Discoveries of the Phanagoria expedition

The Volnoe Delo Foundation has announced the findings and discoveries of the 16th field season of the Phanagoria Archaeological Expedition conducted at both the 'Upper' and 'Lower' Town areas, as well as the Eastern and Western necropolises and also in the submerged part of the ancient city.

View of the excavations at at the Lower Town at Phanagoria
[Credit: Volnoe Delo Foundation]

Two of the three largest finds of the last seasons were made on the territory of the Eastern necropolis. At the end of the 2018 field season, archaeologists discovered a tightly clogged glass vessel in a warrior sarcophagus.

Such vessels are usually found empty, and occasionally there is residual moisture deposits on their walls. The Phanagoria vessel was filled with salty liquid, and the concentration of salt in it was higher than the seawater of the Taman Gulf, on the shore of which Phanagoria was located.

Lacrimaria vessel found at Phanagoria
[Credit: Volnoe Delo Foundation]

The results of the investigations completed this year and the data on the ancient funeral traditions allow us to suppose that the liquid in the vessel contained human tears. Such vessels - lacrimaria - are described in the biblical texts as "holding back the tears of mourners".

Lacrimaria were filled with tears of people mourning their loved ones, after which the vessel was placed in a crypt. With great probability it is possible to say that the vessel found by the Phanagoria expedition was filled with tears of people mourning the death of a hero warrior.

Funerary stelae showing warrior on horseback
[Credit: Volnoe Delo Foundation]

This season, another unusual discovery was made in the same area of the Eastern Necropolis. In one sarcophagus the remains of a woman buried with her baby - judging by the three bracelets on the child's arm, a girl - was found.

The architecture of the sepulchral structure and the rich ornamentation of the cypress sarcophagus testify to the high social status of the deceased. The woman was dressed in a loose dress, bound on her shoulder with a brooch with coloured enamel. It is obvious that the mother and daughter died at the same time and were buried together.

Remains of a woman and child unearthed in the Eastern Necropolis
[Credit: Volnoe Delo Foundation]

It is impossible to establish the cause of their death, but it was probably connected with the dramatic events of the history of the Bosporus kingdom of the 2nd century AD. This was a time of prosperity for the Bosporus, but at the same time it was a period of large-scale military events related to the raids of nomadic peoples.

Mother and daughter may have fallen victim to one of the many clashes with the tribes that attacked the Bosporus cities. The location of the burial site surrounded by military graves supports this theory.

Fragment of a marble table top dating to the 5th-6th century
[Credit: Volnoe Delo Foundation]

The east part of a necropolis contains a considerable quantity of military burials. In ancient times, the dead soldiers were buried in military attire, equipped with swords and spears. On the stone tombstones the dead were depicted as horsemen, accompanied by their servants.

A few years ago, experts of the Phanagoria expedition found a sword adorned with a ruby at the entrance to a military tomb. The blade is slightly moved out of the sheath - this is how the robbers were warned in ancient Greece about the imminent punishment for desecration of the hero's grave.

Fragment of a 5th-6th century marble baptismal font
[Credit: Volnoe Delo Foundation]

The third major find of this year was made within the territory of the "Lower Town". There archaeologists discovered some items from an ancient Christian temple - fragments of a large marble table top and marble font. The artefacts date back to the 5th and 6th centuries. The table top may have been used as an altar, a table for offerings, as well as during liturgical and memorial meals. The marble font, judging by its size, was used to baptize not only children but also adults.

Both findings can be regarded as convincing evidence of the existence in Phanagoria of one of the first Christian temples in the Bosporan kingdom.

Source: Volnoe Delo Foundation [trsl. TANN, August 11, 2019]