Kul-Oba is the first Scythian mound in Crimea and Russia. Monuments of archeology and architecture of Kerch

At the Kerch fortress, volunteers from the Archeology Foundation began clearing the so-called Blue Gate, located on Cape Ak-Burun. Why blue? Previously, they were painted blue to distinguish them from everyone else. In general, the fortress had more than 20 fortified passages. In the event of a siege, the besieged could emerge through the Blue Gate to strike the flank of the enemy advancing on the northern part of the fortress. Nearby there was a covered path from which fire was fired, preventing the besiegers from breaking the gate.

We are currently engaged in uncovering the earth masses that have accumulated in this area over the last two centuries of the fortress’s existence,” said Oleg Markov, development director of the Archeology Foundation. - Before the start of work, the territory was examined by sappers from the Leader center of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. Clearing showed that the thickness of the influx of soil in the area of ​​the gate ranges from 20 cm to one and a half meters. Research participants expect to find interesting findings. Thanks to excavations, it is possible to discover previously unknown elements of the architecture of the Kerch fortress.

At the same time, work is underway to fix the graffiti left by the “artists” on the walls of the fortress. But this, as they say, is women’s work, and therefore it fell on the shoulders of female volunteers. During the existence of the outpost, its territory was visited by both builders and defenders of the fortress, and foreign invaders. During the Great Patriotic War, the Kerch fortress changed hands several times.

As the Foundation clarified, all work is supervised by the head of the research department of the “Kerch Fortress”, Ph.D. Yuri Beilik, volunteers of the Archeology Foundation in the Kerch fortress are led by Alexander Okhremenko.


Cape Ak-Burun (translated from Crimean Tatar as “white cape”), where the Blue Gate is located, is a separate fortified defense area of ​​the Kerch fortress, the internal structure of which has yet to be studied, noted Oleg Markov.

By the way, it is interesting not only for its fortifications of the 19th century, but also for the archaeological remains of ancient times. There is a hypothesis that the ancient city of Hermisium, mentioned by Pomponius Mela and Pliny, is located on Ak-Burun.

In principle, this is possible, although in the list of names of ancient settlements preserved by written tradition for the section of the coast of Eastern Crimea from Nymphaeum to Panticapaeum, there is another possible ancient city - Diya,” said the director of the Foundation. - In any case, only systematic archaeological excavations will be able to determine which city is located on Cape Ak-Burun. At the moment, we know for sure that the “father of Bosporan archeology” Paul Dubrux, in his description of this area, repeatedly drew attention to the rapid destruction of the remains of ancient walls and buildings he recorded, which disappeared from the surface literally before our eyes. According to his calculations, 500 cubic fathoms (4900 m3) of stone were removed from just one such point for construction needs, and the lime kiln probably destroyed twice as much.

According to his observations, only the fortress wall with towers and gates stretched for a length of two kilometers. Later, when Cape Ak-Burun firmly came under the jurisdiction of the military authorities, these antiquities became almost inaccessible to researchers and they gradually began to be forgotten.


Interestingly, in 1858, the Pavlovsky mound was excavated at Cape Ak-Burun, in which a burial dating back to the 4th century BC was discovered. The gold jewelry found there suggested that this was the burial of a priestess of the temple of Demeter, the Foundation emphasized. - Our volunteers have already had to take part in excavations of the Temple of Demeter, however, on the other side of the Cimmerian Bosporus in the village of Vestnik (Anapsky district). Now they may have the opportunity to study the admirers of the cult of this goddess already in Crimea.

On Friday, July 14, festive events dedicated to the 160th anniversary of the start of its construction are scheduled to take place in the Kerch fortress. Scientists claim that the Kerch fortress is one of the most mysterious fortifications built in the 19th century. Few people know about its existence. Meanwhile, at one time it was the most powerful fortress in the south of Russia and the second most important after Kronstadt.

Since this unique monument is located in close proximity to the future bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula with the mainland, after restoration and partial reconstruction it can become one of the main attractions on the route of tourists.

BY THE WAY

Anyone can become a volunteer and take part in the work of the Archeology Foundation. Anyone interested in the military history of Russia is invited to come to Kerch. Volunteer work on the Kerch Peninsula will last until September 1, 2017.

In the village of Podmayachnoe in the area of ​​Golubinaya Bay, excavations of the ancient settlement of Gleiki-2 continue. This expedition was already carried out last year. The expedition is conducted under the leadership of Professor, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of Primitive Traditional Society of the Institute of Archeology of Crimea of ​​the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Evgenievich KISLOY. Gleiki-2 is one of the oldest settlements in Crimea. During the excavations, many artifacts were discovered there. So, for example, back in 2016, the 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 don’t know such a different culture in Crimea. There is a set of artifacts that makes up the cultural fund. These are ceramics, products and we do not know from such a material cultural layer. Nowhere else, in any settlement in Crimea, do we know such ceramics with such a culture, with such a form,” Alexander Evgenievich said in an interview. This year, the expedition is trying to find even more structures that may have remained from ancient times.

An archaeological expedition near Kerch pleases researchers with new finds

In May - June 2017, the Crimean new-building archaeological expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (head of the expedition - Doctor of Historical Sciences S.Yu. Vnukov) carried out excavations of the Hospital mound in the city of Kerch (Fig. 1, 2). The research was carried out as part of a project to preserve historical heritage monuments falling within the construction zone. The excavations of the mound were led by a researcher at the Institute of Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ph.D. I.V. Rukavishnikova, reports the press service of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Hospital Kurgan is located in the south-eastern part of Kerch in the Solnechny microdistrict, east of the Heroes of Stalingrad highway. It is named after the former military hospital located nearby. Hospital is the largest in the chain of mounds on the central rock ridge of Yuz-Oba (One Hundred Hills - Tatar) in Kerch. The height of its earth embankment (Fig. 1) was more than 7 m, the diameter was 70 m, and the total area of ​​the monument was approx. 13,700 sq. m. The central stratigraphic profile of the mound showed the complex structure of its mound and several periods of its formation. The mound was built in several stages, which are associated with various burial structures of the mound. In addition, in all stratigraphic sections, traces of numerous predatory diggings and trenches that damaged the mound embankment were recorded at different times. Read: Research has shown that the earliest are two burials in stone boxes (Fig. 4, right) with slab ceilings, located side by side on the same level along the north-south line. One of the boxes contained a single intact burial, the other was completely robbed in antiquity, apparently twice. In an intact burial (Fig. 5), a poorly preserved human skeleton was discovered in a wooden sarcophagus (Fig. 8), decorated with plaster ornamental overlays. The deceased was accompanied by numerous objects related to sports. These are more than 10 alabasters - special vessels for oil, which was used during training and competitions, a strigel - a sickle-shaped scraper, used to cleanse the athlete’s body of oil, sweat and dirt, as well as for massage after competitions. 150 astragalus dice were also found there. Particularly noteworthy is the painted red-figure wine jug - pelik (Fig. 9), the so-called Kerch style. Judging by these finds, in the 2nd half of the 4th century. BC. a young male athlete was buried here. The first, relatively small mound was built over these two early burials. On it, to the south and north of the burials, 2 stone altars-eskharas were installed (Fig. 7). Not far from them, fireplaces and pits with the remains of funeral feasts, performed in memory of the dead, were also discovered. Numerous fragments of painted red-figure vessels of the 4th century were found in them. BC. and other ceramics. Among them are fragments of a red-figure krater (a vessel for mixing wine with water) with images of maenads and satyrs. Read: After some time, apparently at the end of the 4th century. before. AD, a grandiose stone tomb was added to the early mound (Fig. 4), placed on the ancient surface. It was covered with an additional embankment. The tomb is an ancient crypt with a long corridor-dromos, which led to a rectangular burial chamber measuring 5.20 x 4.80 m with a stepped ceiling. The length of the dromos is about 20 m; it expands towards the entrance. The entrance to the dromos apparently faced the surface of the new embankment and was designed as a stepped portal. It is laid with torn stones (Fig. 3). The inner walls of the chamber and the dromos corridor were covered with thin smoothed plaster. The later, higher mound mound, which covered the crypt, was erected in several stages as the construction of the structure progressed. This made it easier to lay the top rows of masonry walls and floors. Each level of the mound was separated from the one above it by a layer of stone chips formed during the laying of the next row of masonry of the tomb. In some places, the base of the new embankment was reinforced with a special roller made of limestone chips. Numerous fragments of containers and table vessels from the 4th–3rd centuries were found in the mound. BC. Apparently, another funeral altar-eschara, discovered in the western field of the late embankment, belongs to this crypt. Later, the crypt was repeatedly robbed, and it was also dismantled for stone. As a result, it was very badly destroyed. Nevertheless, certain architectural details of the rich decoration of the tomb have been preserved: a fragment of a frieze decorated with ovals, a pilaster capital, an architectural plaster decoration covered with blue paint. The filling also contained fragments of ceramics dating back to the 4th century. BC. and the Middle Ages. In the western part of the mound, two later burials in the basement, dating back to the turn of the era, were also discovered. For some time, the destroyed crypt stood open. One of these periods includes the most interesting schematic drawings (Fig. 6), applied to the plaster with ocher and soot, apparently in the 3rd–5th centuries. AD Battle scenes, ships, solar symbols, etc. are depicted. The style of the images is reminiscent of those in the Sabazid crypt in Kerch. Restorers from the State Hermitage and the Kerch Museum-Reserve took part in the conservation work. Read: The remains of a temporary dwelling with a hearth, built in an already destroyed dromos, date back to the Middle Ages. The small settlement “Hospital” located nearby is associated with the mound. There is reason to believe that the builders of this mound lived there. Thus, the Hospital mound is a complex multi-temporal burial complex, the main burials in which were made in the 2nd half of the 4th century. BC. The destroyed crypt discovered in it was apparently not inferior to the best examples of Hellenistic Bosporan funerary architecture and contained the burial of a representative of the top of the local society. Also of great interest are the later drawings on the walls of the crypt. Excavations of mounds of this size have not been carried out in Crimea for more than 120 years. For the first time they were carried out comprehensively, at the modern scientific level. In addition to archaeologists, anthropologists, paleozoologists, palynologists, restorers and others took part in the work. They received important information about the funeral rites of representatives of the Bosporan nobility, the funeral structures of Bosporus and the technology of their construction, about the material culture of the Bosporan kingdom in the Hellenistic era, in Roman and medieval times.







Federal highway "Tavrida" is an ambitious project for the construction of a highway that will connect the peninsula with the Krasnodar region of Russia. The route connects Sevastopol with Kerch and will be the main transport artery of Crimea, 280 km long. The road bypasses protected natural areas; the design documents even provide for eco-transitions for animals.

It is planned to install acoustic screens to prevent noise pollution, treatment facilities to prevent the flow of untreated water from the road surface, and landscaping of areas that will be damaged during the work. The route is being laid taking into account all modern road construction standards in the field of environmental protection. After completion of construction, a complex of reclamation work will be carried out on all areas that were involved in the implementation of this large-scale project.

At the moment, the Tavrida highway is one of the main newsmakers on the peninsula. This is primarily due to archaeological finds that were made during construction.

Tiriktak shaft

During the construction of the route, archaeologists in Kerch unearthed artifacts that belong to the Bosporan kingdom. Researchers are conducting archaeological excavations at different sections of the future route.
The press service of the Ministry of Transport of Crimea made a statement - archaeologists are studying the Tiriktaksky shaft, this is one of the defensive structures of the Bosporan kingdom on the eastern side. At the moment, a significant section of the shaft has been excavated, and researchers have begun a thorough study of the scheme of its construction. A crepida (an earthen wall of a rampart that serves as its support) and a ditch around the rampart were also discovered. These finds date back to the 4th-3rd centuries BC.

By the way, a small historical note.

Bosporan Kingdom- is an ancient state formation formed on the territory of eastern Crimea, around 480 BC. e. during the merger of Greek policies on the Kerch and Taman peninsulas. The capital of Bosporus is Panticapaeum.

The kingdom flourished in the 4th century. BC e., the territory of the state included the entire Kerch Peninsula, Feodosia and Taman. The borders of the kingdom passed near present-day Novorossiysk, along the lower reaches of the Kuban River and the mouth of the Don.


Archaeologists conducting excavations on a section of the route in the Kerch region discovered a crypt dating back to the 5th century AD (the period of the Bosporan Kingdom). The archaeological find will take its rightful place on the territory of the Kerch fortress. The museum management made a presentation of the crypt at the conference “Archaeology and History of the Bosporus”, which was held in Kerch in August. Museum visitors can see the object unchanged from ancient times.

Kurgan Hospital

Archaeological work is being carried out on the territory of the Hospital mound, in the south-eastern part of Kerch.

Video from excavations in Kerch


A wooden sarcophagus with a human skeleton and burial structures were discovered there; all finds date back to the period of the Bosporan Kingdom. This mound was excavated comprehensively, with the involvement of specialists from various related fields: paleozoologists, restorers and many others. Scientists have found fragments of Greek painting, but the main value of these works lies in the scale of research, which currently covers the ancient settlement of Kurgan, located nearby. The oldest finds discovered are two stone boxes covered with slabs. One of the boxes had been looted entirely earlier; the remains of a 12-year-old young athlete were buried in the second. Nearby, about ten containers for oil, which was used in training and competitions, were discovered, as well as an arc-shaped scraper for cleaning the body of oil, sweat and dirt, and more than a hundred dice. The work of scientists on this object gives contemporaries an idea of ​​the Hellenic Bosporan funeral rites, architecture and culture of that time period.

The excavation of the mound has been completed. Further museumification of the mound is associated with significant technological and financial costs. Residents of Kerch can visit the mound in its unpreserved form. Most of the artifacts are planned to be sent to the funds of the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Reserve.

Crimea is rich in large mounds, even larger than Gospitalny. However, work on their study becomes possible when the territory of possible research comes to the attention of the state and the media in connection with large infrastructure projects.

Stone bridge from the time of Catherine II

Ancient archaeological finds during the construction of the Tavrida highway are replaced by archaeological discoveries from the period of the Russian Empire. So, near Belogorsk, a stone bridge and part of a section of road, the construction of which dates back to the 18th century, were excavated.

Video of a stone bridge from the reign of Russian Empress Catherine II



Scientists suggest that these objects were built during preparation for the visit of Empress Catherine II to Crimea. Inscriptions were found on the bridge that indicate its repeated repairs. The bridge will be studied, restored and left intact, the route itself will be laid slightly to the side of it.

Sevastopol section of the Tavrida highway

It also provides a springboard for archaeological work. Historical artifacts from the Crimean War, the Great Patriotic War, and the Hellenic time period are found here.

Cave on the Tavrida highway

In Crimea, at the beginning of June, near the village of Zuya, Belogorsk district, builders accidentally discovered a unique cave.

During the construction of the Tavrida highway, the builders accidentally opened a large karst cavity, after which the work was suspended and scientists were invited.

Topographic survey of the cave showed the length of the studied passages is 1015 meters, which is the longest cave in the foothills of Crimea.

— Consists of several main galleries connected by labyrinthine passages. Point and rift feeding centers, ascending domes and wells are noted everywhere. One of these domes was opened during road work. The opened entrance is a vertical well with a total depth of 14 meters (from the base of the roadway to the level of the bottom of the main gallery), the researchers explained.

Archaeological excavations and finds captured by Kerch photographers at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

Excavation in the southwest of the ancient settlement of Panticapaeum. Date of survey: 1899 - 1910.

The building complex was discovered by excavations by 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.


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

Terracottas found in 1896 on Mount Mithridates, during the excavations of Panticapaeum. Date of shooting: 1896 - 1899.


The picture shows four terracottas, two of which are masks of a Satyr, a 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.

Pottery: pyxis, one-handed jug, lekythos and skyphos. Date of survey: 1898 - 1899.


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

Multi-colored plaster found in 1896 on Mount Mithridates. Date taken: 1896 - 1899.

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

The tombstone of the sons of Dzopir was found in a mound on the north side of Mount Mithridates in 1873. There is an inscription on the plate in 4 lines. In addition, the photograph serves as an inventory card - it contains a brief description and passport data.

Painted Bosporan crypt with two sarcophagi on low stands made of soft limestone. Date of shooting: 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 Katerless Bridge. In some places on the walls of the crypt there are remains of fresco painting in the form of quadrangles and circles, painted with dark brown and green paints. 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 the Gorgon Medusa with wings on her head and snakes under her chin.

Gravestone in situ. Date taken: 1911.


The moment of discovery of a tombstone 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 built in the 40s of the 19th century. The white marble tombstone, broken into two parts, was 4.2 meters high. At the top it was decorated with two relief acroteria and a pediment. In the triangle there is a bust of a figure with raised arms; under the pediment there are two reliefs: the top one depicts two male figures standing next to each other; and in the lower one - a rider on a horse, with a spear in his right hand.

Tombstone.Date taken: 1911–1915.


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

Tombstone made of marble from the 4th century. n. e.Date of shooting: 1900–1910s.


Tombstone with 21 line inscription. Almost the entire front side of the tombstone is occupied by an inscription carved along thin lines. Translation of the inscription: “Vow to the Most High, Merciful God. Aurelius Valerius Sogus, son of Olympus, chief of Theodosia, famous to Augustus, awarded honors by Diocletian and Maximian, also called Olympian in the province, traveled a lot, was absent for 16 years and endured many sorrows, according to a vow, 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 tradeswoman P. Krasheninnikova.

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


A cart on four wheels made of dark red clay, inside of which there was a set of ram astragalus (21 pieces). The toy was found by Vladislav Vyacheslavovich Shkorpil on June 6, 1903 in a ruined children’s tomb in Glinishche, not far from the local prison and the city slaughterhouse. Probably, the cart and astragalus, as the child’s especially favorite toys, were placed in the coffin by his relatives. The toy is in the collections of the Russian State Hermitage and is exhibited at an exhibition dedicated to the history of Bosporus.

Marble lion in the excavation of the Lion Mound. Date of shooting: 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 of the northern slope of Mount Mithridates. The statue occupies a central place in the modern exhibition on the history of the Bosporan Kingdom in the Russian State Hermitage.

Excavations of the Zelensky mound on the Taman Peninsula, carried out under the leadership of the director of the Kerch Museum Vladislav Shkorpil in 1912. Date of shooting: 1912.

Two pithoi with lids in an excavation pit in 1898. Date of shooting: 1898.


There is a digger on the right.

 

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