What was found in remote areas of the region and what was added to the museum funds of the region

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Kuban researchers had a rich harvest this year. No matter how much scientists dig in the southern land, rich in all sorts of archaeological surprises, the secrets hidden in it seem to be enough for another generation of scientists.

An ancient fortress hid for two thousand years near Novorossiysk

Just in March, near the village of Verkhnebakansky, antiquity seekers discovered the ruins of a stone wall. It is apparently part of a previously unknown ancient fortress. Surprisingly, scientists stumbled upon the structure quite by accident when they were determining the boundaries of the settlement they found back in 1990. 26 years ago they dug only one tower; excavations were continued only in 2016.

They dug pits in the vicinity of the tower and began to remove a layer of earth. The stone wall was located at a depth of 30 centimeters from the surface. It dates back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD. Archaeologists do not exclude the possibility that several more similar walls, which once made up one large fortress, have been “mothballed” nearby. Two thousand years ago it may have been a powerful defensive point. But near the wall they found various household items, a spindle whorl and coins, so it is possible that this could be a temple. But it may take months, if not years, to find answers to all the questions.

A mutilated monument to Lenin was discovered in the village of Poltavskaya

One of the tourists came across the infamous sculpture of Vladimir Ilyich. Lenin stood quietly in the park of the village of Poltavskaya, in the Krasnoarmeysky district, for almost half a century, no one paid attention. And here you are - caught in the sights of cameras. He turned out to be so “good” that he even ended up on Ivan Urgant’s broadcast in March. And he already heartily “drove” around the monument to “unsuccessful surgical intervention.”

Komsomolskaya Pravda found Lenin’s concrete grandfather, but found it difficult to recognize him. Plump lips like a duck, a chiseled nose, chic sharp cheekbones and a squinted look. The only way to recognize the “leader of the world proletariat” was by his outstretched hand, which, according to tradition, pointed the way to a bright future. But it also looks more like a huge bear paw.

As it turned out, it was ruined by local builders, who were supposed to restore the pedestal itself on which Lenin stood. But, seeing that the monument had almost no face (it was knocked off by hooligans), they decided to put their hand to art and recreate its face, and at the same time update the hand.

Fortunately, the fate of the monument was decided after a few months - the sculptor from Slavyansk-on-Kuban, Viktor Weiss, decided to “operate” on Vladimir Ilyich. Many people have already appreciated the updated monument. True, the locals can’t get used to everything - the old version, according to them, was better.

Ancient Arab coins and a marble stele were found near Temryuk

The area near the Sea of ​​Azov gave archaeologists a treasure trove of artifacts in 2016. The latest excavations have lifted the veil of secrecy over how people lived in the distant past in these territories. Kuban archaeologists found a unique find - a silver Arabic dirham from the 8th century. The diameter of the coin is no more than 2.5 centimeters. Surprisingly, researchers have dug it up for the first time since scientific research began in 1936.

The good preservation of the coin found on the territory of “Phanagoria” made it possible to immediately clarify its origin. Just by looking at it, experts determined that the dirham with a thousand-year history was minted during the reign of Caliph al-Mahdi at the North African mint al-Abbasiya (approximately 784-785 AD - Author). The silver standard of coins changed very slowly, so dirhams played the role of an extremely reliable currency and people everywhere trusted their “good quality”.

And the coin most likely came to the money market of Phanagoria along the caravan routes from the East that passed through its territory. In the ancient lands of the Bosporan kingdom, dirhams are quite rare. And to this day they have never been found in Phanagoria. The find will be a good addition to the annually growing collection of coins found during excavations in Phanagoria.

A little later, near Temryuk, archaeologists dug up a marble stele. The layers in which the artifact was found date back, according to preliminary data, to the second quarter of the 5th century BC. The phrase inscribed on the marble stele is written in ancient Persian cuneiform. And it was used only by King Darius I. Currently, the stele is in a restoration laboratory. Scientists will continue the research and later transfer it to the State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve “Phanagoria”.

Ancient horse burials were found in Taman, and a Byzantine anchor was raised from the bottom of the bay

On the peninsula near the Kerch Strait, archaeologists continue to explore the Eastern Necropolis of Phanagoria. In the summer, scientists found some rather strange and rare horse burials. Three burial sites contained complete carcasses of young horses, and another contained the head and legs of a foal.

The working version of scientists is a ritual sacrifice. The burials, according to scientists, date back to the end of the 5th - beginning of the 4th century BC. They made this conclusion based on excavations of funeral feasts (part of the funeral rite of the ancient Slavs - Author). There, archaeologists found fragments of ceramics - mainly amphorae.

Such burials, researchers say, are very rare. There are no similar finds in the Phanagorian necropolis.

But this is not all the finds of the Necropolis team of archaeologists. Not far from the horses, experts discovered the so-called “stone box” - a tomb made of cut limestone. She is more than 2,200 years old. But the artifact has not yet been opened - now they are clearing the area around it to make it easier to explore the “box”.

And at this time, at the bottom of the Taman Bay, under a layer of silt, an ancient anchor was discovered. The find was found in the flooded part of the ancient city while checking magnetic anomalies in the eastern part of the Phanagoria water area. Among the divers who stumbled upon the artifact were several students from a Krasnodar university. The anchor was found at a depth of three meters, weighing about 200 kilograms. It took four of us to get it out.

The found anchor was covered with bottom sediments, but was very well preserved. Its dimensions are approximately two by one and a half meters. The Byzantine anchor, according to archaeologists, is a rather rare thing in our area. And even more so in the Taman Bay.

It dates back approximately to the 10th-11th centuries AD. The exact date of its production will be determined after conservation and restoration.

A plane was lifted from the bottom of the Black Sea

In the Kerch Strait, searchers recovered from the bottom an attack aircraft that was shot down during the battle of the Great Patriotic War back in 1943. In those years, the enemy's defensive line could only be bombed from the sky. That’s why three Il-2s sank in this area alone. The search engines managed to fully recover only one plane. The second “flying tank” is only partially visible - the side is heavily silted. The third attack aircraft remains at the bottom of the Kerch Strait. The operation to raise it will continue at the beginning of 2017.

The raised Il-2, as it turned out from archival documents, was shot down on December 2, 1943. In the water he lay at a depth of ten meters, cabin down. When the plane was lifted aboard the ship, the remains of the pilot were found in the cockpit. The pilot's chest was inside the life jacket in the area of ​​the pedals. The Order of the Red Banner of Battle was found among the ribs. His condition is very bad. The order was temporarily preserved in fresh water. Perhaps search engines will be able to identify his number. And from it - already the name of the pilot.

The fate of the second crew member, the gunner, remains unknown. The plane's fuselage was broken off right in the area of ​​the cockpit.

Now the attack aircraft has been sent to the base of the Gelendzhik Film studio. Here specialists and experienced pilots will begin restoring the aircraft to its 43rd condition. In honor of the Gelendzhik aviation group, the raised Il-2 will be installed in Victory Park.

Bones of peoples who lived in the 20th century BC were found in the catacombs near Armavir

Amazing finds were unearthed in July in Armavir in the Kizilovaya Balka tract, which is located north of the village of Forshtadt in the Novokubansky district. And who would have thought that in this place they would be able to find an ancient monument. Researchers discovered three mounds containing about 30 burials. Many things from that time were found in the catacombs. Among them are decorations made of shells and fish vertebrae, ceramic vessels with funeral food. As it turned out, one of the found mounds was built by the Scythians. Under the mound, archaeologists found the burials of a baby and an adult.

But the other two mounds belong to a completely different culture, much earlier. While little is known about these people, their origin is not completely clear, we can only say that they were Caucasians who represented two cultures of the Bronze Age: the Catacomb - the Middle Bronze Age (approximately 25-20 centuries BC - Auth.) and Timber (XVIII -XII century BC). They were mainly engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Several thousand years separate them from the Scythian era (VII-IV centuries BC).

After studying, all finds will be transferred to the Krasnodar Museum of Local Lore.

An ancient spear tip was unearthed on the shore near Sochi

At the beginning of September, on the banks of the Khadzhipse River in the village of Yakornaya Shchel, in the Sochi region, a very ancient and quite rare spear tip was found by chance.

Researchers are confident that the 19-centimeter bronze tip is about five thousand years old. Proof of his version is the characteristic stalked shape of the weapon. Only five of these were found in the entire North Caucasus. This tip is the sixth. The tip still needs to be studied and various examinations have to be carried out to establish, at a minimum, its exact age. Immediately after, the artifact will join the collection of the Sochi History Museum.

The missing four-month-old tiger cub of famous trainers was caught at the resort

In November, when the Bagdasarovs came on tour to Sochi, one of the artists’ youngest pets, a four-month-old tiger cub named Shiva, disappeared. He was born from the stars Betty and Cupid, however, due to his age, he has not yet entered the arena.

As a result, for four days the artists, together with circus employees, combed every corner of the city. And late in the evening, employees of the Sochi circus finally found the missing furry. As it turned out, the little predator decided to travel in the local jungle. One of the circus employees found him in the bushes not far from the circus arena on Deputatskaya Street (between private houses - Author). He did not receive any injuries, but he worked up an excellent appetite. Having had a healthy dinner, the baby fell asleep. And the Bagdasarovs now keep an eye on the tiger cub during walks - after all, sometimes you can’t keep track of the children.

In recent years, robbery has overwhelmed the entire region. For local residents they have become the main source of income and a gold mine for visitors. In the coastal and foothill areas of the Krasnodar Territory, “black” excavations are put on an industrial basis. The robbers use high-tech equipment and have good knowledge of archeology; they install signal posts on access roads and attract armed guards.

In 2008, in the Absheron region, a Meotian military burial ground of the 4th–1st centuries BC was plundered using earth-moving equipment. e. and five medieval Adyghe mound groups. In the Temryuk region, over the past months, one of the richest ancient burial grounds has been systematically subjected to predatory raids. Diggers do not hesitate to use the most barbaric methods. In 2009, the citadel of the ancient settlement was completely dug up in Anapa. In the Temryuk region, to facilitate the collection of coins, robbers literally plowed up the surface of ancient settlements. In 2010, it was possible to uncover the activities of an interregional criminal group. She smuggled the valuables found in Kuban to London. There she sold it to private collections.

But despite the work done, the problem remains.

Just the facts

There are 17,923 cultural heritage sites on the territory of the Krasnodar Territory. This includes: architecture - 1124 monuments, historical monuments - 2238, archaeological - 13871, monumental art - 676. For comparison: in the Republic of Belarus - 8 thousand monuments. A number of our sites are of not only all-Russian but also global significance: this is the ancient Bogatyri site, the Il Middle Paleolithic site, where the oldest buildings made of mammoth tusks and bones were discovered, sites in the Mezmayskaya and Vorontsovskaya caves, rock inscriptions in the Mostovsky district. Also on the Azov-Black Sea coast there are dozens of ancient monuments. The most significant of them are Hermonassa (Tmutarakan), Gorgippia, Phanagoria, the village of Sennaya...

Since February 1990, six settlements have the status of historical settlements of regional significance.

Findings at the Olympic construction site

Oddly enough, it was the Olympic construction that made it possible to make several new discoveries. In particular, a monument of Byzantine architecture on Russian territory was found in the Imereti Lowland. This is a rare example of early Christian architecture with a preserved foundation, walls, and altar. It was built from local stone in the 9th–11th centuries.

The temple on Mount Akhun belonged to the same period. The monument has been known since the pre-revolutionary period and is mentioned in literary and tourist sources. Placed under state protection by the decision of the Krasnodar Regional Executive Committee back in 1981. And it gained scandalous fame after “black developers” set up shop on its territory.

In fact, there was no equipment there,” commented Semyon Povalyaev, leading consultant of the department of archaeological monuments of the department of state protection of cultural heritage sites of the Krasnodar Territory. - She worked a little south of this site. The attackers came across a stone exit and must have decided that this was where the temple was located. On the territory of the temple itself, they dug a hole two by three meters and partially destroyed the wall. At the site of their work, bone remains, presumably human, and fragments of ceramics were discovered. For robbers, there is nothing of value in early Christian churches. There are scanty grave goods and modest burials. Meanwhile, the damage amounted to more than 430 thousand rubles. The materials were sent to the internal affairs bodies for further work.

Dig - here

Every year in the Krasnodar region more than 300 new archaeological monuments come into the light of day. This is due to the geomorphological features of the region, experts say. And all objects are absolutely unprotected until specialists register them. “Black diggers” take advantage of this. Even if they are caught in the act, it will be extremely difficult to prove that they committed the crime. After all, the object has no documentation, which means it does not legally exist.

A similar “trap” lies in the legislation. By law, an information plaque must be installed at an archaeological site. Otherwise, how will a person know that the cultural heritage of the state lies there? And even if the robber is caught at the crime scene, it will be very difficult to prove in court that he was destroying a historical monument and not planting potatoes.

That's a double-edged sword

Now the Russian Ministry of Culture believes that a special marking on an archaeological site is necessary. However, 90 percent of the inscriptions are destroyed within a year. By the way, the cost of each design exceeds 10 thousand rubles. As a result, millions are thrown away.

Information designations do have their benefits. But they will scare off looters only if punishment is inevitable.

Tourism with a metal detector

A new type of unauthorized excavation has appeared - tourist metal detecting. For example, on the website Welcome to sea (a guide to the resorts of the region), everyone was offered a trip to search for antique coins. The duration of the program is three hours. The cost is two thousand rubles. The organizers explain that this place is not a state monument, so there is nothing criminal in such a vacation. Various extreme clubs, and in some cases, foresters and Cossacks, have joined these types of tourism.

There are not enough patrons for everyone

Perhaps the only example in the region where security is at its highest is the Phanagorian archaeological expedition.

A security company was created, they tried to select reliable people for it (now these are mainly former employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), and purchase the necessary equipment and vehicles. As a result, dozens of attempts to “dig” at the main excavation site or in the territory of the necropolis surrounding the city were not only prevented. The attackers, armed with metal detectors and sapper blades, were detained and handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At the same time, a number of episodes were brought to the magistrate's court (in this case, violators usually get off with a fine and confiscation of their working tools, as well as finds made at various monuments of the Taman Peninsula) and even a criminal case. Even before the adoption of the recent law, one of the diggers received a real prison term, and from one of the “collectors” in the village of Taman, everything collected by unjust labor was confiscated in favor of the state, - Georgy Kokunko, head of the “Historical and Cultural Heritage of Kuban” program, shared his experience. - We understand that the experience of the Phanagorian expedition cannot yet be extended even to objects located relatively close to Phanagoria - say, excavations of the same temple of Demeter. And this is connected not only (or not so much?..) with the inaction of local officials and law enforcement agencies or the greed of businessmen. The main problem of current Russian archeology is, first of all, the glaring lack of funds for protection, and for scientific research itself, and for educational activities.

What's at the bottom of the sea?

The Krasnodar region preserves a unique history not only on land, but also on the seabed. The number of ships killed off the coast of the Caucasus for various reasons amounts to many hundreds; as a result of rising sea levels, dozens of ancient settlements and cities have been washed away and flooded. The seabed gradually turned into a colossal repository of antiquities of various eras and peoples, a one-of-a-kind unique underwater museum. And the issues of identifying and preserving these monuments must also be addressed, says Alexander Kondrashev.

The scientist is confident that in the interests of science and the development of “underwater tourism” in the region, it is necessary to develop programs to identify and use monuments of underwater heritage. Currently, the almost uncontrolled activity in the Kuban of amateur underwater expeditions from different cities of Russia is causing concern. They excavate and recover objects from sunken ships from the Great Patriotic War. Some of them are registered with the state. Ships scuttled during hostilities have the status of military burial. Working with them requires special permits and compliance with certain rules.

The actions of defense departments can also cause great damage to underwater archeology. Ships that sank during the war contain ammunition. Of course, they need to be cleared. But with the same success, the military can completely destroy the object itself.

No time

Where the robbers did not have time to lay their hands, time tirelessly operates. Ancient artifacts are destroyed by the forces of nature. For many years, funds have been allocated from the regional budget to carry out security and rescue work. The expeditions saved many monuments and masterpieces of ancient art from destruction. These finds are still excellent exhibits in museums in the region. But for more than five years no funding has been allocated for such work. And then it turns out that archaeological sites, which are the historical heritage of Russia and are in federal ownership, cannot be financed from the regional budget. This situation is paradoxical and stimulates robbers.

Where to go for a tourist

What is there to hide, tourism in the Krasnodar region has been developing since ancient times. It’s just that investors and the government mostly focus on beach holidays. Nevertheless, it is historical tourism that many countries focus on and benefit from.

It was decided to “museumize” some objects in the region. For example, the ancient monument Gorgippia. A wonderful tourist complex, popular among vacationers. But the infrastructure is not developed.

Underwater objects are of particular interest.

Many people don’t like Taman: it’s hot, there’s no greenery, and the water in the bay is warm and cloudy. But three reef ridges extend from the Taman Peninsula - an ideal place for diving, noted Alexander Kondrashev. - Not only does it have clean water and beautiful underwater landscapes, but here you can see rare underwater inhabitants - crabs, stingrays and even the Black Sea katran shark. There are also many historical monuments at the bottom, mainly sunken ships from the era of the sailing fleet and world wars. Thus, already now little-known historical sites located off the coast of the Taman Peninsula can become super popular among divers...

Conclusion: unfortunately, we don’t know and don’t appreciate much.

The lands of the Northern Black Sea region and Kuban are interesting to us not only because they were home to areas of Cossack troops, but also because of the more ancient layers of their history. Suffice it to say that, according to one of the modern versions, it was here that the community of Indo-Europeans was born, which gave rise to many modern peoples of the continent, and in ancient times this region of our country was part of the legendary Greco-Roman world and even fed it with bread and enjoyed it then used instead of mayonnaise and salt tart garum sauce.

And how many tribes trampled the Wild Field and the Terrible Mountains under the hooves of their horses and oxen, moving through them from east to west, from north to south, or dissolving in the dust of steppe battles, going... into history or, on the contrary, getting mixed up on the bones of defeated enemies with a loud laughing boom... But those who did it last laughed well, but were the first to make the right choice of their faith, culture and comrades, taking dominance over the then wild field and in symbiosis with the Russian princes and tsars, making it calm and civilized over half a millennium. Of course, we are talking about the Cossacks, but today we will touch upon the moments in the history of the region that preceded their appearance and are of interest to archeology.

We managed to get to a closed exhibition dedicated to the history of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the discoveries made by the institute’s scientists over the years, as well as materials from this year’s latest archaeological expeditions to Crimea and Kuban. Next year, in 2019, for the 100th anniversary of the institute, a larger exhibition will be held that is already open to everyone, about which we will definitely inform you, but for now we will tell you what we learned during our visit.

Crimean finds at the exhibition

The most interesting discoveries presented at the exhibition were those made by the institute’s archaeologists this year during excavations in the Crimea and Kuban. After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, the inclusion of a new entity in the country’s infrastructure required the reconstruction of its transport system and the construction of new routes connecting the peninsula with Kuban. By law, such construction must be preceded by full-scale security excavations in its place (to dig up all the artifacts from the territory, during the construction of which they may be damaged, destroyed, and access to them is blocked). Thus, archaeologists were able to conduct unprecedented excavations in the Crimea, Kuban, and even under the waters of the strait between them. And, thanks to the persistent and painstaking work of scientists, discoveries were not long in coming.

I was in Crimea. It is interesting that it was preserved due to the fact that the Tatars who came to this territory built their own cemetery in its place (there are few suitable places on the peninsula, and they didn’t have much choice), thereby unwittingly preserving the necropolis for archaeologists. On the other side of the Kerch Strait, in Kuban, they continued. New buildings and burials were excavated, many household items and a flooded fortress wall of the city were found. A separate event is one that has not previously been found in these parts. Now scientists have to study everything found and fill in the blank spots in the history of the region.

(click on the orange highlighted text to go to the excavation report)

The ancient Greeks founded many cities and settlements on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

The famous Athenian philosopher Socrates is said to have jokingly asserted: “The Greeks settled around the sea like frogs around a swamp.”

Thus, Greek civilization spread to large areas of southern Europe. The development of the colonization process was determined by economic and political prerequisites. The economic prerequisites include, first of all, the acute “land famine” that arose as a result of population growth, in which part of the population was forced to seek a means of subsistence in a foreign land. Another incentive for colonization was the desire to gain access to sources of raw materials that were not available in the homeland and to secure the most important trade routes for Greece. As for the political reasons for colonization, the fierce struggle for power in the Greek city-states (city-states) played an important role. Often, the “party” that was defeated in this struggle had only one thing left to do - leave their hometown and move to a new place.

Greek colonies.

Borysthenes and Olbia

The logical conclusion of the movement of the Greeks to the northeast was the development of the Black Sea coast, which they called Pont Euxine (i.e., the Hospitable Sea). Miletus took a particularly active part in the colonization of the Pontic shores, founding most of his colonies in this region. In the second half of the 7th century. BC e. The Milesians settled on a small island Borysphenida(now Berezan Island) near the mouth of the Dnieper (in Greek, Borysthenes, hence the name of the colony, obviously). They then made a "jump to the mainland", founding a city Olvia(ancient Greek Ὀλβία - happy, rich) on the shore of the mouth of the Southern Bug .

Berezan Island

The colonists from Miletus, like all representatives of the Greek Ionian tribe, in their mentality preferred to resolve relations with neighbors through negotiations and alliances, and the place in which they settled was not very successful for defense, so the policy periodically became dependent on the local Scythian tribes and was even destroyed by them. However, they soon restored it as a place where it was possible to trade with merchants from Greece and Chersonesus, mint their own coins (in small quantities, simply to attribute the status of their power to local leaders), buy wine, pottery and other “benefits of the then civilization " It is noteworthy, however, that this small fortress withstood the siege of the troops of Alexander the Great. With the rise of the Roman Empire and its expansion to the western coast of the Black Sea, Olbia joins the empire and falls under its protection, taking the side of Rome in the Tauride War.

View of one of the excavations in the ancient city of Olbia; Nikolaev region, Ukraine.

Construction, which had ceased by the 2nd century, was resumed in the city with the arrival of the Romans, however, it was already carried out according to Roman standards and needs. It is noteworthy that by that time the inhabitants of the polis, having few resources and constantly being in a state of semi-siege, according to the references of travelers from the “mainland” who visited them, were already living poorly and dirty, however, unlike the rest of the civilized world, they preserved the archaic Greek language and, standing in rags, they quote Homer by heart, which they are very proud of. However, in the first half of the 3rd century, a crisis sets in in Rome itself, and, having no more resources for this, Rome withdraws its garrison from Olbia, and in the middle of the same century a wave of Goths (Germanic tribes moving from the Baltic states in search of new lands) passing through the settlement, it destroys all signs of the city. After this, the colony turns into an ordinary village of barbarians, no longer different from its neighbors.

Greek colonies in the Northern Black Sea region.

Bosporan Kingdom

In the 7th century BC e. many settlements of the Greeks (the overwhelming majority were again the Milesian colonies of the Ionians) occupied the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus (the ancient name of the Kerch Strait). The largest center of ancient civilization in this region was Panticapaeum(ancient Greek Παντικάπαιον, lat. Panticapaeon, from Taurus panti-kapa— hill near the strait or other Iran. *panti-kapa - fish route, it was located on the site of modern. Kerch). Cities of smaller size and importance arose nearby: Nymphaeum, Myrmekium, Theodosia, Phanagoria, Hermonassa, etc. Over time, these cities created an association, headed by Panticapaeum. In the classical era, from this union of poleis the largest state in the Northern Black Sea region was formed - Bosporan Kingdom.

Ruins of Panticapaeum.

It is not entirely clear what so attracted the Greeks to the shores of the Kerch Strait, perhaps the then abundant movement of fish in its shallow waters (the eastern shore was then loose and swampy, representing the spreading mouth of the Kuban River (the Cossacks who came here with the Russian Empire will move its bed)). The path of development of this colony is unique in that it anticipated the Hellenistic monarchies in its structure, obviously affected by the proximity of the eastern kingdoms, contacts with them and the type of thinking of the main population: the Scythians, and then the Sarmatians (Iranian-speaking Indo-European tribes of nomads) on the west coast, the Sindians and Maeotians on eastern It is still unknown exactly who these Sinds and Meots were, but modern Circassians (Kabardians, Adygs) consider themselves their descendants. Their tribes recognized the power of the colonists, who founded their cities along the coast and even tried to build a line of fortifications in the depths of the Kuban territory, but this border was not strong, and the local “kings” obeyed weakly, essentially playing “their own game” with the help of the Greeks. On the western coast of the strait, the Greeks, on the contrary, mixed with the local Scythian-Sarmatian population, adopted their customs and clothing (imagine an ancient Greek in a Scythian-Sarmatian caftan and pants), since in the steppe it turned out to be more practical and warmer. In military affairs, they also began to speak the language of the enemies, quickly replacing their Greek phalanx with light and heavy cavalry. The land between the cities represented a single territory belonging to the monarch (who at first formally called himself an archon to maintain the appearance of democracy, although he was not elected) and protected in the west from attacks by external barbarians by a border line of permanent military settlements (it is not known exactly how this service was organized, but it seems that it resembled the one into which the Cossacks would later be organized in the same zone, defending the civilization of the Russian world. Indeed, sometimes a territory dictates its form of organization to completely different cultures.).

Tanais

Greek merchants also sailed to the mouth of the Don, where the local Scythian population established a trading settlement. However, the Bosporans, having decided to take control of trade, in the 3rd century BC. e. founded their own colony nearby Tanais, destroyed, barbarized and desolate during the Great Migration. In the Middle Ages, Italian merchants established their trading post Tanu in this place, which in modern times was captured by the Turks, calling it Azov, thereby being so connected with the history of the Don Cossacks.

Excavations of Tanais.

The Bosporan kingdom, along with Egypt and Sicily, was the main importer of bread for the Greco-Roman world, acclimatized by the Bosporans by the 5th century BC. e.. At the turn of our era, Pontus (a Hellenistic monarchy located on the southern shore of the Black Sea and claiming to unite the Greek world independent of the Roman Empire) and Rome were fighting for power over the territory of the kingdom.

Its legendary "Veni, vidi, vici"(lat. - “I came, I saw, I conquered”, sounds like [veni, vidi, wiki]) Julius Caesar will say, having learned about the invasion of the ruler of the Bosporan kingdom Pharnaces, he quickly moved towards him and defeated him on the campaign.

However, having established its power, Rome soon becomes unable to defend the remote province and leaves. Greeks and Sarmatians enjoyed equal rights and could equally occupy positions of power; Sarmatians increasingly became monarchs. As a result, this colony, unlike others, was not captured by barbarians, but gradually became barbarized, the cities turned into villages, and their population completely ceased to resemble the Greeks who had once sailed here, the kingdom disintegrated, and after the Great Migration of Peoples, its territory became dependent on Huns. Then the region will fall into the sphere of interests of Byzantium, many more peoples will trample these shores, Tmutarakan will make itself known, but it will also go down in history...

Chersonese Tauride

Later than the others, in the second half of the 6th century. BC e. On the territory of modern Sevastopol, a colony of Pontus appears - Tauric Chersonesos. However, thanks to its geographical position (protected by the highlands from the rest of the peninsula), as well as the more militant, decisive and rational mentality of the Pontic colonists, who belonged to the harsh Greek tribe of the Dorians, it manages to exist intact, outliving not only its “neighbors”, but the entire ancient peace, existing until the Tatars arrived in Crimea in the 13th century.

Ruins of Chersonesos.

The colonists quickly faced an acute shortage of land, which also had a very thin fertile layer. Having subjugated the local population - the Tauri (a tribe of Indo-Europeans who were at a low stage of cultural development), they captured most of their territory and thoroughly dug it up, creating trenches of the required depth, filled with fertile soil collected from the rest of the territory. In these trenches they grew grapes, which occupied 2/3 of their agricultural territory and became, along with their own pottery, the main product for export to neighboring colonies and sale to barbarians. And, although these goods were of lower quality than those produced in Greece itself (the wine was more sour, and the dishes were less smooth), their cost was lower, so they were in demand among the townspeople themselves and unpretentious neighbors. To the Greco-Roman world, Chersonese exported garum (sauce from small fish fermented under the influence of sunlight in huge salting tanks, which, despite its smell, civilized citizens loved to season any dishes instead of the current salt and mayonnaise, the sediment obtained during the production of garum was disgusting, but very nutritious and went to the table of slaves and sometimes military personnel). The city also lived on profits from the repurchase of goods between Greece, other colonies and barbarians.

Ruins of the garum production quarter in Chersonesos.

However, in the 3rd century BC. e. The Sarmatians cross the Don and wreak havoc on the Scythian nomads who peacefully neighbored and traded with Chersonesus, slaughtering their nobility, taking their cattle and driving them from their homes. The Scythians, forced to look for new means of livelihood, changed their attitude towards agriculture and a sedentary lifestyle and formed their own states. They can only occupy the territories of the Greek colonies, bringing trade with Greece under their control, taking their place in relations with the rest of the barbarians. But the Chersonesos, unable to resist them, turn to Pontus for help and receive it, finding themselves under his (and then Bosporan and Roman) protection and authority. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the colony came under the protection of its successor - Byzantium (Prince Vladimir would storm this Byzantine theme, and then be baptized into Orthodoxy here, determining the vector of further development of our region, but that will be a completely different story).

After our light and slightly free excursion into history, we invite you to familiarize yourself with the results of archaeological expeditions according to press releases from the institute:

An unlooted necropolis of the late Scythians was found in Crimea

The Crimean new-building expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, during excavations on the future highway "Tavrida" in the Sevastopol region, discovered an untouched Late Scythian burial ground of the 2nd - 4th centuries AD. Artifacts found during excavations will make it possible to restore the history of Crimea during the Roman period and recreate a picture of the life of the late Scythians in this time period, their culture, traditions and rituals.

“The history of the late Scythians is interesting not only in itself, but also because it shows how ancient culture influenced the barbarians and how they influenced it, how waves of migrations rolled in one after another, mixing and intricately intertwining local peoples. Not all the details of these processes are yet clear, and only large-scale and thorough excavations can shed light on them. This is why studying the Frontovoye 3 burial ground is so important.” , says the head of the expedition, Doctor of Historical Sciences Sergei Vnukov.

The explored part of the burial ground. View from the south.

There is very little information in ancient written sources about the past of Crimea (or Taurida), and its history during the period of late antiquity is full of blank spots. Therefore, archaeological excavation data is of particular importance. After the decision to build the Tavrida highway, which, according to the Federal Law on mandatory archaeological examination of lands before their development, must be preceded by archaeological excavations, archaeologists received a unique opportunity to conduct large-scale research in different regions of Crimea. The excavations, which began in the spring of 2017, became the largest in the archaeological history of Crimea: scientists from the main archaeological centers of the country examined an almost 300-kilometer section of the future route crossing the peninsula from east to west and discovered more than 90 monuments of history dating back up to 80 thousand years – from the Mesolithic era to the 19th century.

In 2018, in the Sevastopol region, on the left bank of the Belbek River, the New Crimean Expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, led by Sergei Vnukov, discovered an untouched necropolis, called Frontovoye 3 after the name of the nearest village. This find was a huge success, because in this region of Crimea previous excavations of similar monuments were carried out mainly in the 1960s - 1970s. Unfortunately, these burial grounds were not sufficiently explored at that time, and by now they have been completely plundered. The Frontovoye 3 necropolis, discovered during the construction of the route, has been completely preserved and is therefore of particular interest to scientists who have the opportunity to study untouched burials at the modern scientific level.

Vessels near the head in one of the burials of the Frontovoye 3 necropolis.

The necropolis dates back to the end of the 2nd–4th centuries AD. The population of Western Crimea in Roman times was very heterogeneous. The descendants of Greek colonists lived in Chersonesos, the descendants of the Tauri lived in the mountains, and in the steppes of the northwestern part of the peninsula until the 2nd century AD lived the descendants of the Scythians who moved from the Northern Black Sea region and switched to a sedentary lifestyle.

It is not known whether they were direct descendants of the “classical” Scythians, who roamed the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region from about the 7th century BC and left behind the famous mounds. On the peninsula, constantly in contact, trading and fighting with the Greek Bosporan and Chersonese states, mingling with local barbarians, building fortresses and farming, the former nomads changed so much that some modern researchers began to doubt that they were direct descendants of the nomadic Scythians. To distinguish the new culture, it was called Late Scythian.

Ground grave with shoulders, view from the northeast. Necropolis Frontovoye 3.

The Late Scythian state initially played a prominent role in the history of Crimea. It constantly threatened Chersonesus and in the second half of the 2nd century BC captured its agricultural territory in the north-west of the peninsula. At the end of the same century, the late Scythians fought with the Pontic king Mithridates VI, in the first quarter of the 1st century AD - with the Bosporan king Aspurgus, and in the 60s AD - with the Romans.

In the 1st century AD, nomadic Sarmatians penetrated into Crimea, in the middle of the 2nd century they were followed by a new wave of nomadic Sarmatians, and in the 3rd century - Goths and Alans. At the beginning of the 2nd century AD, the late Scythians left the Crimean steppes and went to safer foothills. By the 3rd century AD, their state was in decline.

Now it is difficult to say who once were the people buried in the Frontovoye 3 necropolis. The valley of the Belbek River, where the burials were discovered, was a contact zone for many peoples during late antiquity: the descendants of the autochthonous Taurians, bearers of steppe cultures (late Scythians, then Sarmatians) lived here ), Germanic Goths, and at the same time the communities living here were strongly influenced by the Greek Chersonese. The local culture was largely eclectic in nature, which is confirmed by finds from the burial ground. The burial methods and the objects found in them indicate various cultural influences: Scythian, Sarmatian, Greek and Gothic. It is obvious that the burial ground accurately reflects the turbulent historical events of this period.

A grave with cremated remains placed in it.
Necropolis Frontovoye 3.

The early burials of the necropolis date back to the end of the 2nd - first half of the 3rd century AD. Most of them are trench graves, which consist of a vertical entrance “well” and a niche—a burial chamber—built in one of the walls. The buried were laid on their backs; dishes, glass vessels, knives and food were usually placed near the head, which was placed for the deceased “for the long journey.” Then the entrance to the chamber was blocked with stones.

Women's burials differed from men's in the set of objects. If in women's burials there is more jewelry: beads, bracelets, earrings, glass bottles, spindle whorls, and no weapons are often found, then in men's burials there are no earrings and rings (only sometimes large rings and single and large beads are found), but maybe weapons and horse bridle.

So, in one of the burials, archaeologists discovered near the head of the deceased a jug, a glass balsamarium (bottle for incense), an amphora, a knife, on the chest - a necklace made of glass, jet, amber beads, and under the collarbone - three golden laurel leaves (probably from the Greek golden funeral wreath). Also found in the burial were glass beads that had once been used to embroider clothes, two brooches and two buckles, a glass mug, and next to them were rings and belt buckles.

Among the finds in early burials, especially notable are a ring with a carved carnelian signet insert and a gold pierce with a drop-shaped pendant and a carnelian insert edged with grain. Its closest analogues were found in the necropolis of Chersonesus.

Buckles from an early burial of the Frontovoye 3 necropolis. A pierced pendant with a drop-shaped pendant with a carnelian insert and a grained edging from an early burial of the Frontovoye 3 necropolis.

As it turned out during excavations, the necropolis gradually expanded to the south and east. Most of the graves of the second half of the 3rd and 4th centuries AD were also undercut, but other burial structures also appeared: ground graves with shoulders - ledges on which stone floor slabs rested.

In the 4th century, they also began to build ground crypts, consisting of a rectangular underground burial chamber and a narrow dromos corridor with steps leading to the crypt from the surface. The entrance to the chamber was blocked with stones. Several people, apparently members of the same family, were buried in such crypts.

Top view of the crypt and neighboring graves. Necropolis Frontovoye 3.

Weapons were found in late male burials: swords, daggers, and a battle ax was found in one of the graves. Vessels were still placed near the skulls, some of which contained remains of funeral food. Untouched burials made it possible to accurately establish the details of the funeral rite: for example, in one of the crypts where an adult man was buried, several ceramic and one glass vessel lay near the skull, egg shells and bird bones remained in the bowl, a dagger was located at the right shoulder, on the left side at his feet is a sword. A shield was leaning against the wall, from which the handle and umbon (an overlay on the central part of the shield) were preserved.

Burial chamber, top view. Necropolis Frontovoye 3.

During the excavations, Greek red-glazed dishes, glass jugs, and many buckles and brooches were found - metal fasteners for clothing, which researchers attribute to the Chernyakhov culture of the 2nd - 4th centuries. As scientists note, we can already say that the collection of brooches from the Frontovoy excavations is one of the most expressive both in terms of the number of specimens and the number of different options.

Plate earrings from the Frontovoye necropolis burial 3. A glass goblet with drops of blue glass from the Frontovoye necropolis burial 3. A ring with a carved carnelian signet insert from an early burial of the Frontovoye necropolis 3. A two-part bow fibula with a repaired stem from the Frontovoye necropolis burial 3.
A rare variation of the “Inkerman” fibula from the burial of the Frontovoye necropolis 3. left: glass insert in a signet ring. right: signet impression. Necropolis Frontovoye 3 Buckle from a burial in necropolis Frontovoye 3.

(to enlarge the picture, click on it)

During necropolis research, archaeologists also use methods of natural sciences - geomagnetic research to clarify the distribution area of ​​burials, photogrammetry to create a three-dimensional model of burial complexes and clarify their architectural features, metal detectors to search for metal objects. Natural scientists work alongside archaeologists to conduct anthropological and osteological studies, sampling for radiocarbon dating, and other research. All this allows us to carry out excavations at a modern scientific level, obtain additional information, and clarify the dating of the monument.

Now scientists are completing excavations in the southeastern area and continuing research in the northwestern area, where earlier burials may be located. After completion of the work, the site will be handed over to the builders, and the excavation materials will be transferred to the Chersonesos Museum-Reserve (Sevastopol).

“During the excavations, more than 100 burials were examined and more than 1,300 finds were collected. The burial ground is of exceptional interest for studying the culture of Chersonese’s closest neighbors. Excavations of the Frontovoye 3 burial ground are a vivid example of the successful organization of rescue archaeological research on large new buildings in Crimea, evidence of a responsible attitude to heritage conservation during the implementation of large construction projects." , notes Sergei Vnukov.

Phanagorian archaeological expedition 2018

Since the end of May, the Phanagoria expedition of the Institute of Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences has been conducting comprehensive research at the federal monument “Fortification and necropolis of Phanagoria”. Excavations in the 2018 season are concentrated on two sites of the ancient settlement, located in the center of the upper (Excavation “Upper City”) and lower plateau (“Lower City”), as well as on the Eastern Necropolis, on the site planned for the construction of a museum building. Research is also being conducted in the waters of the Taman Bay, in the flooded part of the ancient city.

On the upper plateau, long-term excavations of the area (total area of ​​approximately 3000 sq. m) continue, where the public center of the city (acropolis) was located and its historical core is localized. This season we are exploring the layers and remains of building structures from the first half of the 5th and second half of the 6th centuries. BC. Including - further investigation: the oldest fortification system (3rd quarter of the 6th - first two decades of the 5th century BC) and an archaic building (3rd quarter of the 6th century BC) with a large and deep basement under the southern room and the stepped altar in the above-ground northern one, opened in 2016-2017. In addition, the oldest buildings lying below the foundations of buildings that died in a general fire in the middle of the 5th century are being studied. BC, the functional purpose of which has not yet been fully clarified.

Significant results of the work include the discovery of the lower part of the walls of a large house, standing on stone foundations (which in itself is a significant rarity in the development of ancient Phanagoria due to the shortage of building stone in the region). The most interesting is the layout of this building, located below the remains of a house that died in a fire in the middle of the 5th century. BC. Opened this season, the building had at least four rooms arranged in an L-shape. From the inner corner of this building, the pavement of the courtyard, made of fragments of ceramics and untreated stones, extends to the north and west. Water was drained from this pavement during rain (including that collected from the roof above the premises of the building) using a drain made of two parallel rows of cobblestones covered with flat stones. It stretched from the pavement along the alley to the south, opening onto the main city street, along which - from west to east - houses were located. Apparently, the house explored this season belonged to a fairly wealthy person.

To the west of the house, through the mentioned lane, immediately under the floors of a mud brick building that was destroyed in a fire in the mid-5th century. BC, a building with a basement from a previous time is being examined, which also died in a strong fire. Considering the fact that the overlying buildings of the 4th and 5th centuries. BC. according to the peculiarities of their layout, they were defined as religious buildings (temples in anta), it was assumed that the building located under them performed the same function. However, the presence of a basement floor sharply distinguishes the building under study from its predecessors.

However, some finds suggest the cult purpose of the building (along with a small amount of terracotta, fragments of alabaster alabastron, etc., two ceramic eschars - altars for libations - were found in the rubble). In the bottom part, clusters of crushed container amphorae and other vessels were found. Of exceptional interest are the finds of fragments of the interior decoration of the building - small fragments of clay-based wall plaster (including profiled ones), painted mainly with white paint, but there are also some painted with red. It must be assumed that the wall cladding collapsed into the basement from the above-ground part of the building.

While refraining for now from calling this building a temple or sanctuary, let us note a good analogy from last year’s excavations. Then, too, a building was opened with a vast basement in its southern part and a stepped altar made of mud bricks, on the upper area of ​​which stood a voluminous Ionian bowl (“lutherium”), next to which there was a bothros - a pit for dumping religious objects, sacred ash, etc. d. - in the northern part.

At the “Lower City” excavation site (2000 sq. m.), excavations of medieval Phanagoria are being conducted for the fourth season, counting from top to bottom: from its finale (beginning of the 10th century AD) to the 8th century. AD Despite the serious damage associated with the removal of stone for construction needs in the 19th-20th centuries, the preservation of buildings from this period is generally good. And this allows us to get a clear idea of ​​the layout of this area of ​​the city (in many ways, inherited from the ancient era), the density and nature of the development, the level and features of the construction industry, the landscaping of the territory (in particular, stone pavements with blocked drains have been opened, one of which diverted water from the street pavement into a deep cistern, the walls of which were lined with masonry), etc. Abundant clothing material characterizes various aspects of the population’s material culture, reflects local handicraft production and extensive trade relations with other centers.

In the 2018 season, research into the necropolis of Phanagoria is being carried out in two places: in its Eastern and Western parts.

Work on the Eastern Necropolis continues the systematic exploration of the territory where it is planned to erect the Museum building. This area, the most studied by archaeologists, is traditionally studied over a wide area (almost 6,000 sq. m), which will make it possible to study in detail the organization of the space of the necropolis and reconstruct its original appearance. This is extremely important, since the historical landscape of this territory near the village of Sennoy has been significantly damaged by anthropogenic factors. The large-scale excavations carried out in recent years have made it possible not only to reveal the features of the planigraphy of the ancient cemetery, but also to discover burial mounds that have disappeared from the face of the earth. In the current season, various burial complexes are being studied here, the chronology of which extends from the 2nd century. BC. up to 5 v. AD Work is underway to clear deep soil crypts. Mandatory elements of the design of these tombs are entrance shafts-dromos, burial chambers, which once had vaulted ceilings and corridors connecting them. In addition to ground tombs, other types of burial complexes were discovered during excavations of this part of the necropolis. The first place in number is occupied by Hellenistic burials in graves with linings, including children's ones.

As a rule, these burials are accompanied by a set of ceramic dishes and jewelry. Burials in simple graves are also found here. Already a traditional find at the excavation of the Eastern Necropolis was the discovery of the burial of horses from Roman times. Unlike similar burials found here earlier, the complex discovered this season is two-level - an adult horse was found on the floor of the grave, and above, in the filling of the grave, the skeleton of a foal was discovered. Judging by the finds of similar complexes last year (when the burial of a bridled war horse was examined), they can be associated with the military culture of the Phanagorian society of Roman times. Excavations at the Eastern Necropolis are in full swing, which allows us to hope for new interesting finds and discoveries.

This season, for the first time in 18 years, the Phanagorian expedition resumed research into the Western necropolis of the capital of the Asian Bosporus. In comparison with the work of previous years, the excavation created this season looks quite large (100 sq. m). It is located in the village of Primorsky, from whose residents it became known about the finds of large blocks of cut stone here. In addition, it was possible to find out that this place was once the site of a large mound, the embankment of which was demolished during the Soviet years. The information collected was confirmed by field research - in the center of the new excavation, half a meter from the modern surface, the ruins of an ancient stone tomb were discovered. The burial structure is relatively well preserved. Thus, walls made of limestone blocks in some areas survived to their full height - up to 1.3 m. (Similar structures discovered earlier in the Eastern Necropolis were empty crypt pits, the stone structures of which were completely dismantled during the extraction of stone into the new and modern time.)

The open monumental structure is a stone crypt with a semi-cylindrical (“semi-circular”) vault. To construct the crypt, a pit was dug corresponding to the height of the walls up to the heel of the vault. Stone walls were erected inside the pit. The space between the walls and sides of the construction pit is densely packed with soil and limestone chips so that the walls can well withstand the loads from the weight of the massive stone ceiling and the mound embankment above it. The heel of the vault is highlighted by a simple cornice. The stone vault itself has not survived; its remains were discovered next to the crypt. Its reconstructed height from the heel is 1.1 m. The height of the burial chamber from the floor to the top of the vault was 2.4 m. The burial chamber, measuring 2.2 x 3 m, had a rectangular shape, its floor was paved with limestone slabs. In the western wall there was a wide entrance with a small antechamber (1.05 × 1.45 m), where the dromos steps probably led. The high professionalism of the craftsmen is evidenced by the quality of the masonry and the careful finishing of the internal surfaces of the stone structure.

The tomb was robbed in ancient times. Evidence of this is the accumulation of human bones from many individuals on the floor of the room in front of the entrance to the chamber. Much later, part of the stone structure was dismantled during stone quarrying. It is likely that the bulk of the limestone blocks were removed during the demolition of the mound embankment.

The type of monumental tombs, which includes the crypt opened in Phanagoria, appears in the Bosporus at the end of the 4th century. BC, spread widely in the Hellenistic period and eventually replaced the crypts with stepped ceilings. The chronology of the Phanagorian tomb is reflected in the few finds from its filling. The main part of the artifact material is represented by fragments of ceramic vessels; there are also a few other finds here. The time of construction of the tomb can so far be judged from the earliest things, which date back no earlier than the 2nd century. BC. The bulk of the material dates back to the Roman era and tentatively suggests that the crypt was used for several centuries until the 2nd century. AD The study of the ancient monumental structure continues. It is possible that new information will appear about the architectural features of the tomb and its contents, which may expand our understanding of the necropolis of the capital of the Asian Bosporus.

Underwater research of the current season involves solving a number of problems arising from the results obtained by the underwater team in previous years. To be honest, magnetic objects (297) detected remotely in 2017 were re-identified. To establish the location of the eastern defensive wall of the city in the flooded part of its territory, a walking magnetic survey was carried out in an area of ​​300×200 m, and a walking micromagnetic survey of the area was also carried out water area 600×80 m in the central part of the settlement. An underwater excavation (64 sq. m) located on the slope of a stone embankment 80 m from the water's edge is being cleared. To determine the presence of a river paleochannel using seismoacoustics and acoustic profiling, a survey of the structure of bottom sediments of the Taman Bay is carried out from south to north (along the Sennaya – Yubileiny section).

Greek Bronze helmet found on the Taman Peninsula

Scientists from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, while excavating burials of the 5th century BC on the Taman Peninsula, discovered a Greek bronze helmet of the Corinthian type - such helmets were worn by warriors during the times of classical Greece, it was in them that sculptors depicted Pericles and the goddess Athena. And this is the first such find in the Northern Black Sea region.

“The helmet belongs to the Corinthian type, the Hermione group, and dates from the first quarter of the 5th century BC. The only similar helmet on the territory of the former Russian Empire was found in the middle of the 19th century in the Kyiv province in a mound near the village of Romeykovka. In the Greek cities of the Northern Black Sea region, such helmets had never been seen before.” , says expedition leader Roman Mimokhod.

Corinthian-type helmet found in the Volna-1 necropolis.

The Sochi expedition of the Institute of Archeology, led by Mimokhod, has been excavating the Volna-1 necropolis for the third year, which is located four kilometers north of the village of Volna at the foot of Mount Zelenskaya in the southwestern part of the Taman Peninsula. This settlement arose during the Late Bronze Age and was quite large for its time. From the 6th century BC until the second quarter of the 4th century BC, during the period of colonization of the Northern Black Sea region, a Greek polis existed here. During the expedition, more than 600 burials of residents of this policy were examined.

At that time, a significant part of the Taman Peninsula was part of the Bosporus Kingdom, a Hellenistic state located on both sides of the Kerch Strait. The Greek city-states themselves occupied territories both directly adjacent to the sea and at some distance from it, and beyond their borders lived sedentary and nomadic tribes of the Sindians, Maeotians and, possibly, Cimmerians. At the moment, scientists do not know about any barbarian settlements that existed on Taman simultaneously with the Greek city-states. But the policies were not hermetic: their inhabitants conducted active trade with local tribes, and gradually local traditions penetrated their culture and life.

This is evidenced, in particular, by one of the finds: in 2017, archaeologists found a salt shaker with a Greek inscription, which indicated that it belonged to the wife of a certain Atateus. According to Roman Mimokhod, a Greek woman would write her name, and defining herself through her spouse indicates the influence of barbarian culture.

General view of the burial of a warrior-horseman.

The 2018 excavation season began recently, but discoveries have already been made that can be called unique. Archaeologists have discovered burials of horse warriors that differ from those found previously. In the burials located on the outside of the necropolis, warriors lie with weapons, and bridled horses lie next to them. In some graves there is graffiti with Greek names on the vessels. The burials were performed according to the same ritual and date back to the same time - presumably the third quarter and the beginning of the last quarter of the 5th century BC.

But the most interesting find was a Corinthian-type helmet discovered in one of the burials. This type of helmet appeared in Greece as early as the 6th century BC and was actively used until the second quarter of the 5th century BC. The Corinthian helmet became one of the symbols of Ancient Greece of the classical period - these are the helmets depicted on Greek vase paintings, on the statue of Athena and hoplite warriors from the Parthenon reliefs, on the head of Pericles.

Initially, such helmets completely covered the head and looked like a bucket with slits for the eyes. The helmet completely protected the head, but limited visibility to the sides, so it is believed that warriors wearing such helmets, as a rule, fought in the phalanx and the warrior did not need to monitor the enemy’s movements from the side. Later, helmets began to be made so that the warrior could lift the helmet and move it back. Almost all developed types of helmets had this capability. The top of the helmet was often decorated with a horsehair comb. At the same time, there were other, open types of helmets.

Evolution of Greek helmets from the 8th to the 5th centuries BC (

All of the listed monuments are located close to each other in the vicinity of Shapsugskaya station and can be visited during one daylight hours. The same one-day route can include a mud volcano on the spur of Mount Kredyanaya, the rocky outcrop of the Devil's Finger, the remains of the Nikolaev fort from the time of the Caucasian War in the center of Shapsugskaya station and key springs at the foot of Mount Kredyanaya a few tens of meters to the right of the Shapsugskaya-Erivanskaya road. In the city of Abinsk there is a folk museum with interesting historical and artistic exhibitions worthy of attention.

Anapa district

There are few other spectacular archaeological sites in the Anapa region, but you should definitely visit the head museum of Anapa, where there are exhibitions on all periods of the history of the region.

Absheronsky district

In the Absheron region in the Pshekha River basin, according to unverified information, there are stone fortresses and rock burial grounds, but archaeologists have not found or described them. There are many mound groups, including in the mountainous zone. Most of these burial grounds were left by medieval Circassians. The smaller part was built in the Bronze Age. In the village of Tverskaya there is a small municipal museum, the exhibition of which presents archaeological objects.

Armavir district

In the city of Armavir there is a local history museum with interesting archaeological, historical and artistic exhibitions.

Gelendzhik and its surroundings

Krasnodar and its surroundings

Most of the materials from the mentioned settlements and burial grounds are stored and exhibited in the Krasnodar State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve. There are other archaeological monuments known in the Krasnodar region, but they are much worse preserved.

Krymsky district

In the city of Krymsk there is a local history museum with an interesting exhibition on the ancient past of the area.

Labinsky district

In Labinsk there is a local history museum with a small but interesting collection of antiquities. On the territory of the region there are many other archaeological sites and settlements of the Meoto-Sarmatian period and several settlements of the Koban culture, for example, the Kaladzhin settlement.

Mostovskoy district

The main feature of the monuments of the Mostovsky district is that they are located in a beautiful and clean corner of nature in the Krasnodar region.

Novorossiysk and its surroundings

In Novorossiysk there is a local history museum with rich collections of antiquities from the outskirts of the city. It has exhibitions not only in the main building, but also in the Exhibition Hall.

Otradnensky district

There are many other archaeological monuments on the territory of the Otradnensky district, but they are located in hard-to-reach places on the mountain strip. In Art. Otradnaya has a local history museum with a rich collection of antiquities, which must be included in excursion routes.

Primorsko-Akhtarsky district

The settlements described above are chosen as examples. Around the Kirpilsky estuary there are up to 20 settlements left by Meotian tribes. Some of them are located in the areas adjacent to Primorsko-Akhtarsky. You can create a special route through the Meotian settlements of the Kirpil group, selecting the most suitable ones.

Seversky district

ARCHEOLOGY OF KUBAN

ARCHEOLOGY is the most important science that helps restore the past, because written sources for Kuban are 2.5 thousand years old, and man appeared in Kuban about 1 million years ago.

Kuban is a unique region within Russia. Mastered since ancient times by man.

The oldest Stone Age monument in Russia is located in Kuban - Taman. Here, in 2002, archaeological excavations began near the village of Peresyp. Here we are studying the Bogatyri (Bogatyrka) site. The age of the finds has been established - a million or even a little more years. This site has been known since the 19th century, but for a long time it was studied only by paleontologists, because bones of prehistoric animals were found here in large quantities. But the bones of an ancient elephant were found, to which the stone ax of a primitive man was simply stuck. Archaeologists from St. Petersburg were interested in this site. This site is a section of an ancient cape, which broke off in ancient times and turned over 90 degrees. No traces of an ancient fire were found here. There is only an article about excavations in Taman in a scientific journal, while there are no other scientific works on this site. Coarse flakes were found here, indicating the initial stage of stone processing. Man was on Taman 1 million years ago - this is accurate data! But it is not known for sure whether the person in this parking lot owned fire. At this time, people did not yet know how to make fire consciously.

To determine the age of the remains, the radiocarbonate method is used, when the age can be determined from the remains of fire embers. The fact is that any vegetation accumulates C during its lifetime 14 - carbon is radioactive. Everyone who feeds on vegetation—animals, for example—accumulates this carbon in their bones. This carbon also accumulates in human bones, because Man eats both vegetation and animals. Carbon remains in the bones for a long time, but gradually turns into ordinary C (carbon). After 5.5 thousand years C 14 becomes 2 times less than normal, it disintegrates gradually. After another 5.5 thousand years - another 2 times less. After 100 thousand years it is no longer in the bones, it completely disintegrates. Thus, this method is capable of determining the age of remains only up to 100 thousand years, not older.

The nature and geography of Kuban changed a lot. Before the onset of the glaciers, there were elephants in the area. In ancient times, the territory of Kuban was much larger than it is now, because... the level of the Black Sea was 100 m below the modern level. The sea was more like a lake, a large puddle.

2 ancient stone age monument – ​​Triangular Cave. Its age is 750-500 thousand years. The cave is a mass of geological strata.

Otradnensky district, Gaman gorge. It is being studied by a scientist from St. Petersburg, Golovanova.

300 thousand years – early Paleolithic, Acheulean era. This period is less defined than older periods.

Tsymbal quarry, Ignatenkov kut site.

This period is characterized by so-called “transposed” monuments, i.e. the layers in them are displaced, possibly moved from their original places, for example by a river or water. In such caves and sites, it is impossible to accurately determine which layers the bone remains come from. For example, at the Ignatenki Kut site, tools were found, but it is not known exactly what places they were from, where did they come from? At the Tsymbal quarry, archaic-looking remains of tools were found; their age is 300 thousand years.

Kuban was developed by ancient man from the south (presumably), over territory that is now flooded with the waters of the Black Sea or blocked by mountains after a change in the geological characteristics of the region.

There are monuments of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, the Copper Stone Age, the Bornean Age, and the Early Iron Age is well represented

Poorly represented 3rd-4th centuries. AD - Late Roman times, a terrible time for Kuban, when the territory became almost empty

It is known from written sources that the Huns roamed the territory of the Kuban, but nothing has been found from the Huns (strange!)

The uniqueness of Kuban - all archaeological eras are represented here!!!

Archaeologists in Kuban

Late 18th century – archaeological excavations begin in Kuban. They are conducted mainly by foreign scientists. The remains of ancient Phanagoria are being studied (Sennaya village, outskirts)

1st half of the 19th century – Dubois de Montpery, Tetbou Marigny, Bernadazzi, Ferkovets, Georgy Tokarev, Naryshkin brothers

Russian professor Tizenhausen explored Gorgippia

1878 – Semibratyevo ancient settlement, a monument whose name was debated for a very long time

Mid 19th century – Zabelin, Bryusov

1870s – Felitsyn is a Kuban researcher. 1879 - opened the 1st archaeological museum in Kuban under the Kuban statistical committee

Nikolai Ivanovich Veselovsky work in Kuban from 1894 to 1918 (year of death)

Semi-official supplier of jewelry to the emperor's court and museums in St. Petersburg. He caused considerable damage with his work, carried out documentation poorly, and often could not be present during excavations. Discovered the Maikop mound. But the report on archaeological work on the mound was made 2 years later. The pictures from the excavation site were made by Roerich based on the stories of Veselovsky himself. Roerich was not at the excavation site. The ritual of burial in a mound described by Veselovsky has never been found anywhere else in other burial mounds. Most likely, Veselovsky himself was not at the excavation site, which happened very often (he paid the Cossacks, who carried out the excavations without observing the conditions necessary for such work). Veselovsky was excavating the so-called “Golden Cemetery” along the banks of the Kuban in the area of ​​Ust-Labinsk and the surrounding area. These are more than 100 mounds where golden things were found. But in total, Veselovsky completed 5 drawings from the excavation. The main requirement - a clear description of the excavation and what was discovered - was not met at all!

Since the 1880s The research is being carried out by Sysoev, a gymnasium teacher from Yekaterinodar. An ordinary teacher - he clearly recorded and recorded everything, kept excellent documentation - unlike Veselovsky. Participated in the rescue of the Kurdzhib mound near the village of the same name. A Meotian female burial was discovered in the mound. A gold buckle was found. In connection with this find, we recall the story of the ancient Greek historian “About the Meotian Tirgatau”, which reports about a woman who fought with the rulers of Gorgippia. In the story there is a case of an attack on the heroine by a hidden killer. According to the historian, she was saved by a gold buckle in which a knife was stuck. But historians knew that Meotian women did not wear buckles, or they were very small. And suddenly, in the mound of the Kurdzhib village, a gold buckle was found, which was clearly damaged as if hit by a sharp object.

Mikhail Ivanovich Rostovtsev worked at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. an excellent theorist and practitioner, he knew both written and archaeological sources very well. He wrote the book “Scythia and the Bosporus”.

1898 - the Paleolithic site was first explored by the French scientist José de Bay - Ile site

Until 1917, more attention was paid only to gold-bearing mounds. the era of bronze and stone, the early iron age were not interesting to researchers, they were not disclosed.

Spitsyn - discovered the layer of the Middle Ages

Sakhanev - conducted research even during the First World War

Early - mid 20s. – North Caucasus expedition of the State Archaeological Institute of the USSR

Late 20s - creation of the Kuban school of archeology

Pokrovsky started working

Even at this time, young Nikita Vladimirovich Anfimov, “the grandfather of Kuban archeology,” began working.

He began to study the Bronze Age

From Leningrad - Zamyatnev - studied the Ilsk site

Gaidukevich - studied the monuments of ancient times

Krasnodar archaeologist Zakharov worked on studying monuments on the territory of Krasnodar, but after a denunciation in 1937, he committed suicide

Today in Kuban all archeological monuments of all eras are being studied

Paleolithic: scientists from St. Petersburg - Lyubin, Golovanova, Kulakov

Adygea: Outlerov

Neolithic: Nekhaev – from Krasnodar

Trifanov

Bronze: there are almost no Kuban archaeologists, all are visitors

Nechitailo – from Kyiv

Early Iron Age: Kuban’s own group of archaeologists: Danovsky (a student of Anfimov), Marchenko, Kominsky, Aptekarev, Belezov

Antiquity: non-Kuban archaeologists – Kruglikova, Nikolaeva, Dolgorukov

Medieval finds: Kuban scientists - Pyankov, Zelensky, Kaminsky, Tarabanov - studying the Bulgarians in the Kuban, Dmitriev - the Novorossiysk region

"Bogatyrs" Peresyp village

Middle Paleolithic - Mousterian era

There is an error in Trebratov’s textbook for grades 5-8 on page 9: it is written that warming after glaciation occurred during the Mousterian era. But at this time there was just the most terrible glaciation. There were taiga forests in Crimea. In Kuban there is a “mammoth fauna”, there are related finds, there are bones of a mammoth

Cave sites on the Gubs River (tributary of the Belaya River)

Khosta area – a series of monuments – Khosta caves – here “everything is in place”, i.e. nothing has been moved to other places

Ilskaya Stoyansk - the finds were preserved with ancient bitumen

Vmdny workshops, hunting camps, camps - long-term accommodation

Certain gastronomic preferences can be determined, for example, at the Il site - bison, mammoths

In the Khosta area there are cave bears

Finds of the Upper Paleolithic era - their study has just begun (on the Gubs River)

The burial on the river is open. Lips - evidence of the development of spirituality of ancient man

Guba canopies - cave painting, the image is the simplest of types of painting - prints of the hands of the “fives”

Representatives of different nations, people from different territories, were found in one place at different times.

Stone processing techniques are constantly changing - even in one place, i.e. one people came - they knew how to do this, another people came - they knew how to process stone differently

Sochi: shellfish were found in the diet, this indicates that local peoples killed all cave bears and switched to shellfish

Mesolithic: a narrow strip, the rest were washed away by landslides, the era is poorly studied, because washed away due to geological reasons

Khosta district: cave monuments

Vorontsov Cave

Mesolithic monuments were studied on the territory of Krasnodar

The Yavora site on the Urup River is Mesolithic, but poorly studied

Otradnensky district, Gamovskaya gully - shed No. 2 - the best parking lot for exploring archeology - an example. Ideal cave, small shape, domed vault, remains of a fire, burnt bones, microliths - tiny things made of stone, bones, everything is well preserved, because... on top there was a layer of forest. During the wars, both Cossacks and partisans often hid here

The Khostinsky district is the best studied

There was not enough food, there was a crisis in the hunting industry, there were no more shellfish finds

During this period, the strongest winds blew, large fauna died out in the Mesolithic, the rivers were full of water

Because of these natural changes, people are moving north and searching for a new economic system for poultry production.

9-8 thousand – global warming began (starting from the Mediterranean)

There is more game, humanity is growing, there is not enough food

All this leads to the “Neolithic revolution”. The earliest peoples who switched to agriculture were those on the territory of Israel, Jerechon - the oldest fortified cities, Anatolia - wild cereals grow in these places - the transition to agriculture and cattle breeding

7 thousand - this transition was completed in Kuban

6 thousand BC – cattle breeding in Kuban

Atsenskaya cave - the oldest monument (Sochi, Adler region) - bones of domestic animals (these are examples of early domestication of animals - this is very interesting), the first clay things - dishes of the classical version

Sites with hoes made of broken stones

Nizhneshilovskoe settlement - remains of houses near the mountain slope

Psekups, upper reaches of Chelbas

Taman - Chukugoev village

Chalcolithic

In Trebratov’s textbook it is written that the Novosvobodnaya culture belongs to this period - this is not true

Sochi area: farmers' camps, stone hoes were found very small so that they would fit better into the ground, weights were hung on them - rings on the hoe itself, weights for nets were found - evidence of the development of fishing, spotted brown-black in color

Flat-bottomed jugs - stationary housing

Jugs with a sharp bottom - cattle breeders, nomads, such a bottom will allow you to stick the jug into the ground

Flat-bottomed dishes are found on the sea coast

Krasnogvardeiskoe village - Svobodnoe settlement

We learned about this settlement by chance

The settlement is surrounded by a ditch, then the ditch was filled up and houses were built on it

Remains as Trypillian culture

5*4 m house

Rectangular floor - thick layer of clay

A huge number of weapons of a wide variety

Egg-shaped dishes

Clay female figurines

Clay images of animals

Ceramics without ornament

Stone bracelets were drilled with bone, under which sand was added

Hollow bone, weak bow string

For fire making and drilling