A New Greek Graffito from the Bilsk Hillfort and Greek Graffiti in Scythian Contexts

Abstract

Abstract The article presents a recent find of a potsherd, bearing an ancient Greek graffito, reported from the area of the Bilsk Hillfort. The area of discovery, considered by some archaeologists to be the city of Gelonos (Hdt. 4.108), makes this otherwise ordinary graffito potentially significant. The authors discuss the historical, archaeological, and epigraphic contexts of the find and possible scenarios of how it may have ended up at the site. To provide an epigraphic background for the find, the study is accompanied by a catalogue of Greek graffiti and dipinti from Scythian burials and settlements of the Northern Black Sea area and steppe and forest-steppe zones of Eastern Europe.