subjects and allies of Eupator from the northern Black Sea area. We know a lot about the relations between the Crimean Scythians, and the western Sarmatians (including Iazygians and Basileioi) and Eupator. Also, Bastarnoi, Taurians, Celts and Thracians played a role in Pontic policies (Iust. 38. 3. 6-7; App. Mithr. 15. 69; See Heinen 1991; Olbrycht 2004).
steppes. Moreover, if we take into account that Eupator concluded separate treaties with the coastal peoples between Colchis and Bosporos, or subjugated them, one possibility remains: the objective of the mission was to visit peoples living not on the sea shore, but in the hinterland; among these, the Sirakoi and Aorsoi were the most powerful (see Strabo 7. 3. 17; 11. 2. 1; 11. 5. 9).
To the east of the coastal Maiotis and Black Sea peoples, the Sirakoi and Aorsoi lived which were to play an important role under Pharnakes in 48-47 BC (Olbrycht 2001a, 437438). From the historical sources one can conclude that the Aorsoi and Sirakoi, peoples who came to the CaucasusVolga steppes in the second half of the 2nd century BC. The first pieces of direct information on them come from the 60s BC, i.e. from the time of the Pompey’s campaign in Transcaucasia (Olbrycht 2001a). There is evidence that enables us to trace the history of the Aorsoi and Sirakoi back to the last decades of the 2nd century BC (Olbrycht 2001a). At that time, before the Bosporos was subjugated by Eupator, we hear of tribute paid by the Bosporans to the nomads (Strab. 7. 4. 4; 7. 4. 6), but the names of these nomadic aggressors are not recorded (Gajdukevič 1971, 318). They were apparently a new people in the region, not previously attested in the sources. Conceivably, it was the Aorsoi and Sirakoi who imposed tribute on the Bosporos. This point has been made by Blavatskaia (1959, 142) and Vinogradov (1997, 541f. and 560f.).
Although defeated in Anatolia, Eupator formulated a new strategic target in 66-65 BC: Appian (Mithr. 102) mentions his plans to march to Thrace, Macedonia, Pannonia, and, after passing over the Alps, into Italy. Regardless of whether this was possible or not, one thing is clear: Eupator intended to fight the Romans. But Eupator’s subjects and his son Pharnakes preferred to stop the war. Incidentally, the latter adopted his father’s strategy; for when he attacked Roman Anatolia in 47 BC, Pharnakes II was backed by an alliance with the powerful Sirakoi and Aorsoi. Conclusion In summary: In 95 BC a new political constellation emerged in Asia. It embraced Pontos, Armenia and Parthia. It was decisive support from Parthia that prompted Eupator to wage open war on Rome in 89 BC. Later on events took a turn for the worse, both in Pontos and in Parthia. The civil war in Parthia in which Tigranes was involved annihilated the previous political constellation of the 90s and early 80s, in which Pontos, Armenia and Parthia constituted a mighty alliance. The power of Pontos collapsed for several reasons, but an essential factor was that Eupator lacked of Parthian assistance in the 70s and 60s BC and was dependent on his own and to some extent on Tigranes’ resources. The Pontic king, aware of Arsakid power, tried to renew the old alliance with Parthia but the new Parthian rulers, Sinatrukes and Phraates III, were by far more passive in their western policy than Mithradates II the Great. At that time, until the wars between Rome and Parthia under Orodes (57-38 BC), Parthian strategic perspective did not reach beyond the line of the Euphrates in the west.
In addition, while describing Pontic military activities, Strabo records a cavalry battle on the icy surface of the Maiotis straits in winter when the straits were frozen (Strab. 2. 1. 16) and a sea battle in summer against some invading barbarians. The army of Eupator was led by Neoptolemos (Strab. 7. 3. 18). Clearly, two battles of a different kind are recorded. The character of the cavalry battle and the place between the Asiatic and European Bosporos make it probable to see in the barbarians steppe peoples, like Sirakoi and Aorsoi (Olbrycht 2004; another view in Vinogradov 2007). The second sea battle can interpreted as fought by nomads apparently supported by the ships of Achaioi who were famous sea pirates (Strab. 11. 2. 12).
After the defeat of Armenia at the hands of Lucullus and Pompey, and after the failure of his own military efforts, Eupator found a strategic sanctuary in the Crimea and Bosporos. There, he tried to form an alliance with the Sirakoi and Aorsoi but his plans were shattered by a rebellion of his son Pharnakes.
Consequently, contrary to the situation in the north Pontic area, Eupator could not count on the support of Sirakoi and Aorsoi. But upon his final defeat in Anatolia, Eupator tried to win over the eastern Sarmatian tribes. Faced by a rebellion in Phanagoreia, Mithradates sent some of his daughters, guarded by eunuchs and 500 soldiers, to the rulers of the ‘Scythians’. But the escorting soldiers rebelled and delivered the princesses to the Romans in Transcaucasia (App. Mithr. 108). The geographical situation indicates that Eupator tried to win over the Sirakoi from the Kuban area and perhaps the Aorsoi who indeed several years later supported his son Pharnakes II (Strab. 11. 5. 8). The mission was surely not directed to the peoples living on the eastern shore of the Maiotis, for Eupator’s rebellious soldiers escaped to Pompey in Transcaucasia, and this implies that the original route of the mission was to the north Caucasus
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Scythians, Sarmatians. A Volume Devoted to the Memory of Professor Tadeusz Sulimirski], 331-347. Kraków. Olbrycht, M. J. 2009. Mithridates VI Eupator and Iran. In J. M. Højte (ed.), Mithridates VI Eupator and the Pontic Kingdom. 163-190. Aarhus. Olshausen, E. 1978. S. v. Pontos. Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Supplementband 15, 396-442. Olshausen, E. 2000a. S. v. Mithradatische Kriege. Der Neue Pauly 8, 284-286. Reinach, T. 1895. Mithridates Eupator. König von Pontos. Leipzig. Saprykin, S. J. 1996 ˜ Сапрыкин, С. Й. Понтийское царствo [Pontiiskoe tsarstvo – The Pontic Kingdom]. Moscow. Schottky, M. 1989. Media Atropatene und Gross-Armenien in hellenistischer Zeit. Bonn. Schottky, M. 1990. Gibt es Münzen atropatenischer Könige? Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran 23, 211-227. Schottky, M. 2002. S. v. Tigranes. Der Neue Pauly 12, 567568. Shelov, D. B. 1980 — Шелов, Д. Б. Колхида в системе Понтийской державы Митридата VI [Kolkhida v sisteme Pontiiskoi derzhavy Mitridata VI – Colchis in the system of Pontic powers: Mithridates VI]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] III, 28-43. Sherwin-White, A. N. 1977. Ariobarzanes, Mithridates and Sulla. The Classical Quarterly 27, 173-183. Sherwin-White, A. N. 1984. Roman foreign policy in the East 168 BC to AD 1. London. Strobel, K. 1996. Mithradates VI. Eupator von Pontos. Orbis Terrarum 2, 145-190. Sullivan, R. D. 1980. The Dynasty of Cappadocia. In Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II/7, 11251168.
Sullivan, R. D. 1990. Near Eastern Royalty and Rome, 10033 BC. Toronto. Vinogradov, Iu. A. 2007 — Виноградов, Ю. А. Северное Причерноморье в условиях кризиса второй половины II века до н. э. [Severnoe Prichernomor’e v usloviiakh krizisa vtoroi poloviny II veka do n. e. – The Northern Black Sea region in the crisis of the second half of the 2nd century BC]. In А. В. Махлаюк [A. V. Makhlaiuk] (ed.), Из истории античного общества 9-10. К 60-летю професора Евгения Александровича Молева [Iz istorii antichnogo obshchestva 9-10. K 60-letiiu profesora Evgeniia Aleksandrovicha Moleva – On the History of Ancient Societies 9-10. The 60th Birthday of Professor Evgenii Aleksandrovich Molev], 118-139. Nizhnii Novgorod. Vinogradov, Iu. G. 1997. Pontische Studien. Mainz. Will, E. 1982. Histoire politique du monde hellénistique (323-30 av. J.-C.). Second edition. Nancy. Wolski, J. 1977. Les Parthes et la Syrie. Acta Iranica 12, 395-417. Wolski, J. 1980. L’Arménie dans la politique du hautempire Parthe (env. 175-87 av. n. è.). Iranica Antiqua 15, 251-267. Wolski, J. 1983. Les rapports romano-parthes et la question de l’Arménie. Ktéma 8, 269-277. Wolski, J. 1989. Sur l’impérialisme des Parthes Arsakides, in L. de Meyer and E. Haerinck (eds), Archaeologia iranica et orientalis: Miscellanea in honorem Louis Vanden Berghe 2, 637-650. Gent. Wolski, J. 1993. L’Empire des Arsacides (Acta Iranica 32). Louvain. Ziegler, K. H. 1964. Die Beziehungen zwischen Rom und dem Partherreich. Wiesbaden.
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Chapter 37 Ten Years of the Polish-Ukrainian Koshary Project (1998-2008)
Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka
Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology Department of Classical Archaeology Kraków, Poland [email protected]
Evgenia F. Redina
Odessa Archaeological Museum of NANU Department of Numismatics Odessa, Ukraine [email protected] Abstract: The research of the Polish-Ukrainian archaeological expedition forms part of the ‘Koshary Project’, begun in 1998 and aimed at discovering and preserving the cultural heritage of the Ukraine and Greece. The Koshary site is situated over 40km to the east of Odessa on the western side of the Tiligul Liman (ancient Axiakos, as mentioned by Pliny the Elder HN, 4. 82-83). It belonged to the Olbian chora and flourished between the early 4th century and the middle of the 3rd century BC. We have excavated an area close to 10,000m2 so far. The settlement consists of a central part of c. 1875m2 which formed a small town fortified at the north-west, a ‘suburb’ with farms and an open cult area (zol’nik). In the necropolis we have explored more than 8000m2, finding over 230 graves, sacrificial places and other features. We obtained a vast amount of material and the results have been presented in preliminary reports, articles, lectures and presentations at many international conferences, exhibitions etc. The aim of our research is to determine the character and position of the Koshary settlement as part of Olbia’s rural resources (chora) and of the structure of the Olbian state, as well as to define the relations between the Greeks of the Black Sea area and the local tribes, mainly Scythian. Keywords: Greeks in the Black Sea, Koshary, Greek colonization, Olbian chora, Greco-Scythian relations, Tiligul Liman
to the Olbian chora, extending along its western frontier (Figure 1). It flourished from the late 5th/early 4th century until the mid-3rd century BC.
In the 5th century BC Greek colonists, now firmly established on the northern Black Sea coast, started founding new colonies, especially in the region between Olbia and the Borysthenes to the east (Boh and Dnieper estuary) and such large centres as Tyras and Nikonion on the Dniester Limans to the west. That process, sometimes called ‘the second colonization’, brought about the development of the rural areas (chora) around Tyras and Olbia. Greek settlements in this region were mentioned by ancient authors. Pliny the Elder’s note is especially interesting in this context (Historia Naturalis 4. 82-83), where he mentions the port of Odessos (called by him ‘Ordessus’- OqdgssËr) at the Axiakos River estuary which is now called Tiligul Liman (it is a second, younger city of that name; the older Odessos is identified with Varna in Bulgaria). Both the urban hubs and their rural settlements, as well as larger fortified boroughs, played a large role in the development of this region. Among them is the Greek settlement excavated by our team, situated near the modern village of Koshary to which it owes the name. Kosharskoe Gorodishche, that is, the borough of Koshary, is situated over 40km to the east of Odessa, on the western side of where the Tiligul Liman joins the Black Sea (Kominterovskii region, Odessa province). It belonged
The research of the Polish-Ukrainian archaeological expedition was part of the ‘Koshary Project’ begun in 1998. The international expedition comprises members of the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and the Archaeological Museum of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences (NANU) in Odessa. The expedition is led by E. Papuci-Władyka on the Polish part and E. F. Redina on the Ukrainian part. A great contribution to the ‘Koshary Project’ was also made on the Polish side by archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology UJ – J. Chochorowski, J. Bodzek and W. Machowski and postgraduate and undergraduate students: M. Kania, M. Woźniak, A. Kowal, G. Łaczek, A. Leśniak-Bochnak, S. Chwałek, S. Stelmach, and from the Ukrainian side by T. N. Kokorzhytskaya, L. V. Nosova. W. G. Petrenko, V. Denesiuk, A. Kotsura of Odessa, as well as N. Mateevici of the National Museum of History in Kishinev (the Republic of Moldova). The project was also joined by anthropologists from the Department of Anthropology, Jagiellonian University, K. Kaczanowski 283
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Figure 1. Localization of the Koshary site at the northern shore of the Black Sea
(directing the work), A. Kosydarski, as well as H. Głąb and K. Szostek. Documentation of the zoological bone material was carried out by E. Siekierskaya of the Museum in Odessa. During the first years of our expedition, we also collaborated with a laboratory in Kiev, where N. N. Kovaliukh and W. W. Skripin carried out C 14 analyses, while W. Petrun of Odessa performed mineralogical and petrographical analyses of samples taken in the settlement and the necropolis. In 2007-8 geophysical research was carried out on the site with use of electric-resistance and magnetic methods, directed by T. Herbich of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) with the participation of A. Buszek, D. Święch and students. Due appreciation must be given to the efforts and commitment of students, both from the Jagiellonian University (so far almost 100 individuals) and the University of Odessa, as well as to a small group of students from the University of Kishinev (2003-4) and the University of Lvov (2005) who participated in our work as part of their field practice.
The site was first discovered in 1950. Subsequent archaeological work was done on and off, with long off periods until 1991. As has been mentioned, in 1998, a Polish-Ukrainian archaeological expedition commenced methodical research at Koshary (Chochorowski et al., 1999; Redina and Chochorowski 2001; Papuci-Władyka and Redina 2002; Redina and Papuci-Władyka 2003; Chochorowski et al., 2004; Papuci-Władyka et al., 2006; Papuci-Władyka et al., 2007; Redina 2007a; Redina 2007b; Papuci-Władyka and Redina 2008; Papuci-Władyka et al., 2008; Redina et al., 2008a; Papuci-Władyka et al., 2009). From a scientific point of view, the Koshary site is a magnificent opportunity for comprehensive research. It is exceptional both because of the excellent preservation state of the architectonic structure of the settlement, remains of fortifications, traces of manufacturing and agricultural activities, as well as the presence of an open cult place (zol’nik) and a vast necropolis due north of the settlement (Figure 2). Those elements offer a splendid opportunity for the identification of all functions of a small urban settlement, its resources, and its economic and demographic potential.
The Koshary Project was funded by the Institute of Archaeology and Faculty of History of the Jagiellonian University, grants of the former Polish Committee for Scientific Research and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, with periodic support from the Office of Cultural Heritage Preservation administered in Odessa, as well as by the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Odessa Branch, and to some extent by private sponsors.
The aim of our research is to determine the character and position of the Koshary settlement as part of Olbia’s rural resources (chora) and of the structure of the Olbian state, as well as to define the relations between the Greeks of the Black Sea environment and the local tribes, mainly Scythian. It must also be stressed that such complex research as that done at Koshary is a rarity in Central and 284
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Figure 2. Panorama of Koshary site: A – trench III and IV; B – trench VI; C – trench VII; D – trench VIII; E – trench V– open-air altar (zol’nik); view from the west
East Europe, since in most cases work is done either in a settlement or in a city, or in a necropolis. The character of the Koshary excavations is not only strictly science, but also preservation, since the site has been and is being vandalized by intense activity of robbers. Research carried out as part of the Koshary Project is therefore aimed at discovering and preserving the cultural heritage of the Ukraine and Greece.
of an urban nature. As stated above, the settlement spanned an area of about two hectares and consisted of two parts. Its central part, a small town, was situated on a raised and relatively flat ground in the north-eastern part of the cape and contains remains of architecture discovered in Trenches III (Figure 3), IV (Figure 4), VII (Figure 5), and partly VIII. In the west it was fenced off by a wall and a system of trenches (a moat?), and can therefore be characterized as a ‘borough’. A ‘suburb’ was situated on the opposite side, to the west and south of the centre, with relatively widely spread buildings consisting of single features such as animal pens and farms (for instance, Farm 1 in Trench VI – Figure 6; house with oven in Trench VIII – Figure 7).
It is natural to provide some basic, almost statistical data for ten years the expedition has been in operation. Archaeological excavations are conducted every year in each of the constituent parts of the complex, that is, the settlement, the open sacrificial altar, and the necropolis (except the 2007 season, when only the settlement was excavated). During the ten excavation campaigns up to now, we have studied the area close to 10,000m2. In the settlement, a combined total of 1875 m2 has been excavated in trenches marked with Roman numerals III-IV, VI-VIII and in the zol’nik (sacrificial altar, trench V), making for about 20% of the settlement covering an area of c. 0.9ha and 3.5% of the agricultural hinterland, or “suburb”, covering an area of c. 1.2ha (Figure 2). As for the necropolis, the 8000m2 of the excavated trenches probably does not cover more than 15-20% of the presumed area of the burial ground, which is estimated at 3-4ha. We explored over 230 graves and other features (if we add 43 objects that had been excavated in the Koshary necropolis before 1998, the total number of items is almost 280). We have obtained a vast amount of material.
Quite numerous dugouts or semi-dugouts, either circular or rectangular, were discovered in the settlement and in the suburbs with a number of interesting constructional features. It seems that, as the wealth of the inhabitants grew, the dugouts were gradually replaced by stone and driedbrick houses. The settlement seems to have flourished in the last decades of the 4th and the early 3rd centuries BC. The Koshary settlement was at that time a city characterized by regular, dense development. The fragments of the settlement excavated up to now point to a regular chessboard pattern characteristic for Greek settlements. Large multi-room (rectangular or square) houses, some having a basement (Figures 4 and 8), were at that time constructed along partially paved streets. The houses consisted of living quarters and farm, in some cases probably arranged around a small inner yard. Some yards were partially paved with stones and stone slabs. Walls directly facing the street were made with much more care. Exceptionally interesting objects discovered during excavations made in the settlement were the pits, used mainly to store e.g. grain, and afterwards used to throw away waste. In trench IV, in only four years of excavation almost 50 object of this
The settlement Research on the site is far from complete; at this point, however, based on previous and Koshary Project excavations we are able to state with a high degree of confidence that we are dealing with an important settlement 285
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Figure 3. Koshary, the settlement, Trench III general view from the west
Figure 4. Koshary, the settlement, Trench IV House 2 with cellar (in background) and large pit No. 48 (dug-out?)
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type were uncovered and investigated (Figures 4 and 8). During the 2004-5 campaigns, in Trenches III and VII, two exceptionally large pits were discovered which may have been used as huge ‘silos’ for storing grain (Figure 5: Object 1). Their dimensions are over 3.5m in diameter and they are approximately 4m deep. If we agree to the hypothesis that they were grain pits, we are speaking of large-scale cultivation. This would coincide with a hypothesis present in Russian literature on this topic that plots of land existed around the borough, as visible on aerial photographs. If we also assume that at the foot of the cape on which the site is located there was most probably a harbour, it may have served to transport grain (Papuci-Władyka and Redina 2008, 149). Finds such as metal items (unfortunately mostly corroded), spindle whorls, loom weights, fish hooks, and net weights tell a story about those people in antiquity. Their daily life was no different from that in other settlements and towns in the northern Black Sea area. Their chief pursuits included farming, fishing, weaving, and trade. They quite possibly also engaged in crafts; hinted at by a casting mould, found in earlier explorations, used to make metal decorations in the shape of a boar’s head (Kania 2008; Kania in this volume). Items made from bone supply more information about daily life and beliefs. These are spindle whorls, awls, knife handles, small arrowheads, gaming dice, and others. An interesting category are objects that may almost certainly be described as amulets, some of them probably acquired in Olbia (such as a cicada and a miniature comb from a child’s grave), others, simpler in form, may have been produced locally (Łaczek 2008).
of a kind that mostly come from Olbia; another indication that Koshary was part of the chora of that large Greek colony. All these types of vessels occur in the settlement, the zol’nik, and the necropolis, although proportions and types vary between various parts of the site (Kowal 2005; Kowal 2008). That Koshary was part of Olbia’s chora is further corroborated by coins. By far the most common are Olbian Borysthenes coins dated 330-270 BC, the time our town was at the height of its prosperity (Bodzek 2008a; Bodzek 2008b). A single Tyras piece is highly interesting because it is so far the only coin of Tyras to have been reported in the Olbian chora (Bodzek 2004-7). Moreover, there is a hoard of over a dozen bronze coins of Odessus said to have been discovered in the Koshary settlement during illicit excavations. The finds of the Tyras coin and the Odessus hoard make up a small fraction of all monetary finds at Koshary and do not affect the general picture of monetary circulation on that site. Yet considering the minimal number of non-Olbian coins reported in the Olbian chora, a question arises about the special position of the Koshary settlement for its location (cf. Bodzek in this volume). Zol’nik In the southern part of the settlement, research has been carried out on the sacrificial mound (Figure 2). When explored, it was identified as a zol’nik – a cult place, where sacrifices to the gods were burnt under the open sky, which provided us with much information regarding the beliefs and sacrificial ceremonies (Nosova 2002; Nosova 2004; Redina et al., 2007). The mound at Koshary is oval, c. 25-30m in diameter and over 2.5m in height. The zol’nik consists of large amounts of grey ash, thick and thin layers remaining after sacrifices had been burnt, mixed with layers of soil, pure loess, mollusc shells, and sea grass. An extraordinarily significant event for our understanding of the ‘spiritual culture’ of the inhabitants of the settlement was the discovery of a cult complex in the southern part of the mound, the main element of which was a large clay altar with a few steps that served to make sacrifices (Figure 11). Typical portable materials discovered during excavations in the zol’nik were mostly pottery fragments, spindle whorls, loom weights, and items of lead, iron, and bronze (including the above-mentioned coins), clay and stone cult objects. Terracotta figures are, on the other hand, quite exceptional, such as the one that depicts Clotho, one of the Moirae, or the Fates, the spinners of human lives.
We do not know whether the inhabitants produced ceramics (Figure 9); so far no evidence has surfaced, unless they made ceramics by hand, following local, mostly Scythian, traditions. Such items make up about 15% of all vessels we have discovered. Imported vessels come from various Black Sea and Mediterranean centres. A preliminary analysis of portable material, and especially pottery, suggests that the most prominent category of pottery (about 80% of all the portable material) is amphorae imported from Greek centres on the Black Sea coast, such as Heraclea Pontica, Sinope, and Chersonesos, as well as from the Greek islands of Chios and Thasos, while smaller numbers were imported from other Mediterranean centres, such as Mende, Knidos, Kos, Peparethos, Akanthos, Rhodes, and wherever amphorae of so-called Solocha I type (Figure 10) came from. This is evidence for Koshary’s wide outreach. Amphora stamps help specify the dating of the entire site and relevant items (Mateevici and Redina 2004; Papuci-Władyka and Kokorzhitskaya 2004; Redina and Mateevici 2007).
Because of its structure and the material discovered here, the zol’nik is clearly associated with the religious sphere and as such it may be counted among sacrificial archaeological features often encountered in northern Black Sea coastal areas. The tradition of building such objects, known as escharai in Greece, sacrificial places under the open sky, was mentioned by Pausanias (5. 13. 8-11; 7. 38. 7) in his description of Olympia. The appearance of such open sacrificial sites on the northern Black Sea coast,
Extensive trade links are further confirmed by the presence of Athenian ceramics, especially the black-gloss category, and to a lesser extent red-figure pots (Figures 9 and 14). While not imported in large numbers (e.g., black-gloss is about 1.8% of all ceramic finds), it continued to be brought in throughout the settlement’s existence (Redina et al., 2008b; Papuci-Władyka et al., forthcoming). A large proportion of vessels are wheelmade grey ware (Figure 14),
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Figure 5. Koshary, the settlement Trench VII - plan
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called zol’niks here, is undoubtedly connected with the Greek colonization of those regions. Necropolis Research in the necropolis allowed us to partially recognize its character, range, planning, type of burials and funerary rites. Inhumation predominates as the main burial rite in the Koshary cemetery. Only two graves excavated to date contained cremated remains. In most graves, the deceased was placed with the head to the east (a Greek custom); we also encountered graves oriented to the west (treated as Scythian). The necropolis was also characterized by separate areas of family graves, warrior burials, etc., which proves that it had presumably been intentionally planned. There are several types of graves: the most common is the niche grave, with fewer of the imposing chamber graves, and the most modest are pit graves; two items are cist graves. The niche graves are characterized by a side niche hollowed in the lower part of the longer side of the entry shaft (Figure 12). The entry shaft is most commonly oriented on an east-west axis, while niches are usually on its northern side. Niche graves are the most typologically diversified. Differences are visible in sizes and depths of entry shafts, sizes and forms of niches, as well as types of materials and construction used to build walls closing the niches. In this case, stone was most commonly used, usually as slabs of local ‘shellstone’, less often plain limestone, and sometimes
Figure 6. Koshary, the settlement, Farm 1 in trench VI
Figure 7. Koshary, the settlement Trench VIII – general view
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Figure 8. Koshary, the settlement, plan of Trench IV: 1/ wall; 2/ hearth; 3/ pit
reused hewn blocks, probably taken from ruined buildings in the settlement. Brick was also used, strictly speaking, large briquettes of sun-dried clay.
Often bricks or briquettes of sun-dried clay were used. In these cases, we observed technical innovations of various types used to strengthen the construction, for example supports or double walls. The graves usually have a single chamber. Two chambers were discovered in only one case, and they had been dug in the walls of the same entry shaft.
The second type of graves in the Koshary necropolis were huge chamber tombs (called ‘catacombs’ by local archaeologists) with deep entry shafts and vast underground grave chambers. In most cases, they have no passage (dromos) leading to the entry shaft and only differ from large niche graves in size and in their vaulted underground crypts. The entrance to the tomb chamber was closed off by a wall of boulders and slabs arranged in horizontal layers.
The third type of burial at Koshary, and the most humble one, is the simple pit grave, many of which we discovered during our researches. Pit graves differ from one another in depth and are usually more or less rectangular in shape.
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Usually no structures were built on them, but sometimes the dead were covered with a sort of stone ‘pavement.’ During the 2001 and 2003 seasons, we discovered two exceptional stone cist graves built of large stone slabs. The multi-burial cist grave No. 231 excavated in 2003 was especially interesting (Figure 13). The walls and ceiling of the grave were built of local conglomerate stones and the floor was earthen. In the initial phases of exploration, we discovered two skeletons. One lying on its back was inside a stone box. The bones of another skeleton were outside, on the northern side. Yet another supine skeleton was arranged below, inside the stone box. An amphora fragment was placed at the head and a nine bronze arrowheads at the left knee. A fourth skeleton was placed in a heap at the left foot of the lower skeleton. It seems that this grave may have contained a burial of warriors killed in some local skirmish. In all our excavation campaigns in the necropolis, we find relatively large numbers of child burials (Kaczanowski et al., 2008, 55-57; Machowski in this volume), and the character of the Koshary necropolis is exceptional in this respect. It is undoubtedly indicative of social relations characteristic of the Greek model represented here.
Figure 9. Grave furnishings: (from left) Athenian red-figure squat lekythos with palmette decoration, handmade pot, blackgloss Athenian in-turned rim bowl and two spindle whorls (one made off from black-gloss vessel sherd)
Undoubtedly the most important child burial was discovered in niche grave 211 during the 2003 season. Although the bones of a small child were poorly preserved, the grave goods deserve a closer look (Figures 14-15). Two bone pendants, symbols of immortality, are exceptional. One is
Figure 10. Amphorae of Heracleia Pontic (first and second from left) and Thasos (from necropolis grave No. 211)
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Figure11. Koshary, zol’nik – clay altar
Figure 12. Koshary, necropolis, one of niche graves (No. 57)
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in the form of a minute comb, the other of a cicada (Łaczek 2008). In addition there was a clay flask most probably locally made in the Black Sea region (Papuci-Władyka, forthcoming). An amphora (Figure 10 – first from right) was also placed in the grave together with a black-gloss kantharos, a spouted grey ware jug, two silver bracelets in the form of curling snakes, and two glass-paste beads. Where burials had not been disturbed by robbers, we discovered grave goods that were quite strictly defined by custom. Generally, we may say that the grave goods were rather poor, both in terms of quantity and quality, which is typical for the Greek ethnic environment (as opposed to rich Scythian barrows, for example). A large number of burials (particularly children’s graves) contained no funerary gifts at all. The graves that did contain funerary offerings correspond to types standard for a Greek necropolis. Usually the equipment consists of a vessel to store wine: an amphora – commonly from Heraclea Pontica, Thasos, or Sinope, a drinking vessel – commonly a kantharos or a black-gloss cup-kantharos, usually imported from Athens, fish plates made of grey clay (most probably produced in Olbia), toiletry vessels – lekythoi for perfume; sometimes we encountered black-gloss bowls, jewellery, arms, and items of daily use (Figures 9-10, 14-15). In child burials, we commonly discovered ‘milk’ jugs made of grey clay that are among the most characteristic forms of Greek pottery in north-western centres on the Black Sea coast. The arms Figure 13. Necropolis – cist grave No. 231
Figure 14. Childe grave No. 211 – Athenian black-gloss kantharos, Olbian (?) grey ware spouted jug, and plain ware flask, probably from Black Sea workshop
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One element of burial rites in the Koshary necropolis that is characteristic of Greek culture is the deposition in graves of bronze coins as a ‘gift for Charon.’ Still, few graves that had coins have not been robbed. Some of the graves were marked on the ground by a stone slab or a stele, sometimes reused in later burials (e.g. No. 194, Figure 16). Apart from graves, other objects were discovered in the Koshary necropolis which in terms of function are related to the cult of the dead, and thus characteristic of Greek civilization. They include sacrificial places or cultic, sacred areas (Russian piatna), also discovered in the Olbian necropolis (in Pichvnari they were called ‘ritual platforms’ or ‘areas for funeral feasts’, see Vickers and Kakhidze 2008, 226 and Pl. 31: 3). They were seen as oval or circular shallow dark spots usually measuring 3-5m in diameter, sometimes as large as 10m, visible against the background because of accumulated remains of fires (charcoal, ashes), small pottery sherds and severely burnt bones, sometimes in clusters. They were at times accompanied by small stone altars. Objects related to the cult of the dead indicate that the inhabitants of Koshary after the funeral ceremonies and a mourning period still worshipped their dead, making sacrifices to the gods during customary periods of the year and on days commemorating the deceased according to Greek tradition.
Figure 15. Two silver bracelets in the form of curling snakes from child grave No. 211
encountered in graves are most commonly represented by bronze arrowheads; however, usually two or three symbolic arrows were deposited rather than a whole set (a quiverful?). Exceptionally, other types of arms are encountered, for example an iron knife-dagger with a bone handle. Among jewellery, glass paste beads are the most common, along with bronze and silver bracelets (Figure 15), while bronze and silver earrings are much more unusual. Among tools found in grave inventories, the most common are iron knives with bone handles. Spindle whorls (mostly of clay, Figure 9) are also encountered in female and children’s graves.
Figure 16. Stelai from grave 194
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As has been mentioned, one of our objectives is to determine the relations between the Greek inhabitants of Koshary the and local, mainly Scythian tribes. A Scythian component is clearly discernible in the necropolis. One part of it is a barrow with late Scythian features explored in the first season of the Koshary Project (Chochorowski 2008). Since, as we have said, it is believed that Greeks buried their dead with the head pointing east and Scythians to the west, a key question is whether this is reflected in our anthropological material. The first anthropological studies done by a team under K. Kaczanowski showed that because a large number of skeletons were destroyed by robbers or by other factors, the answer was not going to be simple. Before the research concludes and enough material is obtained, no final conclusion can be reached; however, one fact already seems unquestionable: the variability scale of cranial index traits referring to both male and female series, accepted for the Koshary necropolis, clearly points to the presence of two basic anthropological forms. One shows Mediterranean Basin characteristics (the Mediterranean type), while the other indicates the Nordic type (perhaps Scythian). And last but not least, it seems remarkable that female skulls (in graves Nos 173 and 244) have been classified as the Armenoid type. With regard to some indices, the presence of forms showing intermediate morphology (between the Mediterranean and the Nordic types) cannot be regarded as proof of the biological merging of two anthropological formations; it should rather be accepted that each of those groups may show great variability. Hence the issue at stake is not necessarily the presence of intermediate forms, but rather intra-group variability which makes the distribution of the variables under analysis create the impression that intermediate forms are likely to exist (Kaczanowski et al., 2008; but see Głąb and Szostek in this volume).
the question whether our site may be identified with the ancient Odessos according to the hypothesis expressed many years ago by E. Symonovich (1954) based on Pliny the Elder’s observation noted earlier; research has still not produced the epigraphic material that would be decisive in the matter. Many questions are related to the necropolis, its exact boundaries, planning, demographic analysis of the people buried there, etc. We are also vexed by the question why the town ceased to exist after a period of prosperity, what were the causes of this situation and is it really the case that there are no traces of its existence after the middle of 3rd century BC? The results of research of the Polish-Ukrainian Koshary Project allow us to speak of very promising prospects for further work on this site and its great importance as a source of insight into the history of ancient Greek colonies on the north-western Black Sea coast. Bibliography Bodzek, J. 2004-7. Moneta Tyras znaleziona w Koszarach [The Tyras coin found in Koshary]. Prace i Materiały Muzeum Archeologicznego i Etnograficznego w Łodzi, Seria Numizmatyczna i Konserwatorska 13, 41-48. Bodzek, J. 2008a. Koshary (Ukraine) – Coin finds in 20042005. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 13-23. Bodzek, J. 2008b — Бодзэк, Я. Ольвийский ‘асс’ наиденный в Кошарах [Ol’viiskii ‘ass’ naidennyi v Kosharakh – An Olbian ‘as’ found in Koshary]. In V. Nemchenko (ed.), 53-58. Chochorowski, J. 2008. Social aspects of sacred spatial organization of Koshary necropolis. In E. PapuciWładyka (ed.), 25-45. Chochorowski, J., Papuci-Władyka, E. and Redina, E. F. 1999. Polish-Ukrainian Archaeological research of ancient settlement and necropolis in Koshary, Odessa district. Preliminary Report. In J. Śliwa (ed.), Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 9, 55-63. Kraków. (First Preliminary Report). Chochorowski, J., Papuci-Władyka, E. and Redina, E. F. 2004. Polnische-ukrainische Ausgrabungen an dem antiken Fundstellenkomplex von Košary bei Odessa, in W. Blajer and J. Poleski (eds), Recherches archéologiques de 1993-1998, 243-265. Kraków. (Second Preliminary Report). Kaczanowski, K., Kosydarski, A. and Niedźwiecka, E. 2008. Results of 1998-2004 anthropological studies at an ancient burial site at Koshary (the Ukraine). In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 53-61. Kania, M. 2008. Daily life in ancient Koshary: some comments. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 63-73. Kowal, A. 2005. The Greek Grey ware fish-plates from the Black Sea region. Études et Travaux 20, 87-93. Kowal, A. 2008. Grey ware from Koshary site. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 74-94. Łaczek, G. 2008. Bone amulets from the tomb no. 211 in Koshary, Ukraine. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 111-119.
Conclusions and prospects for future study The research carried out by the Ukrainian-Polish expedition in the Koshary site complex during the years 1998-2008 brought a vast amount of material, helped form many research hypotheses, and answered a number of issues that were part of the research objectives of the Koshary Project. Despite this, many issues still remain to be answered, both general and specific. An example of a fundamental issue may be what exactly the area of the settlement and the ‘suburb’ was, or what the precise extent of both parts was. Geophysical research results should be very helpful here. As mentioned above, this kind of research was carried out on the site. The results (Buszek et al., in this volume) should be however verified by archaeological excavations. The location of the settlement on a promontory over the liman suggests that a small harbor or port may have been situated at the foot of where the settlement was. It should be remembered that previously the liman had been connected to the sea. A question therefore arises whether a small port settlement existed first at the bottom of the promontory and only later buildings were erected on its top where the site is located. We still have no answers to
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Papuci-Władyka, E. and Redina, E. F. 2002. ПапуциВладыка, E and Редина, Е. Ф. Античный могильник у с. Кошары [Antichnyi mogilnik u s. Koshary – The ancient necropolis at Koshary village]. In V. Zuev (ed.), 56-62. Papuci-Władyka, E. and Redina, E. F. 2008 — ПапуциВладыка, E. and Редина, Е. Ф. Кошары – поселение хоры Ольвии [Koshary – poselenie khory Ol’vii – Koshary – a settlement in the chora of Olbia]. Novensia 18-19, 291-305. Papuci-Władyka, E., Redina, E. F., Chochorowski, J., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2006. Greek settlement on the northern Black Sea coast. Polish-Ukrainian excavations in Koshary (Odessa province): Third preliminary report - Seasons 2000-2003, in W. Blajer and J. Poleski (eds), Recherches archéologiques de 19992003, 354-374. Kraków. Papuci-Władyka, E., Redina, E. F., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2007. The Polish-Ukrainian excavation at Koshary (Odessa province) - season 2004. Światowit 6 [47]/A, 2006, 109-113, Pls.111-120. (Fourth Preliminary Report). Papuci-Władyka, E., Redina, E. F., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2009. KOSHARY PROJECT, 20052007. Fifth preliminary report on Polish-Ukrainian excavations. Archeologia 58, 2007, 141-156, Pls 21-27. Papuci-Władyka, E., Redina E. F. and Machowski W. 2008. MIĘDZY OLBIĄ A ODESSĄ/BETWEEN OLBIA AND ODESSA. Badania archeologiczne greckiej osady w Koszarach nad Morzem Czarnym (1998-2008) [Archaeological Research on the Greek Settlement at Koshary on the Black Sea (1998-2008)]. Katalog wystawy fotografii [Catalog of the Photography Exhibition], Collegium Maius UJ, 21.04.200831.05.2008. Kraków. Papuci-Władyka, E. and Redina, E. F. in collaboration with Stelmach, S. forthcoming. The black glaze pottery from the Polish-Ukrainian excavations at Koshary (Black Sea coast, Odessa district). First presentation. In F’ EpistglomijÉ SumÇmtgsg cia tgm ekkgmistgjÉ jeqalijÉ, Aócio 2005 [7th Scientific Meeting on Hellenistic Pottery, Aigio 2005]. Athens. Redina, Ye. F. 2007a. Greek settlements on the shores of the Bay of Odessa and adjacent estuaries, in D. V. Grammenos and E. K. Petropoulos (eds), Ancient Greek Colonies in the Black Sea 2/I. (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1675/I), 518-524. Oxford. Redina E. 2007b. Description of Greek necropolis of 4th3rd c. BC near Koshary on Tiligul estuary. Istros XIV, 263-277. Redina, E. F. and Chochorowski, J. 2001. Koshary. In T. L. Samoylova (ed.) Ancient Greek Sites on the Northwest Coast of the Black Sea, 139-154. Kiev. Redina, E. and Mateevici, N. 2007. Importul amforistic sinopeean la cetatea antică Košary, regiunea Odesa, Ucraina [Imported Sinopean amphorae from the ancient settlement near Koshary, Odessa district, Ukraine]. Tyragetia, Arheologie Istorie Antică, Serie nouă 1 [16], 299-305.
Mateevici, N. and Redina, E. F. 2004. Prezenta importului amforistic grecesc la compexul arheologic Košary, reg. Odesa, Ucraina (campaniile anilor 2002-2003) [Greek imported amphorae from the archaeological complex at Koshary, Odessa province, Ukraine (campaigns of 2002-3)]. Cercetǎri arheologice în republica Moldova 1 (2002-2003), 105-113. Nemchenko, V. (ed.) 2008 — Немченко В. Древнне Причерноморье [Drevnee Prichernomor’e – The Ancient Black Sea Region] 8. Odessa. Nosova, L. V. 2002 — Носова, Л. В. О культовых зольниках античных поселений Северо-Западного Причерноморья (в связи с раскопками Кошарского археологического комплекса) [O kultovykh zol’nikakh antichnykh poseleniǐ Severo-Zapadnogo Prichernomor’ia (v sviazi s raskopkami Kosharkogo arkheologicheskogo kompleksa) – On cultic zol’niks in ancient settlements on north-western Black Sea coast (in connection with the excavations of the Koshary archaeological complex)]. In V. Zuev (ed.), 62-68. Nosova, L. V. 2004 — Носова, Л. В. Фракийские элементы в культуре Северо-Западного Причерноморья античной эпохи (в связи с раскопками на ‘теменосе’ Кошарского городища) [Frakiiskie elementy v kul’ture Severo-Zapadnogo Prichernomor’ia antichnoi epokhi (v sviazi s raskopkami na ‘temenose’ Kosharskogo gorodishcha) – Thracian elements in the culture of the north-western Black Sea coast in ancient times (in connection with the excavations in the ‘temenos’ of the Koshary settlement)]. In В. Г. Котигорощко [V. G. Kotigoroshko] (ed.), Давняя історія Карпато-Дунайського ареалу та суміжних регіонів [Davniaia istoriia Karpato-Dunais’kogo arealu ta sumizhnikh regioniv – The Ancient History of the Carpathian-Danube Region and Surrounding Areas], 100-119. Uzhgorod. Papuci-Władyka, E. forthcoming. Pouring vessels from Paphos (Cyprus) and Koshary (Odessa province, Ukraine). In A. Demetriou (ed.), Proceedings of IV Congress of Cypriot Studies (Ancient Section), Nicosia, 28th April-2nd May 2008. Nicosia. Papuci-Władyka, E. (ed.) 2008. PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11). Kraków. Papuci-Władyka, E. and Kokorzhitskaia, T. N. 2004. Greek amphorae from the Polish-Ukrainian excavations at Koshary, Odessa District (fourth and third centuries BC) – a first resentation, in J. Eiring and J. Lund (eds), Transport Amphorae and Trade in the Eastern Mediterranean. Acts of the International Colloquium at the Danish Institute at Athens, September 26-29, 2002, 313-324. (Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens 5). Athens.
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Redina, E. F. and Papuci-Władyka, E. 2003 — Редина, Е. Ф. and Папуци-Владыка, Е., Исследоване археологического компекса античного времени у с. Кошары [Issledovane arkheologicheskogo kompleksa antichnogo vremeni u s. Koshary – Reasearch on the archaeological complex of ancient times in Koshary village], in Н. А. Гаврилюк, Н. П. Тимченко [N. A. Gavriliuk and M. P. Timchenko] (eds), Археологічні відкриття в Україні у 2001-2002 рр. [Аrkhеоlоgіchnі vidkryttia v Ukrаinі u 2001-2002 rr. Збирка науковых прац – Archaeological Discoveries in Ukrаinе in 20012002. Collection of Scientific Works] 5, 240-242. Kiiv. Redina, E. F., Papuci-Władyka, E. and Bodzek, J. 2007 — Редина, Е. Ф., Папуци-Владыка, Е. and Бодзэк, Я. Сакральное пространство Кошарского святилища [Sakral’noe prostranstvo Kosharskogo sviatilishcha – The sacred space of the Koshary zol’nik]. In В. Н. Зинько [V. N. Zin’ko] (ed.), VIII Боспорские чтения. Боспор Киммерийский и варварский мир в период античности и средневековья. Святилища и сакральные объекты [VIII Bosporkie chtenia. Bospor Kimmeriǐskiǐ i varvarskiǐ mir v period antichnosti i srednevekov’a. Sviatilishcha i sakral’nye ob’ekty – VIII Bosporan Readings. The Cimmerian Bosporus and Barbarian World in the Period of Antiquity and Middle Ages. Sanctuaries and Sacred Objects], 261-265. Kerch. Redina, E. F., Papuci-Władyka, E., Bodzek, J. and Machowski, W. 2008a — Редина, Е. Ф., Папуци-Владыка, Е., Бодзэк, Я., Маховски, В.
Археологический комплекс античного времени у села Кошары - итоги исследования [Arkheologicheskii kompleks antichnogo vremeni u sela Koshary - itogi issledovaniia – The ancient archaeological complex at Koshary - results of investigations]. In Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 143-158. Redina, E. F., Papuci-Władyka, E. and Stelmach, S. 2008b — Редина, Е. Ф., Папуци-Владыка, Е., Стэльмах С. Чернолаковые застольные чашы Кошарского некрополья [Chernolakovye zastol’nye chashy Kosharskogo nekropol’ia – Black-gloss drinking cups from the Koshary necropolis]. In V. Nemchenko (ed.), 311-319. Symonovich, E. A.1954 – Сымонович, Э. А. О древнем Одессе [O drevnem Odesse – On ancient Odessos]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] IV, 146-150. Vickers, M. and Kakhidze, A. 2008. Pichvnari 1967-2005; recent work in a Colchian and Greek settlement. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), 221-237. Zuev V. (ed.) 2002 — Зуев, В. Боспорский феномен: погребальные помятники и святилища. Материалы международной научной конференции [Bosporskii fenomen: pogrebal’nye pamiatniki i sviatilishcha. Materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii – The Bosporan Phenomenon: Burial Monuments and Sanctuaries. Materials of the International Scientific Conference] 2. St Petersburg.
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Chapter 38 Western Tanais in the Light of the Latest Research of the University of Warsaw (Trench XXV, 2006-7)
Tomasz Scholl
Warsaw Uniwersity Institute of Archaeology Warsaw, Poland [email protected] Abstract: Work conducted in Trench No. XXV (Figure 1) made possible the discovery of an unknown fragment of the defensive system of western Tanais: a defensive ditch and a stone rampart as well as a range of adjacent constructions: a bridge, a gate, and interior dwellings with regular street network. Keywords: Tanais, Greek defensive architecture, Greek dwellings, necropolis, Goths
the Gothic settlement, dated by means of glass and terra sigillata vessels as well as Chernyakhov Culture bowls, to the 4th century AD or the first quarter of the 5th. In some places, the Gothic levels are to be found directly overlying the Hellenistic ones, often embedded in them. A considerable number of animal holes effectively disturbed the stratigraphy.
Since 1999, the Centre for Research on the Antiquity of Southeastern Europe and the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw took part in the Lower Don Archaeological Expedition, headed by Tat’iana Arsene’va from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Science in Moscow. In 2006-7 we conducted systematic archaeological research at Tanais in Trench No. XXV (for earlier work, see Scholl 2008). The aim was to examine the defences of western Tanais and some of the dwellings from the Hellenistic period (Figure 2). We unearthed a defensive ditch (Figure 3), a bridge leading to a gate and one entrance to the Hellenistic town (Figure 4), which had been eventually destroyed by Polemon, king of Bosporus at the end of the 1st century BC. Along with the entrance, we should examine the defensive system of the gate as well as the adjacent quarters of the town within. What we have found so far of these buildings is not imposing. At the same time, however, the upper levels lying above the entrance were rich in material from the period of the Gothic settlement. We also stumbled upon part of a children’s necropolis dating to the second half of the 2nd or first half of the 3rd century AD (Figure 5).
Squares Nos 100-108 Trench No. XXV was excavated from the north (new squares were established: Nos 106-108) by taking off a layer of the modern mound, the spoil-heap from Trenches Nos VI, VII, IX and XIII, that had been investigated in the mid-20th century. Thanks to this, it was possible to join the Square No. 101 with a fragment of the wall (No. 7) visible in the northern profile of Square No. 6. This fragment was discovered only in 2001. During the cleaning of the northern profile of Squares Nos 101 and 102, it turned out that we had found the remains of a grave. It was thus imperative to cut out a further profile. On top the layer, a modern grave came to light, partly destroyed, probably by animals: a so-called brotherly tomb (bratska mogila). Two bodies were laid in it, one of which – No. 1 – was in a better state of preservation. The skeleton was lying on the back with the head to the north-east, preserved up to the pelvis.
An additional and equally important task was to clean further to the south from the defensive ditch (Figure 6). The purpose of this was to find where the defences of western Tanais met the chora.
Beneath, there was another grave with two skeletons, also incomplete; their bones may have been scattered by animals. A fragment of a seriously deformed skull oriented north-west is characteristic of the Alani. The grave goods were well preserved, however, and included a bronze mirror (dated by S. Bezuglov to the middle of the 6th century AD) and a bronze bracelet. Below, two miniature vessels were
The basic work during the past two years has been conducted in squares Nos 100-105 on the so-called rampart, above the presumed entrance to the Hellenistic town (Figure 2). We found that the accumulations of stones discovered in 2005, thought to be those used in the construction, do not continue in the lower levels. The levels associated with
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Figure 1. Trenches of Tanais, by S. Naumenko
found, of which at least one was an imitation of a bronze kettle.
although it is quite likely that there originally may have been such a trench 0.10-0.20m deep. This resembled very much the stone pillar of the bridge, where the foundation trench was preserved only at its western end. The sections lying beneath the bridge wall stood out from the defensive trench, which had been considerably eroded. It should be stressed that the northern part of the curtain wall, especially Wall No. 5, veered downwards to the west, towards the defensive trench, about 0.20-0.30m from the horizontal.
After unearthing the burial of a child (G-13, Figure 5) it turned out that for the first time in a children’s necropolis in Trench No. XXV we actually had the visible contour of a grave pit and enclosing stones. There was chalk powder around the skeleton and partly on the skull. Despite the lack of grave goods, we can assume that it belonged to the children’s necropolis of the end of the 2nd or first half of the 3rd century AD. It turned also out that the grave was situated exactly at the place where the interior facing of the Curtain Wall No. II (the Wall No. 7a) should stand.
Curtain Wall No. II This wall is visible on the northern side of the entrance and is bounded to the east by Wall No. 7a, and on the west by the Wall No. 7 (Figure 8). Wall No. 7 is preserved for a distance of 4.30m, and has a single face made of medium-sized stones, and was built on a foundation of small stones and clay. Further to the north, Wall No. 7 had been demolished. The curtain wall from the entrance point changes its direction towards the north-west. The southern curtain wall, constituting the northern margin of the entrance, was largely demolished, especially in its south-western part. The estimated width of the curtain wall is 2.90-3.00m.
Curtain Wall No. I After cleaning Squares Nos 100, 101, 102 and 103, it appeared that the space bounded by the walls No. 8 (on the west), No. 5 (on the north), and No. 6 (on the east), bordering the 1.70m wide entrance in the northern part, is the Curtain Wall No. I, while its continuation is visible in the southern profile (Figure 7). The direction of the Curtain Wall No. I is north-south, and it is approximately 2.90m wide, with its interior filled with small crushed limestone mixed with clay. Wall No. 8 was built on a firm foundation made of crushed stone mixed with clay, without a foundation trench. The wall was preserved in three courses in one part up to a height of 0.60m. It had the largest facing stones of all the curtain walls, the biggest stones lying cross-wise bonding with the filling. Wall No. 6 was built directly on the matrix, and also lacked a foundation trench,
Locus A (Square No. 102) Locus A is located north of ‘A’ street and east of ‘B’-N street, and bounded on the west by Wall No. 11. The latter is only partly preserved up to a height of 0.60m, and its interior facing consists of stones smaller than those on the 300
Tomasz Scholl: Western Tanais
Figure 2. Trench XXV, East part, by U. Adamowska
Figure 3. General view of trench XXV
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Figure 4. Entrance to the Hellenistic Tanais
Figure 7. Curtain Wall No. I
Figure 5. Burial of a child
Figure 8. Curtain Wall No. II
Figure 6. Defensive ditch
Figure 9. Locus B, street ‘B’
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No. 13, which represents the western wall of the room, is also preserved in parts: Several fragments of the exterior, western facing of the wall remained (and even this only small stones) and a negative of the exterior, eastern one. The width of the wall was probably 0.40-0.50m and the northwestern corner slid down to the west, towards the trench, on a distance of 0.15-0.20m. Along the interior facing, plaster fragments painted in white were preserved, while on one of the few facing stones preserved, traces of red paint were found. The plaster is also preserved in fragments along the interior facing of the Wall No. 4, especially in its western section. The first analyses carried out in Berlin revealed that from the middle, i.e. from the side of the wall, an organic layer (sea-grass mat?), the next layer of the burnt clay, on which the thin layer of lime was put.
exterior. It was probably 0.55m thick, and from the side of the street ‘B’-N it met the stone slabs, the crushed stone and the small shell-containing river-gravel which probably constituted the priming beneath the last construction level under the pavement. Wall No. 11 enters the northern profile parallel to Wall No. 7a, i.e. the eastern wall of the Curtain Wall No. II. A fragment of daub discovered in the southwestern corner runs on the interior facing of Wall No. 11. In the southern part, i.e. from the side of A’ street, there was probably an entrance which has not yet been explored. On the south-eastern side, it is possible to observe how the stones have collapsed where the foundation of the whole of Room ‘A’ was laid, or at least the south-western part which was uncovered. On the north-eastern and south-eastern side, numerous cuttings can be seen in the level used by the Gothic settlement.
To sum up, I would like to draw attention to several, particularly important results of our investigations.
Locus B (Squares Nos 102, 103) Locus B is placed east of ‘B’-S street running along the eastern facing of Curtain Wall No. I, bounded to the north by ‘A’ street (Figure 9). Its whole eastern part was destroyed by a huge trench visible in the southern profile and dated by means of fragments of glass vessels not earlier than the 19th century. The analysis of the southern profile of Square No. 105 confirms this dating. The whole of Square no. 105, and Squares Nos 103 and 104 are partly destroyed by this trench. The northern wall of Locus B is Wall No. 4, revealed to a certain extent in 2006, having a width of 0.60m. The wall is unfortunately only partially preserved, whereas its eastern section was entirely destroyed by the trench mentioned above. The continuation of the Wall No. 4 eastwards is the Wall No. 9, preserved also in frag ments. Unfortunately, the contact trench between the two walls absolutely does not allow us to recognize the interconnections between them. Based on stratigraphy, one can conclude that the Wall No. 4, founded at a greater depth, is the older one. But the likelihood of a deeper foundation may be also linked to its closeness to the slope of the defensive trench. Furthermore, we do not know whether the Wall No. 9 is connected with the room B. The Wall No. 9, which is 0.60m wide, was preserved up to a height of 0.90m, at a distance of 2.50m. The net of the wall is constructed from selected brick-sized stone plates. In the eastern and western part, some reconstructions in the wall are visible, but unfortunately only partly preserved. The wall was founded on small stones building a foundation a few centimetres wider than the facing line. The Wall
It turned out that the so called Turkish Wall is a monument of the Russian fortification, and it had been forming naturally within two thousand years. It is possible, that in the modern period it could have been used as a fragment of the earthen defensives. Big urban investments connected with the period of Mitrydates VI Eupator should be also mentioned. The defensive system was reconstructed and the interior net of the streets adjacent to the gate had been changed. One should also draw attention to the age-old continuity of burying the dead in this place. Bibliography Scholl, T. 2008 — Шолль, Т. Западная часть эллинистического Танаиса. По итогам раскопок Bаршавского Университета [Zapadnaia chast’ ellinisticheskogo Tanaisa. Po itogam raskopok Varshavskogo Universiteta – The western part of Hellenistic Tanais in the light of the Warsaw University excavations]. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.) PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11), 177-189. Kraków.
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Chapter 39 Skythes the Lakedaimonian
Nicolas Sekunda
University of Gdańsk Department of Archaeology Gdańsk, Poland [email protected]
Abstract: First the Greek personal name Skythes is discussed in general. It is a name sometimes given to slaves, but in other cases it is borne by persons of high status. One of the latter is a Spartiate general, and personal friend of king Agesilaos, commander of the emancipated helot hoplites, who were based in Ephesos during the Asian Campaign of 396-394 BC. Subsequently the personal name Skythes appears in the onomasticon of Ephesos over a number of generations down to the early 3rd century BC. The name was first given to his son by an Ephesian guest-friend of the Spartan Skythes. No other Spartiate is attested holding the name Skythes, but it is suggested that the first holder of the name at Sparta was Skythes’ grandfather. A Scythian embassy visited Sparta shortly before the Persian expedition to Scythia c. 512 BC, and it is possible that Skythes’ great-grandfather was one of the companions of King Kleomenes who hosted them. He gave the name to his son on this occasion. Keywords: Sparta, Ephesos, Scythia, Xenophon, onomastics, Agesilaos
were not to be taken as an indicator of ethnic origin. More recently it has been clearly demonstrated that Greek ‘ethnic’ personal names are borne by ethnic Greeks, but are borne by individuals (or rather by the sons of individuals) who had links with some foreign people (Fraser 2000).
The personal names SjÌhgr, SjÌhar and SjÌhor are different forms of the same Greek ‘ethnic’ personal name, meaning ‘Scythian’. The name should not be confused with similar sounding personal names such as SjÌhqor, which is derived from the Greek for ‘grumbling’ (SEG 41 [1991] 537). It used to be believed that ‘ethnic’ Greek personal names of this type should be understood literally: in other words that the bearers of these names were ethnically nonGreek, and that they bore the name as a kind of ‘nick-name’ which referred to their ethnic origin.
The personal name Skythes has been the subject of academic enquiry on a number of occasions. Whilst commenting on the personal name Skythes borne by an agonothetes listed in an inscription of Ilion, Louis Robert (1926, 520-521) assembled a list of bearers of the same name from Zankle, Phanagoria, Chersonesos, Macedon, Eretria, Samos, Kolophon, Ephesos, Halikarnassos, Magnesia, Miletus and Gorgippa. While later commenting on a list of victors in the Hermaia from Gorgippa dating to the 3rd century BC, originally published by Kublanow (1960), which contained the personal name SjÌhar and the patronymic SjÌha, Robert (Robert and Robert 1962, 199, No. 248) also pointed out that it was simply a personal name (anthroponym) and not an ethnic. In his study of the Greek personal name SjÌhar and related forms the Russian scholar Kadeev (1974), noting the Spartan example under discussion here, correctly concluded that the bearers of the name were not ethnically Scythian. In all these cases, even in those where the name occurs in the cities of the northern Black Sea, it is reasonable to suppose that we are dealing with a ‘Greek’ surname. One must note, however, that according to the Greeks, as Herodotus (4. 10) says, the kings of the Scythians were descended from one Skythes, the son of
In the case of slaves bearing the name ‘Skythes’ this may well have been the case. A number of examples can be cited. Shortly before his death Pompey was accompanied by a servant called Skythes (Plut., Vit. Pomp. 78. 2): a list of slaves sold following confiscation from the Hermokopidai includes one Skythes (IG i³ 421, 42 ). The name is also borne by slave rower in Athenian fleet during Peloponnesian War (IG i³ 1032, 128) and by an emancipated slave whose name was inscribed on the stadium wall at Epidauros (IG iv, 1² 368 = Peek 1969, 91 No. 153, 15; 87 No. 368 [fig.]). In cases where the name appears by itself (with no patronymic or demotic) in funerary inscriptions (eg. IG ii² 12623/4) the deceased may be presumed to have been a slave. Charles Dugas was interested in the significance of Skythes and other ‘ethnic’ names used by potters and vase painters in Archaic and Classical Athens. I believe it was Dugas (1932, 338-340) who first pointed out that these names 305
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Skythes on their obverse (Obverse 163) should be dated to c. 340-325 BC. The author Philip Kinns (Ashton et al., 2002, 174 (date), 184, 185, 196, 197), also notes, however, that the name Skythes also occurs on an Ephesian coin in Istanbul from the Pademlik Hoard, which must be an earlier issue. It would be reasonable to assume that this personal name entered the Ephesian onomasticon as a result of a friendship which had arisen between a prominent Ephesian and the Spartiate commander, presumably at a time when the army was quartered at Ephesos, although the Ephesian may have served in the allied contingents, and it cannot be ruled out that the friendship was struck up while the two were out together on campaign. The Ephesian gave his son, presumably born shortly after they had struck up the friendship in 395-394 BC, the name Skythes to honour his Spartiate friend. His son rose to some prominence in Ephesian society, as so his name appears on coins struck around the middle of the century.
Herakles. These are insufficient grounds for believing that Skythes existed separately as a Scythian personal name. The point of this small note is not to assemble a comprehensive list of occurrences of this name. Rather, I will concentrate on the appearance of this personal name in Sparta, known so far from one unique example, and will attempt to investigate the historic circumstances which may have prompted this personal name being adopted. In 396 BC the Lakedaimonians sent a force of 30 Spartiates, 2000 emancipated helots, and a contingent of 6000 allies, under the command of Agiselaos, to Asia Minor to intensify the military effort being made in the Sparto-Persian War. Agesilaos made Ephesos his base of operations, and in the spring of 395 BC he gathered his whole army there. A year had now passed since Agesilaos had left Sparta, and Lysander sailed back with the 30 Spartiates who had originally been sent out, and Herippidas was sent out from Sparta with a second group of 30 Spartiates to replace the first. Of this second group of Spartiates Agesilaos now appointed one, Skythes (Poralla et al., 1985, No. 668), to command the emancipated helot hoplites, and another, Xenokles, to command the cavalry, as we are told in Xenophon (Hellenica 3. 4. 20). The army now pursued a successful campaign and by the spring of 394 BC Agesilaos was making preparations to march into the interior of Asia. Meanwhile, however, the states of Greece hostile to the Lakedaimonians had been persuaded to declare war, and Agesilaos was ordered to march home with his forces, which he did shortly after. Skythes and Xenokles are mentioned a second time, but this time not by Xenophon, but by Plutarch (Agesilaos 16. 3) as two envoys King Agesilaos sent to the Thessalian city of Larissa, to try to secure the friendship of the city. The ambassadors were, however, arrested and imprisoned. The commanders of the Lakedaimonian forces urged Agesilaos to lay siege to the city, but the king said that the capture of all Thessaly would not compensate him for the loss of either one of these two men, and instead he made terms with the enemy in order to get them back.
The name Skythes continued to be used in Ephesos down to the end of the Hellenistic period. An inscription, now in the Ashmolean Museum (IGSK 14, 217 No. 1390, 4, 7, 10), records that the demos awarded a gold crown and other honours to one Skythes son of Archidamos, who is described as an ðmdqom jakÄm jaà ÐcahËm who has benefited the city: obviously from an eminent family. His patronymic is worthy of note. The name Archidamos also appears on coins struck around 340-325 BC (Ashton et al., 2002, 205), indeed in the same hoard discussed above with Ephesian coins bearing the name Skythes. Perhaps our first generation Skythes and Archidamos, who gave his son the name Skythes, were brothers. In this case the inscription in the Ashmolean testifies to a name switch between branches of the same family, the name of an uncle being given to a nephew. Later issues of Ephesian coins bear the same name, but now modified from the Doric Archidamos to Archidemos, on coins struck c. 200-170 BC (Kinns 1999, 85), and 49-8 BC (Stumpf 1986, 36, No. 59). These individuals too may represent later generations of the same extended family. The same may be the case with one Euthenos son of Skythes, mentioned in a list of Molpoi found in the theatre of Ephesos dating to around 100 BC (Engelman et al., 1980, 201-202, No. 900, 6). The name Euthenos is very rare. There is only one other Euthenos attested at Ephesos, the son of Eupeithes, mentioned in an inscription dating to the first half of the 4th century BC (Hansen 1989, No. 856). This raises the interesting possibility that the anonymous father of our first generation Ephesian Skythes, who befriended the Spartiate Skythes, may have been this individual, called Euthenos. At this point, however, we seem to reach the boundary of what it would be reasonable to speculate in the ‘science’ of extracting genealogy from onomastics, and the suggestion must be evaluated as speculative.
In both these sources the name appears as SjÌhgr, although the Lakonian form of the name would have been a Dorian SjÌhar, as the LGPN (398 s. v.) notes. No other individuals of this name are known at Sparta. It is evident from these passages that Skythes, specifically termed a Spartiate in our sources, was an important individual, which in Sparta usually meant that the individual was born into an important family, and that he was highly regarded by, and moved in the close circle of, Agesilaos. The personal name Skythes appears at Ephesos later on in the 4th century BC. The name appears as a magistrate’s name on an Ephesian coin coming from a coin hoard (the ‘Pixodarus’ hoard) which has been studied, and for which an absolute chronology has been established. According to this chronology, coins of Class I, which bear the name
Of course it is also possible that the name Skythes was adopted earlier by an Ephesian family for completely different reasons. The personal name has not been noted
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earlier at Ephesos, however, and it is interesting that the names Xenokles (Ashton et al., 2000, 181 obv. 121 (Class G), 183 obv. 146 (Class I), 191, No. 31, 205) and Xenophon (Ashton et al., 2000, 180 obv. 115 (Class G)) also appear on Ephesian coins struck in the second half of the 4th century BC. One assumes that the individuals bearing these uncommon names were also born in 395 BC or shortly after, and were given their names in honour of other prominent individuals in the circle of Agesilaos. The name Xenokles is also passed on to a further generation at Ephesos, for it is also found on an early 3rd century BC coin when the city bore the name of Arsinoeia (Forrer 1922-9, 5851 non vidi). Therefore, it seems that Skythes was not the only eminent visitor to Ephesos in the entourage of Agesilaos to have been befriended by the Ephesian nobility, and to have given their names to Ephesian sons born shortly after the visit. It is this consideration, above all, and the fact that the Lakedaimonian and allied army was based at Ephesos itself, which makes the adoption of the names seem likely. Certainty will, however, never be possible, and the proposition put forward here will have to be rejected if in the future coins or inscriptions are found attesting the use of the name at Ephesos earlier than the 4th century BC.
and Skythes son of Ph[...] could have been cousins. A coin of Magnesia on the Maeander (Head 1892, 159, No. 10; SNG Copenhagen, Pl. 18, No. 808) dating to c. 350-325 BC (Kinns 1989, 137-138, No. 4) also bears the name Skythes.
For, indeed, the name Skythes is attested earlier than the 4th century BC in other cities on the eastern Aegean shore. At Miletos an individual named Luses son of Skythes (Kus±r SjÌhey) appears in a list of eponymous magistrates (molpoi) under the year 454/3 BC (Kawerau and Rehm 1914, 132 [256], No. 122 I, 73). So, in this case, where the name also appears later on a coin of Miletos dating to the third quarter of the 4th century BC (Head 1892, 73: the dating for this coin has been put forward by Philip Kinns), the same date as the Ephesian coins bearing the name Skythes, it would be difficult to argue that the later individual has been named after the general of Agesilaos, rather than an earlier family member bearing the same name. At Halikarnassos the name Skythes also appears early as a patronymic (’Amtip°r SjÌhey) in an inscription dating to around 400 BC, listing the confiscation and the re-sale of the property and persons of debtors to Apollo, Athenaia and Parthenos (Syll³ 46 a, 51; SEG 43 [1993] 713 A, 51).
We have no firm evidence for contact between Scythia and Sparta in the 5th century BC, but we do have some for the late Archaic period. For example the semi-legendary Scythian Ancharsis, who went to Greece to study the ways of the Greeks, is said to have known the methods of debate practised by the Lakedaimonians (Hdt. 4. 77). This implies that he spent time at Sparta, and this could have been the occasion when the friendship was struck up. There may well have been other occasions when individual Scythians visited Sparta, and vice versa, of which we are not informed by our sources, when the friendship may have been struck up. A much more probable occasion on when the meeting may have taken place, however, was on the occasion of the important Scythian embassy sent to Sparta at the end of the 6th century BC.
In all these cases too it is possible that the name was borrowed from the Spartan general, but the argument is not so strong as it is at Ephesos, where, after all, we know that the Spartiate Skythes was resident. The name also occurs elsewhere in Asia Minor and in the islands of the eastern Aegean in later contexts. These examples may be due to later secondary spreads of the name, and so have not been mentioned in the argument. As has already been said, Agesilaos’ general Skythes must have belonged to a prominent Spartiate family. It has been noted, for example by Stephen Hodkinson (1993, 159), that when ‘ethnic’ personal names such as Chalkideus, Samios, and Skythes are found at Sparta they ‘indicate ties with leading families in other states’. We must therefore look for a set of historical circumstances where two members of leading Spartan and Scythian families may have met and struck up close personal ties.
Herodotus (6. 84) tells us that when Darius invaded Scythia, the Scythians sent an embassy to Sparta to discuss with King Kleomenes the possibility of forming an alliance against the Persians. According to the planned alliance the Scythians were to invade Media along the Phasis river, while the Spartiates were to start out from Ephesos and march inland to meet up with the Scythians. ‘They say’ Herodotus continues, that Kleomenes had more to do with the Scythian delegation than was ordinary, and, in the process, learned from them the practice of very heavy drinking. Herodotus tells us further that the Spartans think that this was the cause of Kleomenes’ madness, and that when they want a stronger drink than usual, they call for a ‘Scythian cup’.
Elsewhere, however, the name Skythes does appear in cities on the eastern Aegean seaboard in contexts where one could argue that the individual concerned may have been born in Ionian cities around the year 395 BC. One Dionysios the son of Skythes is mentioned in an inscription of Kolophon, which has been dated to 311-306 BC (Merritt 1935, 365, No. 1, 423). It is quite possible that his unattested grandfather was named Skythes and was born around 395 BC. Another individual named [Sk]ythes son of Ph[...] is mentioned as a Kolophonian ambassador in an Athenian inscription dating to 307/6 BC (IG ii² 456 b, 23). This second individual could belong to the same family, but here, too, we would seem to be dealing with a case of the name spreading outside the direct line of descent in a family, either by it being given to the son of a brother or friend. So Dionysios son of Skythes
By this Herodotus is assumed to mean the drinking of wine undiluted with water. This was certainly the opinion of Chamaileon of Herakleia in his book On Drunkenness, as cited by Athenaeus (427 b-c; 436 e-f) who tells us that
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his grandfather was the first member of the family to be given the name Skythes. As always with these hypothetical investigations into genealogy, one has to consider the possibility Skythes was given the name of his uncle, or of a family friend, and not of his grandfather. This is highly improbable in this case, however, given that only two generations could possibly separate the birth.
the Lakonians say that Kleomenes the Spartiate went mad after learning to drink unmixed wine after associating with Scythians. This information is repeated in Aelian’s Varia Historia (2. 41) in a passage which seemingly exploits Athenaeus directly. This work has been edited and translated by N. G. Wilson (1997, 113 n. a p.), to whom I am also indebted for the translations of Aelian quoted in this text. Later on in the same passage Aelian (2. 41) adds the information that Ancharsis ‘drank a great deal when he was with Periander; this was a habit he brought with him from home, as it is characteristic of the Scythians to drink wine undiluted’. Athenaeus (445 e-f) gives a different reason for Ancharsis’s heavy drinking in a passage which is worth quoting in full (trans. Gulick 1930, 519):
As I made clear at the beginning of this article, I am not attempting a comprehensive treatment of all bearers of the name Skythes. Nevertheless, it may be worth noting that another cluster of individuals named Skythes occurs at the turn of the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Herodotus mentions two individuals named Skythes. One (6. 23-24) is Skythes tyrant of Zankle. He is dispossessed of the city of Zankle by Samians fleeing from the Ionian Revolt, and takes refuge at the court of Darius. The other (Herodotus 7. 163-164) was a tyrant at Kos. His son Kadmos had voluntarily handed power back to the Koans and entered the service of Gelon of Syracuse, who in 480 BC sent him to watch which way the war in Greece would go. According to some authorities (see Volkmann 1965 for references) these two individuals called Skythes are the same individual. It is possible that one of these two exiled individuals is being referred to by Theognis (830-825) who asks ‘Skythes’ to cut his hair and stop the feast and mourn for the fragrant country he has lost. The problem is discussed by T. Hudson-Williams (1910, 227-228). It has to be stated, however, that the dates of Theognis are quite uncertain, and the reference is sometimes taken to be allegorical. Thus according to Wender (1973, 162) the reference is made to ‘a primitive person, without patriotic feelings. Theognis berates his fellow citizens for enjoying themselves, when they are so close to their homeland they can see its border’ (cf. Van Groningen 1966, 316-317).
‘That drunkenness causes our perception to go wrong is clearly shown by the remark of Ancharsis at the drinking-bout and said to him, “You have married an ugly woman, Ancharsis.” He answered, “Yes, indeed, I think so too; come, slave, fill up a stronger cup, that I may make her good-looking”’. There are a number of other passages in the ancient literature which refer to the heavy drinking of the Scythians. Herodotus (4. 81) mentions that he was shown a gigantic cauldron dedicated by the Scythian King Ariantas at Exampaios which could hold 600 amphorae, and was six dactyls in thickness. He had commanded the Scythians each to bring him one arrowhead, in order that he would know how many of them there were, and had made the cauldron out of the arrowheads. To return to the Scythian delegation to Sparta. It is clear from these passages that the Scythian embassy was treated as an important one, and Kleomenes and his circle spent a lot of time with the delegation. It was normal practice to house members of diplomatic delegations in the houses of prominent individuals of the host city. An ancestor of Skythes may have hosted an eminent Scythian, and perhaps entered into xenia with his guest. Consequently he gave the name Skythes to his son. He may even have been appointed the Scythian proxenos at Sparta. On balance I consider this to be quite probable. The duties of proxenia, and the prestige associated with it, were passed on from one generation to another. Thus the personal name Skythes was endowed with a considerable amount of prestige, and this would explain why the name continued to be handed down the generations for over a century at Sparta.
At Athens an inscribed statue base dating to the last decade of the 5th century BC informs us that one Kriton son of Skythes dedicated a statue made by Pollias to Athena (IG i² 504 = IG i³ 658 = Raubitschek 1949, 250-1, No. 220). In LGPN this individual is listed as an Athenian with a question mark, but Kirchner (1903, No. 12736) lists him as an Athenian citizen, and there seems to be no reason to doubt this. Judeich (1927, 101) suggested that the father Skythes was probably a Scyth by birth, who had been admitted into the Athenian citizen body thanks to the reforms of Kleisthenes in 508/7. This seems unlikely if for no other reason than chronological difficulties. The social status of Kriton son of Skythes must have been relatively high, for him to have dedicated a statue on the Acropolis, and the relationship of his father to the vase-painter(s) called Skythes, who was/were active around the period c. 520-505 BC, is enigmatic. They were once identified as the same person (eg. Reinach 1921, 77, No. 3), but now tend to be treated as two separate individuals, one a painter of black-figure pottery (Beazley 1956, 352, cf. 516 ‘The Philon Painter’ No. 1) the other a painter of red-figure pottery (Beazley 1963, 82).
The precise date of Darius’ expedition against the Scythians is uncertain (Balcer 1972), and so, therefore, is the date of the Scythian embassy to Sparta. For our purpose, however, it is sufficient to say that it took place around 512 BC. If we suppose that Agesilaos’ general Skythes was in his midforties when he held command in Asia, he would have been born around 460 BC. So around 50 to 60 years: presumably two generations, separate the Scythian embassy to Sparta from the birth of Skythes. To the author it seems highly probable that Skythes’ father held a different name, while
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IG. Inscriptiones Graece Judeich, W. 1927. Politische Namengebung in Athen. In EPITULBIOM Heinrich Swoboda Dargebracht, 99106. Reichenberg. Kadeev, V. I. 1974 — Кадеев, П. И. Об этнической принадлежности носителей имени SjÌhar в Херсонесe Таврическом [Ob etnicheskoi prinadlezhnosti nositelei imieni SjÌhar v Khersonese Tavricheskom – On the ethnic identity of the SJUHAS name bearers in Tauric Chersonesos]. Советская археология [Sovetskaia arkheologia] III, 56-63. Kawerau, G. and Rehm, A. (eds) 1914. Milet. Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen und Untersuchungen 1.3. Das Delphinion in Milet. Berlin. Kinns, P. 1989. Two studies in the silver coinage of Magnesia on the Maeander, in G. Le Rider et al. (eds), 137-148. Kinns, P. 1999. The Attic weight drachms of Ephesus: a preliminary study in the light of recent hoards. The Numismatic Chronicle 159, 47-97. Kirchner, J. 1903. Prosopographia Attica 2. Berlin. Kublanow, M. M. 1960. Agone und agonistische Festveranstaltungen in den antiken Städten der nördlichen Schwarzmeerküste. Die Altertum 6, 131-148. Le Rider, G., Jenkins, K., Waggoner, N. and Westermark, U. (eds), 1989. Kraay-Mørkholm Essays. Numismatic Studies in Memory of C. M. Kraay and O. Mørkholm. (Publications d’Histoire de l’Art et de l’Archéologie de l’Université catholique de Louvain LIX, Numismatica Lovaniensia 10). Louvain-la-Neuve. LGPN – Fraser, P. M. and Matthews, E. (eds) 1997. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names 3A. The Peloponnese, Western Greece, Sicily and Magna Graecia. Oxford. Meadows A. and Wartenberg U. (eds) 2002. Coin Hoards IX: Greek hoards (Royal Numismatic Society Special Publication 35). London. Meritt, B. D. 1935. Inscriptions of Colophon. American Journal of Philology 56, 358-379. Peek, W. 1969. Inschriften aus dem Asklepieion von Epidauros. Abhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch-historische Klasse 60/2. Berlin Poralla, P., Alfred, D. and Bradford, S. 1985. A Prosopography of the Lacedaemonians from the Earliest Times to the Death of Alexander the Great (X-323 B.C.) (2nd. ed.). Chicago. Raubitschek, A. E. and Jeffery, L. H. 1949. Dedications from the Athenian Acropolis. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Reinach, A. 1921. Textes grecs et latins relatifs à l’histoire de la peinture ancienne. Paris. Robert, L. 1926. Notes d’épigraphie hellénistique. XXIII. Décret d’Ilion pour des juges étrangers. Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 50, 516-522. Robert, L. and Robert, J. 1962. Bulletin Épigraphique. Revue des Études Grecques 65, 130-226 SNG Copenhaguen. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum. Denmark. The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals. Danish National Museum. Part 23: Ionia 2: ErythraePriene, Copenhagen 1946.
In all these cases the person(s) given the name Skythes would have been born around the middle of the 6th century BC, or perhaps even a little earlier. In the case of Athens we know there were contacts between Peisistratus and Scythia, for he is known to have contracted Scythian archers to support his return to Athens c. 546 BC (eg. Ehrenberg 1968, 78). These Scythian archers are shown on Attic vases, not only in combat scenes, but sitting at symposia together with their Attic hosts. So personal relations with the Athenian élite were cordial, and they were not considered to be of inferior social status. The simple fact that Peisistratus could contract a band of Scythian archers implies that some kind of contact already existed between Athens and Scythia. Perhaps diplomatic delegations had already travelled to and from before the middle of the 5th century BC, and a distinguished Athenian who had hosted the Scythian delegation may have chosen to call his son Skythes, as happened about 40 years later at Sparta. Bibliography Ashton, R. H. J., Hardwick, N., Kinns, P., Konuk, K. and Meadows, A. R. 2002. The Pixodaros Hoard (CH 9.421). In A. Meadows and U. Wartenberg, 139-243. Balcer, J. M. 1972. The Date of Herodotus IV.1, Darius’ Scythian Expedition. Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 76, 99-132. Beazley, J. D. 1956. Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painters. Oxford. Beazley, J. D. 1963. Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters (Second Edition). Oxford. Dugas, Ch. 1932. Note sur l’origine d’Amasis et de quelques peintres de vases. In Mélanges Gustave Glotz 1, 335-340. Paris. Ehrenberg, V. 1968. From Solon to Socrates. Greek History and Civilization During the Sixth and Fifth Centuries B.C. London. Engelman, H., Knibbe, D. and Merkelbach, R. (eds) 1980. Die Inschriften von Ephesos IV (Inschriften griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien 14). Bonn. Forrer, L. 1922-9. The Weber Collection. Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Greek Coins formed by Sir Hermann Weber. London. Fraser, P. M. 2000. Ethnics as personal names, in S. Hornblower and E. Matthews (eds), Greek Personal Names. Their Value as Evidence. (Proceedings of the British Academy 104), 149-157. Oxford. Gulick, Ch. B. 1930. Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists 4. Loeb Classical Library. London, New York. Hansen, P. A. 1989. Carmina Epigraphica Graeca 2. Berlin, New York. Head B.V. 1892. A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum. Ionia. London Hodkinson, S. 1993. Warfare, wealth and the crisis of Spartiate society, in J. Rich and G. Shipley (eds), War and Society in the Greek World, 146-176. London, New York. Hudson-Williams, T. 1910. The Elegies of Theognis. London.
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Volkmann, H. 1965. S. v. Skythes, In Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Supplementband 10, 919-920. Wender, D. 1973. Hesiod Theogony Works and Days, Theognis Elegies. Harmonsdworth. Wilson, N. G. 1997. Aelian, Historical Miscellany. Loeb Classical Library 486. Cambridge, Massachusetts, London.
SEG. Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum. Stumpf, G. R. 1986. Numismatische Studien zur Chronologie der Römischen Statthalter in Kleinasien (122 v. Chr.-163 n. Chr.). (Saarbrücker Studien zur Archäologie und Alten Geschichte 4). Saarbrücken. Syll. Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum. Van Groningen, B. A. 1966. Theognis. Le Premier Livre édité avec un commentaire. Amsterdam.
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Chapter 40 Geto-Dacian Pottery Vessels (2nd Century BC-1st Century AD): Imitation and Originality
Valeriu Sîrbu
Museum of Braila Braila, Romania [email protected]
Gelu Florea
„Babeş-Bolyai” University Cluj-Napoca, Romania [email protected] Abstract: In the 2nd century BC-1st century AD, mainly in the extra-Carpathian region, we can note the existence of large numbers of Dacian pottery vessels, many with figurative representations and imitating Greek types: kantharoi, kernoi, bowls with relief decoration, rhyta, rectangular vessels, and animal-shaped vessels. There were regional preferences for certain types of pottery or decoration, manufactured by specialized centres. Keywords: bowls, Bulgaria, Dacia, Geto-Dacian pottery, Greece, Histria, imitating Greek, Iron Age, kantharoi, Walachia, Moldavia, Oltenia, Transylvania, types
Introduction
imports – pottery and metal vessels, luxury commodities, etc., but also in the influences that were absorbed by the local environment. The general framework for the study of this phenomenon were determined decades ago in synthetic works devoted to the topic (e.g. Glodariu 1976), and later there have been specialized papers dealing with these categories of artefacts.
The dialogue with the Hellenistic-Roman world is one of the main features defining the Dacian local civilization at the end of the second Iron Age; it is an increasing dialogue in a world where, as in other regions of the temperate Europe, one may observe a tendency to agglomeration and systematization of the habitation, to territorial centralization. It is an age when are born local centres of power, fortified, with complex functions in the communities, having even the marks of religious institutions (sanctuaries, in some of them). At the same time, Dacia establishes progressively more frequent contacts, both commercial and military, with the Mediterranean world (in particular with the Romans who slowly but surely come closer to the Danube).
The publication, partial or extended, of certain archaeological sites – in particular those agglomerations of habitation dating back to the three centuries preceding the Roman conquest, showed the significance of the imports in these communities. As time went by, some of these agglomerations became production centres for local imitations of the imported products (Glodariu 1976, chapter 7). The pottery vessels are the most frequently imitated – even those made by more sophisticated techniques, such as those painted or decorated in relief. An important consequence of these contacts was the assimilation of techniques of finishing and decoration, leading to the enrichment of indigenous decorative craftsmanship. Beginning specifically in the 1st century BC, local workshops began to manufacture traditional forms through new techniques (painting, incising, and stamping, with relief decorations or even barbaric imitations of the plastic vessels). Gradually, there emerged a picture of regional preferences for certain types of decoration or pieces manufactured by specialized centres.
Although Dacia had had trade relations with Greek colonies in previous centuries, perhaps from soon after their foundation, the consequences for indigenous technologies and tastes could not compare with those of the 2nd century BC-1st century AD. In fact, starting with the 2nd century BC, we might speak, employing the words of Anne Marie Adam (2006, 195) in the context of the northern Alps, of ‘un nouveau dynamisme du milieu récepteur’, conditioned by economic and social development. The outcome of these relations, besides the political, military or spiritual aspects, may be measured in the quantity and the diffusion within Dacia, of all kind of
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After having completely assimilated the foreign techniques, these centres begin to manifest their own creativity. Besides more or less successful imitations of the originals, they began to manufacture vessels that were inspired by foreign forms. These were usually late Hellenistic, but they express the local sensibility and tastes. They often abandon decorative motifs specific to the Mediterranean, and are decorated after local, indigenous taste.
A thorough analysis of artefacts discovered at Brad and elsewhere, such as Ocniţa (Berciu 1981, 36, 85, Pls 115119), shows that sometimes the local potters improvised in realizing the surface of the vessels. There are situations when painting in coloured strips on the slip alternates with polished surfaces or even ornaments (at Răcătău, in the east, or at Ocniţa, in southern Dacia) (Florea 1998, 93-95). We might speak of a combination of imported technologies with local ones: the grey pottery with polished ornaments is a very widespread category of Dacian ceramic.
Pottery with painted decoration
The potters have completely assimilated Hellenistic techniques and used them in the decoration of the local shapes of vessels, such as pedestal bowls, jugs, lids, which have analogies in both hand and wheelmade ceramics, with a traditional finish. A significant number of drinking vessels of Mediterranean origin (e.g. kantharoi – Figure 1:3-4), are imitated, which could be a sign of important changes in drinking practices.
We have chosen, exempli gratia, certain categories of vases characteristic of this phenomenon, first because they are frequent, and thus popular, in the Dacian world of the period. For brevity’s sake, we shall simply enumerate their main features and illustrate the most representative items. We shall not discuss here some other important types of pottery vessels, such as imitations of rhyta, kernoi, or amphorae (which require another approach). At the same time we intend to tackle, if only tangentially, some aspects concerning the iconography of these pottery vessels.
In the intra-Carpathian region, painted vessels found around the capital of the Dacian kingdom (Figure 1:1) mark a complete separation of indigenous manufacture from Mediterranean models. The appearance and the very act of manufacturing painted pottery could be explained by the environment, namely the presence of the capital of the Dacian kingdom. Dating mainly from the second half of the 1st century AD, this pottery is characterised in particular by its relatively large size, specific to the local pottery, and an original figurative decoration (geometric, vegetal and zoomorphic). It is a regional style, unique in Dacia and with a limited diffusion in the territory, and which is the expression of a particular social and cultural environment. It throws a light, through the painted pottery, upon the spiritual universe of the warrior elites. It could not be by chance that scenes with domestic, wild or fabulous animals have been discovered practically only in the capital zone of the Dacian kingdom (Florea 1998, chapter 5); otherwise they have only been found in Brad (Ursachi 2000, 345-349).
The indigenous painted pottery, imitating late Hellenistic wares, typical of the last period of the second Iron Age (Figure 1:1-4, 6), widely diffused throughout Dacia, beginning in the second half of the 2nd century BC. 50 relevant findspots have been recorded, especially settlements, while local imitations of central European Celtic pottery are much less numerous (Florea 1998, chapter 2). But this is not a uniform diffusion, for there are concentrations of significant amounts of such indigenous products principally beyond the Carpathians, especially in eastern and south-eastern parts (Brad, Poiana, Răcătău, Borduşani etc.). According to comparative analyses of imports and imitations found in certain centres of Walachia and Moldavia, the local manufacture of painted vases seems to have privileged ‘Hadra style’ models (specific to the eastern Mediterranean). It is likely that many models were made in workshops at Histria. A number of studies (Lungu 1999-2000, 70-71; Lungu and Trohani 2000, 148-149; Popescu 2008, 98) suggest that the diffusion area of these original products may have been the south-eastern regions of Dacia, most dating to the last third of the 2nd century BC and the first third of the 1st century AD.
Vessels with relief decoration Bowls with relief decoration are the most widespread (Figure 2:1-5). A number of general works have been dedicated to bowls with relief decoration (Vulpe 1965, 341349; Franga-Casan 1967, 7-35; Glodariu 1974; Vulpe and Gheorghiţă 1976, 167-198; Popescu 2000, 235-264; Matei forthcoming; ) as well as specialized monographs dealing with specific sites, such as Piscu Crăsani (Conovici 1978, 165-183), Grădiştea (Sîrbu 1996, 25, 81-82, Figs 88-90), Pietroasa Mică-Gruiu Dării (Dupoi and Sîrbu 2001, 25-26, Figs 85-86, 92/3-6; Sîrbu et al., 2005, 55, Figs 97/3-4), Poiana (Vulpe and Teodor 2003, 83, Fig. 217), or Zimnicea (Spânu 2006, 297-322).
We believe that a preference for painted imitations in couleurs foncées sur le fond clair represent a manifestation of the local taste, because in certain manufacturing centres (Brad) painted imports have different ornamental styles (Popescu 2008, 76). The indigenous production met the market demand and within two centuries created its own tradition. According to statistics published by Vasile Ursachi (1995, 202-207) who excavated at Brad, this centre was the most important producer of indigenous painted vases in Dacia.
Imported Hellenistic bowls have been discovered at only ten sites on the left bank of the Danube, usually in residential centres, such as Piscu Crăsani (Conovici 1978, 165-184), Popeşti (Vulpe and Gheorghiţă 1976, 187, Nos 201-203), or
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Figure 1. Geto-Dacian pottery vessels: 1-3, 6 – painted vessels; 4-5 – parallelepiped vessels; 7 – kantharos with relief (1 – Grădiştea de Munte; 2 – Brad; 3-7 – Răcătău, after Florea 1998; V. Căpitanu 1994; Sîrbu 2006)
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Figure 2. Geto-Dacian pottery vessels: 1-5 – bowls with relief decoration; 6 – belly-shaped vessel (1 – Căscioarele-Cătălui; 2-3 – Popeşti; 4 – Sprâncenata; 5 – Zimnicea; 6 – Răcătău, after Marinescu-Bâlcu 1966; Vulpe 1965; Preda 1985; Spânu 2006; Căpitanu 1994; Sîrbu 2006)
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Cetăţeni (Glodariu 1974, 211, No. 12), Radovanu (Morintz and Şerbănescu 1985, 27), but there are very few examples, and they have consequently not been included in the GetoDacian pottery catalogue.
We intend to concentrate just on the decoration of Getic bowls, since they represent an original contribution having also a special cultic aspect. It is an extremely rich decoration for the Getic bowls, with various types of motifs, very often in combination: a) geometrical motifs, b) vegetal motifs, c) zoomorphic motifs, d) anthropomorphic motifs, e) miscellaneous motifs, such as coins, vases, spurs, rhyta.
Dacian bowls with relief decoration manufactured in the 2nd-1st centuries BC presumably imitate Hellenistic shapes. We know they took from the Hellenistic tradition the modelling technology, shapes and a great part of the decorative elements (Franga-Casan 1967, 7-36). The innovations are also important, and they could be seen in the use, almost exclusively, of firing in a reducing atmosphere, the manufacturing of vessels with a slightly truncated body and, in particular, certain original motifs and decorative combinations. All these features clearly distinguish them from Hellenistic imports.
The geometric motifs consist of different types and combinations of lines, geometrical figures, rosettes, wheels, lozenges, while the vegetal ones, of highly stylised and more natural leaves, palmettes, trees, beans, stems and flowers. The zoomorphic motifs are less numerous and are represented by a herbivore, probably a deer, on a bowl from Căscioarele-Ostrovel (Figure 2:1) (Marinescu-Bâlcu 1966, 114-115, Figs 1-2), by water birds, perhaps geese, at Popeşti (Vulpe and Gheorghiţă 1976, 167-198, Pl. 6/1), by heads of vultures (?), at Cândeşti (Bobi 1999, 147-148, Pl. CXXXIII/5), and by bucrania, at Poroschia (Pavel and Pătraşcu 2006, 42, Fig. 39/1). As one can see, there are different species in every case.
The diffusion area of the Dacian bowls with relief decoration is conclusive for establishing where the influences came from, where they were made, and the reason why they were manufactured. Of 760 items catalogued so far, almost 655 (87%!) were discovered in Walachia, 41 in Oltenia, 34 in Transylvania, 16 in Moldavia, only three in Dobruja and eight in Bulgaria (Matei forthcoming). The noticeable disparity between the numbers of items in Walachia and Dobruja cannot be explained by the presence of Hellenistic bowls, since they are very few as well. As for the Dacian sites, almost half of the bowls (370!) were found at Popeşti (Vulpe and Gheorghiţă 1976, 167-198), followed albeit at a distance by Zimnicea (53), Piscul Crăsani (50), and Cârlomăneşti (31) (Matei forthcoming). Almost 700 items, or more than 90% of the total, come from the territory between the Carpathians and the Danube, while fewer than ten items are known from the central-northern part of Moldavia and Transylvania.
Human representations are more numerous and are sometimes in complex scenes. Masks or human faces are present on bowls discovered at Piscu Crăsani (Conovici 1978, 571-579), Sprîncenata (Preda 1986, 59-60) (Figure 2:4), Izvoarele (Irimia 2006, 71-72, Figs 2-4) and Poroschia (Pavel and Pătraşcu 2006, 42, Fig. 39/1); palms are represented on a bowl at Zimnicea (Franga-Casan 1967, 27, Fig. 11/2); the representations are schematic, but they are realistic and suggestive, sometimes rendering details. Elaborate human scenes are present on some bowls from Popeşti and Zimnicea, and a simple one at CăscioareleCătălui (Sîrbu et. al., 1996, 38, Fig. 60/15). Two bowls from Popeşti have two female figures in a ritual dance (Vulpe 1965, 341-349, Figs 1-2) (Figures 2:2-3), while on a bowl from Zimnicea there is a file of female characters holding a rhyton in one hand and a vase in the other, or holding each other hands, probably dancing, and riders holding a shield in one hand and a dagger in the other, and geometric motifs (Spânu 2006, 297-322, Pl. 2-3,6) on the silver Dacian treasures of Lupu (Glodariu and Moga 1997, 485-596), or the belt buckles, as at Popeşti (Vulpe 1957, 234, Fig. 23).
Consequently, one could postulate the manufacturing of the bowls in certain Dacian settlements on the basis of moulds discovered at Popeşti (Vulpe and Gheorghiţă 1976, 167-177, Pls 11/1-6), Piscu Crăsani (Conovici 1978, 171-178), and Radovanu (Morintz and Şerbănescu 1985, 25, Fig. 3/6), as well on the great number of items with a special decoration, such as Cârlomăneşti (Babeş 1975, 130, Figs 5/2a-d; Matei forthcoming), Sprâncenata (Preda 1986, 59-60, 94-95, Figs 38-40), and Grădiştea (Sîrbu 1996, 25, 81-82, Figs 88-90), Sighişoara (Andriţoiu and Rustoiu 1997, 89, Figs 101-102). In general, the manufacturing of the bowls with relief decoration could be explained by the massive increase of the drinking vessel types in the Geto-Dacian world during the 2nd-1st centuries BC (kantharoi, bowls, cups, jugs, rhyta etc.), and the greater number of items in central Walachia, both by local preference for this vessel type, but also by the existence of vineyards and the local production of wine (Tudor 1967, 74-78, Figs 8-9; Sîrbu 2003, 97-115). This is indicated by the great number of local amphorae manufactured in the region, in particular at Popeşti (Eftimie-Andronescu 1967, 401-421).
There are representations of Getic coins on bowls from Snagov (Rosetti 1935, 19, Fig. 23), Popeşti (Vulpe and Gheorghiţă 1976, 182, 186, Pls 3/3,6) and Cârlomăneşti (Matei forthcoming), and of Thasian coins from Piscu Crăsani (Conovici 1981, 574, Fig. 3a). Amphorae appear on bowls from Piscu Crăsani (Conovici 1978, 172, Fig. 1/10), Poroschia (Pavel and Pătraşcu 2006, 42, Fig. 39/1) and Izvoarele (Irimia 2006, 71-72, Fig. 2); rhyta at Popeşti (Vulpe and Gheorghiţă 1976, 167-198, Pl. 4/5) and Zimnicea (Spânu 2006, 297-322); spurs at Piscu
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Crăsani (Conovici 1978, 167, Fig. 1/8), Popeşti (Vulpe and Gheorghiţă 1976, 167-198), Cârlomăneşti (Matei forthcoming) and Bucureşti-Dămăroaia (Turcu 1976, 202, Fig. 10/7). Apart from Izvoarele, all the zoomorphic and anthropomorphic representations of coins and spurs are in Walachia, but then 90% of the objects were found in this area.
In the same region, at Răcătău (Căpitanu 1994, 337, Fig. 4), was found a rider-shaped vessel (Figure 2:6), perhaps inspired by a Hellenistic vase, although the model remains unidentified. Unique for the time being, the vase was probably made for ritual purposes;, representations of riders are very frequent in sacred iconographical contexts in Dacia (Sîrbu and Florea 2000b, 23-43), as for example in the case of the treasure from Lupu, Alba County (Glodariu and Moga 1997, 485-596). The Hellenistic origin of this shape, however, remains speculative. The same site of Răcătău provided another item, so far unique, namely, a fragmentary kantharos with mythological relief (Căpitanu 1994, 335, Fig. 1/1) (Figure 1:7). It combines both shape and ornament inspired by late Hellenistic models. As with the previous example, there is no known model. This object is the product of local improvisation, while the iconography (a rider, standing male or female characters, lions and a wolf, solar symbols, etc.) belongs to the same mythological cycle of the hero-rider. We do not know the subject, but it was perhaps an apotheosis scene or a heroization (Sîrbu and Florea 2000a, 159; Sîrbu and Florea 2000b, 23-43).
A series of figurative motifs and decorative compositions, such as bucrania, human masks, riders or female dancers, are present throughout the 4th century BC to 1st century AD on items made of precious metals and on ceramic vessels as well, which implies that they played an important part in the spiritual life of the Geto-Dacians (Crişan 1993; Sanie 1995; Sîrbu 1995, 187-198; Sîrbu and Florea 2000, 95-179; Sîrbu 2006, 87-114). Rectangular vessels with nozzles, protomes, and relief decoration are, in our view, a typical example of the assimilation and adaptation of foreign models in the indigenous repertoire (Figures 1:4-5). Since they were published they have attracted interest, but there are no precedents in local pottery, and their purpose is still unknown.
Conclusions The frequency of zoomorphic (Sîrbu 1995, 187-198) or anthropomorphic artistic features, whether imported or indigenous, employing techniques borrowed from late Hellenistic craftsmanship, certainly distinguishes the three Dacian sites (Brad, Răcătău, Poiana). The great number of finds ornamented with projections or in relief, indicates a local predilection for figurative artistic expression, emphasized here more than in other contemporary centres (Figures 1:4-5, 7; 2:6).
They are only found in the manufacturing centres on the Siret River, eastern Dacia, in particular the dava of Răcătău (Căpitanu 1994, 335-339, Figs 2/1-2). So far as we know, not many were manufactured and the decoration is very varied. Some pieces are ornamented with ram-shaped heads, others with mythological reliefs (anthropomorphic or fabulous animals), or even painted (Figures 1:4-5). The only model that might have inspired this unusual form is a certain type of figural vase of Hellenistic origin (‘Knidian relief ware’ jugs), made in the form of a ram on a rectangular base, and quite frequent on sites on the northern Black Sea coast (Koshelenko et al., 1984, Pl. CXLVI ), including Sarmatian territory. Relations between eastern Dacian centres and Sarmatian territory in the 1st century AD (Sîrbu and Bârcă 1999, 89-98) could explain the importation of this model, even if an example of the item itself has not yet been found in the Siret valley.
All these examples, and others too, display the particular sensibility of these Dacian centres of the late second Iron Age to assimilate certain Hellenistic influences. These are revealed either in adopting certain vessel shapes (drinking vessels, in particular), or in assimilating specific manufacturing techniques. The permeability of the indigenous environment to innovation is increased by a creativity which goes beyond simple imitation of the models. This Dacian manner of interpreting those influences led to a richer technical and artistic language.
It is worth seeing how the local potters ‘deconstructed’ the model, then reconstructed it, simplifying and modifying; in fact they adapting it to their own purposes and manufacturing possibilities. It is also possible they could not imitate the technique of producing the originals, but at the same time one can see, in the case of the small strainer in the upper part of the vessel, that they even modified the purpose of the vase. Only a projection attached in the forepart of the ceramic ‘box’ remained from the plastic image of the ram corresponding to the body of the model vessel (Figure 1:4). The small number of items, the unusual shape, as well as the mythological relief decoration in relief of certain items, might indicate a ritual function for these vessels (libations, the preparation of potions?) (Florea 1998, 138-139).
Thanks to local artistic taste and the particular manner of illustrating religious or mythological beliefs, one can distinguish a preference for certain vessel types, techniques, motifs or iconographical scenes. Thus, while the rectangular vessels with projecting features, the plastic vessels or the kantharoi are typical of the three great Dacian centres on the Siret River Valley (Brad, Poiana and Răcătău–exceptional discoveries here), the bowls with relief decoration are characteristic of central Walachia and a preference for painted vessels with vegetal and zoomorphic motifs is clear among the elites of the Orăştie Mountains, the capital of the Dacian Kingdom. We can observe regional preferences for certain categories of vessels, or for a specific decoration. In general, the greater presence of these vessels in the
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Basin of Oltului River. Dava at Sprîncenata Village]. Bucharest. Rosetti, D. V. 1935. Săpăturile arheologice de la Snagov 1/II. Tombes à incinération de l’Âge du Fer et de l’époque romaine dans la région de Bucarest. Bucharest. Sanie, S. 1995. Din istoria culturii şi religiei geto-dacice [History, Culture and Religion of the Geto-Dacians]. Iaşi. Sîrbu, V. 1995. Représentation animalière sur/en céramique dans le monde géto-dace. Thraco-Dacica 16/I-II, 187198. Sîrbu, V. 1996. Dava getică de la Grădiştea, Judeţul Brăila. Monografie arheologică. [Getic Dava in Grădişte, Brăila District. An Archaeological Monograph] 1. Brăila. Sîrbu, V. 2003. Les Géto-Daces de Burebista à Décébal ont-ils vécu sans boire du vin? In I. Marazov (ed.), Vino i kultura, 97-115. Sophia. Sîrbu, V. 2006. Oameni şi zei în lumea geto-dacilor/Man and Gods in the Geto-Dacians World. Braşov. Sîrbu, V. and Bârcă, V. 1999. Daci şi sarmaţi în zona estcarpatică (sec. I a. Chr.-I p. Chr.). [Dacians and Sarmatae in east Carpathian zone (1st century BC-1st century AD)]. Istros 9, 89-98. Sîrbu, V., Damian, P., Alexandrescu, E., Safta, E., Damian O., Pandrea S. and Niculescu, A. 1996. Aşezări din zona Căscioarele - Greaca - Prundu Mileniul I î. Hr.-I d. Hr. [Settlements in the Zone Căscioarele - Greaca - Prundu, 1st Millennium BC-1st Millennium AD]. Brăila. Sîrbu, V. and Florea, G. 2000a. Les Géto-Daces. Iconographie et imaginaire. Cluj-Napoca. Sîrbu, V. and Florea, G. 2000b. The image of the horseman in the Thracian art (5th century BC-1st century AD). Starini, Journal of Balkan Archaeology 1, 23-43.
Sîrbu, V., Matei, S. and Dupoi, V. 2005. Incinta dacică fortificată de la Pietroasa Mică, jud. Buzău [A Fortified Settlement at Pietroasa Mică, Buzău district] 2. Buzău. Spânu, D. 2006. Anthropomorphe Darstellungen auf den Reliefverzierten von Zimnicea. Beiträge zur Ikonographie und Mythologie des vorrömischen Dakien. Dacia new series 50, 297-322. Tudor, D. 1967. Răspândirea amforelor greceşti ştampilate în Moldova, Muntenia şi Oltenia [Distribution of Greek stamped amphorae in Moldova, Muntenia and Oltenia]. Arheologia Moldovei 5, 37-80. Turcu, M. 1976. Les bols à reliefs des collections du Musée d’Histoire du municipe de Bucarest, Dacia new series 20, 199-204. Ursachi, V. 1995, Zargidava. Cetatea dacică de la Brad. [Zargidava. Dacian fortress at Brad village]. Bucharest. Ursachi, V. 2000. Un nouveau motif décoratif sur la poterie dace peinte. Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 7, 345-349. Vulpe, Al. 1965. Reprezentări umane pe cupele getice de la Popeşti [Antropomorphic representations on Getic bowls from Popeşti. Studii şi cercetări de istorie veche 16/II, 341-349. Vulpe, Al. and Gheorghiţă, M. 1976. Bols à reliefs de Popeşti. Dacia new series 20, 167-198. Vulpe, R. 1957. Şantierul arheologic Popeşti (reg. Bucureşti, r. Mihăileşti) [Archaeological excavations at Popeşti (Bucarest province, Mihăileşti region)]. Materiale şi cercetări arheologice 3, 227-246. Vulpe, R. and Teodor, S. 2003. Piroboridava. Aşezarea geto-dacică de la Poiana [Piroboridava. Geto-Dacian settlement at Poiana]. Bucharest.
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Chapter 41
Archaeological Excavations on the Chora of Akra (2002-7)
Sergey L. Solovyov
The State Hermitage Museum Department of Greek & Roman Antiquities St Petersburg, Russia [email protected]
Larisa G. Shepko
Faculty of History Donetsk State University Donetsk, Ukraine [email protected] Abstract: In 2002 the State Hermitage Museum and Donetsk National University began the archaeological project on the chora of Akra, that of a small Ionian polis 19km south of Nymphaion. The main purpose of the project is the study of the history and structure of the secondary, perhaps dependant, foundation and its rural surroundings. Akra seems to be founded by Nymphaion during the secondary colonisation of the territory of European Bosporos. During the past six years excavations have been carried out at three different parts of the rural settlement Zavetnoe-5, located on the top of the promontory’s plateau between the Black Sea and Lake Tobichik. In the first excavation trench there were uncovered two dugout dwellings of the 4th-3rd centuries BC and farm structures, those of an enclosure for threshing grain, a pavement for drying grain, a mud-brick table with conical holes, probably for holding amphorae that were clearly filled with grain weighed out with a measuring jug found nearby. If the early dugout was residential, the other constructions were connected with farming activity associated with the processing of agricultural products. An ancient storage area was opened in the other excavated section. Here were uncovered 60 pits of the 5th-early 4th centuries BC, used for storage of agricultural products. Much ceramic material was found in the pits. There were numerous of amphora fragments, mainly of Chios, and then Thasos, Mende, Heraclea Pontica and Sinope. Imported and local table wares also were discovered in the pits. But great numbers of shreds came from handmade Scythian and Taurian pots. These finds indicate that the population of the settlement was mixed, both Greek and native. The residential quarter of the settlement was opened in the third excavation area. Here the remains of a large farmhouse of the second half of the 4th century BC were revealed. It had a courtyard and several rooms built with mud-brick walls on a stone foundation. One of the rooms was a cellar built above a former dugout of the first half of the 4th century BC. The latter is very unusual in its dimensions. It covered about 40 m2 and was 4m deep. A staircase along one side of the pit was cut in the earth. The filling of the dugout contained numerous finds, mostly pottery. These included amphora fragments for the most part, but the proportion of handmade pottery among the rest of the ceramic material was 35%. It is especially interesting that the settlement existed during the 5th century BC, when the chorai of most Ionian poleis in the northern Pontic area were reduced because of Scythian expansion. Slight traces of permanent settlement in rural territory in the 5th century BC are known in two more places, in the chorai of Nymphaion and Olbia. It might indicate a special relationship between these Ionian poleis and the nomads. Keywords: Cimmerian Bosporos, Akra polis, Classical–Hellenistic periods, chora, Greek and native interaction
During the last two decades our knowledge of the centres of Greek colonisation in the northern Black Sea area has been enriched with new archaeological data about their rural hinterland. The investigations of ancient rural sites have been especially successful in the north-western Black Sea region (Kryzhitskii et al., 1989; Kryzhitskii et al., 1990; Marchenko 1991; Marchenko et al., 2005), in the western Crimea (Shcheglov 1978; Carter 1995; Nicolaenko 2001), and on the Crimean littoral of the Sea of Azov (Maslennikov 1998; Maslennikov 2001). Similar work, though on a smaller scale, has been carried out in the Black
Sea littoral of eastern Crimea (Solovyov and Zin’ko 1995; Solovyov and Butiagin 1998a; Scholl and Zin’ko 1999; Zin’ko 2001; Solovyov and Butiagin 2002; Solovyov 2003; Solovyov and Shepko 2004; Gavrilov 2006; Solovyov and Shepko 2006; Zin’ko 2007), and on the Taman Peninsula (Paromov 1992a; Paromov 1992b; Gorlov and Lopanov 1995; Savostina 1998; Vinogradov 2001; Vinogradov et al., 2001; Solovyov 2006). This, in the long term, has filled gaps in our knowledge of the rural environment in various parts of the northern Black Sea littoral (Bilde and Stolba 2006; Solovyov 2007). 319
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Figure 1. Map of Cimmerian Bosporos
was the study of the history and structure of the secondary, perhaps dependant, foundation and its rural surroundings. Akra seems to have been founded by Nymphaion during the secondary colonisation of the territory of European Bosporos.
At present, it is beyond doubt that the socio-economic and ethno-cultural processes that took place on the chora of the northern Pontus had an important impact on the historical development of Greek poleis (cf. Marchenko 1991; Solovyov 1994; Tsetskhladze 1998, 44-50; Marchenko et al., 2005). It is also clear that the demographic and ethnic situation in both regions of direct colonisation and the hinterland played a key part in the formation of their cultural features. Different aspects of this problem were discussed at the symposia of 1977, 1979, and 1988 in Tskhaltubo (Lordkipanidze 1979; Lordkipanidze 1981; Lordkipanidze 1988) and at subsequent conferences devoted to Greek and native relations in various regions of the ancient world, including the northern Black Sea littoral (Descoeudres 1990; Kryzhitskii 1995; Solovyov and Tsetskhladze 2000; Second Pontic Congress 2001; Bilde and Stolba 2006).
The investigation of this site began at the beginning of the 1980s when the remains of a large settlement were opened up by gales near the modern coastal village of Zavetnoe 30km to south of Kerch. As a result of these storms the remains of walls and stone pavements, storage pits and pithoi set in the earth came to light. In 1982-6 and 1994 the site was surveyed by archaeological teams from Kerch Museum (V. N. Kholodkov; A. V. Kulikov) and the Leningrad branch of Institute of Archaeology of Academy of Sciences (K. K. Shilik). An underwater survey discovered partly preserved defensive walls going in a south-eastern direction some 100-120m from the modern coastal line. These walls were up to 2m thick and were preserved up to a height of two or three courses of masonry. A square tower of the 4th century BC was found 30m from the coast at a depth of 1.50m. A stone-lined well of the same period was found c. 150m from the coast at a depth of 3m, and found to contain more than ten amphoras, fragments of Attic black-glazed and plain pottery. Moorings with fragments of stone and iron anchors were found nearby at a depth of between 3.5 and 7m. During the past two decades the site has produced more than a thousand ancient coins
Until recently, scholarly attention has mostly been devoted to the large ancient cities on the territory of Bosporos state (Figure 1), those of Pantikapaion, Nymphaion, Phanagoria and Hermonassa which were founded at the initial stage of Greek colonisation in the northern Black Sea area (Vinogradov 1993). Some smaller Bosporan towns have also been excavated, but their rural territory has as a rule been overlooked. In 2002 the State Hermitage Museum and Donetsk National University started a joint archaeological project on the chora of Akra, a small Ionian polis mentioned by ancient literary sources between Nymphaion and Kitaion. The main purpose of the project 320
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Figure 2. Map of Zavetnoe-5 site by Iu. G. Kutimova
from all periods of monetary circulation in Bosporos from the end of the 6th century BC down to the 6th century AD.
are as early as the end of the 6th century BC soon after the foundation of Akra.
These numerous materials clearly demonstrate the urban character of the site, which was an important place for anchoring and trade on the route along the eastern Crimean coastline from Pantikapaion in the south. It was also an important regional centre of economic and civic activity, and had its own chora where several rural settlements have been attested by field survey. The first traces of rural life
One of rural settlements in the chora of Akra has attracted attention because of its location and size. It occupied the top of a plateau on the promontory between the Black Sea and Lake Tobichik in an area of more than 30ha and it was named after the nearby modern village of Zavetnoe (Gaidukevich 1959, 212, Fig. 81; Kublanov 1961, 93-4, Fig. 37; Kruglikova 1975, 268). Surface observation revealed four burial mounds, and indicated the settled area where
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Figure 3. Plan of the western excavation area: 1. Complexes of the first building period; 2. Complexes of the second building phase; 3. Complexes of the third building period; 4. Robbing of the wall; 5. The mud-brick.
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Figure 4. Plan of the southern excavation area
containing fragments of Chian and Lesbian amphoras, Attic black-figure pottery and terracottas (Shepko 2002). But most pits were created in the 5th or early 4th centuries BC or later (Solovyov and Shepko 2006). They were used for storing agricultural products over a period that lasted until the second quarter of the 3rd century BC.
there were several large accumulations of stones, pottery shreds and ashes (Figure 2). After six years of excavations it became possible to draw a ‘sketch’ of the settlement’s history and determined the main features of its economy and occupation. It turned out that the plateau was used as a pasture for gazing animals, mostly sheep and cattle. Traces of enclosures, with foundations in the narrow shallow trenches, have been found in the western excavation area, which could be dated to the end of the 6th or early 5th centuries BC (Figure 3).
Many household implements were found in the pits. There were stone mortars, bone scrapers and needles, and clay weights. At the bottom of several pits there were the lower parts of amphorae with worked edges, probably used for filling sacks with grain. Many pottery fragments were also found, including numerous amphora fragments, mostly from Chios, and also from Thasos, Mende, Heraclea Pontica and Sinope. Both imported and local table wares were found.
An ancient storage area was opened in the southern plot (Figure 4). About 60 storage pits of different shapes were opened here, the earliest of the late Archaic period and
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Figure 5. Plan of the northern excavation area
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Sergey L. Solovyov and Larisa G. Shepko: Archaeological Excavations
Great numbers of sherds came from handmade Scythian and Taurian pots. These finds indicate that the population of the settlement was mixed, both Greek and native. For example, local jewellery made from shells coexisted with terracotta figurines of Greek types. Another farmyard area was opened up in the northern plot (Figure 5), where there were structures for threshing grain, a pavement for drying grain, a mud-brick table with conical holes, probably for holding amphoras, which were clearly filled with grain measured out with a jug found nearby. All these constructions were connected with activities relating to the processing of agricultural products during the second half of the 4th or early 3rd centuries BC. At the beginning of the 4th century BC, the first dwellings appeared on the plateau. Traces of occupation were found in the northern and western excavation areas. There were rectangular dugouts that differed in size. The small dugout dwelling with mud-brick walls above ground was 14m2 and 1.10m deep (Figure 6) (Solovyov et al., 2003). The entrance was located at its north-eastern corner. The dwelling had a clay floor, a niche, an open hearth and a pit for supporting a vessel. In the filling of the dwelling there were found many pottery fragments, most of them fragments of amphoras from Chios, Heraclea and Sinope. Table ware was represented by red and grey clay pottery, mainly jugs, plates and fish-plates, very similar to Attic shapes. The proportion of handmade pottery among the rest of the ceramic material was 47%. Nowadays contemporary dugouts of the same shape and dimensions are well known in different parts of the northern Black Sea coastal area (Meliukova 1975; Golovacheva et al., 1991; Zin’ko 2001, 297-300, Fig. 3; Zin’ko 2003, 55-91; Solovyov 2003, 29-39).
Figure 6. Dugout dwelling at the northern excavation area
Another dugout of the first half of the 4th century BC was very unusual by its dimensions and vertical structure (Figures 3 and 7). It covered about 40m2, and was 4m deep. A staircase along one side of the pit was cut in the earth. The filling of the dugout contained numerous finds, mostly ceramic. Amphora fragments predominated, but the proportion of handmade pottery among the rest of the ceramic material was 35%. The dimensions and constructional features of the dugout suggested a two-storey building that provided its inhabitants with both living and storage space.
Figure 7. Dugout dwelling at the western excavation area
numerous broken parts have been found in the cultural layer and in the filling of the former dugout. To the best of our knowledge, roof-tile production was a prerogative of the Bosporan royal family, and so it might well be expected that during the reign of the early Spartocids Akra seemed partly to lose control of its rural territory, and the polis had to cede some lands to the ownership of the Bosporan royal family or of noble persons close to the family. The farmstead excavated at Zavetnoe-5 has no parallels in this region but looks very similar to farmhouses excavated opened at the Azov coastal area (Maslennikov 1998, 26ff), which Bosporan rulers possessed, while lands on the Eastern Crimea Black Sea coast belonged to Greek poleis. The roof-tile workshop at Zavetnoe-5, despite the low quality of its production, imitated Bosporan one, and seems to have provided both the city and the surrounding region with sufficient building materials.
The residential quarter of the late 4th-early 3rd century settlement was uncovered in the western excavation area. The remains of a large farmhouse of the second half of the 4th century BC were found (Figure 3). It consisted of a courtyard and several rooms with mud-brick walls on a stone foundations. One of the rooms was a cellar built above the former dugout of the first half of the 4th century BC. The farmstead covered very large square, perhaps more than 1000 m2, and combined both living and household areas. The latter occupied the large open court where remains of pottery production have been attested. It seemed to be a workshop that mostly produced roof-tiles, of which
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of the Northern Black Sea Region and the Local Population]. Sevastopol. Kryzhitskii, S. D., Buiskikh, S. B., Burakov, A. V. and Otreshko, V. M. 1989 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Буйских, С. Б., Бураков, А. В., Отрешко, В. М. Сельская округа Ольвии [Sel’skaia okruga Ol’vii – The Rural Area of Olbia]. Kiev. Kryzhitskii, S. D., Buiskikh, S. B. and Otreshko, V. M. 1990 — Крыжицкий, С. Д., Буйских, С. Б., Отрешко В. М. Античные поселения Нижнего Побужья (археологическая карта) [Antichnye poseleniia Nizhnego Pobuzhiia (arkheologicheskaia karta) – Ancient Settlements of the Lower Bug Region (Archaeological map)]. Kiev. Kublanov, M. M. 1961 — Кубланов, М. М. Археологические разведки в районе Коп-Такиля [Arkheologicheskie razvedki v raione Kop-Takilia – Archaeological exploration in the area of KopTakil]. Краткие сообщения Института Aрхеологии Академии наук СССР [Kratkie soobshcheniia Instituta Arkheologii Akademii nauk SSSR – Brief Reports of the Institute of Archaeology Academy of Sciences of the USSR ] 83, 91-94. Lordkipanidze, O. D. (ed.) 1979 — Лордкипанидзе, О. Д. Проблемы греческой колонизаци Северного и Восточного Причерноморья. Материалы I Всесоюзного симпозюма по древней истории Причерноморья, Цхалтубо 1977 [Problemy grecheskoi kolonizatsi Severnogo i Vostochnogo Prichernomor’ia. Materialy I Vsesoiuznogo simpoziuma po drevnei istorii Prichernomor’ia, Tskhaltubo 1977 – Problems of Greek Colonization of the Northern and Eastern Black Sea Littoral. Materials of the 1st All-Union Symposium on the Ancient History of the Black Sea Region, Tskhaltubo 1977]. Tbilisi. Lordkipanidze, O. D. (ed.) 1981 — Лордкипанидзе, О. Д. Демографическая ситуация в Причерноморье в период Великой греческой колонизации. Материалы II Всесоюзного симпозюма по древней истории Причерноморья, Цхалтубо 1979 [Demograficheskaia situatsiia v Prichernomor’e v period Velikoi grecheskoi kolonizatsii. Materialy II vsesoiuznogo simpoziuma po drevnei istorii Prichernomor’ia, Tskhaltubo 1979 – The Demographic Situation in the Black Sea Littoral in the Period of Great Greek Colonization. Materials of the 2nd All-Union Symposium on the Ancient History of the Black Sea Region, Tskhaltubo 1979]. Tbilisi. Lordkipanidze, O. D. (ed.) 1988 — Лордкипанидзе, О. Д. Местные этно-политические обьединения Причерноморья в VII-VI вв до н. э. Материалы IV Всесоюзного симпозюма по древней истории Причерноморья, Цхалтубо 1985 [Mestnye etno -politicheskie ob’edineniia Prichernomor’ia VII-VI vv do n. e. Materialy IV vsesoiuznogo simpoziuma po drevnei istorii Prichernomor’ia, Tskhaltubo 1985 – Local Ethnic and Political Unites of the Black Sea Littoral in 7th-4th centuries BC. Materials of the 4th All-Union Symposium on the Ancient History of the Black Sea Region, Tskhaltubo 1985]. Tbilisi.
Judging by finds made at the settlement it was settled by a mixed Greek and native population throughout its existence, especially in the early period. Of particular interest is that the settlement existed during the 5th century BC, when chorai of most Ionian poleis in the northern Pontic area were reduced because of Scythian expansion (Marchenko and Vinogradov 1989, 803-813). Slight traces of permanent residence in rural areas in the 5th century BC are known in two more places, namely the chorai of Nymphaion and Olbia (Solovyov and Butiagin 1998b; Marchenko 1999; Scholl and Zin’ko 1999; Solovyov 2003). It might indicate a special relationship between these Ionian poleis and the nomads. Bibliography Bilde, P. G. and Stolba, V. F. (eds) 2006. Surveying the Greek Chora. The Black Sea Region in a Comparative Perspective. (Black Sea Studies 4). Aarhus. Carter, J. C. 1995. Wyqa of Metapont in Lucania and Chersonesus in Taurica (The Experience of Comparative Study). In S. D. Kryzhitskii (ed.), 167-175. Descoeudres, J. P. (ed.) 1990. Greek Colonists and Native Populations. Oxford. Gaidukevich, V. F. 1959 — Гайдукевич, В. Ф. Некрополи некоторых боспорских городов [Nekropoli nekotorykh bosporskikh gorodov – Necropoleis of some Bosphoran cities]. Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Materials and Research on Archaeology of the USSR] 69, 154-238. Gavrilov, A. V. 2006. Theodosia and its chora in antiquity, in P. G. Bilde and V. F. Stolba (eds), 249-272. Golovacheva, N. V., Marchenko, K. K., Rogov, E. Ia. and Solovyov, S. L. 1991 — Головачева, Н. В., Марченко, К. К., Рогов, Е. Я., Соловьев, С. Л. Античное поселение Нижнего Побужья Козырка 12 (классический период) [Antichnoe poselenie Nizhnego Pobuzh’ia Kozyrka 12 (klassicheskii period) – The ancient settlement of the Lower Bug region Kozyrka 12 (Classical period)]. Краткие сообщения Института Aрхеологии Академии Наук СССР [Kratkie soobshcheniia Instituta Arkheologii Akademii nauk SSSR – Brief Reports of the Institute of Archaeology Academy of Sciences of the USSR] 204, 66-70. Gorlov, Iu. V. and Lopanov, Iu. V. 1995 — Горлов, Ю. В., Лопанов, Ю. В. Античная система мелиоратции на Таманском полуострове [Antichnaia sistema meliorattsii na Tamanskom poluostrove – Ancient system of improvement on the Taman peninsula]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] III, 121-137. Kruglikova, I. T. 1975 — Кругликова, И. Т. Сельское хозяйство Боспора [Sel’skoe khoziaistvo Bospora – Bosporos Agriculture]. Moscow. Kryzhitskii, S. D. (ed.) 1995 — Крыжицкий, С. Д. Античные полисы Северного Причерноморья и местное население [Antichnyie polisy Severnogo Prichernomor’ia i mestnoe naselenie – Antique Poleis
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Marchenko, K. K. 1991 — Марченко, K. K. Греки и варвары Северо-Западного Причерноморья VII-I вв до н. э. [Greki i varvary Severo-Zapadnogo Prichernomor’ia VII-I vv. do n. e. – Greek and Barbarians of the North-Western Black Sea Region in the 7th-1st centuries BC]. Unpublished Habilitation thesis. Academy of Sciences of the USSR Leningrad Branch of the Institute of Archaeology, Leningrad. Marchenko, K. K. 1999 — Марченко, K. K. К проблеме греко-варварских контактов в Северо-Западном Причерноморье V-IV вв до н. э. (сельские поселения Нижнего Побужья) [K probleme greko-varvarskikh kontaktov v Severo-Zapadnom Prochernomor’ie V-IV vv. do n. e. (sel’skie poseleniia Nizhnego Pobuzhiia) – On the problem of Greek-barbarian contacts in the northwestern Black Sea region in the 5th-4th centuries BC (rural settlements in the Lower Bug region)]. In А. О. Добролюбский [A. O. Dobroliubskii] (ed.), Скифский квадрат [Skifskii kvadrat – The Scythian Square] (Stratum Plus 3), 145-172. St Petersburg, Kishinev, Odessa. Marchenko, K. K., Rogov, E. Ia., Vakhtina, M. Iu., Vinogradov, Iu. A. and Zuev, V. Iu. 2005 — Марченко, K. K., Рогов, Э. Я., Вахтина, М. Ю., Виноградов, Ю. А., Зуев, В. Ю. Греки и варвары Северного Причерноморья в скифскую эпоху [Greki i varvary Severnogo Prichernomor’ia v skifskuiu epokhu – The Greeks and the Barbarians of the Northern Black Sea Area in the Scythian Period]. St Petersburg. Marchenko, K. K. and Vinogradov, Y. A. 1989. The Scythian period in the northern Black Sea region (750250 BC). Antiquity 63 (241), 803-813. Maslennikov, A. A. 1998 — Масленников, А. А. Эллинская хора на краю Ойкумены (сельская территория европейского Воспора в античную эпоху) [Ellinskaia khora na kraiu Oikumeny (sel’skaia territoriia evropeiskogo Bospora v antichnuiu epokhu) – The Hellenic Chora at the Edge of the ‘Oikoumene’ (A Rural Area of European Bosporos in Antiquity)]. Moscow. Maslennikov, A. A. 2001. Some questions concerning the early history of the Bosporan state in the light of recent archaeological investigations in the eastern Crimea. In G. R. Tsetskhladze (ed.), 247-260. Meliukova, A. I. 1975 — Мелюкова, А. И. Поселение и могильник Скифского времени у села Николаевка [Poselenie i mogilnik skifskogo vremeni u sela Nikolaevka – Settlement and cemetery of the Scythian Period near the Village of Nikolaevka]. Moscow. Nikolaenko, G. M. 2001. The adjacent chora of Tauric Chersonesus in the 4th century BC. In G. R. Tsetskhladze (ed.), 177-204. Paromov, Ia. M. 1992a — Паромов, Я. М. Археологическая карта Таманского полуострова [Arkheologicheskaia karta Tamanskogo poluostrova – Archaeological Map of the Taman Peninsula]. (Архив Института научной информации общественных наук Российской Академии наук, Ф. 47103 [Arkhiv Instituta nauchnoi informatsii obshchestvennykh nauk Rossiiskoi Akademii
nauk, F. 47103 – Archive of Institute of Scientific Information of Social Sciences, Russian Akademy of Sciences No. 47103]). Moscow. Paromov, Ia. M. 1992b — Паромов, Я. М. Очерки истории археолого-топографических исследовании Таманского полуострова [Ocherki istorii arkheologotopograficheskikh issledovanii Tamanskogo poluostrova – Essays on the history of the archaeological and topographical study of the Taman Peninsula]. Боспорский сборник [Bosporskii sbornik ] 1, 109-146. Savostina, E. A. 1998 — Савостина, Е. А. Исследования хоры Азиатского Боспора: усадьбы Юбилейное на Тамани [Issledovaniia khory Aziatskogo Bospora: usad’by ‘Iubileinoe’ na Tamani – Studies on Asian Bosphoran chora: the ‘Jubilee’ estate in Taman]. Таманская старина [Tamanskaia starina ] 1, 30-36. Scholl, T. and Zin’ko, V. 1999. Archaeological Map of Nymphaion (Crimea). Warsaw. Second Pontic Congress, 2001. Local Population of the Black Sea Littoral and their Relations with Greek, Roman and Byzantine World and Near Eastern Civilisations. Abstracts of Second International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities. Ankara. Shcheglov, A. N. 1978 — Щеглов, А. Н. Северо-западный Крым в античную эпоху [Severo-Zapadnyi Krym v antichnuiu epokhu – North-western Crimea in Antiquity]. Leningrad. Shepko, L. G. 2002 — Шепко, Л. Г. Поселение античного времени у села Заветное (Юго-Bосточный Крым) [Poselenie antichnogo vremeni u sela Zavetnoe (IugoVostochnyi Krym) – An ancient settlement at the village Zavetnoe (Southeastern Crimea)]. Донецкий археологический сборник [Donetskii arkheologicheskii sbornik] 2, 56-68. Solovyov, S. L. 1994. Greek-barbarian relations during early colonisation on the northern shore of the Black Sea: their patterns and evolution. In State, City and Society. World Archaeological Congress 3. Abstracts, 46. Dehli. Solovyov, S. L. 2003 — Соловьев, С. Л. Археологические памятники сельской округи и некрополя Нимфея [Arkheologicheskie pamiatniki sel’skoi okrugi i nekropolia Nimfeia – Archaeological Monuments of Rural area and the Necropolis of Nymphaion]. St Petersburg. Solovyov, S. L. 2006. Chora of Hermonassa. Ancient West and East 5/I-II, 121-142. Solovyov, S. L. 2007. Chorai of Borysthenes, Olbia, Nymphaeum and Hermonassa: Investigation Results and Comparative Study. In S. L. Solovyov (ed.), Greeks and Natives in the Cimmerian Bosporus 7th-1st Centuries BC. Proceeding of the International Conference October 2000, Taman, Russia. (British Archaeological Reports. International Series 1729), 117-121. Oxford. Solovyov, S. L. and Butiagin, A. M. 1998a — Соловьев, С. Л., Бутягин, А. М. Комплексная научноисследовательская программа ‘Синдский остров’ кратке итоги кампани 1996-97 гг. [Kompleksnaia nauchno-issledovatel’skaia programma ‘Sindskii ostrov’: kratkie itogi kampanii 1996-97 gg. – Comprehensive
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н. э.). Тезисы докладов международной конференции (Тамань, Россия, 9-16 октября 2000 г.) [Greki i varvary na Bospore Kimmeriiskom (VII-I vv. do n. e.) Tezisy dokladov mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsi (Taman’, Rossiia, 9-16 Oktiabr’ia 2000 g. – Greeks and Natives in the Cimmerian Bosporus (7th-1st centuries BC). Abstracts of international conference (Taman, Russia, 9-16 October 2000)]. (Таманская старина [Tamanskaia starina] 3). St Petersburg. Tsetskhladze, G. R. 1998. Greek colonisation of the Black Sea area: stages, models, and native population. In G. R. Tsetskhladze (ed.), The Greek Colonisation of the Black Sea Area. (Historia. Einzelschrift 121), 9-68. Stuttgart. Tsetskhladze, G. R. (ed.) 2001. North Pontic Archaeology. Recent Discoveries and Studies. (Colloquia Pontica 6). Leiden. Vinogradov, Ju. A., Rogov, E. Ja., Stähler, K. and Fornasier, J. 2001. Archäologische Untersuchungen auf der Taman’-Halbinsel, Rußland. Eurasia Antiqua 7, 169185. Vinogradov, Iu. A. 1993 — Виноградов, Ю. А. К проблеме полисов в районе Боспора Киммерийского [K probleme polisov v raione Bospora Kimmeriiskogo – The problem of poleis in the Cimmerian Bosporos]. Античный мир и археология [Antichnyi mir i arkheologiia] 9, 79-96. Saratov. Vinogradov, Iu. A. 2001. Excavations at the agricultural settlement of Artyuschenko-1 on the Taman Peninsula. In Second Pontic Congress 2001, 67. Zin’ko, V. N. 2001. Summary of results of the five-year rescue excavations in the European Bosporus, 19891993. In G. R. Tsetskhladze (ed.), 295-318. Zin’ko, V. N. 2003 — Зинько, В. Н. Хора Боспорского города Нимфея [Khora bosporskogo goroda Nimfeia – The chora of the Bosporan city of Nymphaion]. (Боспорские исследования [Bosporskiie issledovaniia – Bosporos Studies 4). Simferopol, Kеrch. Zin’ko, V. N. 2007 — Зинько, В. Н. Хора городов европейского побережья Боспора киммерийского [Khora gorodov evropeiskogo poberezh’ia Bospora Kimmeriiskogo – ‘Chorai’ on the European coast of the Cimmerian Bosporos]. (Боспорские исследования – Bosporskie issledovaniia – Bosporos Studies 15). Simferopol, Kerch.
research programme ‘Sindski island’; summary of the 1996-97 seasons). Таманская старина [Tamanskaia starina] 1, 37-47. Solovyov, S. L. and Butiagin, A. M. 1998b — Соловьев, С. Л., Бутягин, А. М. Землянки на хоре Нимфея [Zemlianki na khore Nimfeia – Dugouts in the chora of Nymphaion]. Российская археология [Rossiiskaia Arkheologiia] II, 138-148. Solovyov, S. L. and Butiagin, A. M. 2002 — Соловьев, С. Л., Бутягин, А. М. Архаические комплексы поселения Волна-1 в окрестностях Гермонассы [Arkhaicheskie kompleksy poseleniia Volna-1 v okrestnostiakh Germonassy – Archaic complexes in the settlement of Volna-1 in the vicinity of Hermonassa]. Таманская старина [Tamanskaia starina] 4, 67-80. Solovyov, S. L., Kulikov, A. V. and Shepko, L. G. 2003 — Соловьев, С. Л., Куликов А. В., Шепко, Л. Г. Землянки на хоре Акры [Zemlianki na khore Akry – Dugouts in the chora of Akra]. In В. Н. Зинько [V. N. Zin’ko] (ed.), Материалы IV Боспорских чтений. Боспор Киммерийский: Понт и варварский мир в период античности и средневековья. [Materialy IV Bosporskikh chtenii. Bospor Kimmeriiskii: Pont i varvarskii mir v period antichnosti i srednevekov’ia – Materials of the 4th Bosporan Readings. Cimmerian Bosporus: Pontus and the Barbarian World in the Ancient and Middle Ages], 234-239. Kerch. Solovyov, S. L. and Shepko, L. G. 2004 — Соловьев, С. Л., Шепко, Л. Г. Археологические памятники сельской округи Акры. Поселение Заветное-5 [Arkheologicheskie pamiatniki sel’skoi okrugi Akry. Poselenie Zavetnoe-5 – Archaeological Monuments of the Rural area of Akra. Settlement Zavetnoe-5] 1. St Petersburg. Solovyov, S. L. and Shepko, L. G. 2006 — Соловьев, С. Л., Шепко, Л. Г. Археологические памятники сельской округи Акры. Поселение Заветное-5 [Arkheologicheskie pamiatniki sel’skoi okrugi Akry. Poselenie Zavetnoe-5 - Archaeological Monuments of the Rural Area of Akra. Settlement Zavetnoe-5] 2. St Petersburg. Solovyov, S. L. and Zin’ko, V. N. 1995. Research in the chora of Nymphaion. Study Problems. Archeologia 45, 73-78. Solovyov, S. L. and Tsetskhladze, G. R. (eds) 2000. Греки и варвары на Боспоре Киммерийском (VII-I вв. до
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Chapter 42
Multicultural Encounters in the Greek Countryside: Evidence from the Panskoye I Necropolis, Western Crimea
Vladimir F. Stolba
Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre for Black Sea Studies University of Aarhus Aarhus, Denmark [email protected] Abstract: The massive colonisation process that resulted in many thousands of Greeks leaving their homes in search for a new place to live is unlikely to have succeeded if they had not been imbued with a remarkable ability to adjust to new geographical and cultural environments. Although the benefits and safety considerations of new locations must have always been at the forefront of these pioneers’ minds, their attitude towards the indigenous residents of their new homeland varied from place to place ranging from peaceful collaboration to war and confrontation. It is likely that some of the most intense exchanges between the Greek colonizers and the natives will have occurred in the border zones – in the agrarian periphery of the Greek poleis – rather than in the urban centres. It is upon this premise that I base this article, which will consider materials and observations obtained during the exploration of rural sites, particularly the necropoleis, and what these can, and perhaps cannot, tell us about these interactions. Keywords: Panskoye, Crimea, Taurian Chersonesos, Kizil-Koba Culture, necropolis, tomb, contracted burial
mud-brick wall, the remains of which are still traceable, apparently fenced off the territory of the cemetery. The base of each mound was supported by a low circular wall constructed of stones (krepis) (Figures 4, 5). On the SW side of the tumulus, at the krepis wall, one to three stone offering tables were set up (Figure 6). The stratigraphy and the presence of numerous child graves in the mounds suggest that the construction of the tumuli was a process that spanned a fairly long period rather than a single event. There is evidence that the tumuli served as family plots, as they contained between one and five burials, and in exceptional cases, up to seven interments. The grave structures and burial rites, the closest parallels to which can be found at Olbia and surrounding regions, as well as in the city of Chersonesos and its barbarian neighbourhood, tend to lend support to the heterogeneous character of the Panskoye population.
The settlement and necropolis of Panskoye I, in the distant chora of the Taurian Chersonesos, offers a rare opportunity to study the interactions between the colonizing Greeks and the native population in the Classical to the Early Hellenistic period. This settlement, which was among the most distant and largest rural settlements in the territory of Chersonesos, was a short-lived site that arose in the late 5th century BC and ceased to exist abruptly around 270 BC. Its layout is unique for the area, forming an agglomeration of monumental buildings accommodating more than one family, tightly built housing blocks and scattered residences (Figures 1-2). Evidence suggests that being originally founded as an Olbian fort, this site was destroyed around 360 BC, from which time on it was subordinated to the city of Chersonesos. Two stratigraphic horizons, layers B and A, are associated with these two stages of its occupation (Shcheglov 1987, 239-273; Stolba 1991, 78-84; Hannestad et al., 2002, 22-24, 280-282; Hannestad 2005, 179-192). The remoteness of the settlement, which was about 190km along the shore from the city, the monumentality of buildings, the presence of stores for grain, and the extensive tumular necropolis all insistently indicate that this was a permanent residence occupied all year round.
Within the Panskoye I tumuli themselves, however, the tomb construction varies considerably, the main types being: fossa graves or simple pits in the earth, sometimes lined with mud bricks or stone slabs on the inside (Figures 10, 11); above-ground so-called cists graves constructed of mud brick or stone (Figure 7); and enchytrismoi of neonates (Figure 8). In addition the so-called catacombs and niche graves have been found (Figure 9). Multiple burials, which rarely occurred in the Greek cemeteries, also seem to have been quite common in Panskoye where out of 150 excavated graves 22 contained from two to four skeletons (Figure 13). Most of the burials are supine although a substantial group
It is, in fact, the necropolis that offers some of the best insights into the everyday lives of the residents of Panskoye I. It is situated 150m NE of the settlement and consists of more than 60 tumuli grouped into clusters, each including two to three mounds that merge into each other, with a number of flat graves in between (Figure 3). A low 329
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Figure 2. Central area of the Panskoye settlement. Reconstruction by A. N. Shcheglov; model made by I. O. Zavadskaia
Figure 1. The settlement and necropolis of Panskoye I
Figure 4. Panskoye Necropolis. Tumulus K34
Figure 5. Panskoye Necropolis. Tumulus K34. Cross-sections
Figure 6. Panskoye Necropolis. Stone offering tables at Tumulus K48
Figure 3. The necropolis of Panskoye I. Plan
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Figure 7. Panskoye Necropolis. Above-ground mud brick cist in Tumulus K34
Figure 8. Panskoye Necropolis. Enchytrismos burial in Tumulus K44
Figure 9. Panskoye Necropolis. Niche grave M031. Plan and cross-sections
Figure 11. Panskoye Necropolis. Fossa tomb M056. Plan and cross-sections
Figure 12. Panskoye Necropolis. Contracted burial in niche grave M061
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Figure 10. Panskoye Necropolis. Supine burial in Tomb M010
Figure 13. Panskoye Necropolis. Multiple burial M014
Recent Research on the Northern and Eastern Black Sea in Ancient Times
99-100; Rusiaeva 1992, 174-175; Panaiotova 1998, 102; Khrapunov 2004, 62, note 5), there are strong arguments against such a hypothesis (outlined in a critical review of his book by Shelov and Brashinskii 1969, 163). A more recent theory, which takes as its point of departure the extreme modesty or total absence of grave goods associated with contracted burials, adopts a socio-economic angle. In this case the contracted interment practice is ascribed to the status of the individual being buried – the contracted burial being taken as evidence of the lower social rank or servile status of the deceased (Zubar’ 1987, 62-63; Zubar’ 1988, 52-54; Zubar’ 1995, 137-146. See Blavatskii 1953, 163, note 2; Kutaisov 1987, 38. Contra: Rogov 1999, 124; Stoianov 2002, 300). Yet, like the previous theory, this interpretation of contracted skeletons seems farfetched. As D. Kurtz and J. Boardman (1971, 192) noted, ‘we have no reason to believe that all burials without offerings must be of slaves’. In fact, even Zubar’, the main proponent of the ‘social interpretation’, now seems to have abandoned his earlier standpoint, instead suggesting that the religious conservatism of the city’s Doric population might account for the emergence of the peculiar rite of contracted burials (Zubar’ 2004, 18; Zubar’ 2006, 47-60).
of 15 contracted burials have also been recorded (Figure 12). In fact, these make up over 18% of all burials where the position of the interred could be ascertained, and this form of burial has been noted in both the tumuli and flat graves of the necropolis. An unusual positioning of the skeleton, parallels to which have been found in Olbia (Kaposhina 1941, 164; Kozub 1974, 21), and in the rural Bosporan necropolis excavated east of the Lake Aktash (Bessonova et al., 1988, 27), has occasionally been recorded, namely when the corpse was placed in the grave in a half-sitting posture. One of the 8th to 7th century BC corpses recorded at the Eleusis necropolis also seems to have been buried in a seated position (Skias 1898, 97, 103). More numerous, though still not very frequent, cases of this kind of interment are recorded in the burial sites of the Kizil-Koba population (Kolotuchin 1996, 33; Kris 1981, 35, 40) which makes this population’s customs a likely source for similar practices traced elsewhere in the region. One notable example being the multiple burial at 2/Tumulus 35 in the Aktash necropolis in which there are both seated and supine burials within the same tomb (Bessonova et al., 1988, 27, 169, Fig. 25.8).
Despite the lack of consensus on the reasons why corpses were buried in contracted positions (Rogov 1999, 124; Rogov 2002, 144; Stoianov 2002, 301-302; Stoianov 2003, 135-136; Rogov 2005, 161, 206-207; cf., however, Rogov 1991, 104; Zubar’ 2004, 18), the issue is still worth exploring. To begin with, I believe that it makes little sense to attempt to extract any ethno-cultural or social meaning from this rite as such. During the Bronze and Early Iron Ages, burial in a contracted position seems to have been a common practice spread over large territories, which only later was substituted by supine burials. Bearing this in mind, this trait should be regarded as a stadial rather than an ethnos/culture specific attribute or an identifier of a social status. Yet, in the Late Classical and Early Hellenistic periods, by which time this custom had by and large been abandoned, surviving as a rudiment in the marginal conservative societies, the situation becomes different, requiring us to assess each case individually and with regard to the similar archaic rites practiced by the indigenous populations rather than in relationship to the proper Greek burial practice. Examples of contracted burials recorded in the Aegean, that have occasionally been adduced to imply a Greek origin for the ritual, tend to be rare and generally of an earlier date. Singular contemporary cases do not bring us any further in this discussion and may well account for an intrusion of the native population into the Greek cities since the practice of contracted burials was not uncommon in the non-Greek communities around the Aegean (Kurtz and Boardman 1971, 193, 308).
Such examples, along with other examples of contracted burials around the Black Sea like those found in the 1930s-excavations in the Northern Cemetery of Chersonesos, have given rise to an intense and still ongoing debate about the cultural and ethnic significance of such practices (Stoianov 2002, 297-302; Sudarev 2004, 335-339; Zubar’ 2004, 17-19; Zubar’ 2006, 47-60). Despite the general tendency to regard these graves as burials of the indigenous population, scholarly opinion concerning their ethnic and cultural affiliation varies markedly depending on the region and barbarian neighbourhood in which they were placed. So in Chersonesos, for example, they are commonly considered to be burials of Taurians (Belov 1948, 160; Piatysheva 1949, 123; Tiumenev 1949, 86; Belov 1950, 278; Schulz 1959, 248; Leskov 1965, 181-182; Belov 1978, 51-52; Shcheglov 1981, 212; Shcheglov 1988, 75; cf. Zedgenidze and Savelia 1981a, 7; Zedgenidze and Savelia 1981b, 199), while in Olbia (Kaposhina 1941, 167; Belov 1950, 278; cf. Knipovich 1940b, 103-104; Kopeikina 1981, 169-170), in the west-Pontic cities (Preda 1961, 302; Venedikov 1963, 13) and on the Taman side of the Kimmerian Bosporos (Marchenko 1956, 115; Maslennikov 1976, 119; Maslennikov 1981, 49) they have traditionally been attributed to Scythians, Thracians or Maiotians respectively. This notion was challenged in 1966 by V. V. Lapin (1966, 212-213), who, using Late Bronze- and Early Iron-Age examples of similar practices from mainland Greece, put forward a controversial hypothesis that contracted burials recorded on the Black Sea sites were actually Greek. Although Lapin’s view was accepted by a string of scholars (Kadeev 1973, 108-116; Kozub 1974, 23; Saprykin 1986, 64-68; Skudnova 1988, 8-9; Kadeev 1995, 32-37; Saprykin 1997, 82; Sorokina and Sudarev 2002, 280-281; Sudarev 2004, 338-339; cf. also Lipavskii 1987,
In the Crimea and the steppes to its north, the only indigenous tribe, which still practiced this rite in the Classical period and hence may be of relevance, is that of the Taurians associated with the Kizil-Koba Culture (KKC). Along with a practice of multiple burials and the habit of
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inhuming their dead in the flexed position it maintained, until the Early Hellenistic times – when it finally ceased to exist – a number of archaic features characteristic of Late Bronze Age societies.1 Notably, contracted burials are also characteristic of the late Timber Grave Culture (or Srubnaia) (Kolotukhin 2003, 20-21, 23), which is thought to have played a principle role in the formation of the KKC. Alongside an archaic practice of burying the corpses in the flexed position a certain conservatism of the Kizil-Koba community reveals itself in the maintenance of flint tools, the appearance of which resembles the Neolithic and even Mesolithic industries (cf. Kris 1971, 159). Finds of such stone artefacts (microliths, blades, nuclei, etc.) are recorded at the sites of all periods of this culture’s existence (Kris 1955, 193-195, Figs 4-5; Kris 1981, 1516, 86, Pl. 6; Kolotukhin 1996, 27, 44; Khrapunov and Vlasov 1998, 184; Khrapunov 2004, 50). It seems by no means coincidental that the disappearance of contracted burials in Chersonesos in the late 4th century BC coincides with or slightly antedates the point at which the material culture of the Taurians entirely lost its specific features (for the termination date of the KKC, see Vlasov 1997, 21; Shcheglov 1998, 66-70; Senatorov 2002, 19; Khrapunov 2004, 63). Late Hellenistic and Early Roman epigraphical evidence as well as literary records show, however, that the termination of the KKC did not also mean the disappearance of the Taurians as an ethnos. Apart from hellenization, which must have been particularly strong in the territory of the Greek poleis, this tribe (or rather tribes) must have experienced certain assimilation with those Scythians, who inhabited the Crimean steppes and foothills from the 3rd century BC onwards (Shcheglov 1988b, 72; cf. Ol’khovskii 1982, 76). This process is also evident in the appearance of such compound ethnic-names as Tauroskythai and Skythotauroi (CIRB 1008; Stolba 1993, 57; Kolotuchin 1996, 86; Khrapunov 2004, 63-64; Nikol. Dam. Paradoks. 40; Plin. NH 4. 85; Polyaen. Strat. 7. 46; Synes. Epist. 57; Anonym. PPE 78; cf. Strab. 7. 4. 5: Ta³qoi, SjuhijÄm ñhmor).
M2/1) in which earrings and a bracelet were found also contained handmade ware – the only pieces of pottery – which could be seen as a sign of a native burial. Although there has been some scepticism recently surrounding the use of handmade pottery as a potential ethno-cultural marker (e.g. Kryzhitskii 2006, 232-233; Buyskikh 2007, 31-34; Kryzhitskii 2007, 18-20; Müller 2007, 142-144; cf. already Lapin 1966, 163-164), this pottery seems far more diagnostic for understanding contracted burials than the associated finds of imported Greek ware. Unlike wheel-turned pottery, which was much more likely to have travelled long distances and thus to have changed owners, handmade ware was, as a rule, produced at the settlement site and designed for local consumption, within the village or even the household. Moreover, especially at the rural sites, the association of imported pottery with a certain ethnic or cultural group will be obscured by the hellenization process and likely intermarriage between Greeks and non-Greeks. The likelihood of intermarriage requires closer consideration. As can be seen from Figure 14, all contracted skeletons from Panskoye I, which have been identified by sex, derive from females. Three of them originate from multiple graves (K40 M1 and M010), where they were found in combination with supine males, thus indicating apparently a mixed rite. Notably, four out of five contracted skeletons recorded in the Classical to Early Hellenistic necropolis of Nikolaevka, Lower Dniester region, were also attributed as females (Meliukova 1975, 74, 79, 94, 96, 101, 131-132). The late-6th-century BC tomb T. 131 from the Metapontine necropolis at Pantanello is another obvious example, which is thought to indicate a mixture of Greek and indigenous customs. Like multiple burials at Panskoye I, it contained a supine male skeleton, which was accompanied by the contracted burial of a female skeleton (Carter 1998, 110). It should be noted, however, that a non-Greek origin for the contracted burials from Panskoye by no means excludes the likely possibility of their lower social rank or even dependent status, although incontrovertible evidence for such claims is still lacking. Thus three contracted burials in K36 M2 were laid directly on the cover slabs of an earlier Grave K36 M3 – a pattern, which in Sicily has been considered an indication of slave graves (See Kurtz and Boardman 1971, 198; Orsi 1895, 112; cf. Shepherd 2005, 118, who, however, does not extend this possibility to skeletons accompanied by goods).
The question arises as to whether the grave goods, which sometimes accompany contracted skeletons, can add to the discussion of this mortuary practice. As mentioned already, the extreme modesty of grave goods is one of the most characteristic features of this peculiar rite, contracted burials from Panskoye being no exception to this rule. Out of 15 such graves recorded at this site, 40% produced no grave goods at all (Tombs M010/1, M032, M037, M061, K36 M2/2, and K36 M2/3). In addition, in Tomb M012/1 the skeleton was accompanied by a single earring – a personal adornment which apparently was on the body at the moment of death and so could, perhaps, be added to the number of skeletons without grave goods. Two graves (M011 and K36
There is, however, further evidence for intermarriage and integration of the Greeks and non-Greeks from the petrographic and technological examination of the KKC pottery found in the monumental building U6. This testifies independently to the physical presence of the Taurians at Panskoye I (Figure 15). This study revealed that some of this ware was tempered with sands not available locally but characteristic of the area around Eupatoria, and so was likely to have been manufactured elsewhere and brought to the site by the settlers rather than by trade. At the same time, a substantial number of finds apparently followed the
For the burial practice of the Kizil-Koba culture, see Kris 1981, 34-43; Kolotuchin 1996, 28-34; The maintenance of archaic features in burial rites of the indigenous population can also be found elsewhere. Thus in the Kuban’ region, the interment of corpses in the contracted position as well as the continuance of the archaic black-burnished handmade pottery down to the 4th century BC is characteristic of a number of burial sites of the Maiotians. See, e.g., Smirnov 1958, 292-295, 310. 1
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Burial no.
Sex
M04 female M010/1 female M011 ? M012/1 ? M032 female M034 female M037 ? M039 female M061 female K36 M2/1 female K36 M2/2 ? K36 M2/3 ? K40 M1/1 female K40 M1/3 female K43 M2 ? am amphora be beads br bracelet e-r earrings h-m handmade pottery i-w imported table ware kn knife ne needle sc scissors
Age
Orientation
Tomb type
Single/Multiple
Grave goods
18-30 c. 30 adult adult 25-30 40-45 adolescent 18-25 c. 50 adult adult adult adult adult adult
NE SW NE NE NNE NE NE NNE ENE NE NE NE W NE SW
fossa fossa fossa stone cist fossa fossa niche grave niche grave niche grave fossa fossa fossa mud-brick cist mud-brick cist fossa
single multiple single multiple single single single single single multiple multiple multiple multiple multiple single
am; i-w; ne; kn -h-m; br am (frg.); e-r -i-w; sc -i-w; be -e-r; h-m --am; i-w; e-r i-w? am
Figure 14. Contracted burials from the Panskoye Necropolis
same technological trend, but were evidently produced in situ, as suggested by the sand that was used as an additive to the clay and which apparently came from the local beach (Stolba 2002, 181, 188-189). Similar technologically to the latter examples of KKC pottery is the handmade bowl which accompanied the contracted female burial in Tomb M011 (see Figure 14). These observations conform with the data from a number of other sites, where the distinctive KKC pottery testifies to the Taurians’ presence among the residents of the Chersonesean countryside (see Dashevskaia 1963, 205-210; Kutaisov 1987, 27-38; Latysheva 1997, 58-60; Dashevskaia and Golentsov 1999, 164, 174, Fig. 6.19). Unlike more advanced modes of production requiring significant capital investment, the household or domestic production of pottery, i.e. that documented at Panskoye and other rural sites in the area, is traditionally associated with females. The size of finger and nail imprints which can be observed on a number of decorated pots from the settlement (Figure 16) furnishes a further proof of this (see, for example, Stolba 2002, Pl. 12, D 7; cf. also Rice 1987, 184, 188).
from the necropolis studied by S. Efimova (forthcoming) has revealed visual and craniometrical differences between some masculine skulls, which have dolicho-mesocranial high-faced characteristics and brachicephalic female skulls of medium face height, suggesting the presence of groups of different origins in the settlement’s population. Bibliography Belov, G. D. 1948 — Белов, Г. Д. Некрополь Херсонеса классической и эллинистической эпохи [Nekropol’ Khersonesa klassicheskoi i ellinisticheskoi epokhi – A necropolis at Chersonesos of the Classical and Hellenistic periods]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] I, 155-163. Belov, G. D. 1950 — Белов, Г. Д. Некрополь Херсонеса классической эпохи. [Nekropol’ Khersonesa klassicheskoi epokhi – A necropolis at Chersonesos of the Classical period]. Советская археология [Sovetskaia arkheologiia] 13, 272-284. Belov, G. D. 1978 — Белов, Г. Д. Некрополь Херсонеса эллинистической эпохи [Nekropol’ Khersonesa ellinisticheskoi epokhi – A necropolis at Chersonesos of the Hellenistic period]. Археологический сборник Государственного Эрмитажа [Arkheologicheskii sbornik Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha] 19, 45-66. Bessonova, S. S., Buniatian, E. P. and Gavriliuk, N. A. 1988 — Бессонова, С. С., Бунятян, Э. П., Гаврилюк, Н. А. Акташский могильник скифского времени в Восточном Крыму [Aktashskii mogil’nik skifskogo vremeni v Vostochnom Krymu – Aktash Necropolis of the Scythian Period in Eastern Crimea]. Kiev.
In summary, the evidence from the Panskoye I necropolis examined above strongly suggests that the population of this settlement was of a complex and mixed character, which along with the Greek peasants is likely to have included Scythian and Taurian components. The heterogeneity of the Panskoye dwellers seems to be further corroborated by the analysis of human skeletal material, the potential of which for ‘tracing the differences and similarities between populations and within populations’ has been acknowledged by scholars working in the area (Carter 2006, 199). Material 334
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Figure 15. Handmade pottery of the Kizil-Koba type from the settlement of Panskoye I
Figure 16. Handmade pottery of the Scythian type from the settlement of Panskoye I
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Blavatskii, V. D. 1953 — Блаватский, В. Д. Земледелие в античных государствах Северного Причерноморья [Zemledelie v antichnykh gosudarstvakh Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Agriculture in the Ancient States of the Northern Black Sea Region]. Moscow. Buyskikh, S. B. 2007. Contacts between Greeks and nonGreeks on the Lower Bug in the sixth and fifth centuries BC, in D. Braund and S. D. Kryzhitskiy (eds), Classical Olbia and the Scythian World from the Sixth Century BC to the Second Century AD. (Proceedings of the British Academy 142), 23-35. Oxford. Carter, J. C. 1998 (ed.). The Chora of Metaponto. The Necropoleis, 1-2. Austin. Carter, J. C. 2006. Towards a comparative study of chorai west and east: Metapontion and Chersonesos, in P. Guldager Bilde and V. F. Stolba (eds), Surveying the Greek Chora. The Black Sea Region in a Comparative Perspective, 175-205. Aarhus. CIRB – Struve, V. V. et al. 1965. Corpus inscriptionum regni Bosporani. Kopпyc боспорских надписей [Korpus bosporskikh nadpisei – Corpus of Bosporan Inscriptions] I. Moscow, Leningrad. Dashevskaia, O. D. 1963 — Дашевская, О. Д. О таврской керамике с гребенчатым орнаментом. [O tavrskoi keramike s grebenchatym ornamentom – Tauric pottery with ‘comb’ ornament]. Советская археология [Sovetskaia arkheologiia] 4, 205-210. Dashevskaia, O. D. and Golentsov, A. S. 1999 — Дашевская, О. Д., Голенцов А. С., ЗападноДонузлавское городище в Крыму [ZapadnoDonuzlavskoe gorodishche v Krymu – West-Donuslav hillfort in Crimea], in А. И. Мелюкова, А. М. Мошкова, В. А. Башилов [A. I. Meliukova, M. G. Moshkova and V. A. Bashilov] (eds), Евразийские древности. 100 лет Б. Н. Гракова: архивные материалы, публикации, статьи [Evraziiskie drevnosti. 100 let B. N. Grakova: arkhivnye materialy, publikatsii, stat’i – Eurasian Antiquity. B. N. Grakov Centenary: Archival Materials, Publications, Articles], 161-177. Moscow. Efimova, S. G. forthcoming. The craniology of the Panskoye population, in V. F. Stolba, and E. Ya. Rogov, Panskoye 1. 2. The Necropolis. Aarhus. Hannestad, L. 2005. The dating of the monumental Building U6 at Panskoye I, in V. F. Stolba and L. Hannestad (eds), 179-192. Hannestad, L., Stolba, V. F. and Ščeglov, A. N. (eds) 2002. Panskoye 1. 1. The Monumental Building U6. Aarhus. Kadeev, V. I. 1973 — Кадеев, В. И. Об этнической принадлежности скорченных погребений херсонесского некрополя [Ob etnicheskoi prinadlezhnosti skorchennykh pogrebenii khersonesskogo nekropolia – On the ethnicity of crouched burials from the Chersonesos necropolis]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] IV, 108-116. Kadeev, V. I. 1995 — Кадеев, В. И. Еще раз об этнической принадлежности скорченных захоронений в раннем некрополе Херсонесса Таврического [Eshche raz ob etnicheskoi prinadlezhnosti skorchennykh zakhoronenii
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Skias, A. N. 1898 — SjÊar A. N., PamaqwaÊa Èkeusimiaj mejqËpokir [Panarchaia eleusiniake nekropolis]. AqwaiokocijÉ EvÈleqir [Archaiologike Ephemeris], 29-122. Skudnova, V. M. 1988 — Скуднова, В. М. Архаический некрополь Ольвии. [Arkhaicheskii nekropol’ Ol’vii – The Archaic Necropolis of Olbia]. Leningrad. Smirnov, K. F. 1958 — Смирнов, К. Ф. Меотский могильник у ст. Пашковской [Meotskii mogil’nik u stanicy Pashkovskoi – A Maiotian necropolis near the village of Pashkovskaia stanitsa. Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR] 64, 272-312. Sorokina, N. P. and Sudarev, N. I. 2002 — Сорокина, Н. П., Сударев, Н. И. Способы обращения с телами погребаемых в некрополе Кеп [Sposoby obrashcheniia s telami pogrebaemych v nekropole Kep – Methods of burial in the necropolis of Kepoi]. In Zuev et al., 1, 279284. Stoianov, R. V. 2002 — Стоянов, Р. В. Погребенные в скорченном положении в греческих некрополях Причерноморья: состояние проблемы и перспективы ее решения [Pogrebennye v skorchennom polozhenii v grecheskikh nekropoljakh Prichernomor’ia: sostoianie problemy i perspektivy ee resheniia – Crouch burial in the Greek cemeteries of the Black Sea: the state of the problem and prospects for resolution]. In Zuev et al. 1, 297-302. Stoianov, R. V. 2003 — Стоянов, Р. В. Ещё раз об ориентировке и положении костяков в некрополе Херсонеса Таврического V-I вв. до н. э. [Eshche raz ob orientirovke i polozhenii kostiakov v nekropole Khersonesa Tavricheskogo V-I vv. do n. e. – On the orientation and position of skeletons in the cemetery of Tauric Chersonesos in the 5th-1st centuries BC again]. Археологические вести [Arkheologicheskie vesti] 10, 131-136. Stolba, V. F. 1991 — Столба, В. Ф. Дом IV до н. э. на поселении Панское I (раскопки 1987г) [Dom IV v. do n. e. na poselenii Panskoe I (raskopki 1987 g.) – A house of the 4th century BC in Panskoe I settlement (excavated 1987)]. Краткие сообщения Института археологии АН УССР [Kratkie soobshcheniia Instituta arkheologii AN USSR] 204, 78-84. Stolba, V. F. 1993 — Столба, В. Ф. Демографическая ситуаця в Крыму V-II вв. в до н. э. (по данным писменных источников) [Demograficheskaia situaciia v Krymu v V-II vv. do n. e. (po dannym pis’mennykh istochnikov) – The demographic situation in the Crimea in the 5th-2nd centuries BC (according to the literary sources)]. Петерсбургский археологический вестник [Petersburgskii arkheologicheskii vestnik] 6, 56-61. Stolba, V. F. 2002. Handmade pottery, in L. Hannestad, V. F. Stolba and A. N. Ščeglov (eds), 180-200. Stolba, V. F. and Hannestad, L. (eds) 2005. Chronologies of the Black Sea Area in the Period c. 400-100 BC. Aarhus. Sudarev, N. I. 2004 — Сударев, Н. И. Погребения с элементами скорчености костяка в некрополях Боспора VI-II вв. до н. э. [Pogrebeniia s elementami
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v. do n. e. – Once again on the interpretation of the crouched position in the graves of the necropolis in 4th century Chersonesos]. In Проблемы исследования античного и средневекового Херсонеса. 1888 – 1988 гг. Тезисы докладов [Problemy issledovaniia antichnogo i srednevekovogo Khersonesa. 1888-1988 gg. Tezisy dokladov – Problems of the Study of Ancient and Medieval Chersonesos. 1888 – 1988. Abstracts), 52-54. Sevastopol. Zubar, V. M. 1995 — Зубар, В. М. Скорчени поховання из некрополя Херсонеса IV ст. до н. е. [Skorcheni pokhovannia iz nekropolia Khersonesa IV st. do n. e. – Crouch burials from the necropolis of 4th century Chersonesos]. Археология [Arkheologiia] 3, 137-146. Kiev. Zubar’, V. M. 2004 — Зубарь, В. М. Херсонес Таврический и население Таврики в античную эпоху [Khersones Tavricheskii i naselenie Tavriki v antichnuiu epokhu – Tauric Chersonesos and the Population of Taurica in Antiquity]. Kiev.
Zubar’, V. M. 2006 — Зубарь, В. М. О некоторых особенностях погребального обряда некрополя Херсонеса Таврического классического и эллинистического периодов [O nekotorykh osobennostiakh pogrebal’nogo obriada nekropolia Khersonesa Tavricheskogo klassicheskogo i ellinisticheskogo periodov – Some features of the funeral rites in the necropolis of Chersonesos Taurica in the Classical and Hellenistic periods]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] III, 47-60. Zuev, V. Iu., Vakhtina, M. Iu., Kashaev, S. V. and Khrshanovskii, V. A. 2002 — Зуев, В. Ю., Вахтина, М. Ю., Кашаев, С. В., Хршановский, В. А. Боспорский феномен: погребальные памятники и святилища. Материалы международной научной конференции [Bosporskii fenomen: pogrebal’nye pamiatniki i sviatlishcha. Materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii – The Phenomenon of the Bosporan Kingdom: necropoleis and sanctuaries. Materials of the International Scientific Conference] 1. St Petersburg.
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Chapter 43 Burial Practices, in the Light of the Finds from Pichvnari
Giorgi Tavamaishvili
N. Berdzenishvili Batumi Research Institute Batumi, Georgia [email protected] Abstract: Pichvnari is located on the Black Sea coastline of Georgia. Here are to be found well preserved cemeteries of Greek settlers of the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the local population of the 5th century BC and Hellenistic period of the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. Material from the Greek cemetery provides us with evidence that the first settlers included relatively poor individuals. From the mid-5th century BC thanks to trading activities, the well-being of certain groups improved, but most of the population were still poor. As for the Colchian cemetery of the 5th century BC, burials of the rich have not so far been discovered, and most of the cemetery is occupied by graves of ordinary people. A considerable number might be classified as ‘poor’, many of them lacking grave goods altogether. From the 5th and 4th centuries BC the economic conditions of the Pichvnariots became worse. Grave goods of the 4th century BC tend to be poorer. Burials are mainly provided everyday items rather than expensive goods. The proportion of burials without any goods increases. Earlier funerary traditions continue in the burial rituals of the Hellenistic period. Keywords: Pichvnari cemetery, burial rituals, Charon’s obol, funeral feast, grave goods
far been found, a fact doubtless attributable to the small scale of the excavations conducted on the territory of the settlement site. We can, however, derive some idea of the burial rituals of a given period from cemeteries on the margins of Pichvnari. Finds from the cemeteries of Ureki and Nigvziani indicate that in the 8th and 6th centuries BC the ritual of secondary burial: cremation of the bones of the dead followed by the burial of ashes in special pits was widespread along the coast (Ureki) and in places 10km inland (Nigvziani). It has been suggested (Mikeladze 1985, 17) that the process of cremation was preceded by a ritual which probably resembled an original Colchian ritual described by Apollonius of Rhodes, according to which they wrapped the dead in leather bags and hung them on trees (Urushadze 1975, 122).
Pichvnari is located on the Black Sea coast of Georgia, at the confluence of the rivers Choloki and Ochkhamuri, to the north of the seaside resort of Kobuleti. Here, in an area perhaps as large as 100ha, have been found remains of the Late Bronze, Early Iron, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. Cemeteries of Greek settlers of the 5th and 4th centuries BC, and of the local population of the 5th century to 2nd centuries BC have been brought to light. The joint expedition has also excavated cemeteries of the early medieval period during the past few years. The archaeological evidence suggests that the territory of Pichvnari was inhabited from the mid-2nd millennium BC. Native residents occupied principally with agriculture, cattle-breeding and fishing, successfully developed other sectors of economy, such as beekeeping, weaving, and metallurgy, constituting a settlement that was actively involved in trade relations with other regions so that it developed economically. The ancient inhabitants of Pichvnari had their own system of religious beliefs. This is clear from the discovery of a cult site of the late Bronze Age in the area of the later Hellenistic cemetery. Finds included clay horn-like stands, phallic figures, and fragments of decorated local ceramics (Inaishvili 1977, 60-66). Cult monuments have also been brought to light along the coast, where altars made from clay horn-like stands have been discovered (Ramishvili 1964).
If there is any merit in the view that there was a unique ethno-cultural system in Pre-Classical Colchis (Lordkipanidze and Mikeladze 1981), it is likely that the contemporary population of Pichvnari employed a similar burial ritual. We cannot claim be entirely sure, however, since excavations in other cemeteries do not exclude the possibility of different burial practices in neighbouring areas at the same period. As for the collective cremation ritual, this method of burial was not widespread in the coastal zone, whose inhabitants took part in the new political arrangements in Colchis after the 6th century BC, and were in particular influenced by Greek burial practice (Braund 1994, 116).
Unfortunately the cemeteries of the Late Bronze, Early Iron and Pre-Classical period populations have not so
The most important period in the history of Pichvnari is associated with the period of major Greek colonization. 341
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Finds relating to the relationship between the Colchians and the Hellenic world before the colonization period have so far proved elusive. The first real evidence of such contacts appears in the 7th century BC, at a time when the Ionians were active. Judging by finds from Batumistsikhe contacts of that period were not peaceful and had a limited outcome (Kakhidze 1982, 64). The foundation of a settlement in Pichvnari (presumably in the seventies of the 5th century BC) is perhaps to be associated with Athenian activity in the Black Sea area (Kakhidze 1982, 64).
the unavailability of other areas, perhaps, or ignorance of the true nature of the area, or some other reason. It may be that at the time they were concerned with the proximity to the sea, sea water being an element of catharsis in Greek burial ritual (Kurtz and Boardman 1971, 151). On the other hand, if we consider only the suitability of the place for a cemetery, we might think in terms of social rather than ethnical distinctions between the cemeteries, with less prosperous residents buried in a less acceptable place and the more prosperous in drier spots and on elevated hills.
A lack of information makes it difficult for us to have an accurate picture of the first contacts between Greek-settlers and the local population. Archaeological finds indicate that by the time the Greeks appeared the settlement was already under way, with a multiplicity of agricultural activities and the establishment of an occupation centre. The excavated levels of the Classical period of the site of the Pichvnari settlement do not provide evidence of military confrontation between the settlers and natives. From our point of view, the ambition of the local population, and especially of their leaders, to extend trade relations with the outside world predetermined the character of relations with the settlers who were also potential mediators of trade relations with the Hellenic world. Professor A. Kakhidze believes that a desire for mutually acceptable operating conditions led the local elite to decide to cede some territory to the settlers for residence and agricultural activities (Khakhutaishvili and Kakhidze 2007, 290-291).
The location of the cemetery by the river bank will also have had some rationale. It is possible that at that period rivers carried a special significance, perhaps having a symbolic function as the as threshold for the next life in keeping with earlier traditions. The location of cemeteries on river banks is peculiar not only to settlements of mainland Greece but to the whole of the Black Sea area as well. According to Apollonius Rhodius, the Colchians used to hang the dead on trees on river banks (Urushadze, A. 1975, 122). Judging by the finds from the Pichvnari cemeteries, the inhabitants also believed that the principal route to the next world was via a river; the evidence being in the form of coins known as ‘Charon’s obol’ found in the Greek as well as the Colchian cemeteries. That a river did indeed flow in the area at the relevant period is indicated by the presence of the dune settlements, for they are usually only to be found near the mouths of (Tavamaishvili 1999). Greek and Colchian cemeteries of the 5th century BC are located close to each other, some 120m apart, although the area has not been thoroughly studied yet. The Greek cemetery of the 4th century BC extends towards the south. The Colchian cemeteries of the 4th centuries BC have not yet been found. Graves of the Hellenistic period have been discovered in the southern part of the cemetery. Up to now there have been excavated: 430 burials, in at the Greek cemetery of the 5th century BC; 380, in the Colchian cemeteries of the 5th century BC; 93, in the Greek cemetery of the 4th century BC, and 235 in the Hellenistic cemetery of the 4th to 2nd centuries BC.
Clearly, whatever these conditions might have been, they were favourable enough to attract the newcomers to settle in the area. As a result, the first cemeteries of the Greek settlers appear in about the second quarter of the 5th century BC next to the cemeteries of the native residents. Judging by the topography of the Pichvnari settlement of the Pre-Classical and earlier periods it is clear that houses, fields and agricultural land were located far from the sea in a drier environment. Here, even at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, the local population had selected a place for religious ceremonies. It is notable that the locals chose a small hill on the bank of the river Choloki for the Classical period cemetery.
Graves in the Pichvnari necropolis were dug in sandy soil. While this may make for relatively easy excavation, it nevertheless requires great care and skill. It should be noted too that no organic material such as skeletal, wooden or textile remains survive on account of the sandy soil and the climatic conditions.
The Greek cemetery is located near the river Choloki and the western part of the cemetery is near the line of the coast. That the coastline was indeed close to the western part of the cemetery in that particular period is confirmed by the presence of temporary huts of the 8th and 6th centuries BC, that were excavated on the coastal sandy dunes. If the reason for the distribution of coastal huts can be explained by their function (salt production or the flotation of magnetite sand), it is much more difficult to explain why the area was selected to be a cemetery. Parts of the Greek necropolis of the 5th century BC were once evidently boggy. These are places where burials do not occur, and the settlers clearly avoided them. Why, then, this part of the site was chosen for a cemetery is something of a mystery:
The Greek and Colchian cemeteries and the necropolis of the Hellenistic period contain inhumation burials for the most part, arranged in rectangular (rarely ovoid) pits. The dimensions of these pits do not help us much in drawing conclusions about the original intentions of the ancient mourners. The size of each burial was clearly conditioned by specific factors not least the social position of the deceased.
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Nearly all the inhumation burials are of single individuals. In only two cases were matters otherwise: in one burial, there were evidently a couple, and in another probably a mother with a child at her feet.
(earrings, finger rings and bracelets) and the goods that have been found on the hands of the deceased. The deceased in the Greek necropolis were placed on their backs in an extended posture, mostly with the head to the east in keeping with Greek burial ritual. In the 5th century BC cemeteries, an eastern orientation with a deviation to the north-east was typical. From the mid of the 5th century BC the number of these deviations is small, and burials of the 4th century BC are definitely oriented to the east.
The deceased might be placed in wooden coffins in both the Greek and Colchian cemeteries. Some burials had only a wooden roof, but most consisted of a burial directly in the grave, presumably wrapped in a shroud. It is only possible to speak of wooden coffins and roofs thanks to finds of iron (or very occasionally bronze) nails, the position of which enables us to define the exact dimensions of the burials. The large size of the heavily corroded iron nails suggest that coffins and roofs were made from thick planks or logs of modest diameter. Nails are arranged either vertically, pointing upwards or downwards according to whether they belong to the top or the bottom of a coffin, or horizontally, in which case they come from the sides. In the case of coffin burials, nails are found in the upper part of the burial as well as at the level of the grave goods near the bottom. In the case of wooden roofs the nails are found only at the top of the burial. Often, the roofs can be detected by means of three, or sometimes two, rows of nails (Kakhidze 1981, 16). If we assume that not everyone could afford iron nails, it is quite possible that there were a number of burials with wooden roofs held together with ropes.
In the Colchian cemetery the majority of the dead are buried in a flexed position (on the right or left side). Most graves point north, but there are some graves with western, eastern and southeast orientations. An eastern orientation of the graves predominates at the cemetery of the Hellenistic period. Grave goods are mostly to be found inside the coffins in both the Colchian and Greek necropolis. Amphoras are placed in the graves (and especially in the Greek necropolis) from the mid 5th century BC. Usually (in 55 burials) a single amphora is placed in the grave, but there are case of two (in four burials), and in one case (Burial No. 1), there were four amphoras. The most common vessel found among the Greek grave goods was the lekythos. One, two or three lekythoi are recorded in every third grave. The majority of ceramic vessels are found near the head, but some can be found at the hands and both sides of the hands and the legs as well. To the right or the left side of the head they placed jugs, pots, and occasionally other vessels and bronze mirrors as well. Vessels discovered in the middle of the grave are mainly small in size (alabastra, amphoriskoi, oinochoai) and evidently they were placed in the hands of the deceased. Terracotta figures were usually placed in the area of the shoulders. Jewels are recorded near the head and neck (earrings, hair-pins, beads) and at the hands (bracelets, finger rings). Near the hands we find also pincers, situlas, and shears and at the feet pots, jugs, drinking bowls, kylikes and others.
In contrast to the Colchian cemetery, several cremation burials have been found in the Greek necropolis. In two instances the cremation was performed at special sites, and afterwards the ash container (a krater) was placed in a specially dug pit. In another instance the vessel (a hydria) containing the ashes was placed in a pit dug at the cremation site itself. There are instances of cremation directly in burial pits. The ritual of cremation ritual was common in the Hellenistic period as well. Five cremation burials have been excavated in the necropolis of the period (Vashakidze 1983). A small number of amphora burials were found in the Greek necropolis of the Classical period, but only one so far in the Colchian necropolis. Amphoras used for burials have also been excavated in the Hellenistic necropolis (Burials 156, 157). Amphoras were evidently used for burying children. A hole of an appropriate size would be made in the side, and then covered with a fragment of the same amphora or another other vessel.
It is difficult to make any judgement regarding funerary garments based only on archaeological observation (which amounts to occasional single finds of fibulae). Clearly, in the majority of cases, the dead were buried wrapped in simple grave-clothes. It is a well known fact that the placing of a coin, the so-called ‘Charon’s obol’, in the mouth or the hand of the deceased was a custom at the Greek and Colchian cemeteries from the mid 5th century BC onwards. It is interesting to note that the custom at Pichvnari is as early as any recorded occurrences elsewhere: it is known in mainland Greece from the second quarter of the 5th century BC (Stevens 1991, 215), and from the 4th century BC in cemeteries of the northern Black Sea area. In the eyes of some scholars, this indicates that the native residents had close relations with peoples of mainland Greece (Khakhutaishvili and Kakhidze 2007, 141). Coins are
A burial with a tile roof was discovered at the Hellenistic cemetery (Kakhidze 1983), and in the same area what was apparently in the burial of mother and a child was covered with two tiles (Kakhidze et al., 2007, 49). The peculiar characteristics of the soil at Pichvnari, already mentioned, create certain difficulties in establishing the disposition of the bodies in the graves. It is often the case, however, that we can draw conclusions from the way the coffins are arranged and from the position of jewellery
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mainly found at the head of the deceased, but sometimes also near the hands. The majority of the coins are local issues, the so called ‘kolkhidki’, but number of coins from various cities of the northern Black Sea littoral have also been found. The number of coins varies; sometimes there is one coin, at others two or three. The Hellenistic Burial No. 230 contained 28. It is likely that the presence of more than one symbolic ‘obol’ was not so much payment to Charon as a demonstration of wealth and generosity on the part of relatives of the dead (Grinder-Hansen 1991, 215).
The finds from the Greek cemetery show that the first settlers tended to be poor. They could not afford to provide their dead with valuables and could not indulge in luxurious feasts. From the mid-5th century BC, presumably thanks to profitable trading arrangements, the status of certain groups improved, but most of the population were still poor. On the one hand, there are burials with fine imported pottery and jewellery of precious metal and other indications of luxury, while on the other the number of graves with no goods is on the increase.
An important component of the burial ritual in the Greek necropolis is the ceremony of funeral feast, traces of which survive in the vicinity of many of the graves in the form of burnt patches containing calcified bones and fragments of ceramics, the so-called ‘ritual platforms’. In the area employed in the second quarter of the 5th century BC there are collective ritual platforms as well as individual ones, perhaps explicable either by the simultaneous death (by disease or accident) of several people who were members of one family, or else they were ritual platforms set aside for the use of poorer families. The number of such areas increased from the mid-5th century BC. We receive a clear picture of social differentiation of the population for this period. The relatives of some could arrange elaborate funeral feasts with fine black-gloss bowls, and drinking cups (for example the ritual platforms near Burials Nos 20 and 395, which occupy an area of 18-20m2, while the relatives of others might be content with a more modest meal and three or four vessels for the ritual, while the rest, not wishing to break the tradition of the funeral feast, could only afford to bring almost worthless pots to the grave.
As for the Colchian cemetery of the 5th century BC, burials of the wealthier part of the population have not so far been discovered. They were perhaps buried elsewhere. The larger part of the cemetery is occupied by the graves of ordinary people who were placed in graves with wooden roofs more frequently than wooden coffins. Their grave goods consisted of two or three items. A considerable part of the cemetery is occupied by graves of members of the poorer classes. In most cases the graves lack any goods. Some parts of the cemetery were used by people of moderate means. They were buried in wooden coffins with burial goods typically consisting of fine local ceramics as well as amphoras from different centres, pieces of decorated ceramic, gold, silver and bronze adornments and other luxury goods. From the 5th and 4th centuries BC the economic conditions of Pichvnari grew worse. Grave goods of the 4th century BC tend to be poorer. Amphoras from various production centres are often found at the burials, but decorated pottery rarely, and golden ornaments and toreutics practically disappear. Burials are provided in the main not with expensive goods but objects of everyday use. The number of burials without graves goods increases.
Judging by the calcined remains of the bones, the relatives of the deceased would sacrifice cattle or sheep, birds and fish at the burial and the days following the funeral. Wine for the meal was served in amphoras and for drinking they used kylikes, or cups of so-called bolsal type. A compulsory part of the sacrificial ritual was to pour the blood of the animals and birds into the grave as a gift to the chthonic gods; for this purpose amphoras minus the ‘toe’ element were used in the Pinchvnari cemeteries, and a stone eschara was found at Grave No. 15. After the funeral feasts the used vessels, occasionally with graffiti on them (Dzneladze 2007, 42) were broken and thrown into the embers of the fire.
Traditions of earlier periods were continued in the burial rituals of the Hellenistic period. Lekythoi ceased to be deposited, nor are amphoras placed in graves. They were only used during the funeral feasts and were afterwards broken at the ritual platforms. Colchian ceramic shapes are rarely met with in the graves, but Hellenistic forms increase. Professional attribution of the dead begins to occur: a soldier is equipped with a sword, axe, or dagger, while a fisherman might have a fishing net to accompany him to the next world.
No areas for funeral feast have been discovered so far in the 5th century BC Colchian necropolis. The rite was probably not shared by the native residents at this period. The rite of the funerary feast was performed in the Greek necropolis of the 4th century BC, and from the Hellenistic period it was shared in by the local population.
Analysis of the archaeological material from the Pichvnari cemeteries and settlement site on the whole indicate that the site was the only trading and manufacturing centre on the south-eastern Black Sea littoral. From the 2nd century BC life in Pichvnari stops for a certain length of time. This is believed to be the result of Laz involvement in the area, when the alluvial plain by the sea became swampy and unusable for agriculture, trade or manufacture (Khakhutaishvili 1990, 8-15). The war between Pontus and Rome also had an affect on the economic life of Colchis at this period.
The fact that one grave never intruded on another allows us to assume that mounds were erected over the graves at Pichvnari. There were only two cases recorded where a stone grave marker was used; wooden stelai or columns might well have served instead.
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Kurtz, D. C. and Boardman, J. 1971. Greek Burial Customs. London. Lordkipanidze, O. D. and Mikeladze, T. 1981 — Лордкипанидзе, О. Д., Микеладзе, Т., О демографической ситуации в Восточном Причерноморье (Колхида в период Великой Греческой Колонизации) [O demograficheskoi situatsii v Vostochnom Prichernomor’ie (Kolkhida v period Velikoi Grecheskoi Kolonizatsii) – On the demographical situation in Eastern Black Sea littoral]. In О. Д. Лордкипанидзе [O. D. Lordkipanidze] (ed.), Материалы II всесоюзного симпозиума по древней истории Причерноморья, Цкалтубо: Демографическая ситуациа в Причерноморье в период Великой греческой колонизаци [Materialy II vsesoiuznogo simpoziuma po drevnei istorii Prichernomor’ia, Tskaltubo: Demograficheskaia situatsia v Prichernomor’e v period Velikoi grecheskoi kolonizatsii – Proceedings of the II Tskaltubo Symposium on the Ancient History of the Black Sea Region: The Demographic Situation in the Black Sea Littoral in the Period of the Great Greek Colonization], 292-315. Tbilisi. Mikeladze, T. 1985. Kolkhetis adrerkinis xanis samarovnebi (urekisa da nigvzianis samarovnebi) [Colchian Early Iron-age Cemeteries: the Ureki and Nigvziani Cemeteries]. Tbilisi. Ramishvili, A. 1964. Dzveli sadgomebi pichvnaris qvishnar diunaze (1961 clis arqeologiuri gatkhrebis angarishi) [The ancient sites on the Pichvnari Sandy Dunes. (The Report of the Archaeological Expedition of 1961)]. samkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos dzeglebi [Monuments of South-Western Georgia] 1, 17-28. Stevens, S. 1991. Charons’s obol and other coins in ancient funerary practice. Phoenix 45, 215-229. Tavamaishvili, G. 1999. Udzvelesi namosakhlarebi salkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos akhalshavzghvur terasaze [Ancient settlement sites on new terraces of the Black Sea littoral of South-Western Georgia]. Unpublished Candidate’s thesis, Centre for Archaeological studies. Tbilisi. Urushadze, A. (ed.) 1975. Apolonios rodoseli ‘Argonavtika’. 1975 [Apollonius of Rhodes, ‘The Argonautica’], (Translated by A. Gelovani; editing, essay, commentaries and contents by A. Urushadze). Tbilisi. Vashakidze, N. 1983. Pichvnaris elinistur samarovanze 1980 tsels tsarmoebuli kvleva-dziebis shedegebi [Results of research conducted in the Pichvnari Hellenistic cemetery in 1980]. Samkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos dzeglebi [Monuments of South-Western Georgia] 12, 64-86, Tbilisi. Vickers, M. and Kakhidze, A. and 2004. Pichvnari 1: Results of Excavations Conducted by the Joint BritishGeorgian Pichvnari Expedition 1998-2002. Greeks and Colchians on the East Coast of the Black Sea. Oxford, Batumi.
Pichvnari is one of the most interesting archaeological monuments on the shore of the Black Sea, and has already been studied for several decades. It is natural that scholars disagree about various issues. The results of the fieldwork of the Pichvnari archaeological expedition are published in the series ‘Pichvnari’. We hope that fresh material from future excavations will provide the basis for further elucidation. Bibliography Braund, D. 1994. Georgia in Antiquity. A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia 550 BC-AD 562. Oxford. Dzneladze, N. 2007. Midzghvniti tsartserebi pichvnaridan [Graffito Dedications from Pichvnari Area]. Batumis arqeologiuri muzeumis shromebi [Activities of the Batumi Archaeological Museum] 4, 36-42, 87-88. Grinder-Hansen, K. 1991. Charon’s fee in ancient Greece? – Some remarks on a well-known death rite. Acta Hyperborea 3, 215-216. Inaishvili, A. 1977. Samkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos arqeologiuri eqspeditsiis 1973 tslis mushaobis angarishi [The Report of the Archaeological Expedition of South-Western Georgia in 1973]. Samkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos dzeglebi [Monuments of South-Western Georgia] 6, 54-66. Kakhidze, A. 1981 — Кахидзе, А. Восточное Причерноморье в античную зпоху [Vostochnoe Prichernomor’ie v antichnuiu epokhu – The Eastern Black Sea Littoral in Ancient Times]. Batumi. Kakhidze, A. 1982. Aghmosavlet shavizghvispiretis berdznuli kolonizaciis ionuri da atikuri etapi [The Ionian and Attic stage of the Greek colonization of the Eastern Black Sea littoral]. Samkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos dzeglebi [Monuments of South-Western Georgia] 11, 44-77. Kakhidze, A. 1983. Kramitsakhuraviani samarkhi pichvnaridan [A burial with tile roof from Pichvnari]. Samkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos dzeglebi [Monuments of South-Western Georgia] 12, 53-63. Kakhidze, A. 2007. Pichvnari 2: Results of Excavations Conducted by the N. Berdzenishvili Batumi Research Institute Pichvnari Expedition 1967-1987. The Classical World in the Eastern Black Sea Area: The Fifth Century BC Greek Necropolis at Pichvnari. Oxford, Batumi. Kakhidze, A., Vickers, M. and Tavamaishvili, G. 2007. Savele arqeologiuri kvleva-dziebani pichvnaris elinisturi khanis samarovanze 2003-2004 tslebshi [Fieldwork conducted at the Pichvnari Hellenistic period cemetery in 2003-2004]. Batumis arqeologiuri muzeumis shromebi [Activities of the Batumi Archaeological Museum] 4, 4367, 88-89. Khakhutaishvili, D. 1990. Qobuletis qvekana [The Environs of Kobuleti] Batumi. Khakhutaishvili, D. and Kakhidze, A. (eds) 2007. Qamkhret-dasavlet saqartvelos istoriis narkvevebi (achara) 2007 [Studies in the history of South-Western Georgia (Achara)]. Tbilisi.
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Chapter 44 Russian Monarchs and Classical Archaeology on the Northern Black Sea Coast Igor L. Tikhonov
University History Museum State University, Archaeological Department St Petersburg, Russia [email protected] Abstract: The article is devoted to an analysis of the role and contribution of the Romanov family to the development of Russian archaeology from the 18th century until 1917. Decrees concerning the rescue of the archaeological heritage, the protection and financial support for archaeological excavation and research promoted the development of Russian archaeology and its establishment as a socially significant discipline. Keywords: Russian monarchs, classical archaeology, donation, support of archaeological investigation, history of archaeology
The history of world archaeology is rich with examples of royal families showing a lively interest in archaeological excavations and research by personal participation or sponsorship. The earliest occurrence that we know was in Ancient Egypt. The 18th pharaoh Thutmose IV gave instructions to excavate the sphinxes at Giza, which had become covered with sand. In the 13th century BC, the son and successor of Rameses II, one of the greatest Egyptian pharaohs, Merneptah cleared and restored monuments and ancient inscriptions and images, and also collected information about older significant sites of the times of pharaoh Cheops (Schnapp 2002, 135).
and development of a Museum of Northern Antiquities in Copenhagen, and they also financed the activity of Christian J. Thomsen and Jens-Jacob Worsaae. Christian VIII diverted sums from his private means for Worsaae’s travels and excavations in Denmark and beyond, Frederick VII several times personally participated in the excavation of mounds and the discovered by Worsaae, and under his influence he even excavated independently (Klindt-Jensen 1975, 82-83). There was also a Royal Society of Northern Antiquities, and in 1843 a special Russian section was created that remained under the protection of Tsar Nicolas I and the presidency of Nicolas II.
This interest had several different reasons. In the first place, their interest was financial. Most royal figures took an interest in patronage of the arts and science. The first museums were created under the aegis of members of royal courts. Archaeology, and especially classical archaeology, was in its initial stages associated with art and its development. And we should not forget that archaeological research requires a large amount of money that only royalty and their associates could donate. The second important reason for fostering an interest in ancient treasures was that it could enhance a country’s prestige. Since the 18th century European museums competed with each other to obtain antiquities for their collections. Many antiquities found in Egypt, the Middle East and Greece were transported to the museums of London, Paris, Berlin, etc. Scandinavian royal courts did not have classical antiquities on their own territories, and so they promoted their historical and cultural heritage by means of archaeology. With the rise of constitutional monarchies in Europe, it was necessary to find something for royalty to do, and archaeology seemed to be an appropriate avocation for royal personages. Danish monarchs gave large financial support to the creation
In August 1869, king Christian IX together with members of the royal family, took part in the opening ceremony of the 4th International Congress of Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology in Copenhagen. At the end of the sessions the king invited all the participants to a banquet in Kristiansborg castle where magnificent illuminations and fireworks had been specially arranged (Wiell 1999, 137). Count A. S. Uvarov, Professor I. I. Sreznevsky and P. I. Lerkh represented Russia at this congress. In Russia itself, the first active interest in antiquity occurred only at the time of Peter the Great. A series of special orders issued by the tsar began the committed research, collecting and classification of antiquities and monuments. The practice of purchasing artworks abroad started during this period as well. For example, the first ancient Greek sculptures, including the Venus of Tauris, arrived in Russia at that time. This tradition was continued by other Russian royalty. The collection of Catherine the Great gave birth to the world famous museum, The Hermitage. Catherine the Great took a great interest in collecting artworks and tried to create the best art collection in Europe. The collections 347
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of the Hermitage have grown even larger through gifts and purchases by Catherine’s heirs. In 1818 Tsar Alexander I, during a visit to Kerch visited the archaeological excavation on Mt Mithridates and was shown the newly discovered tombs, and the Paul Du Brux collection. The Tsar was highly interested and gave orders for the investigations to continue, and presented a diamond ring to Du Brux (on whom see Tunkina in this volume). In 1804 Alexander I had granted 2000 roubles to Keller (the curator of the Hermitage collection) to enable him to undertake a research trip to the northern Black Sea region. During this trip Keller collected ancient coins and antiquities and gave them as present to the Tsar on his return. Keller’s next trip to the Crimea in 1822 resulted in the addition of a special order, according to which attention was to be paid to the preservation of ancient monuments in Tauris. There was a grant of 10,000 roubles, and it is significant that this was the first time that such a large amount had been devoted to the study of antiquity. Nicolas I also took an interest in the preservation and survey of ancient monuments. Immediately after his accession in 1826, he issued an order to all parts of the Russian empire demanding information about ancient monuments and prohibiting their destruction. He paied special attention to monuments of Russian history. In 1830 the unique archaeological finds of the Scythian period from Kul-Oba, near Kerch, were shown to the emperor. He was highly interested in them and made arrangements to continue this research and made annual donations. This is regarded as the beginning of official archaeological research in Russia regularly financed by the government. The results of these excavations were published in the three-volume édition de luxe, Antiquités du Bosphore Cimmérien (1854), that contains descriptions and illustrations of the most interesting and significant finds. There were 200 numbered copies which were sent as presents to the royal courts and museums.
Figure 1. Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg – The first President of Russian Archaeological Society in 1846-52
An area in Rome that had been bought personally by the Russian emperor so that it could be excavated, was sold to the Papal government for few ancient statues, busts and bas-reliefs. It is known that Nicolas paid special attention to the Hermitage, which had become a public museum by that time. The largest and most valuable purchase of antiquities was done at behest of the next Russian emperor Tsar Alexander II in 1861. It comprised many ancient sculptures and painted vases from the Marchese Campan’s collection. In 1864 the Hermitage collection was enlarged by the acquisition of the finds from Scythian barrow Khokhlakh, near Novocherkassk.
When they were abroad, Russian royalty would visit museums and archaeological excavations. Thus in 1845 Nicolas I visited the excavations at Pompeii and all the finds of the day were given to the Russian emperor as a present. Of particular interest was a bronze weight in the form of a bust of Caligula. The Pompeii style became very famous in Russia, and influenced the design of many interiors of palaces. Striking examples are the Tsarina’s Pavilion at Peterhof, adorned with original mosaics from Pompeii, and the Leuchtenberg Palace at Sergeevka (Neverov 1993, 43). The Emperor Nicolas has also visited Kerch where he was fed with food served on a silver dish from the tomb of the wife of the Bosporan king Rhescuporis II.
An Archaeology and Numismatic Society was established in St Petersburg during the reign of Nicolas I. It subsequently became Russian Archaeological society (in 1851). Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg, the Tsar’s sonin-law (Figure 1), who had himself had some experienced of excavation in the field was appointed president of the Society. He took a personal role in excavations it Egypt, during which the tomb of the family of Egyptian pharaoh Amasis was found. In 1852 these astonishing finds were exhibited in the Hermitage (Golenischeff 1891, 97) and they can still be seen in the Egyptian Hall.
The Hermitage collections meanwhile were built up, S. O. Veselovsky’s collection of cameos was bought in 1830, Piccati’s collection of ancient vases, bronzes and terracottas came in 1834, and Laval’s collection of more than 300 vases and 54 sculptures were acquired in 1852.
Members of Royal family continued to take an interest in the affairs of the Society. Thus Grand Duke Konstantin
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Figure 2. The Crown Prince Nicolas, future Nicolas II (fifth from left) visiting the ancient monuments during his visit to Egypt in 1890
Grand Duke Nicolay Nicolaevich, being the Russian Army Commander-in-Chief during the Russo-Turkish War, had the opportunity to visit Egypt in 1872. He visited the museum, the newly opened necropolis at Sakkara, where huge sarcophagi containing mummies of sacred animals had been discovered, and the Pyramid of Cheops. The Crown Prince Nicolas (later the Emperor Nicolas II) while travelling in the Middle East visited Egypt and saw the results of archaeological excavations there as well (Figure 2).
expeditions. In particular, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (the fifth son of Alexander II) (Figure 3) took a keen interest in archaeology. Excavations of tombs near Gaspra were carried out in 1875, when the Royal family had been touring the southern part of the Crimea. They also visited dolmens and other monuments at Chersonesos and Yalta. They were accompanied on this trip by the noted archaeologist Count A. Uvarov, who was head of the Moscow Archaeological Society. A year later Count Uvarov was invited to St Petersburg to deliver a course of lectures on archaeology to the Grand Dukes. In 1878 a special excursion was devised for the Grand Dukes in the north-west part of Russia. During this trip they personally participated in the excavation of tumuli in Pskov region (Figure 4). Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich created his own Archaeological Cabinet, where he put all his finds from this trip. Later on he also took part in excavations at Chernevo, and Ilinskoe (near Moscow). Most of the finds and part of his collection of Russian works of art were presented to the Moscow Historical Museum. He assisted in the development of a variety of archaeological societies and museums, and was notably active in arranging excavations in the Kremlin and in establishing the Fine Art Museum in Moscow (now the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts).
We should also take note of the fact that members of the Royal family often conducted their own archaeological
The decree concerning the Imperial Archaeological Commission was issued on 2 February 1859 by the
Nikolaevich was president from 1852 to 1892, and from the end of 1892 until 1915, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich held the office, succeeded in 1916 by Grand Duke Georgyi Mikhailovich. The emperors Alexander III and Nicolas II were permanent patrons, while other royalty might be honorary members. From time to time they helped to raise funds. It was thanks to Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich that the Society acquired permanent quarters in the State Office building. Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich was quite proficient in archaeology; his special interest was in Russian antiquities and icons. He also was not only the figurehead of the Society but took a prominent part in its activities.
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family did much for the success of the Archaeological Commission and of archaeology as a whole. In 1886 Alexander III had visited the excavation at Chersonesos, and this brought about a new and more active period of research there. In 1887 the suggestion was made to Emperor by the head of the Moscow Archaeology Society to reopen the excavation as a ‘Russian Pompeii’. The excavations were entrusted to the Archaeological Commission and six thousand rubles were granted as funding. Excavations at Chersonesos began in 1888 by Kosciushko-Valiuzhynich. Bobrinskoy, the head of the Archaeological Commission succeeded in persuading the Emperor to publish an decree concerning the Archaeological Commission 11 of March 1889 whereby the Commission was given exclusive rights to grant permissions for the archaeological excavation on all land that was not in private hands. The Commission had thus become the central official archaeological institution in Russia. Later on Bobrinskoy continued successfully to lobby for the interests of the Commission. The growth of financial support from the state made possible the resumption of large-scale excavations at Olbia. The visit of Emperor Nicolas II to Chersonesos (Figure 6), organized by Bobrinskoy, led directly to such benefits as special financial support for the publication M. Rostovtsev’s fundamental work Ancient Decorative Art in Southern Russia. In memoirs devoted to Bobrinskoy, we can often read of occasions when royalty, even the Emperor, helped him solve problems arising from the Commission’s activities, and with other archaeological research and heritage preservation.
Figure 3. Grand Duke (Prince) Sergei Aleksandrovich – Patron of St Petersburg Archaeological Institute participated in archaeological excavation in Crimea and Central Russia
In summary, while we should not over-emphasize the role of royalty in the development of archaeology in Russia, we should not overlook the fact that it was thanks to the interest shown by royalty that financial support was forthcoming and that the public image of this area of science was enhanced. Museum collections were mainly created by the purchasing of works of art and antiquities both at home and abroad. Archaeology became prominent when scientific interests were combined with political and economic considerations, not to mention the romance inherent in excavation.
emperor Alexander II. This can be regarded as the official establishment of Russian archaeology. This newly organized Commission had been situated on the upper floor of the Hermitage building and was then moved directly to the Winter Palace. The commission placed the largescale excavation of the northern Black Sea region on a broad footing. All items found there were exhibited in the Hermitage (Figure 5).
The attitudes of different monarchs varied somewhat. Thus for example Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, having become interested in collecting, themselves often initiated research. Nicolas I, having delved into every detail, paid attention to every tiny find, but Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicolas II were only interested in the larger picture. Sometimes the interest was determined not just by scientific, but by political considerations. For example, Chersonesos was not only a cultural centre but was also the base of the Russian fleet. The establishment of a Russian Archaeological Institute at Constantinople was mainly related to attempts to increase Russian influence in that area. Questions of national prestige should also be taken into account (Tikhonov 2008).
Archaeological exhibitions usually attracted many visitors including the Royal family. Here was displayed material from excavations at the Neolithic site of Balakhna conducted by Kamenskii. The collections included: material from the Volga region dating back to the Stone age; items from barrows in the Kuban and north of Dnepr Region dug by Bobrinskoy and Veselovskii; finds from Kerch and Chersonesos; and a collection of Russian antiquities from excavations conducted by Glazov and Repnikov. The Archaeological Commission was often visited by royalty. Thus in 1913 the Emperor Nicolas II and his family paid a visit. He paid special attention to the antiquities from Olbia, the Poltava hoard and items from the Scythian barrow at Solokha. Such interest on the part of the Royal
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Figure 4. The Journal of barrows excavation near Pskov in 1878 by Grand Dukes Sergei, Pavel, Konstantin and Dimitrii
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Figure 5. The exhibition of Archaeological Commission in the Winter Palace in 1886
With the Revolution of 1917 and the overthrow of the monarchy, state financing of various institutions, including archaeological ones, came to an end. Archaeological institutions and societies in Moscow and Petrograd were closed soon after the Revolution. The new officials were not interested in the past, being pre-occupied by ideas about the future. It was well-known that Lenin did not much like any ancient works of art, and the fact is confirmed in memoirs. The only active step he took was to make the newly opened archaeological institution change its name from the Archaeological Commission to the Academy for the History of Material Culture. There is little to be said regarding subsequent Russian political leaders; there is little information about their activities, and nothing that demonstrates any interest in archaeology.
paid by national leaders encourages the hope that in future officialdom will pay more attention to archaeology. Bibliography Antiquités 1854. Antiquités du Bosphore Cimmérien conservés au musée impérial de L’Ermitage. St Petersburg. Golenischeff, W. 1891. Ermitage Imperial. Inventaire de la collection egyptienne. Leipzig. Klindt-Jensen, O. A. 1975. A History of Scandinavian Archaeology. London. Neverov, O. Ia. 1993 — Неверов, О. Я. Петербургские собиратели античных памятников. Романовы – коллекционеры [Peterburgskie sobirateli antichnykh pamiatnikov. Romanovy – kollektsionery – St Petersburg collectors of classical antiquities. Romanov family – collectors), in Е. В. Мавлеев, Л. И. Давыдова [E. V. Mavleeev and L. I. Davydova] (eds), Санкт-Петербург и античность [Sankt-Peterburg i antichnost’ – St Petersburg and the Ancient World], 39-44. St Petersburg. Schnapp, A. 2002. Between antiquarians and archaeologists – continuities and ruptures. Antiquity 76: 291, 134-140. Tikhonov, I. L. 2008 — Тихонов, И. Л. ‘Это необходимо сделать, чтобы не прослыть за варваров’: Российские монархи и археология [‘Eto neobkhodimo sdelat,
After a break of nearly 90 years, President Putin is giving archaeological monuments some attention. In 2001 Mr Putin and his Ukrainian opposite number visited Chersonesos and looked around the excavations there. In 2003 Mr Putin visited the excavations and the archaeological museum in Staraia Ladoga, and in 2005 he was in the Bronze Age historical and cultural complex ‘Arkaim’ in Cheliabinsk Region. And August 2007 was marked by the visit of Putin and Albert II Prince of Monaco to excavations in PorBazhin fortress, founded in AD 757 at Tuva. Such attention
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Figure 6. The Emperor Nicolas II and his wife visiting tombs at Chersonesos
Peterburgskogo Universiteta, Seria 2: Istoria] 4/I, 151161. Wiell, S. 1999. The Congress of Anthropology and Archaeology in Copenhagen – behind the stage. Antiquity 73: 279, 136-142.
chtoby ne proslyt za varvarov’: Rossiiskie monarkhi i arkheologiia – ‘It must be done, so as not to gain the character of barbarians’: Russian monarchs and archaeology]. Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета, Сериа 2: История [Vestnik Sankt-
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Chapter 45 The Complete Works of Paul Dubrux
Irina V. Tunkina
Archive of the Russian Academy of Science St Petersburg Branch St Petersburg, Russia [email protected] Abstract: The manuscript heritage of ‘the father of Bosporan archaeology’ French émigré Paul Dubrux (1770-1835) has been of great interest for several generations of Russian archaeologists. Since 1811 and until his death he had been studying the remains of ancient towns and settlements of the Cimmerian Bosporus, and made detailed descriptions and plans of buildings that still survived in the first half of the 19th century. While studying documents relating to the history of Russian classical archaeology in the 18th-20th centuries, I came across some of Dubrux’s manuscripts and letters, his report on excavations of the Kul’-Oba kurgan and other archaeological notes, some of which are still unpublished. Several Dubrux manuscripts are held in Paris. All Dubrux’s papers are illustrated with colour plans, maps, and drawings, formerly considered lost. A team of scholars from Russia, Ukraine and France have been preparing a publication of Dubrux’s Opera omnia on the basis of his manuscripts of the 1810s to the 1830s. The publication will include parallel texts in French and Russian, drawings and plans. Scholarly commentaries will include detailed textual, historical, archaeological and topographical commentaries. This material is of great significance for the history of classical archaeology and the study of antiquity in Russia. Keywords: New archival data, Paul Dubrux, Kerch excavations, history of classical archaeology
archaeology’ died in Kerch on the 1st/12th August 1835 aged 65 in utter poverty (Sztetyłło 1969; Gavignet, Ramos and Schiltz 2000, 323-341; Tunkina 2002, 144-157). The fate of the Dubrux family was typical of the impoverished French royalist exiles who lived in Russia at the end of the 18th and in the first half of the 19th century.
It is well known that much important material on the history of Russian сlassical studies during the 19th and 20th centuries has never been published are still lying in archives inaccessible even for specialists. The same fate befell the scientific heritage of the pioneer of Bosporan archaeology, the French émigré-royalist Paul Dubrux (1770-1835). His manuscript heritage has been of great interest for several generations of Russian archaeologists.
‘Reading Herodotus and Strabo …, and mostly boredom’ forced Dubrux to begin archaeological research of the eastern Crimea and the Taman peninsula. In 1811 he began excavating, initially doing little more than treasure hunting, with the principal aim of filling the family exchequer by selling the finds. Dubrux was purchase agent for antiquities of the Polish Count Seweryn Potocki who had a large collection of ancient coins. Later, however, he resigned from these duties because from 1820 onwards Dubrux became the de facto curator of the Kerch Museum of Antiquities even before it opened officially in 1826. The museum holdings were based on Dubrux’s personal collection, and until 1833 the museum was located in Dubrux’s house.
Dubrux was born in Luxemburg, and together with his father and brother he joined an Alpine regiment in 1784. From 1797 he was in the counter-revolutionary army of Prince L. J. de Condé and with his army he entered Russia where in 1800 he retired from the army with the rank of captain. Dubrux and his family settled in western Volhynia. Due to financial constraints he was forced to works as a home tutor despite the fact that he had no formal education and even his French writing was illiterate. Then he moved to St Petersburg and in 1810 he finally settled in Kerch. Thanks to his Masonic friends and the patronage of royalist compatriots he managed to join the Russian Civil Service (1810), and in 1814 he obtained the position of customs inspector at the Kerch customs. In 1815, he became the surveyor of the Kerch salt lakes and of the shop of the Kerch salt expedition. In 1817, Dubrux was awarded the order of St Louis ‘for previous service to the King of France’. It was probably in 1823 or 1824 the antiquarian resigned from the Civil Service and devoted himself completely to his passion, archaeological research. ‘The father of Bosporan
Between 1811 and his death Dubrux studied the ruins of ancient towns and settlements of the Cimmerian Bosporus, and made detailed descriptions and plans of remains of buildings that still survived in the first half of the 19th century. Beginning with the excavation of ancient necropoleis as early as 1816, Dubrux began to write his field work diaries (Figure 1), made scale plans (Figure 2), drawings (Figure 3) and detailed descriptions of monuments. Intuition, care, and 25 years of fieldwork experience led to his ability ‘to see land’ eventually became 355
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Figure 1. Title page of manuscript of P. Dubrux: ‘P. Du Brux1, Journal de Fouilles faites à quelques tumulus de Kertch еn 1817 et 1818 par ordre de Son Excellence Monsieur le Comte de Langeron, sous la direction du Conseiller Titulaire Dubruсs’. Manuscripts Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of the History of Material Culture. Fond (manuscript group) 7, delo (unit) 11, list (sheet) 47
1
This was the original family name used by Paul Dubrux in his manuscripts
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sharper. To obtain funds for excavations Dubrux would sell ancient stone blocks for building purposes since Kerch was growing very rapidly at the time. From 1816 onwards, all of Dubrux’s activities were financed by donations from Count A. Langeron, his compatriot who was military governor of Kherson region (Novorossiiskii krai), from Tsar Alexander I, and later by State Chancellor Count N. P. Rumiantsev. Dubrux’s official list contains the note: ‘From November 1816 we are dealing with the excavation of Kerch necropoleis and finding antiquities in them’. Langeron gave strict instructions to the town police make sure that unauthorized persons did not excavate. Dubrux ‘had found a lot of tombs with rather precious antiquities’. He was involved in saving from thieves the ‘royal’ kurgan, that was excavated in 1820-21 by naval Captain-Lieutenant N. Patignoty. This kurgan was in style and finds analogous to the Kul’-Oba kurgan found by Dubrux in 1830 (Figures 4-6). During a visit to St Petersburg in 1820 Dubrux was received by the Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich who donated a small sum of 500 roubles to the excavations. In particular Mikhail Pavlovich wanted to get more information about ancient remains on the European coast of the Kerch Strait from Cape Fonary to Mt Opuk. This request stimulated Dubrux to write his principal published work which is known as Description of remains and traces of ancient towns and settlements, which once existed on the European coast of the Cimmerian Bosporus, from the entrance of the strait near Enikale lighthouse to Mt Opuk. Plans and descriptions of the ruins were made by Dubrux in 1820-35 with the assistance of the town governor of Kerch-Enikale, of Jean Stempkovski (1788-1832) Corresponding Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and of Jean Moret de Blaramberg (1772-1831) Director of Kerch Museum of Antiquities and Corresponding Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. At the beginning of the 19th century Dubrux and Stempkovski formulated plans for archaeological and topographical research on ancient cities and settlements on the Kerch and Taman peninsulas which were only realised for Russian scholarship at the beginning of the 20th century. Dubrux had a precise scientific agenda for his research on the antiquities of the eastern Crimea: to collect detailed data about ancient monuments on the European coast of the Cimmerian Bosporus. He noted ruins of cities and settlements, large kurgans, ancient roads and other archaeological monuments in their environmental context. He researched the surrounding territory in the 18th century tradition, leaving exact descriptions and measurements of most archaeological monuments that were partly damaged on account of stone-robbing. He described, measured and placed the monuments he studied on plans and maps.
Figure 2. P. Du Brux. First plan of excavations of some barrows near Kerсh 1817-8. St Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Fond 30, opis’ (inventory) 1, delo 474, list 36
Measuring angles with a plane-table and distances by means of ropes, Dubrux made every plan as accurate and detailed as possible, and he sometimes made repeat visits to sites that were 60km from Kerch. The first drawings would
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Figure 3. P. Du Brux. Some artifacts from barrows near Kerch 1817-8. St Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Fond 30, opis’ 1, delo 474, list 34 back
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Figure 4. P. Du Brux. Plan and view of Kul’-Oba barrow. Archive of the State Hermitage. Fond 1, opis’ 1-1831, delo 19, list 101
Figure 5. P. Du Brux. Plan and sections of the Kul’-Oba Tomb. Archive of the State Hermitage. Fond 1, opis’ 1-1831, delo 19, list 102
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Figure 6. P. Du Brux. Plan and section of the Golden barrow near Kertch. State Archive of the Russian Federation. Fond 666, opis’ 1, delo 534, list 127
be done with black-and-white drafts, that would then be converted to coloured drawings and scaled plans. With the help of his material it is possible to reconstruct common outline of fortifications and inner structure of such Bosporan towns as Pantikapaion, Nymphaion, Myrmekion, Iluraton (Figures 7-11), Kytaion etc. (Figures 12-14). It also helped to reconstruct the composition of archaeological complexes of the Scythian ‘royal’ kurgans, such as Patignoty (18201), Kul’-Oba (1830) and Golden barrow (1832), as well as objects from Bosporan necropoleis and other items. The last 14 years of Dubrux’s life were devoted to these arduous but accurate researches, and in so doing he built an eternal monument to himself in the world history of archaeology.
government. In 1832 and 1834 therefore he forwarded petitions to the emperor Nicolas I, enclosing descriptions of some monuments since he hoped to receive some reward from the government for his participation in revealing the Kul’-Oba kurgan and for his longstanding contribution to research on the ancient settlements and necropoleis of European Bosporus. In forwarding his descriptions of Bosporan monuments to members of the imperial family, well-known scholars and patrons of the arts, Dubrux hoped both to get donations for excavations and for the publication of his research. None of his works was ever published, however, since the author lacked funds and could not afford the expense. To the best of my knowledge, only three small articles ever appeared in the French edition of the Journal d’Odessa, 1833 and 1834 (Dubrux 1833; 1834а; 1834b).
The large number of gold objects found in the Kul’Oba kurgan drew the attention of the Russian imperial authorities to the ancient monuments of the Kerch peninsula. This event opened a new stage in the history of Russian archaeology and classical studies, for there began a period of regular excavations financed by the government. Dubrux, however was deeply wounded by the fact that from 1831 all archaeological research placed in the hands of D. V. Kareisha (1808-78), an official of Kerch-Enikale municipality, and to A. B. Ashik (1801-54), the new Director (from 1833) of the Kerch Museum of Antiquities. Thus from the beginning of the 1830s Dubrux lost his right to conduct excavations on behalf of the state
Several of Dubrux’s manuscripts are conserved in Paris. In 1834 and 1835 as had advised the late Stempkovski Dubrux sent some of his works to the Paris Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres but they also were not published. As a result all his unpublished articles and materials were used by most of scholars to whom simpleminded Dubrux gave them. First of all those were Désiré Raoul Rochette (1789-1854), the member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and J. de Blaramberg and A. B. Ashik, the directors of the Kerch museum of antiquities, which did not even mention the author’s name. 360
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Figure 7. P. Du Brux. Plan of ruins of Iluraton (Кermesh-Kelechik) near Kerch. About 1833. State Archive of the Russian Federation. Fond 666, opis’ 1, delo 534, list 130
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Figure 8. Du Brux. Plan of ruins of the ‘Acropolis’ of Iluraton (Кermesh-Kelechik) near Kerch. About 1833. State Archive of the Russian Federation. Fond 666, opis’ 1, delo 534, list 131
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Figure 9. Du Brux. Plan of ruins of the ‘Acropolis’ of Iluraton (Кermesh-Kelechik) near Kerch. About 1834. Archive of the State Hermitage. Fond 1, opis’ 1-1831, delo 19, list 104
Scholarly papers of Dubrux were evaluated only after his death. Thoroughness of his descriptions and precision of graphic records were confirmed by excavations of the Russian and Ukrainian archaeologists since the middle of the 20th century.
following heading ‘Plans, et descriptions des vestiges et des traces, des anciennes Villes et Bourgs qui existaint autrefois sur le Bosphore Cimmérien, Rive d’Europe, depuis l’entré dans le détroit, jusque et compris la montagne d’Apouch, sur la mer Noire. Travail executez pendant le Cours de plusieurs années, par le conseiller honoraire Paul Dubrux chevalier de Saint Louis, résident à Kerch depuis l’année 1810. Kertch, le 16 decembre 1833’. There is another name on the reverse side of the page: ‘Descriptions et plans des vestiges des villes et des bourgs, existant autrefois sur le Bosphore Cimmérien, Rives d’Européene’. All papers of Dubrux are illustrated by colour plans, maps, and drawings, which were considered lost before (see for example Tolstikov 1999).
During 170 years a lot of Russian classical archaeologists were looking for original plans and drawings of Paul Dubrux. Studying the documents on history of the Russian classical archaeology of the 18-20th centuries I found some original Dubrux’s manuscripts and letters and also documents about his life and archaeological researches (Tunkina 1999; Tunkina 2002; Tunkina 2005). In archival holdings of St Petersburg, Moscow (Russia), Kiev, Odessa, Simferopol (Ukraine) I discovered several versions of his main scholarly paper ‘Description of remains and traces of ancient towns and settlements… on the European coast of the Cimmerian Bosporus’ (1833), his report on excavations of the world-wide famous great Kul’-Oba barrow not far from Kertch (1830) and other archaeological notes, some of which are still unpublished. In the State Archive of the Russian Federation in the manuscript group of the Grand Duke Michail Pavlovich I managed to find the fullest manuscript of the main Dubrux’s works. This work was devoted to the descriptions of ancient monuments of the Eastern Crimea and was illustrated with colored drawings and map. This original Dubrux’s autograph has the
The draft manuscript of ‘Descriptions…’ was found in Kiev as a part of the manuscript group of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities. This manuscript became the basis for the adopted brief Russian translation made by the author’s grandson A. G. Dubrux and was published in 1858 in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities (Diubriuks 1858). Any archaeologist dealing with ancient period who read this translation understands incompleteness and inaccuracy of explaining in Russian the topographic descriptions of Paul Dubrux. Having no special archaeological education and poorly acquainted with the Eastern Crimea topography the translator mostly distorted 363
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Figure 10. P. Du Brux. Plan of ruins of Iluraton (Кermesh-Kelechik) near Kerch. About 1834. Archive of the State Hermitage. Fond 1, opis’ 1-1831, delo 19, list 105
the meaning of his grandfather’s work. He shortened the original text by his own, left some unintelligible pieces of text, took away almost all numeric markings corresponding to plans.
disciples she published Dubrux’s report on excavations of the Kul’-Oba barrow in 1830 (Gavignet et al., 2000, 341374) and also some documents about him, his family taken from military archives of France and Belgium.
In archives of the State Hermitage and the Institute of France in Paris there were found the author’s corrections and supplements to ‘Descriptions…’ with plans (Tunkina 1999; Tunkina 2002, 144-157, 167-179). The honourable revelation of Dubrux’s documents in the Institute of France was done by Veronique Schiltz, French researcher of Scythians and corresponding member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. In co-authorship with her
During almost two centuries the handwriting manuscripts of Dubrux scattered in numerous archives of the world were inaccessible for the researches of ancient period of Black Sea coast. Rare, abstracted and misread publications of his separate manuscripts (Tizengauzen 1888; Latyshev 1889; Bich 1959) could not fill this lacuna. Since 1998 till now team of 12 co-operate scholars of St Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhnii Novgorod, Kerch and Paris had been preparing 364
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Figure 11. P. Du Brux. Draft plan of ruins of Iluraton (Кermesh-Kelechik) near Kerch. National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences Institute of manuscript V. I. Vernadsky National Library of the Ukraine. V, 1034, list 88
a publication of Dubrux’s ‘Opera omnia’ in accordance to his manuscripts which should fill this lacuna. This commented treatise should include reconstruction of all Dubrux’s unpublished manuscripts and letters (1816-35) held in archives of St Petersburg, Moscow (Russia), Kiev, Odessa, Simferopol (Ukraine), Paris (France). Different author’s texts and their copies are compared with previous publications of the archaeologist which were done in 19-20th centuries. The documents should be published in original language (French) and in Russian translation. Research articles include estimation of Dubrux’s data with taking account the modern ideas on history and archaeology of the Kingdom of Bosporus and research of concrete monuments of the Eastern Crimea. Scholarly commentaries should include a detailed textual, historical, archaeological and topographical explanations. It’s necessary to publish all drawings and plans in colour.
of the 19th century. The bringing back to scientific life all the research heritage of Dubrux is equivalent to new field archaeological revelations, it proves the extremely high scientific potential of documents to be published. This material is of great significance for the history of classical archaeology and ancient studies in Russia. No doubt the complete works of Paul Dubrux will become a favorite book for all classical scholars and archaeologists dealing with monuments of the Bosporan Kingdom. The grants of the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Foundation will help to issue this two-volume book.
The first full publication of Dubrux’s descriptions and plans will help the modern researches to understand and reconstruct disappeared ancient objects, to trace the construction and planning of the European Bosporos towns and barrows, to reconstruct the composition of burial complexes which were excavated in the first third
Bich, O. I. 1959 — Бич, О. И. Первые раскопки некрополя Пантикапея: Дневник раскопок П. Дюбрюкса в 1816-1817 гг. [Pervye raskopki nekropolia Pantikapeia: Dnevnik raskopok P. Diubriuksa v 18161817 gg. – The first excavation of Panikapaion cemetery:
This article was prepared with the financial support of the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Foundation (RGNF), project 08-01-91113а/U. Bibliography
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Figure 12. P. Du Brux. Plan of ruins of the settlement-site of Kuurdak (Andreevka Severnaia). About 1833. State Archive of the Russian Federation. Fond 666, opis’ 1, delo 534, list 132
of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities] 4/I, 3-84. Odessa. Dubrux, P. 1833. Antiquités: Château royal du Bosphore. Kertche, 25 septembre 1833. Journal d’Odessa 27 oct./8 nov., 86, 341. Dubrux, P. 1834a. Antiquités: Découvertes des vestiges de Nymphée. Kertche, 5 Décembre 1833. Journal d‘Odessa 16/28 janv., 5, 17-19. Dubrux, P. 1834b. Antiquités: Description détaillée des sarcophages que l‘ont vient de découvrir dans l‘acropolis de Mirmikione. Kertche, le 23 avril 1834. Journal d‘Odessa 15/27 mai, 39, 155-156; 18/30 mai, 40, 159161. Gavignet, J.-P., Ramos, E. and Schiltz, V. 2000. Paul Dubrux, Koul-Oba et les Scythes: présence de Paul Dubrux dans les archives françaises. Journal des savants Juillet-Décembre, 323-374. Latyshev, V. V. 1889 — Латышев, В. В. Неизданная рукопись Дюбрюкса: Извлечение из дневника раскопок, произведенных в нескольких керченских курганах в 1817 и 1818 годах [Neizdannaia rukopis’ Diubriuksa: Izvlechenie iz dnevnika raskopok,
diary of the excavations of P. Dubrux in 1816-1817]. In Материалы и исследования по археологии СССР [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR – Archaeological Materials and Research in the USSR] 69, 296-321. Moscow, Leningrad. Diubriuks, P. 1858 — Дюбрюкс, П. Описание развалин и следов древних городов и укреплений, некогда существовавших на европейском берегу Босфора Киммерийского от входа в пролив близ Еникальского маяка до горы Опук включительно на Черном море [Opisanie razvalin i sledov drevnikh gorodov i ukreplenii, nekogda sushchestvovavshikh na evropeiskom beregu Bosfora Kimmeriiskogo, ot vkhoda v proliv bliz Enikal’skogo maiaka do gory Opuk vkliuchitel’no na Chernom more – A description of ruins and traces of ancient cities and fortifications, which once existed on the European shore of the Cimmerian Bosporos from the entrance of the strait near Enikale lighthouse as far as Mount Opuk on the Black Sea]. Записки Императорскoго одесского общества истории и древностей [Zapiski Imperatorskogo Odesskogo obshchestva istorii i drevnostei – Memoirs 366
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Figure 13. P. Du Brux. Plan of ruins of the settlement-site of Kuurdak (Andreevka Severnaia). About 1834. Archive of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 3 Н 155
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Figure 14. P. Du Brux. The final plan of ruins of the settlement-site of Kuurdak (Andreevka Severnaia). Not later than 1834. Archive of the State Hermitage. Fond 1, opis’ 1-1831, delo 19, list 339
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proizvedennykh v neskol’kikh kerchenskikh kurganakh v 1817 i 1818 godach – Unpublished manuscript of Dubrux: Extracts from the diary of the excavations done in several barrows of Kerch in 1817 and 1818]. Записки Императорскoго одесского общества истории и древностей [Zapiski Imperatorskogo Odesskogo obshchestva istorii i drevnostei ] 15/I, 116-149. Odessa. Sztetyłło, Z. 1969. Paul Dubrux — ‘ojciec archaeologii bosporańskiej’ [Paul Dubrux – ‘The father of Bosporan archaeology’]. Meander 24/I, 41-47. Tizengauzen, V. G. 1888 — Тизенгаузен, В. Г. Записка Дюбрюкса ‘Несколько заметок о различных родах гробниц, находящихся в окрестностях Керчи’ [Zapiska Diubriuksa ‘Neskol’ko zametok o razlichnykh rodakh grobnits, nakhodiashchikhsia v okrestnostiakh Kerchi’ – A note on Dubrux: ‘Several records of different types of tombs located around Kerch’]. Труды VI Археологического съезда в Одессе (1884 г.) [Trudy 6 Arkheologicheskogo s’ezda v Odesse 1884 g. – Proceedings of the VI Archaeological Congress in Odessa in 1884] 2, 135-139. Odessa. Tolstikov, V. P. 1999 — Толстиков, В. П. Утраченный план Пантикапея Поля Дюбрюкса (К проблеме реконструкции) [Utrachennyi plan Pantikapeia Polia Diubriuksa (K probleme rekonstruktsii) – The lost plan of Pantikapaion of Paul Dubrux (The problem of reconstruction)], in M. Iu. Vakhtina et al. (eds), 41-46. Tunkina, I. V. 1999 — Тункина, И. В. О судьбе рукописного наследия Поля Дюбрюкса [O sud’be rukopisnogo naslediia Polia Diubriuksa – The fate of the
manuscript heritage of Paul Dubrux], in M. Iu. Vakhtina et al. (eds), 8-35. Tunkina, I. V. 2002 — Тункина, И. В. Русская наука о классических древностях юга России (XVIII середина XIX вв) [Russkaia nauka o klassicheskikh drevnostiakh iuga Rossii (18 - seredina 19 v.v.) – Russian Scholarship Relating Classical Antiquities of Southern Russia (18th – mid-19th Centuries]. St Petersburg. Tunkina, I. V. 2005 — Тункина, И. В. Новые архивные материалы о роде Дюбрюксов в России [Novye arkhivnye materialy o rode Diubriuksov v Rossii – New archival material about the Dubrux family in Russia]. In Ученые Записки Таврического Национального университета им. В. И. Вернадского. Серия История [Uchenye zapiski Tavricheskogo Natsional’nogo universiteta imeni V. I. Vernadskogo. Seria Istoriia] 18 (57/I), 175-178. Simferopol. Vakhtina, M. Iu., Zuev, V. Iu., Rogov, E. Ia. and Khrzhanovskii, V. A. (eds) 1999 — Вахтина М. Ю., Зуев, В. Ю., Рогов, Е. Я., Хржановский, В. А., (ред.) Боспорский феномен: Греческая культура на периферии античного мира. Материалы международной научной конференции, декабрь 1999 [Bosporskii fenomen: Grecheskaia kul’tura na periferii antichnogo mira. Materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii, dekabr’ 1999 – Bosporan Phenomenon: Greek Culture on the Periphery of the Ancient World. Materials of the International Scientific Conference, December 1999], 41-46. St Petersburg.
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Chapter 46 A Collegium of Hieroi in the Bosporan Kingdom?
Alfred Twardecki
The National Museum in Warsaw Department of Ancient Art Warsaw, Poland [email protected] Abstract: Author examines Greek inscription CIRB 121 found in Kerch (Crimea, Ukraine) which is poetic epitaph for certain Hekataios. The text of the epitaph allowed to suppose by earlier editors that deceased was a Bosporan orphic (Bikerman 1938) or philosopher (Nock 1940). New interpretation presented in this paper is basing on comparison of essential expressions in the epitaph to the text of well known inscription from Andania with regulations of mysteries of Persephone and Demeter from Peloponnesus. Similarity of expressions allows the author to advance a thesis that Hekataios was most probably a high rank member of a religious organisation in Bosporan Kingdom. Unfortunately in known sources there is no trace of existence in Bospor similar to Andania organisation of religious associations. Therefore author’s attempt to define the Hekataios’ religious organisation remains unsuccessful for now. Keywords: CIRB 121, epitaph, epigram, Hekataios, Andania inscription, mysteries, Bosporan Kingdom, Pantikapaion, priest
To begin with, I should like to answer the question I first asked in 2007 at the Bosporan Readings in Kerch (Twardecki 2007, 361-368): does this inscription provide testimony for the existence of a body of ‘Hieroi’ in the Bosporan Kingdom? The answer is: no, there was probably not a collegium in Bosporus analogous to the ÚeqoÊ at Andania. The reasons for this view are presented here. The marble stele in the Kerch collection discussed in this paper, Inv. No. KL 438 (= CIRB 121, Figure 1), was bought on the 20th February 1931 from Tarabun, a citizen of Kerch, who found it near Kerch in the steppe, on the Gan’kin kurgan beyond the gardens of Bulganakskaia Street.
is superscripted. Furthermore, the last letters of each verse are getting thinner towards the end2. Marti has dated the stele on the basis of palaeographic (especially after shape of ksi, sigma and omega letters) and general examination to the turn of the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, Nock (after Dr Sterling Dow, but without substantiation) dates inscription about AD 40-100, which palaeographic seems be in Bosporos to late (Nock 1940). However, I would rather accept the date given by the CIRB editors (after letter shape) – second half of 1st century BC. The inscription itself evoked much scholarly interest because of its content and vocabulary. E. Bikerman (1938, 368-374) was the first to comment it after the publication of Marti. His main argument was that it was an epitaph of an orphic. Shortly afterwards, an elaborate and – as usually – interesting answer was published by Nock (1940, 301-315; Nock acknowledges Mr. F. J. Withfield as translator from Russian language, Professors Campbell Bonner and J. H. Finley as well as Dr G. M. A. Hanfmann for consultations). After examining the text and the philosophical society of the early Roman period, he suggested that the deceased Hekataios was not necessarily an orphic but could be an ‘ordinary’, ’odest’ philosopher of these times. Out of Peek’s publications (Peek 1941, 79-80, No. 22; 170 (Nachtrag); Peek 1955, No. 1812; Peek 1960, No. 333) only the first one includes some commentary, but rather of an epigraphic kind. Peek (1940) in Nachtrag mentioned
The editio princeps was published by Marti (1934, 76-78, No. 12 with photo) with the text as follows1: OÕ kËcom, ÐkkÀ bÊom sovÊgr ÑtupÍsao | dËnam aÕtodaÂr Úeq´m cimËlemor jqilÇtym eõdym oõm, ‚Ejata²e, lesËwqomor, ósh’ëti h°ssom jÌjkom Ðmigq´m ÑwÈvucer jalÇtym Only the lower, inscribed part of the stele is preserved. The upper part with a relief is almost completely missing (only the feet of the figure survived), as well as the bottom part, but both side-edges are preserved. The surface is only slightly damaged and letters are readable. The letters are angular with serifs, without guidelines. The ductus is careful although the stone-cutter has wrongly measured space for the text and the last word in the first line (dËnam)
2 Additional palaeographic information: The upper margin H is 7cm, phi - H 2,5cm, sigma - W 1cm, alpha - H 1,8cm and W 1,3cm, omega - W 1,4cm, ksi - W 1,3cm, omicron - H 1,8cm; W 1,5cm. Alpha is with broken cross-bar. Alpha, delta and lambda are with crossed oblique minims, theta is with short stroke.
Dimensions: H 44cm; W 39cm; Th 9cm, are given by Marti and repeated in CIRB are almost the same as at present day (H 43,5cm; W 37,5cm; Th 8cm). 1
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Figure 1. Fragment of stele KL 438 (= CIRB 121), Kerch Museum. Photo Z. Doliński, National Museum in Warsaw
Bikermann option; Panchenko (1992, 28-42) elaborated paper with presentation of the Bikermann-Nock discussion and additional philological analysis with acceptation of rather Nock position) have added only some deeper philological analysis, but did not change the interpretation of the epigram as orphic or philosophic.
about Bikerman publication and correct bibliographical note of edition princeps, but he still seems not know Nock publication. The following papers (CIRB No. 121, with modest commentary, where in bibliographic note are named all preceding publications, but not in chronological order and there is no reflection of Bikerman – Nock dispute – it seems that the two publications were unknown for CIRB editors; Casadio (1991, 136-137) short presentation of the epigram without text and with acceptation of rather
The text itself is interesting because of few unusual forms and formulae. 372
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Line one. ÑtupÍsao – is an epic medial aorist but the form is known only from this epitaph: Peek in his first publication defines it as ‘überaus gekünstelte Phrase’. In literary sources, the word means in general ‘form by impress, stamp, model’. In papyrological texts, however, its meaning is more technical (‘ordain, decree, execute in due form’). However, in medial form it was used in meaning ‘form by oneself’ (e.g. AG 12, 56). It is worth mentioning that a similar verb, tÌpty, is generally much more popular in epigraphic texts. Its meaning is close to that of the verb used in this epitaph, which may allow thinking about the possible associations in the ears of the Bosporan Greeks. Anyway, its medial form was used e.g. by Herodotus, meaning ‘beat oneself’ > ‘beat one’s breast for grief’ (2. 61) > ‘mourn for a person’ (2. 42; 2. 132), which may suggest an additional wordplay. To conclude: the word is rare; the form is unknown in other sources and has an association with printing in the manner of stamping; forming a sculpture.
that he was self-knowing or had self-knowledge from a god. Therefore the sense of the first line is, in my opinion, as follows: You yourself have forged the glory of wisdom, not by words, but by life. Úeq´m jqilÇtym aroused the highest interest of each editor. Marti and CIRB editors have interpreted this formula as ‘the will of Gods’ and supposed that Hekataios has committed a suicide. Bikerman ascertains that the formula itself is very strange: ‘krima means iudicium in general understanding of Roman term, as it was used by Marcus Aurelius (10. 9)’ and ‘Holy opinions’ is a strange expression, but for metrical reasons the author of the epitaph was unable to use the word dËcla or kËcor at the end of the verse (note 6: The second part of the Pentameter is always dactylic, the first syllable of dËcla is long, but the first syllable of jqÊla was short in post-classical literature), which would have been natural words to use in this context and which are actually associated with ‘holy’ by Marcus Aurelius (10. 9). In using word jqÊla he wished to signify ‘the idea of the dogma’ (Bikerman 1938, note 8 referring to Sext. Empir. 7. 195; Stoic. Vet. Fragm. 3, fr. 243 (Chrysippus); Epict. 2. 15. 8; 4. 10. 13). Hekataios, says the epitaph, was familiar with the ‘holy principles’ and that was the reason of his philosophical life. The implication of dËcla is intelligible when we remember that Orphism was a ‘dogmatic’ religion (Bikerman 1938, note 9 referring to Rohde 1907, vol. 2, 111 and Kern 1922, fr. 291) whose ‘principles’ had been revealed by its founder, Orpheus.’ For Bikerman it was a strong argument for an orphic character of the epitaph. Nock (1940, 304-305) has rejected this point too. In his opinion: ‘jqÊlata is not „principles” but „judgments” or „decisions” (e.g. of a court or of a popular assembly).’ Only in biblical Greek (Leviticus 18. 4; Ezech. 37. 24) this word ‘means „divine decision with the validity of law”’ and adds that all instances quoted by Bikerman in note 8 mean ‘human decision as to conduct, one’s own or another’s’ and approximate to ‘set purpose’. Although, he follows then, jqÊla and dËcla alike mean ‘decision’ (cf. jqÊlata in Epictet 4. 11. 7 with dËclata in 4. 11. 8) ‘we must remember the wide range of meaning of which the word dËcla is capable’. It is often ‘philosophic tenet or position (Plato, Phileb 41 B)’; one Latin equivalent is decretum …’ and “there are dogmata, decreta, which are essential for the good life.”’(Nock refers to Epictetus 3. 19. 23 and 21. 19 as well as to Seneca, Ep. 95). The following analysis of the meaning of the dogma by Epictetus leads Nock to a conclusion, with which I agree, that there is no ‘clear instance of the use of jqÊla to mean „philosophic or religious teaching or principle”’. In his first publication of the epitaph, Peek did not know neither Bikerman’s nor Nock’s publications. He shortly defined jqÊla after comparison with papyrological and epigraphic material in Dittenberger 1915-1924 (vol. 4, s.v.) and PreisigkeKiessling (1925, s.v. with mention that it appears often there) as connected with juridical matter meaning ‘rechtskräftige Entscheidungen, besonders von Kommissionen, die in
Line two. aÕtodaÂr – it is a very rare, poetic word. In fact, it is known only in several sources: it appears in Didymus Caecus (who is citing Diagoras – De trinitate 39. 784-785=Diagoras Fr. 1) and in Sophocles’ Ajax (l. 700), this passage is particularly helpful because of the scholia; the Zonaras’ Lexicon gives the definition of the word (Pseudo-Zonaras, Lexicon alpha. 345. 26; Scholia and Scholia et glossae to the place). Bikerman (1938, 372-373) interprets this word simply as ‘self-thought’ and concludes that the religion professed by Hekataios was scriptural, not sacramental. Furthermore, he says that: ‘It was, indeed, the characteristic of the Orphic religion, founded upon sacred writings, “hieroi logoi”, that the neophyte could be initiated without the assistance of any professional priest or teacher. The type is illustrated in the person of Hippolytus, in Euripides (l. 952), who made Orphic religion his guide to life.’ Moreover, Bikerman points out that Hekataios, obtaining his wisdom as a ‘self-taught man’ ‘represents a superior form of conversion, for the Greeks believed that knowledge gained under constant drill and supervision was less worthy of merit.’ In notes Bikerman makes references to Lewy (1929, 55ff (non videtur) – note 4), Philo (De post. Caini, 78 – note 5), Goodenough (1935, 156ff – note 6), Bidez/Cumont (1938, fr. 24 B where he cities information about Zoroaster as a man of self-taught) and finally he calls example of St. Paul (note 7). Nock strongly disagrees with this interpretation (1940, 305-306): ‘Nevertheless, so far as I can see, “self-taught” meant to a Greek not having learned from a teacher or from a book, but from instinct’. He makes examination (note 16) of Lewy (1938, 59 note 2) with reference to Plato (Phaedr. 275 Aff) and the conclusion is that teaching from book is not especially worthy although many thinks they are capable of conveying instruction and finally he sums up (1940, 306) that ‘selfthought’ ‘would be no compliment to an Orphic’. Peek (1941, 79) only mentions that the word appears two times in literature. There is no doubt that Hekataios has not learnt from books, teachers or during any kind of formal education but in a natural way, from the Nature. My interpretation is
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Grenzstreitigkeiten u. ä. Entscheiden’. The jqÊlata are ÚeqÇ, says Peek, because the Law is holy by the supervision of Zeus. In the Nachtrag Peek (1941, 170) makes clear that he knows Bikerman’s publication and decisively rejects his proposals to understand Úeq´m jqilÇtym as a poetical equivalent of ÚeqËr kËcor. The CIRB editors have inserted an excerpt from Marti’s referring to this passage.
the fragments referring to the activities which may be called jqÊlata Úeq´m. These ÚeqoÊ knew the will of the gods better than others; it was especially important in special cases, when e.g. a slave asked for asylum. In such a case in Andania the judgement was made by only one person. The word used in the inscription is ÑpijqÊmeim instead of jqÊmeim. It is not used accidentally: it means a juridical decision according to the will of a god (Harter-Uibopuu 2002, 153). In my opinion, Hekataios did such jqÊlata Úeq´m but the formula could be also a wordplay with allusion to the ‘holy’ and ‘temple’ meaning. Off course it evokes an important question: was he a member of the body of ÚeqoÊ in Pantikapaion, maybe even one of the presidential body of the Ten?
The main problem of all precedent interpretations is that they follow Marti, who translated Úeq´m as ‘holy’, ‘holy place’ or ‘temple’ according to similar formulae Ñpà t´m Úeq´m (CIRB Nos 62, 976, 1045 and 1129) or Úeq´m oÓjomËlor (CIRB 1129, 1130, 1134; Kruglikova 1967, 183f, No. 1 with SEG 700), which described offices. I will only touch the question, without analyzing all religious and social consequences of these formulae. I would nevertheless like to emphasize that the general meaning of this term was ‘of temples’ or something of that kind. There is one other possibility – this word may be understood as ÚeqoÊ, members of a religious college or guild.
Line three. Eõdym – a poetic form used instead of jaheÌdym as mentioned by Marti. Peek’s interpretation of oõm leads to a following translation of the last two verses: ‘as men of practical life you know, that being brings with every new day cares and pains’. I would prefer simply ‘resting’.
Let us examine this possibility on the basis of the well known stele from Andania with regulations of the mysteries devoted to Persephone and Demeter (latest bibliography is in Deshours 2006).
lesËwqomor – it is a neologism (in the middle of the time), which should mean middle-age (cf. Kaibel 1878, No. 218 = Peek 1955, No. 1871, which was referred by Marti and CIRB). The discussed inscription is the only epigraphic text known to me where this word is used. Bikerman proposes a very interesting association with an astrological term lesËwqomior – he reffers to Vettius Valens (314) and connects it with the theory that at the moment of birth each human is given a fixed number of years of life. In antiquity, the astrologers have divided human lives into three categories: long, short or average (like Hekataios according to Bikerman). Hekataios died then suo die. Peek merely mentions that this term appears only in literary sources from late antiquity.
It is not the aim of this paper to elaborate on the interpretation of this important text, I would like to use it only instrumentally, for the needs of this publication. The most significant members of the society were the ÚeqoÊ, who had wide judicial prerogatives (Harter-Uibopuu 2002, 135ff, 144ff). An important information is mentioned for the first time in lines 43-45: the ÚeqoÊ have juridical power over the guilty members of the society (cf. Thür and Taeuber 1978, 220f). This inscription also contains other passages of the highest interest:
Apart from the already listed sources, others should also be mentioned: Ireneaeus, Adversus haereses 19, 5; ‘Astrampsychus Magus’, Oracula 11, 9 and Sortes 11, 9. There is a very interesting passage by Oribasios (Collectiones medicae 2. 58. 134) where the discussed word appears among medical terms in the meaning of ‘middlegrowth’, what confirms the translation ‘middle-age’ for Hekataios’ epitaph. There is, however, additional point I would like to make. There may be yet another wordplay because of similarity in pronunciation with lesËwoqor, a word meaning ‘coryphaeus’, which is also attested in epigraphic sources (Pippidi 1983, 100, 11; 167, 10; 207, 14 [dated for 2nd and 3rd centuries AD] and Bourguet 19111929, 219 [Delphi, without date]). It could be an allusion to the importance of Hekataios’ office or his spiritual skills.
1. Ll. 75-78, where it seems that the ÚeqoÊ have not only juridical power over the lÌstai, although only during a very limited period of time: during the open market and feast at the second part of mysteries (cf. Harter-Uibopuu 2002, 145, note 24 for juridical analysis). 2. Ll. 78-80. In this case the ÚeqoÊ are entitled to judge during the whole year but only over someone who destroys trees in the Holy Grove (cf. Harter-Uibopuu 2002, 148, note 27 with many parallels according such guard over holy places in all over Greece). 3. Ll. 168-177. This paragraph confirms the existence of the body of ‘Ten’, which was a part of the ÚeqoÊ. It had worked during the whole year, gathering all ÚeqoÊ only to discuss more complicated cases. We may also presume that the dÈjai presided over the body of ÚeqoÊ during the assembly (cf. Harter-Uibopuu 2002, 148-149 with comparative material from other cities). 4. Ll. 101-103 and similar formulae in ll. 105-106 and 110111. At this time we meet jqÊla connected with Úeq´m.
ósh’ëti according to Nock (1940, 305) this phrase or óshi alone, with a dependent participle or infinitive, or in parenthesis, ‘know that…’: ‘normally introduces a statement which conveys or is supposed to convey to its recipient something novel: it profess to tell him something which he did not know’ and further rejects Bikerman’s
This inscription describes mainly the juridical matters and the competences of the ‘holies’, but I have concentrated on
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Bibliography
suggestion of an Orphic allusion in that place (Nock 1940 in note 11 referrers to Aesch., Pers. 337, 431; Euripid. IA 1005; Aristophan, Ach. 325, Nub. 829; Xen. Cyr. 8.3.44 and all examples in Ast 1834 as well as to Index Verborum in Schenkl 1894).
AG – Anthologia Graeca, 4 vols, 2nd edn, (1-2 vol. 1965; 3-4 vol. 1968), Munich (Liber 12: vol. 4, 12-144). Ast 1834 – Ast F., Lexicon Platonicum, Leipzig (3 vols 1834-1839). Bidez, J. and Cumont, F. 1938. Les Mages hellénisés. Zoroastre, Ostanès et Hystaspe, d’après tradition grecque, 1-2. Paris. Bikerman, F. 1938. The Orphic blessing. Journal of the Warburg Institute 2, 368-374. Bourguet, E. (ed.) 1911-1929. Fouilles de Delphes 3: Épigraphie 1. Inscriptions de l’entrée du sanctuaire au trésor d’Athènes 1-2. Paris. Casadio, G. 1991. Le metempsicosi tra Orfeo e Pitagora. In P. Borgeaud (ed.), Orphisme et Orphée, en l’honneur de Jean Rudhardt. (Recherches et Rencontres 3), 136-137. Geneva. CIRB – Struve, V. V. et al. 1965. Corpus inscriptionum regni Bosporani. Kopпyc боспорских надписей [Korpus bosporskikh nadpisei – Corpus of Bosporan Inscriptions] I. Moscow, Leningrad. Deshours, N. 2006. Les mystères d’Andania: étude d’épigraphie et d’histoire religieuse. (Scripta Antiqua 16). Pessac. Harter-Uibopuu, K. 2002. Strafklauseln und Gerichtliche Kontrolle in der Mysterieninschrift von Andania. Dike 5, 135-159. Goodenough, E. R. 1935. By Light, Light: The Mystic Gospel of Hellenistic Judaism. Yale. Kaibel, G. 1878. Epigrammata Graeca ex lapidibus collecta. Berlin. Kern, O. 1922. Orphicorum fragmenta. Berlin. Kruglikova, I. T. 1967 — Кругликова, И. Т. Новые эпиграфические памятники из Горгиппии [Novye epigraficheskie pamiatniki iz Gorgippii – New epigraphical data from Gorgippia]. Вестник древней истории [Vestnik drevniei istorii] II, 182-197. Lewy, H. 1929. Sobria Ebrietas: Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der antiken Mystik. Giessen. Marti, Iu. Iu. 1934 — Марти, Ю. Ю. Новые эпиграфические памятники Боспора [Novye epigraficheskie pamiatniki Bospora – New epigraphic monuments of Bospor]. (Известия Государственной Академии истории материальной культуры [Izvestiia Gosudarstvennoi Akademii istorii materialnoi kul’tury – Proceedings of the National Academy of History of Material Culture] 104). Мoscow. Nock, A. D. 1940. Orphism or popular philosophy? Harvard Theological Review 33, 301-315 (= A. D. Nock, Essays on Religion and the Ancient World, Oxford 1972, 503-515). Panchenko, D. V. 1992 — Панченко, Д. В. Эпитафия Гекатея (CIRB 121): Конфессия, философский топос или выбор пути? (Epitafiia Gekateia (CIRB 121): Konfessiia, filosofskii topos ili vybor puti? – Epitaph of Hekataios (CIRB 121): Faith, philosophical topos or choice of the way?). In А. К. Гаврилов [A. K. Gavrilov] (ed.), Этюды по античной истории и культуре
Line fourth. jÌjkom is essential for Bikerman (1938, 371) as a strong argument for Orphic connections. Nock (1940, 304) rejects it by telling that the word is ‘of wide range. It was not confined to the cycle of rebirth. […] The metaphor was applied to the ups and downs of fortune, to the growth and decay of things in the universe, and to the chain of circumstances which follow upon one another of necessity’. Peek (1941, 79-80) referrers only to Casius Dion (44. 29) and in Nachtrag (Peek 1941, 170) he rejects decisively Bikerman’s attempts to see an orphic in Hekataios. I will agree with that point of view. I understand the word as a synonym for ‘every-day’, ‘daily’, but with association with something of a spiritual kind. Ðmigq´m Nock (1940, note 20) referrers to Vettius Valens (index, s.v.), mentioning that it could be interesting in the light of Bikerman’s argumentation of lesËwqomior. I would like mention that there may be another wordplay: Ðmigq´m jalÇtym with Úeq´m jqilÇtym. Finally Marti rightly mentions that the lack of a usual name of the deceased with a patronimikon and the rest of the formula could be a consequence of incomplete preservation of the stele. I would like to present my proposal of translation: Not by words, but by life you copied wisdom‘s glory, Self-knowing you made judgments of Holies. So resting, Hekataios, in the middle of time, know that faster You escaped wheel of grievous troubles. In my opinion we may add to earlier interpretations of the epitaph another one: Hekataios was probably a prominent member of religious association. Most probably he was ÚeqËr of some association, probably also in mysteries. Very tempting would be a supposition that he was a member of ÚeqoÊ body in Bospor. Unfortunately after browsing information about Bosporan associations I found no trace of another, even hypothetical, mention about ÚeqoÊ in meaning presented above. Acknowledgements Thanks are due to colleagues in the Demetra Foundation in Kerch for friendly and fruitful cooperation; to Kerch Zapovednik for allowing me to examine Greek inscriptions and the École Française d’Athènes for hospitality during the preparation of this paper.
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Северного Причерноморья [Etiudy po antichnoi istorii i kulture Severnogo Prichernomor’ia – Studies in the History and Culture of Northern Black Sea Coast in Antiquity]. St Petersburg. Peek, W. 1941. Griechische Epigramme III. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaeologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung 66, 79-80 with Nachtrag (p. 170). Peek, W. 1955. Griechische Vers-Inschriften 1, GrabEpigramme. Berlin. Peek, W. 1960. Griechische Grabgedichte. Berlin. Pippidi, D. M. 1983. Inscriptiones Daciae et Scythiae Minoris antiquae. Series altera: Inscriptiones Scythiae Minoris graecae et latinae, vol. I: Inscriptiones Histriae et vicinia, Bucharest. SEG – Pleket, H. W. and Stroud, R. S. (eds) 1986. Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 36. Leiden. Preisigke, F. and Kiessling, E. (eds) 1925. Wörterbuch der griechischen Papyrusurkunden mit Einschluss der griechischen Inschriften, Aufschriften, Ostraka, Mumienschilder usw. aus Ägypten. Berlin. Schenkl, H. 1894. Epicteti Dissertationes ab Arriano Digestae. Leipzig. Stoic. Vet. Fragm. - Stoicorum veterum fragmenta, ed. H. von Arnim, voll. 1-4, Leipzig, 1903-1924; vol. 3:
Chrysippi fragmenta moralia. Fragmenta Successorum Chrysippi, 1903 (reprinted in 2005). Dittenberger, W. 1915-1924. Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, 3rd edition. Leipzig. Rohde, E. 1907. Psyche. Seelenkult und Unsterblichkeitsglaube der Griechen. Tübingen. Thür, G. and Taeuber, H. 1978. Prozessrechtlicher Kommentar zur “Kramerinschrift” aus Samos. Anzeiger der philosophisch-historischen Klasse der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 115, 205-225. Twardecki, A. 2007. Nor Orphic whether philosopher. In В. Н. Зинько [V. N. Zin’ko] (ed.), VIII Боспорские чтения. Боспор Киммерийский и варварский мир в период античности и средневековья. Святилища и сакральные объекты [VIII Bosporskie chteniia. Bospor Kimmeriiskii i varvarskii mir v period antichnosti i srednevekov’a. Sviatilishcha i sakral’nye ob’ekty – VIII Bosporan Readings. The Cimmerian Bosporus and Barbarian World in the Period of Antiquity and Middle Ages. Sanctuaries and Sacred Objects], 361-368. Kerch. Vettius Valens. Vettius Valens, Anthologiarum libri IX, ed. W. Kroll. Berlin.
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Chapter 47 Ten Years of Anglo-Georgian Collaboration at Pichvnari
Michael Vickers
University of Oxford Ashmolean Museum Oxford, Great Britain [email protected]
Amiran Kakhidze
Batumi, Archaeological Museum Batumi, Georgia [email protected] Abstract: A report on work done at Pichvnari by the Anglo-Georgian Joint Archaeological Expedition in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Excavations took place in the Settlement, and in the ‘Colchian’, ‘Greek’ and Hellenistic cemeteries. Significant finds include silver coins (kolkhidki) found at the mouths of the deceased and employed as ‘Charon’s obols’, penannular silver bracelets with fawns-head and rams-head finials, an Attic red-figure krater, an Attic red-figure lekythos, and a pair of gold ‘temple ornaments’ in Colchian style. Keywords: Pichvnari, Colchis, Charon’s obol, Attic pottery, core-made glass, akinakes, tsaldi
In fact, 11 years. For 2008 not only saw the celebrations in Kraków in the spring of ten years work by the joint Oxford-Batumi team at Pichvnari, but – despite the August hostilities – a successful 11th summer season that lasted from mid-July to mid-August, the preliminary results of which will be reported here, in addition to those of 2006 and 2007. For those not familiar with the site, Pichvnari lies in western Georgia, north of the seaside resort of Kobuleti. The settlement stood at the confluence of the Choloki and Ochkhamuri rivers, and there is evidence for human habitation extending back into the Middle Bronze Age. Iron working flourished (Khakhutaishvili 1987; Khakhutaishvili 2009), and dune settlements of the 8th-7th centuries BC have been found to the west of the Pichvnari settlement proper. Only part of the latter has been explored, and only Colchian dwellings have so far come to light.
inverted commas because it is not universally agreed that the dissimilarities in burial practice necessarily represent ethnic differences. We happen to believe they do, but it has been suggested that the apparent cultural differences are the result of socio-economic differentiation (Braund 1994, 114). The work of the Pichvnari Expedition began in 1967, but work ceased at the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union. It began again in 1998 when the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford became a partner in the enterprise. Work has continued since then under the joint directorship of Amiran Kakhidze, Director of the Batumi Archaeological Museum and until recently Rector of Batumi State University, and Michael Vickers, Professor of Archaeology in the University of Oxford, and Curator of Greek and Roman antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum. The expedition has been generously supported over the years by the British Academy, the Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust, the Oxford Craven Committee, Jesus College, Oxford Major Research Grants, the Department of Antiquities at the Ashmolean, and with private donations. The British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara supported two five-year excavation programmes (1998-2002 and 2003-7).
Pichvnari (‘the place of the pine trees’) was Colchian in character until the middle decades of the 5th century BC, when Greek traders created an emporion. Thenceforth, it became a major centre of the eastern Black Sea littoral, with close links with other parts of the Classical world. This lasted until the mid-3rd century, when Pichvnari ceased to be occupied for reasons as yet unknown. The urban settlement lay a little way inland, while the necropolis area lay to the west of the settlement site, across the river Choloki. Three distinct areas have been identified within the necropolis: a ‘Colchian’ cemetery of the 5th century BC, a 5th-4th century BC ‘Greek’ cemetery, and a cemetery of the Hellenistic period. Part of the classical ‘Greek’ and the ‘Colchian’ cemetery underwent a brief period of reuse in the 4th century AD. ‘Colchian’ and ‘Greek’ are in
Major funding for the 2008 season came from the Leon Levy Foundation of New York (who, together with the Friends of Academic Research in Georgia, helped acquire a new vehicle, and also supported the update, by Agnieszka Frankowska of the University of Toruń, of the Pichvnari website [Google it]).
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Preliminary reports for 1998-2007 have been published in successive issues of Anatolian Archaeology. The results of the activities of the first five years of the joint expedition were published in a monograph: M. Vickers and A. Kakhidze, Pichvnari 1: Results of Excavations Conducted by the Joint British-Georgian Pichvnari Expedition 1998-2002: Greeks and Colchians on the East Coast of the Black Sea (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the Batumi Archaeological Museum, 2004). The results of activities in the Greek cemetery during the Soviet period were published in another volume: A. Kakhidze, Pichvnari 2: Results of Excavations Conducted by the N. Berdzenishvili Batumi Research Institute Pichvnari Expedition 1967-1987: The Classical World in the Eastern Black Sea Area: The Fifth Century BC Greek Necropolis at Pichvnari (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the Batumi Archaeological Museum, 2007). Pichvnari 3, which is due to go to press late in 2009, is concerned with some of the work done at the Pichvnari Hellenistic period cemetery between 1965 and 2004, as well as at Zemo Partskhma and other sites in the Supsa-Natanebi basin (where Hellenistic period pithos burials were discovered in the 1950s). Pichvnari 4, Glassware from the Southwestern Littoral of Georgia, will probably be published sooner, in the spring of 2009. A further monograph, Pichvnari 5 (to cover the excavations in the 4th century BC Greek necropolis conducted by the N. Berdzenishvili Research Institute in the 1960s and 1970s and by the British-Georgian Pichvnari Expedition in 2003-2007) is approaching completion.
Figure 1. The wooden foundations of early houses in the settlement
The settlement Work in the settlement was described in Pontika 2006 (Vickers and Kakhidze 2008). The wooden foundations of houses at 8th and 7th century BC levels (Figure 1) reinforced the picture of primitive Colchian building practices described by Vitruvius (De architectura 2. 1. 4): ‘They lay down entire trees flat on the ground to the right and the left, leaving between them a space to suit the length of the trees, and then place above these another pair of trees, resting on the ends of the former and at right angles with them. These four trees enclose the space for the dwelling. Then upon these they place sticks of timber, one after the other on the four sides, crossing each other at the angles, and so, proceeding with their walls of trees laid perpendicularly above the lowest, they build up high towers. The interstices, which are left on account of the thickness of the building material, are stopped up with chips and mud. As for the roofs, by cutting away the ends of the crossbeams and making them converge gradually as they lay them across, they bring them up to the top from the four sides in the shape of a pyramid.’ The Colchian inhabitants of ancient Pichvnari clearly lived in log cabins on islands in lagoons, depending for food largely on fishing (many net-weights crudely made from sea-pebbles have been found (Figure 2). Later, they enjoyed the use of imported ceramics, or, more the point,
Figure 2. Net-weights crudely made from sea-pebbles
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west of the Pichvnari settlement, on a natural elevation, called ‘Napurvala’ by the local residents, just to the north of the planted area, on the left bank of the Choloki. In 2006, six graves were investigated, and finds included an Attic black-gloss ‘Delicate Class’ cup and an askos, the first example of such a shape to have been found at Pichvnari. In 2007, the area of the Colchian 5th century BC cemetery most threatened by building contractors from Kobuleti intent on extracting sand, was extended, and 30 burials were investigated. Six graves were excavated in the Napurvala Hill area, and found to contain i.a. locally made Colchian pottery, a Chian amphora, some jewellery and coins (kolkhidki) employed as ‘Charon’s obols’ and found at the mouths of the deceased, an Attic black-gloss cup and an Ionian oinochoe. In 2008, the trench in the Colchian cemetery investigated in 2007 was extended to the north, and worked on by the Oxford team accompanied by post-graduate students from Batumi University. 25 Colchian graves of the 5th century BC were found. Charon’s obols frequently occurred, usually a single Colchian silver tri-obol (kolkhidki) per burial. In one case, however, the deceased appears to have had his/ her mouth stuffed with more than a dozen such coins that were found in close proximity to an Attic black-gloss cup of the later 5th century BC (Figure 3). Five graves, moreover, produced minute fractions (one-twenty-fourths) of kolkhidki. Such coins were hitherto unknown at Pichvnari. Gold beads were also found. Grave 391 contained two kolkhidki, silver jewellery, an Attic lekythos, and an unusual core-made glass vessel on which the horizontal swirls had been left uncombed (Figure 4). There were some finds of the 4th century AD, representing a late Roman re-occupation of Pichvnari.
Figure 3. A mass of silver kolkhidki found in the ‘Colchian’ Cemetery in close proximity to an Attic black-gloss cup
The ‘Greek Cemetery’ In 2006 in the ‘Greek’ cemetery, trenches dug in 1998 and 2005 were extended to north and east, with a view to establishing the point at which the Greek and Colchian cemeteries might intersect (but in vain). The outline of graves began to emerge when the surface was carefully scraped down with a toki (a kind of mattock). Some 25 graves were found in the 2005 extension, all intact and undisturbed in antiquity. Finds included: an Attic blackfigure (‘Haemonian’) cup decorated with a Pan and a Sphinx, and which had been repaired in antiquity; a black-gloss ‘Delicate Class’ cup with ivy decoration in the tondo; and six core-made glass vessels, an amphoriskos, a hydria and four alabastra. Three graves contained pairs of penannular silver bracelets with fawn-head finials, two of them circular, but one indented in the Achaemenid manner (Figure 5). There were ten graves in the 1998 extension. One contained a Chian amphora with ‘A’ stamped on the neck. A small trench near the dig house, still in the area of the ‘Greek’ cemetery, produced three graves, one of which contained a Colchian iron mattock (toki): a reminder that ancient Pichvnari must have had an agricultural, as well as a mercantile, aspect.
Figure 4. An unusual core-made glass vessel from Burial 391 in the ‘Colchian’ Cemetery
the contents of some of them: Sinopean wine amphoras (as well as locally made containers) figured large in 5th and 4th century BC levels. It proved impossible to work in the area of the settlement in 2006, on account of the constant rain in the first two weeks of the season. In 2007, Hellenistic levels were explored. A very rich material culture was revealed, which showed ancient life there in a new light, in particular evidence for agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, and textile production. The ‘Colchian’ Cemetery Much of the necropolis area is covered with tea bushes, the remains of what was in former times a flourishing tea plantation. This is slowly reverting to nature, and a good deal of clearance has to be undertaken before excavation can take place. The ‘Colchian’ cemetery is situated to the 379
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Figure 5. Penannular silver bracelets with fawn-head finial
Figure 6. An Attic red-figure lekythos from Burial 305 in the ‘Greek’ Cemetery
In 2007, in the Greek cemetery, more than 30 (three or four of which were empty) graves of the mid-5th century BC were found. One was most remarkable, standing apart from the rest, and accompanied – on the southern side – by several ‘sacrificial areas’ or ‘funerary platforms’: places where funerary banquets had taken place and containing of broken pottery (including a fragmentary Attic red-figure krater), animal bones and charcoal. This grave (Burial No. 305) contained grave goods that were rich by Pichvnari standards: an Attic red-figured lekythos (Figure 6) showing a girl standing next to a stool and holding a hydria in her right hand, a pair of gold earrings or ‘temple ornaments’ in Colchian style (Figure 7), a pair of silver penannular bracelets with rams’-head finials, a necklace consisting of gold beads, a glass aryballos and an alabastron. Near the head of the principal deceased was a smaller grave (perhaps that of a child). Also on the same site, a single late-Roman grave; containing an iron axe-head, a spear, a knife, and a silver fibula, was found. In 2008, part of the part of the classical Greek cemetery that dated to the 4th century BC was explored, but work was not quite complete when we had to stop on account of the emergency. 14 graves and nine ‘ritual platforms’ were found. The burnt material in the latter provided a rich resource for our palynologist. One burial unusually contained two coffins (Figure 8). The Hellenistic Cemetery Figure 7. A pair of gold temple ornaments from Burial 305 in the ‘Greek’ Cemetery
In 2007, in the Hellenistic cemetery, 20 graves were excavated, with clear signs of funerary rituals having been carried out near them. All the graves had some grave-goods in them. Several new shapes of locally made ceramic vessels were found, as well as new varieties of imported black-gloss ware: kantharos, skyphos, cup, perfume vessels. ‘Charon’s obols’ were found in every grave, but in one of them there were 28 coins. There was silver, bronze and iron
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Figure 8. A burial containing two coffins in the later ‘Greek’ Cemetery
Figure 9. Colchian jugs from the Hellenistic Cemetery: 1– plain, with a conical upper part; 2 – decorated with incised zig-zags; 3 – with a fluted surface
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jewellery, many beads, and a Scythian akinakes (the second time that such a weapon has been found at Pichvnari). We learned that the Hellenistic cemetery extends further than hitherto thought. In 2008, students from Batumi University cleared part of the Hellenistic cemetery during the two weeks prior to the arrival of the Oxford team. This was extremely convenient, for it meant that they were able to start immediately on the preparation of the graves for drawing and photography. 20 burials were found, each one containing grave goods, including imported and Colchian pottery. Illustrated here are three jugs, all with burnished surfaces, one plain with a conical upper part (Figure 9:1), one with a trefoil lip and decorated with incised zigzags (Figure 9:2), and the other with a round mouth and decorated with swirling flutes (Figure 9:3). For the first time, a typical Colchian iron sickle (tsaldi) (Figure 10) was found in a funerary context; other known specimens come from hoards or were chance finds. Bibliography Braund, D. 1994. Georgia in Antiquity. A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia 550 BC-AD 562. Oxford. Kakhidze, A. 2007. Pichvnari 2: Results of Excavations Conducted by the N. Berdzenishvili Batumi Research Institute Pichvnari Expedition 1967-1987. The Classical World in the Eastern Black Sea Area: The Fifth Century BC Greek Necropolis at Pichvnari. Oxford, Batumi. Kakhidze, A. and Shalikadze, T. forthcoming. Pichvnari 4 / Gonio-Apsarus 9: Results of Excavations Conducted by the N. Berdzenishvili Batumi Research Institute and the Joint British-Georgian Pichvnari Expeditions, and the Gonio-Apsarus Archaeological Expedition. Glassware from the Southwestern Littoral of Georgia. Oxford, Batumi. Khakhutaishvili, D. 1987 — Хахутайшвили Д. А. Производство железа в древней Колхиде [Proizvodtsvo zheleza v drevnei Kolkhide – Iron production in Ancient Colchis]. Tbilisi. Khakhutaishvili, D. 2009. Iron Production in Ancient Colchis. Oxford. Vashakidze, N. and Kakhidze, A. forthcoming. Pichvnari 3: Results of Excavations Conducted by the N. Berdzenishvili Batumi Research Institute and the Joint British-Georgian Pichvnari Expeditions. The Hellenistic World and Colchis. Oxford.
Figure 10. A Colchian iron sickle (tsaldi) from the Hellenistic Cemetery
Vickers, M. and Kakhidze, A. 2004. Pichvnari 1: Results of Excavations Conducted by the Joint British-Georgian Pichvnari Expedition 1998-2002. Greeks and Colchians on the East Coast of the Black Sea. Oxford, Batumi. Vickers, M. and Kakhidze, A. 2008. Pichvnari 1967-2005; recent work in a Colchian and Greek settlement. In E. Papuci-Władyka (ed.), PONTIKA 2006 / ПОНТИКА 2006. Recent Research in Northern Black Sea Coast Greek Colonies / Новейшие исследования греческих колоний Северного Причерноморья [Noveishie issledovaniia grecheskikh kolonii Severnogo Prichernomor’ia], Proceedings of the International Conference, Kraków, 18th March 2006. (Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 11), 221-237, Pls 31-32. Kraków.
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