Greek sarcophagus found near Kerch, Crimea

The Greek colonies around the Black Sea have been the subject of earlier debates and blog-posts (see: The many colonies of Miletus). In that context, it became important to focus particularly on the territories colonized by Miletus on the Kerch peninsula (western side of the Cimmerian Bosporus) and the Taman peninsula (eastern side of the Cimmerian Bosporus).

[Credit: Myrmekion Expedition of the State Hermitage Museum, 

taken from The Archaeological News Network]

The earliest settlements on the Crimea date from the second half of the 6^th century BC around Myrmekion near the city of Kerch. Until now, only about ten Greek tombs had been found in the Crimea and were discovered prior to 1917.

It was a great surprise to find new burial sites during this year’s excavations. Among them, one small tomb measuring approximately 0.70m x 0.40m was cut from one single piece. When it was opened, it turned out to be empty but, strangely enough, it had not been robbed either – a puzzling situation for archaeologists because it had been securely sealed with a stone slab.

Evidently, scientists are speculating about the reason for creating an empty tomb. It may have had a mere symbolic function, or it may have contained ashes. An archaeological expedition of the State Hermitage Museum in Russia is investigating this case further.

It never ceases to amaze me that new discoveries keep raising ever more questions!

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]

The many colonies of Miletus

The colonization by the Greeks, either from mainland Greece or from Asia Minor remains a fascinating subject. I touched on the topic before when discussing Magna Graecia (see: Magna Graecia, the forgotten Greek legacy) and this time I will concentrate on the shores of the Black Sea, the Pontus Euxinus of antiquity.

The first settlers arrived in the second half of the 7^th century BC mainly from Ionia but by far the most prominent group came from Miletus. Ancient authors go as far as claiming that the city possessed between 75 and 90 colonies but this number does not immediately refer to cities founded and populated by Miletus since they did not have enough manpower to occupy so many settlements. In fact, Miletus acted as their organizer and the initial true number of colonies was about 25.

The reason for people from Asia Minor to emigrate is complex but one of the main causes to relocate was the westward expansion of the Persian Empire which even attacked Greece itself. The Ionians were facing a simple choice to either submit to the Persians with the risk of being killed or enslaved or to leave their homeland for new horizons.

The Actual Archaeology Magazine of May 2011 published a very interesting article, “Greek Colonisation of the Black Sea” written by Gosha R. Tsetskhladze about the origins of a great number of settlements on the shores of the Back Sea including both sides of the Cimmerian Bosporus.

Among the first settlements, we find Berezan (modern Borysthenites) founded in the third quarter of the 7th century BC, and Tangarog (on the Sea of Azov) in the last third of the 7^th century BC (completely destroyed by the sea). Other colonies were located on the western shore of the Black Sea like Histria (at the mouth of the Danube) in ca. 630 BC, Apollonia Pontica (modern Sozopol in Bulgaria) in ca. 610 BC, and Tomis (modern Constanta in Romania) at the end of the first quarter of the 6^th century BC. On the southern shoreline, we find Sinope (modern Sinop in Turkey) from the late 7^th century BC and Amisos (modern Samsun in Turkey) from ca. 564 BC. Olbia (in modern Ukraine) was settled on the northern side of the Black Sea by the end of the first quarter of the 6^th century BC.

Between 580 and 560 BC, Miletus colonized new territories on the Kerch peninsula (the western side of the Cimmerian Bosporus) and the Taman peninsula (the eastern side of the Cimmerian Bosporus). On the European side of the straight, we find cities like Panticapaeum, Nymphaeum, Theodosia, Myrmekion, and Tyritake (all on the Crimean peninsula); and on the Asian side, we name Kepoi, Patraeus, Corocondame (destroyed by the sea) and Hermonassa (joined colony of Miletus and Mytilene).

In the wake of Cyrus’ westwards conquests during which he took the stronghold of Sardes in 546 BC, the Black Sea area was once again flooded by a new wave of Ionians – this time by people not exclusively from Miletus. The Megarians and the Boeotians founded Heraklea in 554 BC on the south shores, and Miletus founded Odessos (modern Varna in Bulgaria) on the western shore. In turn, those colonies that had settled around the Black Sea created many small settlements of their own.

Around that same time, new cities like Tyras and Nikonian appeared together with some fifty rural settlements under their control. Non-Milesians founded Gorgippia (modern Anapa in Russia), Toricos (near modern Gelendzhik in Russia), Akra (in Russia, destroyed by the sea), Porthmeus (in Russia), and several other colonies on the Cimmerian Bosporus, and around 542 BC the Teians established the colony of Phanagoria on the Taman Peninsula (as well as the city of Abdera in Thracia).

Ionians settled even further north along the Black Sea coast, and by 422/1 BC, Herakleia Pontus founded a small town that would become the later Chersonesus (near modern Sevastopol in Crimea). The Milesians, once again, founded Colchis (modern western Georgia), who in turn established the cities of Phasis, Gyenos, and Dioscuria, and two more settlements, Pichvnari and Tsikhisdziri. The last wave arrived when the Ionians were defeated in their revolt against Persia. Mesambria (modern Nessebar in Bulgaria) was founded on the western shore of the Black Sea by the Chalkedonians and Byzantines, and in western Crimea, the Ionians established Kerkinitis and Kalos Limen, which later became part of Chersonesus.

[Picture from Bosporan Kingdom growth map-pt.svg:] 

In the days of Alexander and even during the reign of his father Philip, we read about ships bringing corn from the Black Sea to Athens. This leads us to believe that this traffic existed already in earlier centuries. It has been established, however, that the earliest ships loaded with corn circulated at the end of the 5^th/beginning of the 4^th century BC, and that they were not meant for Athens but for the island of Aegina and the Peloponnese instead. Except in case of emergency, it appears – according to the abovementioned article - Athens was perfectly capable of feeding its citizens.

With so many sites spread over so many countries around the Black Sea (from Turkey to Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia), one can wonder how much of these colonies still exist or have been excavated and, if so, to what extent. Yet the fact remains that this geographical knowledge was part of Alexander’s baggage and his Companions. The ancient world was much and much larger than what we like to believe!

The heavy colonization shows that emigration is not a modern phenomenon but existed in eons past. Famine may have been a major reason for people to leave hearth and home, but generally, it was and is a war that triggers the displacement of entire populations. In any case, it is quite amazing to see how many peoples were on the move between the 7^th and the 5^th century BC. In my opinion, these three centuries of constant emigration explain - at least in part – the general Greek resentment against the Persians. Their occupation of Greece and the burning of the Acropolis is, of course, another valid reason for their grudge.