The Kingdom of the Bosporus

The Kingdom of the Bosporus comprised the lands between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, more precisely the Taman Peninsula and the Kerch Peninsula on either side of the Cimmerian Bosporus.

[Picture from Wikipedia Public Domain]

As developed in an earlier blog about the Greek colonization of the Black Sea (see: The many colonies of Miletus), the Ionian city of Miletus created new colonies especially over the period from 580 to 560 BC. Here, the foundations were laid for the Kingdom of the Bosporus which lasted for almost a thousand years. Over the centuries it became a melting pot of civilizations as the Greeks mingled with neighboring Scythians and Sarmatians. This kingdom whose capital was Panticapaeum, reached its peak between the 6^th and the 3^rd century BC when the new colonists maintained strong cultural and trade relations.

This part of the world, which – let’s not forget - cannot have been unknown to Alexander, is subject at present to successive excavations triggered by the Russians who are constructing a highway leading to the Kerch Bridge over the Strait of the same name in order to link Russia with the Crimea.

The area turns out to be rich in archaeological finds. One of them is a Roman villa from the middle of the 1^st century AD considered to be a true example of daily life. It has yielded a number of household items, various tools, cheap jewelry, and small terracotta figurines which are identified as toys and have been baptized Hellenistic Barbie dolls. At that time, the economy was booming in the kingdom of the Bosporus which included not only eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula but also the downstream areas of the Don River. The archaeologists have concluded that the area was occupied by a slightly well-off middle class but by no means large Roman landowners.

Another project is the Greek necropolis in the Taman Peninsula counting some 600 burial mounds. They belong to several Greek colonies that lived in the wider area from the end of the 7^th century BC until the middle of the 4^th century BC. A Corinthian bronze helmet has been unearthed in a grave from the 5^th century BC. This is a spectacular discovery considering that these helmets appeared in Greece only a century before and were widely used by the Greek hoplites. It was also the stereotype model that was applied when representing Athena or Pericles, for instance.

In a burial mound in Crimea, on the other hand, Russian archaeologists discovered a partly disintegrated wooden sarcophagus from the second half of the 4^th century BC holding the skeleton of a teenager. Among the grave goods, they found many sport-related gifts like ten alabastrons, a strigil, 150 knucklebones and a red-figure wine jar belonging to the so-called Kerch style.

It will be interesting to follow the excavations around the Black Sea for they certainly will reveal many more treasures.

[Thessaloniki Byzantine Agora, Agia Sophia Station [Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture]

As until recently archaeological discoveries depended purely on coincidences and good luck, the modern road and metro works carried out in cities like Athens, Rome, Thessaloniki, Sofia (ancient Serdica), Plovdiv (ancient Philippopolis), and many others, are yielding knowledge and information otherwise inaccessible. As always, excavations are a matter of politics and money – sadly.

[Picture Hellenistic Barbie Doll from Archaeology News Network]
[Picture Corinthian Helmet from Archaeology News Network]