Contents of №1, 2010

The article deals with G.A. Koshelenko's academic role for and his participation in South Turkmenestan Comprehensive Archeological Expedition .During the past forty years a lot of archeological discoveries have been made under his supervision and with his participation in Margiana. His book on ancient Merv became an invaluable contribution to the study of Turkmenestan ancient history. A. Bader and A. Gaibov were invited to gather data on Avestan traditions concerning Merv. A long list of scientific papers and monographs testifies that G.A. Koshelenko has reached his goal and committed himself to further research in Central Asia.

ANCIENT MERV

E.V. Rtveladze

The author reminisces about joint archeological expedition at ancient Merv settlement in south Turkmenistan in the fall of 1961 giving sketches of archeologists' daily routine and their research. He presents a vivid portrayal of his friends and colleagues. He thinks he had the rare honor of working together with them under the direction of M.Ye. Masson.

A GODDESS ON THE LION FROM SUSA

A. Invernizzi

The old French Excavations in Susa brought to light the fragment of a marble bowl of the Parthian period decorated with a central medallion in relief. The picture shows a goddess dressed in tunic and mantle and seated on a lion passant.

While the style of execution of the lion maintains a fresh naturalism of Hellenistic origin, the goddess is frontal and rather flattened, which points to a date in the late Parthian period. The image may perhaps be interpreted as a variant of that of Nana/Nanaia, who was a major deity in the city of Susa and was often represented on a lion in the eastern regions of the Hellenized Orient down to pre-Islamic times.

NOTES ON PARTHIAN NISA ON THE LIGHT OF NEW RESEARCH

C. Lippolis

Under the surface layers dating to the Middle Ages, the excavations brought to light a large square Parthian complex of about 50 m on each side, the precise external limits of which were not defined. Clay sealings or bullae and fragments of clay with straw that originally sealed the khums and the doors were found in this wing of the building, in particular in rooms 12 and 15. On the whole, the motifs on the sealings from the South-Western Building are different from those from the Square House in Nisa, and in general simpler. But for the clay statues in Old Nisa we have no information or evidence of life-size or larger sculptures. In conclusion, the new excavations in Old Nisa are giving us new significant information.

GRECIAN STYLE IN CERAMICS OF BACTRIA AND SOGDA

K. Abdulayev

The article deals with Greek culture influence showing up in ceramic finds. Pottery shape introduced by Greeks undergoes some modification both in proportion and decor. Some specimen of Greek style pottery existed in Central Asia during a relatively short period, others survived till the early Middle Ages.

CONSERVATION ET MISE EN VALEUR DU PATRIMOINE ARCHITECTURAL AU PROCHE-ORIENT : QUELQUES REALISATIONS DE MISSIONS ARCHEOLOGIQUES

M. Gelin

Tout monument degage au cours d’une mission archeologique est aussitot, du fait de sa fragilite, expose a des alterations, voire a des destructions, entrainant une lourde responsabilite pour l’archeologue. Afin de contrer ces degradations, la solution que possede ce dernier est d’intervenir pour conserver l’edifice et le restaurer si necessaire. Plusieurs regles internationales ont ete emises, qui permettent d’encadrer les travaux. Cependant, trop souvent les archeologues ne possedent pas de formation adequate pour travailler sur les materiaux de construction anciens ni consolider les batiments et, malheureusement, rares sont les missions dotees de budgets necessaires aux depenses inherentes a la conservation. Surmontant ces problemes, plusieurs missions, pourvues de moyens financiers et techniques d’importances variees, ont pu mener des travaux, notamment au Proche-Orient. Diverses solutions se sont offertes, dont nous presentons ici quelques exemples (Qalaat el Moudiq citadelle d’Apamee, Cyrrhus, Doura-Europos (Syrie), Hegra (Arabie Saoudite), sur des fortifications en pierre de taille, de l’habitat nabateen, des sanctuaires parthe et romains en briques crues et blocage), qui ont permis de sauvegarder les vestiges tout en respectant les regles internationales et les constructions d’origine.

PARTHIAN-BACTRIAN MUTUAL EXCHANGE

B.A. Litvinsky

Military, diplomatic and other relationship of Parthia and Bactria are partially presented in general and special historical writings that for the most part were based exclusively on written sources and to a much lesser degree on works of art. Archeological and numismatic material revealing close contacts between these two regions is hardly studied.

The article provides additional data on Parthia and Bactria contacts on the basis of archeological excavations together with art and numismatic material.

Of special interest is an alabaster figurine found in Cush context of Oks temple, which was presented by a British scholar V. Cartise in his article and catalog. Russian numismatist Ye.V. Zeimal, when studying coins obtained from Oks temple, established that Parthian coins together with their local counterfeits with false chiseling were in general use in Bactria. They were found both in Oks temple and in Till-tepe burial. Parthian king's image from these coins was used in a sculptural composition in Khalchayan. During burial excavation in Hissar valley and adjoining Surkhandarya valley they found bath-like tombs similar to those found in Babylon and Uruk. Similarity of burial chambers leads to the conclusion that there were Parthian colonies or settlements on the territory of Bactria.

To this must be added that ancient Buddhism spread in Margiana in the 2nd c B.C., and from there together with Buddhist missioners it penetrated into Bactria and then into China (which was stipulated by S. Levi, G.A. Koshelenko, and B.A. Litvinsky). This is also true concerning Manichaeism and Christianity that, according to Beruni, appeared in Margiana in two hundred years after Christ, then expanding to Bactria.

Thus ideological beliefs and trends link Bactria and Parthia in many ways. These links have just come under the scrutiny of science. Observing correlation between archeological complexes, finds, and works of art appears most promising.

ON MALE TERRACOTTA GROUP FROM MERV

V.N. Pilipko

Among the many ancient terracotta finds in Turkmenestan are original small plaques showing men with luxuriant hair dressed in late Parthian style. Two motifs have emerged. It is presumed that on one plaque there is a figure of a sitting man, evidently highborn, probably a ruler (the plaque is only partially preserved). The second one shows a similar man on horseback. The finds are not rated, but their connection with Merv oasis is quite evident. The plaques can be referred to the 2nd — first third of the 3rd cc. B.C., to judge from some stylistic and technical properties. They can be regarded as object of Merv proclamation art.

SASANIAN KUSHANSHAKHR

A.B. Nikitin

The article deals with the history of Kushanshakhr (formerly Bactria-Tokharistan and later Afghanistan) that existed over a hundred years under the control of Sasanian dynasty. Until the present time we did not know much about its chronology, political status, and culture. And only past decades brought us a more or less full notion of the Kushanshakhr both of Kushan period and of Sasanian dynasty control period thanks to archeological discoveries, and research in the area of numismatics, glyptics, and epigraphy.

PAINTED HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS OF ANCIENT KHWAREZM (BASED ON KHALALY-GYR 2 MATERIAL)

S.B. Bolelov

This is a thorough study of household ceramics as one of the principal constituents of Ancient Khwarezm ceramic complex (4th — 2nd cc. B.C.). It is based on the material of Khalaly-gyr II cult center. The article presents shape typology of household ceramic utensils. Formal and statistic analysis helped to establish a close correlation between vessel decoration, shape, and type. What is more, there is a good reason to believe that complicated ornamentation on vessels of a particular type is a graphic representation of Ancient Khwarezmians cosmological beliefs.

NEW COMPREHENSIVE METHOD OF TERRACOTTA PLASTIC ART STUDY

N.D. Dvurechenskaya

The paper puts forward a new comprehensive approach to terracotta items study - material analysis in the context of all functions and archeological types. This method allows to present a number of problems in a new light, including iconography, stylistics, technique evolution, semantics, and the meaning of concrete terracotta samples from Central Asia. An archeological type presents authentic objects of material culture that naturally fit chronological and territorial context. They are easily recognized and identified on the basis of all their properties.

L'ANCIENNE TERMEZ DANS L'ANTIQUITE

P. Leriche

Depuis 1993, les travaux de la Mission de Bactriane*(*Mission archeologique franco-ouzbeque (MAFOuz) de Bactriane du nord) ont pris pour objet principal la fouille et l’etude de l’Ancienne Termez dans la province du Sourkhan Daria (Ouzbekistan du sud). Cette ville couvrait une surface de cinq cents hectares lorsqu’en 1220 elle decida de s’opposer par Gengis Khan. Sa population a alors ete totalement massacree et la ville s’est reconstruite sur un site nouveau.

Des fouilles menees entre les deux guerres mondiales et dans la deuxieme moitie du XXe siecle, sur l’ancienne Termez y ont mis au jour de nombreux vestiges islamiques, mais aussi des vestiges importants des epoques kouchane, pre kouchane et grecque.

Les fouilles de la Mission Bactriane se sont concentrees sur la zone proche du fleuve, incluant la citadelle et une large bande au nord-ouest jusqu’au sommet de la colline de Tchingiz tepe1. Au terme de vingt campagnes d’importance variable, plusieurs monuments (dont quatre edifices a caractere religieux et un vaste systeme de fortifications) ont ete decouverts et l’histoire ancienne du site a pu etre precisee.

A l’origine, l’ancienne Termez etait une simple colonie militaire seleucide puis greco bactrienne de surveillance du fleuve. Elle s’est fortement developpee apres le depart des Grecs, sous les Yue Tche, probablement en liaison avec le creusement du canal du Sourkhan Daria. C’est alors qu’elle est vraisemblablement devenue la capitale des Yue Tche au nord du fleuve Oxus.

FOUNDATIONS OF POWER IN EARLY SRIVIJAYA

A.O. Zakharov

The paper focuses on the Old Malay polity Srivijaya existed in the 7th — 13th centuries. Its main objective is to reconstruct the foundations of power of the ruler. The main sources are the Old Malay inscriptions and the Chinese and Arabian texts. The power was based on symbolic, military, and economic foundations. Symbolic foundations consisted of the ceremony of oath drinking minum sumpah, the idea of 'divine lord' punta hyiang and his taboos, the devotion of water spirits Tandrun Luah, and a Buddhist idea of 'an immaculate tantra' tantramala. The power of the ruler of Srivijaya was also based on military force. It can be deduced from multiple mentioning of his army, punitive expeditions, and his victories in many sources. Economic foundations of power in Srivijaya included customs duties from international trade and control over manpower.

THE BUILDING NO. 546 AT ULY KISHMAN COMPLEX IN THE MERV OASIS*

B. Genito

IMPORTED METAL VESSELS IN SCYTHIA (HISTORICAL CONTEXT ATTRIBUTION AND INTERPRETATION)

M.Yu. Treister

The paper considers the finds of Greek, Macedonian and Etruscan bronze and silver vessels in some wealthy Scythian barrows of the 4th — early 3rd c. B.C. Special attention is paid to the finds of Macedonian vessels, in particular to the combination of bronze stamnoid situlae and hemispherical bowls on stand-rings with movable handles in three Scythian burials — a combination otherwise known only after the finds from the tombs of the last third of the 4th c. BC in Macedonia. The find of 15 bronze vessels from Peschanoye is discussed in the context of the diffusion of such sets of bronze vessels in Scythia. The analysis of imported bronze- and silverware in Scythian barrows of the second half of the 4th — early 3rd cc. B.C. confirms the advanced hypothesis on Scytho-Macedonian contacts in the first half of 330-s B.C. during the rule of Philip of Macedon and a Scythian king Ataias, which continued during the rule of Alexander the Great. There are grounds to suggest that the contacts between Macedonia and Scythia continued in the last decades of the 4th c. B.C., and one cannot exclude that along with diplomatic gifts the Scythians obtained bronzeware through trade. The peculiarities of some bronze vessels diffusion allow suggesting that some of them could have been brought from Thrace, thus confirming scytho-thracian contacts, which can be inferred from other categories of archaeological material.

RURAL TERRITORY ARRANGEMENT OF ANCIENT BOSPORUS (ON LANDOWNERSHIP AND LAND-USE STUDY)

A.A. Maslennikov

The article deals with the study of the arrangement and use of ancient Bosporus rural territory. Well-known works of V.D. Blavatsky and I.G. Kruglikova present a clear-cut idea of four principal forms of land ownership in ancient Bosporus (those of polis, king, barbarian community, and temple). Landed property evolution in Bosporus is in fact an archeological problem. Further excavation of settlements makes it possible to reveal specific planning, precise dating, stratigrapy niceties, building techniques, and cultural and everyday life customs and traditions of the dwellers.

ABOUT THE BOSPORAN JUG-SHAPED LAMPS

D.V. Zhuravlev

Among the lamps jug-shaped ones belong to the most wide spread type of lighting devices at Bosporus from the 3rd c. BC till the late Hellenistic time. These lamps are wheel-made; nozzles and handles were made by hand and then attached to the body. Undoubtedly it is a local type produced in Pantikapaion and perhaps in other centres of the Bosporan Kingdom. These lamps were first distinguished by O. Waldhauer; then they were briefly studied by I.T. Kruglikova, I.B. Zeest, V.S. Zabelina and D.V. Zhuravlev.

Lamps transitional from ordinary Bosporan open lamps to classical "jug-shaped" ones belong to type 1. This fact was first noted by V.S.Zabelina while analyzing lamps from Pantikapaion. She dated them to the late 4th — early 3rd cc. BC. These lamps obviously continue to develop the series of the Bosporan open lamps. Moreover, we can notice some similar features of jug-shaped lamps and Attic ones of the 20th type.

Several lamps belongs to a separate type 2 and have following characteristic features - round bodies, vertical rim around the hole for a wick and sometimes a side projection. These lamps are typical for Pantikapaion, in any case, we have not known anything about finds of these lamps outside the Bosporan capital yet.

The majority of jug-shaped lamps belongs to the type 3. Bodies of lamps of this type have different peculiarities. The most characteristic ones make separate variants, although this division is rather conditional as a lot of transitional variants can also be distinguished. The authors have not done this for clear reasons.

An obvious tendency can be traced — as the time passes the hole for pouring oil is getting narrower. Considerable number of such lamps comes from Pantikapaion from the layers of the late 3rd — the first half of the 2nd c. BC. The earlier exemplars of the first half of the 3rd century BC come from an ash-pit II in Mirmekion. Thus, general dating of this lamp type is the 3rd — the first half of the 2nd c. BC.

Lamps with their shapes similar to ones of the type 3, but with nozzles that are much longer, belong to the type 4. They continue to develop the line of jug-shaped lamps. Similar lamps come, for example, from one of the burials of the necropolis Zolotoye, the robbed tomb VII of Artyuchovskij burial mound and from the so-called house of Chrysaliskos. One lamp of this type comes from the grave 80 of the necropolis of Tiramba dating to the early 1st c. BC. The time when these lamps appeared is not exactly known, it is possible that during some period they co-existed with lamps of the type 3. The time when they were spread is from the 2nd — 1st cc. BC till, maybe, the early 1st century AD.

A few lamps with vertical conical applied handle belong to type 5. Some parallels allow us to date them to the 2nd c. BC.

APOLLO TEMPLE ON PANTICAPEUM NECROPOLIS (DATING, TYPOLOGY, PERIODIZATION)

V.P. Tolstikov

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of all order details found by Pushkin Museum Bosporus Archaelogical Expedition in the vicinity of the First seat of Mithradates Mountain. It is the author's opinion that the details belong to Apollo Temple of the earlier period. He advances their detailed description (together with corrected data published earlier), graphic representation, and the author's reconstruction. This part can serve as a basis for refined dating, typological and period reference of this most ancient order building in Bosporus. Refined data given in the article do not unmake the general reconstruction scheme put forward by V.D. Blavatsky and developed by I.R. Pichikyan. The author, in the wake of these scholars, thinks it possible to give preference to peripteral type of building. But since millet architecture of the ancient period had characteristic shortened peripters, the author presumes that early Panticapeum temple with six flank columns could have no more than ten flank columns.

Publications and conclusions based on their comprehensive analysis make it possible to specify the dating of such a monumental order building that was important for the early history of Bosporus. Apollo temple of Samos Ionic order might have been erected within the period from 500 to 485 B.C. but not in the second quarter of the 5th c. as it was assumed before. It was possible to erect such an expensive, effort-taking, and technically complicated building in view of both greater political weight and economic potential of a young polis and migrant inflow from Miletus and other regions of Ionia after the Persians stifled Ionic rebellion and destroyed Miletus in 494 B.C. From 510 to 485 B.C. an architecture ensemble of a number of monumental buildings clustered round the tholos was under way at the top of Mithradates Mountain to the west of the First seat. It was then that many chamber residential houses with basements started to appear. They were similar to Koyran house excavated in 1049–1953 in Verkhneye Mitridatskoye.

Peripter erection on the upper plateau falls on the time that was very important for Panticapeum. It was a period of extensive urbanization of its central district together with architectural design and layout of the polis center. It was then that the first Panticapeum silver coins were minted.

FORTIFICATION IN THE CENTER OF TANAIS WESTERN DEFENSES OF THE LATE 3rd — 2nd CC. B.C.

T.M. Arsenyeva, S.M. Ilyashenko, S.A. Naumenko

Two towers and an eleven-meter part of the wall between them were excavated in the center of the western defense line of the principal quadrangle. They were erected at the end of the first half of the 2nd c. B.C. The walls were repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, but the basic layout of the construction did not disappear till the middle of the 3rd c. B.C. when the town was entirely demolished. Two wickets, opening into a square, persist today — the lower one of the Hellenic period and the upper one of the Roman times. A defense wall, also with a wicket, ran across the lower square. It belonged to the northern wall of the western area. The eastern part of the wall was destroyed when digging a moat and only this small part remained intact. It enabled people in the 3rd — 1st cc. B.C. to get from one part of the town into another on the territory protected by towers.

RED LACQUER PELIKE FROM THE ANCIENT TOWN SITE OF KARA-TOBE (COMPREHENSIVE STUDY EXPERIENCE)

S.Yu. Vnukov, O.I. Shtepa

The article presents a comprehensive study of a red lacquer pelike with a fluted body found on Greco-Scythian ancient town site Kara-Tobe in the northwestern part of the Crimea. Microscopic analysis of the ceramic mass and lacquer covering showed that the pelike was made in one of Asia Minor Aegian centers. Traces of manufacturing process made it possible to determine that the pelike was made on a quick potter's wheel from one lump of clay. The ornament is instrument-made. Vessels of the kind were produced in some Mediterranean Asia Minor and the Black Sea area centers at the end of the 2nd c. B.C. — the first third of the 1st c. A.D. apparently presenting a final stage of antique pelike shape development. They might have sprung from Minor Asian fluted pelikes with brown lacquer and overlay decoration of the 3rd — 2nd cc. B.C. Pelikes of the late Hellenic period represent good quality product available to general population. They were used both in everyday life and during funeral ceremonies.

PELIKES FROM GORGIPPIA

Ye.M. Alekseyeva

A pelike is an amphora-like vessel for liquids. The bulk of the pelikes, dating as far back as the 4th — 2nd cc. B.C., is found on the territory of the Gorgippia necropolis, and only very few samples (fragments, as a rule) are from the cultural stratum of the town site. Hellenic period pelikes are primarily burial cult-objects. Typological difference between Gorgippia pelikes makes it possible to divide them into two groups thus marking a turning point in the polis development followed by material culture changes stemming from economic life and trade links of the state. The changes due to Bosporus Kingdom switchover to Asia Minor contacts with the Pontus of Mithradates VI took place in the second half of the 3rd c. B.C.

AMPHORAE STOREHOUSE NO 290B AND SOME ASPECTS OF EARLY PHANAGORIA HISTORY

A. Zavoykin

The study of the political and military situation in Bosporus, and in Phanagoria in particular, in the second part of the 6th — 5th cc. B.C. is based on the assumption that amphora storehouses were of great value, so it was quite extraordinary when they were abandoned.

Archeological context analysis connected with the finding of amphora storehouse in Phanagoria in 2004 showed that the complex building was determined by war threat and acropolis fortifications construction in the 470-s B.C. It is significant that a number of similar complexes of the period were found in other Bosporian centers (Panticapeum, Myrmekium, Tiritaka). Statistic analysis of amphora complexes of the 6th — 5th cc. B.C. showed that they were most frequent in the second quarter of the 5th c. B.C. (not only in Bosporus but in northern Black Sea area as well). This period is quite significant for statistic characteristics of rural settlements and burials with arms articles dynamics in Bosporus.

This makes it possible to present the situation concerning Phanagoria acropolis of the 70s of the 5th c., B.C. in a wider sense of a much more aggravated perilous political and military atmosphere. But there are no solid arguments to extrapolate the cause of this 'crisis' to all Hellenic centers of northern Black Sea area.

KHAZAR PERIOD HOUSES IN PHANAGORIA

V.D. Kuznetsov, L.A. Golofast

The article deals with the Khazar period houses excavated on the hill in the center of the ancient town cite at the edge of the upper plateau. House 15 consisted of four rooms; house 502 had two large rooms on either side of a short narrow passage. Each of houses 503 and 504 still has one room. A courtyard might have been to the south of house 502 where they excavated a pithos buried underground and remains of a cloister. Adobe house wall rested on a stone foundation that was a two-layer framework with herring-bone backing-up. Big stone slabs were laid at house corners and in doorways. Houses had tile roofing and pise flooring. It is impossible to accurately determine their dimensions as the houses are only partially preserved. Stonework fragments discovered at the "Upper Town" excavation (1750 sq.m.) may suggest a more or less identical layout in this part of the town too. Buildings were oriented to the four cardinal points with insignificant deviations. The town was divided into small sections enclosed by streets laid with stones, ceramic fragments, and animal bones.

Thus the excavation revealed that during Khazar period town blocks were located both on the lower and upper plateaus where there was a utilitarian town sector with two- or three-room houses that were quite rare for Phanagoria whose area with excavated houses came up to no less than 20 ha. Houses were abandoned in the late 9th c. owing to danger, to judge by construction remains and ceramic complex composition of the houses. The acquired data show that Phanagoria remained a successfully functioning town actively trading, especially with the Crimea.

APSIDAL BUILDING FROM 1978–1980 EXCAVATION IN PHANAGORIA

Yu.N. Kuzmina

The article deals with possible functions of the apsidal building that was studied by V.S. Dolgorukov in 1979–1980. The building provides evidence of two building periods: 1) from the early to mid 4th c. B.C., 2) late 4th — the second quarter of the 1st c. B.C. (though a much earlier construction period is quite probable). Apsidal private house shape was no longer characteristic of the periods of classicism or Hellenism, which makes it possible to say that this building might have been either a public or sacral complex. In all likelihood it was a sanctuary, as it was too small for a public building (7.2 m long, 2.2 or 3 m wide). What with few finds in the building, their non-cult status, and a lack of an altar the paper raises the question as to whether an apsidal shape alone will suffice to refer the building to a sanctuary.

ARCHEOZOOLOGICAL STUDY IN PHANAGORIA OF KHAZAR PERIOD

Ye.V. Dobrovolskaya

The article presents data of the archeozoological study of the Khazar period osteological material excavated in the northeastern part of "the Upper Town" of Phanagoria.

Beef was dominant in meat consumption of people, then came mutton and goat meat. Pork might have been eaten too, but to a much lesser degree. Game did not play an important role in the diet (at least of town population).

The range of consumed meat was rather wide and included meat of domestic animals and poultry as well as fish and wild birds.

AREA ASSESSMENT OF ANCIENT RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN THE VICINITY OF PHANAGORIA

G.P. Garbuzov

The paper presents results of intense archeological mapping in the vicinity of ancient Phanagoria. Ceramic fragments density on the surface made it possible to determine feasible ancient rural settlement sites. Unified threshold level of ceramic density was used as a basic guideline in determining sites. Possible significance bands for all identified sites have been assessed. Sites are grouped together by size. Each group is analyzed from the viewpoint of its agreement with the rule "rank — size".

VYSHESTEBLIEVSKAYA 10 ANCIENT COMPLEXES WITH CERAMIC VESSELS OF THE 6th — 4th CC. B.C.

G.A. Lomtadze

Vyshesteblievskaya 10 settlement is in the south of Taman not far from the railway station of the same name. The area of the settlement is about 3.4 ha (950x600 m). In 2008 it was discovered that the cultural stratum of the monument was crumpling down, so decision was made to carry on research on the dilapidated section and to examine all the territory of the monument to ensure its boundary and the width of cultural strata in different sectors of the settlement. The job was done by a crew specially formed for this purpose by East-Bosporian expedition of Archeology Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Russia. The study of the area of 876 km2 (Excavation 1) performed in 2008 resulted in the location of 32 ancient household pits, which provided extensive factual data covering the period from the 6th to the 1st cc. B.C., and from the 8th to the 10th cc. A.D. This paper gives a chronological account of principal complexes with ancient ceramic vessels of the 6th — 4th cc. B.C. together with the unearthed finds.

Thus it is worth noting that very interesting and important material was obtained from a considerably small work ground of Vyshesteblievskaya 10 settlement territory. We hope that the monument will obtain its explorer and won't get completely ruined by quarrying.

ECONOMIC CONTACTS OF THE BOSPORUS IN THE 6TH CENTURY BC — 3rd CENTURY AD: GREEK COINS IN THE MONETARY CIRCULATION

M.G. Abramzon

Archaeological discoveries in Pantikapaion, Myrmekion, Tyritake, Kytaeum, Phanagoria, Patraeos, Gorgippia and many other Bosporan settlements gave a number of finds of Greek coins. Archaeological reports, publications, archives and museum collections also informed us about foreign coins found on the Bosporus from the middle of the 19th century till now. This great numismatic material allows us to shed a new light on some questions of the economic history of the Bosporan Kingdom. One of the most interesting problems of the Bosporan economics is the role of Greek coins in the monetary circulation in the Bosporus.

The author publishes about 170 finds of Greek coins penetrating in the Bosporus from Kyzikos, Pergamen, Thebes, Ionia, Aeolis, Athens, Samos, Lesbos, Chios, Cos, Rhodes, Naxos, Cromna, Amisus, Sinope, Byzantium, Heraclea Pontica, Alexandria, Caesarea in Cappadocia, Tium, Nikea, Chersonesus, Olbia, Tyre, Macedony, Thrace, Syria, Judaea, Parthia etc. Finds of imported coins in the Bosporan settlements testify to development of traditional links between the region and centers of the North-West of Asia Minor beginning from the 6th century BC. Such contacts especially increased in the Roman period, when Asia Minor became a basic importer of agricultural products from the Bosporus.

COPPER CHERSONESIAN COINS WITH DATES

N.A. Frolova

The article deals with the copper coins of Chersonesus Tauric with years of Chersonesian era. The author revues the problem of the starting point of Chersonesus era. She believes that the era of Chersonesus began in 25 BC and publishes the coins from the Collection of the State Historical Museum (Moscow) issued in AD 45-53 and AD 78-103.

IDEAL POLIS AND COLONISATION

N.L. Povaljaev

In this article the different Greek concepts of the ideal polis and its role in human history are analyzed. The basis and starting point for this discussion is the poetry of the Archaic times. Furthermore is examined, how these ideas are reflected in the archaeological material, because the Greeks could have adhered to the concept of the ideal polis when founding a colony.

The main result of this analysis is that the Greek of the Archaic times were influenced in their conceptions not by the model of the poleis of the epos — like Troy and Scheria — but by simple descriptions as those of Hesiod. An exemplary, model polis therefore possessed no distinctly urbanistic traits and no regular street map. The study of the archaeological material from Sicily and Southern Italy leads to the conclusion that the regular plans of the colonial cities date back to the late-archaic or classical times. Obviously because there was no concept of a regular plan before that time. Thus there is no reason to differentiate between the colonization in the Western Mediterranean and the Pontic region. As the analysis of the finds shows the evidence for the beginnings of a colony is always vague — in the West as in the East. It is only 50-100 years after the founding that the building of larger houses and a modest phase of urbanization begins.

The concept of the ideal polis did not — as can be seen from the funerary rites in Athens — materialize in the architectural design of the city-centre but in the rituals that were performed at the graves. In this respect the colonies on the Northern Pontos are not of second rank. They can not be denied the status of a polis because of their supposed underdeveloped architectural design.

EARLY MEDIEVAL FORTIFICATIONS ON BORGUSTAN MOUNTAIN RIDGE NEAR KISLOVODSK

D.S. Korobov

New historic monuments discovered at the top of Borgustan mountain ridge present elements of a well thought security system safeguarding southern borders of Alani tribes living north of Kislovodsk depression in the 2nd — 4th cc. A.D. Later, when they moved to Kislovodsk depression and settled down in fortified mountain valleys, the system disappeared. But some Borgustan ridge monuments revealed early medieval material showing that in the 5th — 9th cc. they were presumably used for surveillance. Early medieval stations of the kind used in behalf of the depression inhabitants can be positively referred to such fortifications as Spyashchaya Krasavitsa, Borgustanskoye 2 and 4, and probably Borgustanskoye 10.

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ДРЕВНИЙ ВОСТОК

СКИФИЯ, СЕВЕРНОЕ ПРИЧЕРНОМОРЬЕ И КАВКАЗ

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