Archaeologists reveal the secrets of the blue gates of the Kerch fortress. Excavations of an ancient settlement continue under Kerch

August is the traditional time for summing up the results of the work of archaeological expeditions. In recent years, special attention has been focused on excavations in the Crimea. Large-scale infrastructure projects are being implemented on the peninsula. Archaeological research always precedes the construction of new roads, the construction of power plants, and the reconstruction of airports. Scientists themselves diligently avoid loud statements, but it is already clear that this year will be one of the most "fruitful". Portal site found out what riddles ancient Crimea the specialists managed to find out.

Cetotherium on land

Taurus, Cimmerians, Goths, Greeks, Romans, Huns - many peoples have left their mark on the history of Crimea. However, one of the largest finds belongs to the era when man had not yet appeared on Earth. On the Kerch Peninsula, researchers discovered the spinal column and ribs of an ancient whale that had lain in geological layers for about 10 million years. The fossils were found at a depth of only 1 m.According to scientists, the skeleton belongs to Cetotherium, a marine mammal that could reach a length of 30 m.

The found individual grew up to 5 m. She lived in the Sarmatian Sea, which occupied, among other things, the territory of the modern Kerch Peninsula. Over time, where there was a sea, land was formed. An uplift of the geological layers took place, and the skeleton of the whale ended up on a hill, although earlier it lay at the bottom.

According to the leading methodologist of the Zoological Museum of the Tauride Academy of the KFU named after IN AND. Vernadsky Dmitry Startsev, the main value is that an articulated skeleton was found. “The cranial bones are not preserved, but the vertebral column is fully represented - from the thoracic region to the caudal. All fragments belong to one instance. The structure of the bone tissue is clearly visible, ”he said. Startsev added that the find would allow obtaining useful information about the structure of the ancient organism.

Scythian gold

In the vicinity of Sevastopol, scientists were in for a different success. An ancient necropolis with Scythian burials of the 2nd-4th centuries AD was discovered here. For many centuries, burial grounds in Crimea were plundered during wars and invasions, recently it was done by "black archaeologists", therefore, the intactness of the burial place amazed scientists.

Thousands of artifacts have been found in the burials. Many earrings, necklaces, bracelets, glass vessels, buckles, and ceramics were found in early burials. In the later ones - many weapons, including swords, polearms, and shield fragments. From one of the graves, archaeologists took out an ax.

Search engines found vessels near the skulls. In some of them, the remains of the funeral food have been preserved. Fragments of a heavily corroded dagger and the remains of a belt set in the form of a bronze buckle with a bent tongue were also found. Among the finds, a gold thread (thread for beads) and a teardrop-shaped pendant with a red insert and beaded edging stand out. Noteworthy is the ring with a cut out insert-signet of carnelian.

“We have rich grave goods. On the chest of one of the remains there is a large bow fibula (fastener for clothes), on the left hand there is a bronze bracelet, in the area of the right hand we see a crushed but superbly made glass vessel, "said Alexei Sviridov, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Khazar massacre

On the Kerch Peninsula, scientists were waiting for a more terrible find. At the excavations of the Kyz-Aul necropolis, a mass grave of people from the times of the Khazar Kaganate was discovered. The remains were literally piled up. Some of them were lying in unnatural positions. For example, one of the deceased seemed to be pressing his hands to his head. The search engines who cleaned his skeleton got the impression that the unfortunate man was simply buried alive and he tried to cover his face before dying. In total, more than 10 such skeletons were found in a small area of the excavation.

Development Director of the Archeology Foundation Oleg Markov noted that the skulls are badly damaged and it is impossible to understand whether they had any lifetime injuries or not - this will be dealt with by anthropologists. Perhaps they were the victims of a massacre or an epidemic. So far, it is only clear that death occurred at the same time and did not stand on ceremony with the bodies.

“They just dumped it in one heap. At the same time, they did not put any accompanying grave goods at all. Excavations at the Kyz-Aul necropolis continue, and scientists still hope to solve this terrible problem, "Markov emphasized.

"Flounder" at the bottom

However, not only monuments of distant antiquity are of interest. The location of the pre-revolutionary submarine "Kambala" has been established off the coast of Sevastopol. She sank during the exercises of the Black Sea squadron on May 29, 1909. After practicing a night attack at the entrance to the South Bay of Sevastopol, the submarine collided with the battleship Rostislav. As a result of the disaster, it fell apart in two and sank at a depth of more than 60 m. Three officers and 17 sailors were killed.

“A joint expedition of the Russian Geographical Society, the Russian Sevastopol State University and the Nakhimov Higher Naval School localized the place of the sinking of the Russian submarine“ Kambala ”. The cadets of the Nakhimov school figured out this place. And we established this place with the help of a side sonar, as it was lost over the years, ”said Viktor Lebedinsky, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies.

Before the tragedy, the submarine was part of the Separate Submarine Division of the Black Sea Fleet, which consisted of five submarines: two American-built - "Sudak" and "Losos" - and three German - "Karp", "Karas" and "Flounder".

An elderly German stood for a long time on the shore

Another marine find is a German bomber that sank off Cape Tarkhankut during the Great Patriotic War... Director for scientific work of the Black Sea Center for Underwater Research Viktor Vakhoneev said that the researchers learned about the landing of the aircraft from local residents. They argued that in the 90s an elderly German came to the cape, who stood for a long time on the shore and looked out to sea. Presumably, he was the pilot of this plane.

“We made a reconnaissance expedition and found it perfectly intact at a depth of 44 m. All elements, standard armament, cockpit are visible, ”Vakhoneev said. The exact type of bomber has not been identified, but it is believed to be Heinkel. They do not plan to lift the find because of the great depth, they are going to equip the plane new expedition to study it thoroughly.

Our era of archeology

Archaeologists say that a search boom began in Crimea after reunification with Russia. Yes, during the Soviet period, research was carried out intensively, but after the collapse of the USSR and Ukraine's independence, funding problems arose. The second difficulty was the capacity of archaeologists. In 2010, in Ukraine, about 70% of representatives of this profession have reached retirement age.

After 2014, large infrastructure projects began to be implemented: energy, gas, transport. It took construction and land work, which was preceded by archaeological research. As a result, excavations are being carried out throughout the entire territory of the peninsula from Kerch to Sevastopol.

In the Ukrainian Crimea, 20-40 open sheets (permits for excavation) were issued per year. In 2017, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation issued 136 sheets. Each expedition has between 50 and 100 people. We can say with confidence that new discoveries will occur in the near future.

Archaeological excavations and finds captured by Kerch photographers in the late 19th - early 20th centuries.

Excavation site in the south-west of the Panticapaeum settlement, survey date: 1899 - 1910.

A construction complex discovered by excavations of the director of the Kerch Museum Karl Evgenievich Dumberg in 1899. The photo shows three open rooms and a door - the remains of the building's basement floor.

Kerch antiquities, discovered in 1896 and 1897 in the exposition of the exhibition at the Imperial Archaeological Commission, organized in the spring of 1898. Date of shooting: 1896 - 1899.

Terracotta found in 1896 on Mount Mithridates during the excavations of Panticapaeum Date of photography: 1896 - 1899.

The picture shows four terracottas, two of which represent the masks of Satyr, the protome of Demeter and a figurine of a seated girl with a goose and a bunch of grapes. The terracottas were sent to St. Petersburg.

Earthenware: pixida, one-handed jug, lecythian and scyphos. Date taken: 1898 - 1899.

Discovered on February 24, 1898 in Tomb 2, Section IV of the Artemis Excavation on Mount Mithridates.

Colored plaster found in 1896 on Mithridates Mountain, date of photography: 1896 - 1899.

Fragment of a tombstone made of soft limestone, 4th century. BC Date taken: 1873.

The gravestone of the sons of Dzopir was found in a mound on the northern side of Mount Mithridates in 1873. There is a 4-line inscription on the slab. In addition, the snapshot serves as an inventory card - it contains short description, passport data.

Painted Bosporan crypt with two sarcophagi on low supports of soft limestone Date of photography: October 2, 1902 - December 31, 1905.

The crypt was opened by Vladislav Vyacheslavovich Shkorpil on October 2, 1902, behind the railway, to the left of the Katerlessky bridge. On the walls of the crypt, here and there, remains of fresco painting in the form of quadrangles and circles, painted with dark brown and green paints, have been preserved. The entrance to the crypt was closed from the inside with a limestone slab. The slab was covered with white plaster, in the middle there was an image of the head of Medusa the Gorgon with wings on her head and snakes under her chin.

Headstone in situ. Date taken: 1911.

The moment the gravestone was discovered in the wall of a high stone "booth" on Predtechenskaya Square and at the Fish Market, 1911. The slab was inserted into the wall of a building under construction in the 1840s. The tombstone of white marble, broken into two parts, was 4.2 meters high. At the top, it was decorated with two relief acroteria and a pediment. A bust of a figure with raised arms is carved in the triangle, under the pediment there are two reliefs: in the upper one there are two standing next to male figures; and in the lower one - a rider on horseback, with a spear in his right hand.

Headstone. Date of photography: 1911-1915.

Discovered in the central part of Kerch under the pavement of Predtechenskaya square in 1911. There are three figures on the slab: in the center is the bearded god Sabazy with a mirror (?), A wriggling snake rises from the heel of the god, a female figure on the right, Hermes on the left. The photographs show two images of the relief depicting Sabaziy - before and after restoration.

Tombstone from marble IV century. n. Date of shooting: 1900-1910th.

Headstone with an inscription in 21 lines. Almost the entire front side of the tombstone is occupied by an inscription carved along thin lines. Translation of the inscription: “To God Almighty, merciful, vow. Aurelius Valerius Sog, the son of Olympus, the chief of Feodosia, the famous Augustus, honored by Diocletian and Maximian, also called Olympian in the province, traveled a lot, absent for 16 years and stayed in many sorrows, on a vow he built a prayer house from the foundation in 603. " For more than forty years the slab served as the threshold of a house in the courtyard of the Kerch bourgeois woman P. Krasheninnikova.

Clay cart (children's toy) Date of photography: June 6, 1903 - December 31, 1905.

A carriage on four wheels made of dark red clay, inside which there was a set of sheep astragals (21 copies). The toy was found by Vladislav Vyacheslavovich Shkorpil on June 6, 1903 in a devastated children's tomb on Glinishche, not far from the local prison and the city slaughterhouse. Probably, the carriage and astragalus, as especially favorite toys of the child, were put in the coffin by his relatives. The toy is kept in the funds of the Russian State Hermitage Museum and is exhibited at an exhibition dedicated to the history of the Bosporus.

The marble lion at the Lion Barrow excavation date: 1894 - 1900.

The excavation was opened in 1894 by the director of the Kerch Museum, Karl Evgenievich Dumberg, in the garden of Lieutenant Colonel Voloshkevich. The garden is located at the bottom northern slope mountains Mithridates. The statue occupies a central place in the contemporary exhibition on the history of the Bosporus kingdom at the Russian State Hermitage Museum.

Excavations of Zelensky Kurgan on the Taman Peninsula, led by the director of the Kerch Museum Vladislav Shkorpil in 1912 Date of photography: 1912.

Two pithos with lids in an excavation pit in 1898 Date of photography: 1898.

The digger is on the right.

In the village of Podmayachnoye in the area of Golubina Bay, excavations of the ancient settlement of Gleyki-2 continue. This expedition was already carried out last year. The expedition is led by Professor, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of Primitive Traditional Society of the Institute of Archeology of Crimea, Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexander Evgenievich KISLOGO. Gleyki-2 is one of the oldest settlements in Crimea. During the excavations, many artifacts were discovered there. So, for example, back in 2016, a burial of a young warrior with a large grater on his shoulder was discovered in the settlement, and last year an archaeologist managed to find elements of three boats of different models. Read: “The uniqueness of this settlement is that we in Crimea do not know such a different culture. Here is a set of artifacts that make up the cultural fund. These are ceramics, products and from such a material cultural layer, we do not know. Nowhere else, in any settlement, we do not know such ceramics with such a culture, with such a form in Crimea, ”Alexander Evgenievich said in an interview. This year, the expedition is trying to find even more structures that may have remained from ancient times.

Archaeological expedition near Kerch delights researchers with new finds

The territory of modern Kerch has been inhabited by people since ancient times - information about the first settlements here has been lost for centuries. It is proved that at the top of Mount Mithridates and at its foot in the 7th century BC. a city of Hellenic colonists arose with a defensive wall, stone houses, a port, trades and crafts, and later - with a highly developed culture, mansions of the nobility, state and public institutions, a mint, temples and all other attributes of the policies of that era. It is believed that since the inception of Panticapaeum, life here has never been interrupted, although epochs, peoples and civilizations have changed. Therefore, Kerch is recognized in the scientific world as the most ancient city in Russia.

However, people lived in the area of the modern city before - it is enough to mention the so-called Cimmerians (the code name of the pre-Scythian peoples of the Northern Black Sea region), the traces of which were preserved by the Crimean land. Recall at least the well-known anthropomorphic statues - "stone women", dating back to the millennium BC. Therefore, everywhere in Kerch, traces of ancient settlements and burials are hidden in the ground.

The Nizhny Solnechny region is no exception, in the vicinity of which a lot of traces of ancient people have been preserved. During the construction of auto approaches from the Tavrida highway to the bridge, some parts of these historical monuments will inevitably be lost, and therefore archaeologists should extract all possible artifacts and document the finds. You can find out more about the configuration of the track and the terrain where it will pass in our.

In August 2016, the "Crimean Regional Center for Archaeological Research" carried out an examination and identified those places of future construction, where it is necessary to conduct preliminary archaeological research, identifying 13 objects cultural heritage to be bypassed, to take conservation measures or to investigate in as much detail as possible before starting the construction of the road.

This relatively small area has a number of archaeological sites on either side of the Heroes of Stalingrad Highway. On the western side - the settlement "Hospital", the mounds "Lesnoy I" and "Lesnoy II", the Tiritak shaft with a length of more than 20 kilometers. From the east, near the Zaliv dacha cooperative, there is the Hospitalny mound, the Hospital II settlement and a group of 4 Nizhny Solnechny I mounds with the burials of the Bosporan-Scythian and Panticapaean nobility of the 4th-3rd centuries BC, and right on the territory of personal plots was the mound "Nizhny Solnechny II". Closer to the bridge is a group of 8 mounds “Cement Slobodka I”.

Also, near the future highway "Tavrida", 3 kilometers from the village of Oktyabrskoye, there is a group of 4 mounds, the surface of which is plowed up, and a little to the east - a group of two mounds "Dzharzhdava Zapadnaya". In the same area, but from the south of the future road junction, there is the Balkochny Zapadny mound, and closer to Kerch, the Balkochny mound.

The settlement "Hospital" (the name is from the nearby tuberculosis dispensary) is located on the banks of the Dzharjava River, which, undoubtedly, was more full-flowing in ancient times, which attracted residents. Its area is estimated at 13 350 sq. m, of which the territory of the permanent land acquisition for the construction of the road is 8,890 sq. m. This does not mean that the historical monument throughout this area will be lost, but access to it will, of course, be terminated. Today, thanks to funding, scientists will be able to conduct the largest excavations in recent decades.

Extensive archaeological research of this area on an area of 3 thousand square meters. m was carried out just before the partition of the country, in 1989-1991 under the guidance of Kerch specialists Viktor Nikolaevich Zinko and Nikolai Fedorovich Fedoseev, and a small area was additionally investigated in 1993. The discoveries made during the excavations made it possible to date the settlement to the end of the 5th - the first quarter of the 3rd century BC. Four rectangular semi-dugouts for residential and economic purposes, equipped with a system of sewage drains and receiving pits, were discovered; the remains of a manor house with a courtyard, traces of a fire, garbage pits and household items, including fragments of red-figure ceramics, amphora containers, ceramic stamps, panticapaean coins and sling stones. The inhabitants were engaged in fishing and animal husbandry.

The hospital mound is also noteworthy, which is seen every day by thousands of people passing by the tuberculosis dispensary: due to its position on the road, it is clearly visible. With a diameter of 70 meters, the height of the burial reaches 7 meters. The total area of the security zone is set at 13.7 thousand square meters. The mound of the kurgan bears traces of digging, but some researchers believe that this burial may still remain undisturbed, at least in recent history no one has opened it. If these expectations are true and archaeologists decide to excavate the mound, then we will have interesting finds. Most of these burial structures were plundered both in ancient times and in the most recent time. However, so far only a study of the territory with a mound of 4 thousand square meters is planned. m, adjacent to the future track.

Behind the household plots in the direction of the bridge on an area of 20.7 thousand square meters. m is the settlement of the Bronze Age "Hospital II", dating back to about the II millennium BC. and discovered in 1983. The task of archaeologists today is to study the historical space on an area of 8,280 square meters. m. The work is carried out by the Institute of Archeology Russian Academy Sciences together with the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve.

During the expedition, which is attended by over 40 people, ordinary workers and specialists, thousands of fragments of molded ceramics of the Bronze Age, household items made of stone and bone, and agricultural tools have already been identified. There are also objects from ancient times.

Perhaps in the summer the Kerch Museum will demonstrate the most notable of these finds within the framework dedicated to Crimean bridge... There are plans to make it permanent and place it on the territory of the Kerch fortress, in which many magnificent casemated rooms have been preserved. This will contribute to the preservation and development of the fortress itself as an object of Russian cultural heritage. Moreover, it is planned to build a giant monument of “Reconciliation” on the territory of the fortress by the time the bridge is launched to commemorate the centenary of the beginning of the revolution and the civil war, as well as an extensive observation deck with a road connection, that is, it will be interesting and convenient to visit the museum expositions and the fortress itself.

In general, the scope of archaeological work in Crimea is much wider due to active infrastructure construction. So, to date, about 50 objects of archaeological heritage are planned to be studied along the route of the future Tavrida route, while completely new monuments may be discovered during construction: contractors are obliged to inform scientists about all discovered historical objects, immediately stopping work on these sites.

Last year, when laying a gas pipeline across the moat at the Cimmerian Wall, a find was made in the Northern Black Sea region of excellent preservation with the remains of adjacent defensive fortifications. And the volume of ceramic fragments from the sea sections of the Crimean Bridge supports is absolutely staggering - in 2015 alone, 1200 sq. m of the bottom and more than 20 thousand finds were extracted. The work continued last year, and the scale is growing. In 2017, marine archaeologists are going to take hundreds of thousands of ancient wreckage from Poseidon along the bridge construction route. The most notable examples of ancient culture found recently are the Kerch Museum.

The railway approach to the Crimean bridge will be redesigned after the ancient settlement of Manitra was discovered at the construction site in the vicinity of Kerch.

Railway will pass south of the planned route, work on a new project may take about 6 months. This is reported by the information center "Crimean Bridge".

“To preserve the unique historical monument, the builders of the approach to the Crimean bridge will correct the route of the railway line at one of the sections in the vicinity of Kerch. The road will bypass and will not touch the buildings of the rich antique manor, discovered in the course of archaeological research prior to the construction of the route.

A complex of 40 rooms and 9 courtyards, dating from the end of the 5th - the beginning of the 3rd century BC. e., could belong to the family of a Bosporan aristocrat or a representative of the dynasty of kings of the Bosporan. The relocation of the approach site will allow scientists to conserve this settlement, study it and preserve it for posterity, ”the information center said.

The press service of the construction emphasized that the transfer of the section of the route will not affect the delivery date of the 18-km approach: it will work, as planned, in December 2019.

According to RBK, the railway tracks can be moved 700-900 m to the south, where "archaeologists do not expect new finds."

“We know and respect history. We understand in which region we work. Therefore, the issue of preserving cultural heritage has been and remains a priority, ”stressed Leonid Ryzhenkin, Deputy Director for Infrastructure Projects at Stroygazmontazh.

Unique find

The found estate covers an area of more than 5 thousand square meters. m and is characterized by continuous buildings, typical for antique rural complexes.

Now about 80% of the found settlement has been uncovered. The upper layers have been revealed practically throughout the entire area, but the lowest horizon has not yet been excavated everywhere.

“To understand who the first owner of this estate was, you need to open the earliest level. But it is obvious that this was a representative of the aristocratic elite of the Bosporus kingdom, ”says the head of the expedition, Doctor of Historical Sciences, leading researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergei Vnukov.

“There are no analogues of a rural estate of such an area, complexity and such good preservation, not only on the territory of Crimea, but throughout the entire Black Sea region.

The uniqueness of this settlement lies in the very high level of construction. The monument is located on the Kerch Peninsula, in the western part of the Bosporus Kingdom. This is a distant outskirts of the Hellenic world, but here we see the experience of ancient urban planning at its best.

The person who built this estate had not only great, but very great material opportunities. Presumably, this is not even a representative of the social property elite, but rather a member of the ruling tsarist dynasty or, in general, the Tsar of the Bosporus himself, ”agrees with his colleague, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of Field Research at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Maslennikov.

Did you like the article? Share it

Print article