Exploration of human diets and populations from the Yanghai Tombs, Xinjiang

Paleoecology of the ancient city of Tanais (3RD century BC–5TH century AD) on the north-eastern coast of the sea of Azov (Russia)

Το ιερό του Ερμή και της Αφροδίτης στη Σύμη Βιάννου

In this study, the evidence of the Early Iron Age obtained by the recent excavations carried out at Amos will be
 discussed. Amos located on the northeastern coast of Karia Chersonesos (Bozburun Peninsula), on the Asarcık Hill.
 Amos firstly appeared in the historical records by the 5th century BC. Amos, as a member of the Delian League, was
 recorded on the Athenian Tribute Lists of 428 BC. Following the establishment of the Rhodes state in 408 BC, the
 city became part of the Rhodian Peraea (Incorporated Peraea) and continued this situation until the 2nd century AD.
 Amos, also led a koinon, was abandoned by the 3rd century BC. The only research in the city was carried out by G.
 E. Bean in 1948. In addition to the survey that have been going on since 2019, the excavations began in 2020 yielded
 the earliest evidence of Amos. Up to the present, the earliest archaeological finds of Amos were from the 6th century
 BC. In the excavations carried out in the temple on the acropolis in 2021, some traces of the Early Iron Age were
 found. The remains of an apsidal building dated to the 10th century BC were found below the temple. Furthermore,
 outside the edifice a pyre (cremation area) associated with the building was found. After the secondary cremation,
 the intramural burial was placed under the floor of the structure. The first one of the two burials was placed in a belly
 amphora, the other into a necked amphora. Among the two urns, the necked amphora is decorated with concentric
 circles, while the belly amphora is a coarse ware. A bow fibula was found along with these amphorae as well.
 According to the widely view regarding the burial customs of the period, belly amphorae were preferred for women
 and necked amphorae for men. The apsidal building where a couple as an intramural burial in, must have belonged
 to a chief owing to a similar one in Lefkandi. It is possible to date the evidence at Amos from the Early Iron Age to
 the 10th century BC.

This article argues that the conclusions in the prevailing modern scientific literature on the formation of the Great Silk Road 3rd‑2nd millennium BC or from the 4th‑3rd centuries BC cannot be considered reasonable in light of available scientific and archival evidence. Until the 3rd‑2nd centuries BC at the western and northern borders of Xinjiang Region the predominantly Caucasoid population of Xinjiang contacted the related cultures of Kazakhstan and Sayano-Altai, but did not have any noticeable or documented trade (exchange) connections with the eastern Mongols of the Gansu Corridor, nor with farmers of ancient China and nomads of Northern China. Significant migrations of the population from Xinjiang to China and in the opposite direction between the third and the first half of the 1st millennium BC according to the available archaeological records has not been observed. The Silk Road from China through Xinjiang to the west with the direct involvement of the Chinese, only begins to function in the 1st century BC, and then only when the Han Empire at great cost finally succeeded in pushing the Hunnu out of Xinjiang, and established control over this territory. This event was preceded by active trade relations between the northern kingdoms of China and the nomads of Southern Siberia in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC and the delivery of the gifts to the Huns from the Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BC. This enabled silk and varnish products to penetrate Southern Siberia, Central Asia and then back into Xinjiang

The article analyses remains of the Baitovo Culture fortifications in the focus of archaeological research. These remains are dated back to the early Iron Agee and situated in the Transural forest-steppes. Previously determined stages of the culture development (early to late 7th – 6th century BC and late 5th – 3rd century BC) are relied on to analyse and restore the walls that used to fringe the settlements. The study reviews the shapes, depth and water levels in the moats at Maray5, Likhachevskoe and Borovushka2 hillforts. The research suggests that the settlements used to be fortified with a stakewall at the bottom of the moat. Likhachevskoe hillfort had its gate towers restored. The researched Baitovskoe, Staro-LybaevoII and Bochanetskoe hillforts allow to conclude that even later on the early Iron Age settlements preserved the tradition of erecting compact stakewalls or wattles at the bottom of moats. However, this as when the Baitovo culture people started to erect fortifications with deeper moats and higher walls (Bolshoy Imbiryay3, Maray1 hillforts). This is evident of increasingly more substantial defence of the settlements. The studied Sargat and Gorokhovo culture fortifications peaked in 3rd – 2nd century BC. The comparison reveals that on one hand people kept opting for simple stakewall structures or wattlers to fortify their settlements, but they tended to change the properties and made their moats and walls more substantial. On the other, they reinforced fortifications through gate towers, wooden supports for moat walls, log frameworks and cages on the walls. Such structures are typical for fortresses that bore the function of social and economic centers. It is concluded that the defense works the Baitovo people erected illustrate the early defensive architecture of the early Iron Age Transurals.

For many years causes of the fall of Scythia have been a subject to a great deal of scientific scrutiny. The topic is still debatable. The author has recently published several papers, which justify Sarmatians’ involvement in the fall of Scythia in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC based on the written and archaeological evidence. Previously, the concept has also been supported by other researchers. These days, however, there are studies in favor of alternative versions claiming Sarmatians’ innocence in the events leading to the fall of Scythia. The main ideas of the studies boil down to the statement of no evidence of Sarmatians from the 3rd century BC being found not only in the North Pontic region but also to the east from the Don river. In the light of the statement, they implement the idea that Sarmatians’ appearance in the Eastern European steppes dates back to the time not earlier than the 2nd century BC. In the article, the author, given the anthropological and archaeological datasets, confirms the Sarmatians’ continuous presence in the Volga-Urals region without any chronological gaps between the 4th and the 1st century BC. The idea of the stage-by-stage settlement of the eastern nomads in the Volga-Don region and the North Pontic region is suggested. In the first stage, since the middle of the 4th century BC, the political situation underwent some destabilization processes due to the appearance of Sarmatians in the Lower Don region. The second stage is characterized by Sarmatians attacking Scythia in the first half of the 3rd century BC. For most of the 3rd century BC, Sarmatians’ main habitat was located to the east of the Don river. From there they conducted raids on the territory of the Northern part of the Black Sea region to plunder or collect the tribute. This concept is also supported by linguists’ new interpretations of written sources.

The new data that have become available in the last two decades show that the Scythian Kingdom with its capital in Neapolis Scythica, which existed in the Crimea in the 2nd century BC, was much closer to Hellenistic states ruled by barbarian dynasties than to nomadic kingdom of the Scythians of the 4th century BC. At the same time, these data allow us to return in part to the old view formulated by Rostovtzeff about continuity between the Scythia of the 4th century BC and the Late Scythian Kingdom, which most researchers have rejected during the last thirty years. It turned out that this continuity existed at least at the ideological level, and the excavations at Ak-Kaya (Vishennoe) filled the chronological gap between the Scythian Kingdoms of the 4th and 2nd century BC. Apparently, Ak-Kaya became one of the political centres of the Scythians as early as the late 4th century BC, before the fall of “Great Scythia”, and the capital of the Crimean Scythians was located there before it was moved to Neapolis Scythica. In the formation of Late Scythian culture and the Late Scythian Kingdom with its capital first in Ak-Kaya and then in Neapolis Scythica, apart from the Scythian elements, sedentary Tauri took part, as well as probably the Greeks and the Hellenized population of the chorai of the Greek cities in north-western Crimea. A key role in changing the character of Scythian culture was apparently played by a change in its economic-cultural type and the transition from nomadic pastoralism to settled agriculture. This article proposes a new interpretation of the inscription on the mausoleum of Argotas, discovered in Neapolis Scythica in 1999. Argotas was probably not a Scythian, but a Greek, despite his Scythian name. This Bosporan aristocrat with Scythian family ties married the widowed Bosporan queen Kamasarya in the second quarter of the 2nd century BC and is mentioned as her husband in the inscription CIRB 75. He played an important role in governing the Bosporan Kingdom and in protecting it against attacks from the East. Then, most likely after the death of Kamasarya, he moved to the neighbouring kingdom of the Scythians, where he became one of the leading generals, the right-hand man of the king and the tutor to his children. After his death in ca. 130-125 BC, he received from King Skiluros unprecedented honours – a heroon in front of the facade of the royal palace was erected for him and, moreover, this was the only truly Greek building in Neapolis Scythica: it was built in accordance with the rules of the architectural order and decorated with Greek statues and reliefs, as well as a metric epitaph with numerous Homeric forms and expressions.

Oluz Hoyuk, in the Amasya Province, situated in the Land Zone of the Central Black Sea Region, resides at the 27th km of the Corum Mainroad, in the territory of the Gokhoyuk Agriculture Operation Management. Oluz Hoyuk, which has dimensions of 280 x 260 m, is 15 m higher than the plate level and has a field of 45.000 m² and one of the biggest hoyuks of the region. A total of 6 architectural layers were discovered resulting from the excavations of Oluz Hoyuk 2007 (first season) carried out in two trenchs. In this context The 0 Layer of the Oluz Hoyuk could be dated to Middle Age; The 1st Architectural Layer to Hellenistic Period (The end of 2nd century BC and the beginning of the 1st century BC); The 2nd Architectural Layer to the Late Phase of the Late Iron Age (4th and 3rd centuries BC). The 3rd and 4th Architectural layers could be dated to the Early Phase of the Late Iron Age (6th and 5th centuries BC), 5th Architectural Layer to the Middle Iron Age (7th century BC) and 6th Architectural Later to possibly either Early Iron Age or Late Bronze Age in other words, to the Age of Hittite Empire Period. Geophysical tecniques were applied for archaeological excavation in Amasya, Oluz Hoyuk. Geophysical studies were shown some anomalies that can be interpreted as walls and tombs. Location of anomalies were excavated in 2008 season.

Ships and boats form the foundations of the maritime connectivity that is a central part of our understanding of the ancient Mediterranean. While the general chronological sequence of sail and sailing-rig development is well established, the implications are less-well discussed. This article sets out how sails and sailing rigs developed in antiquity, with emphasis on the Greco-Roman world. Subsequently, instances of innovation are defined. Why specific pieces of maritime technology were, or were not, widely adopted is considered. Long-term technological continuity can be comprehended, and a shared maritime culture of sailing in the ancient Mediterranean is suggested.

The West Anatolia Extensional Zone, which has a width of about 300 km, is located within the Alpine-Himalayan belt and is one of the regions with intense seismic activity in the world. The most important geomorphological structures in this area are three main graben structures resulting from regional N-S extension since the Early Miocene. These structures are the E-W trending Buyuk Menderes, Kucuk Menderes, and Gediz grabens. Soke Basin is located at the SW end of the Buyuk Menderes graben. The lineaments which control the NW of Soke Basin have a length of approximately 40 km and have been defined as the Priene-Sazli Fault (PSF). The PSF is seismically active, and the last large earthquake (the Soke-Balat earthquake; Ms: 6.8) was produced on July 16th of 1955. The ancient city of Priene, which was located in the study area, suffered from destructive earthquakes (in the 4th century and 2nd century BC, in the 2nd century AD, during the Byzantine period and after the 12th century BC). This study aims to reveal the effect of the PSF on the morphotectonic evolution of the region and the relative tectonic activity of the fault. To this end, it was the first time the stream length gradient index (SL: 130–1303), mountain-front sinuosity (Smf: 1.15–1.96), valley floor height and valley width ratio (Vf: 0.27–1.66), drainage basin asymmetry (AF: 0.15–0.76), hypsometric curve (HC) and hypsometric integral (HI: 0.22–0.86) and basin shape index (Bs: 1.04–5.75) along the mountain front that is formed by the PSF. Using a combination of the mountain-front sinuosity (Smf), valley floor height and valley width ratio (Vf), it is found that the uplift ratio in the region is not less than 0.05 mm/yr and the relative tectonic activity of PSF is high. According to the relative tectonic activity index (Iat) obtained from geomorphic indices, the southwest part of the PSF is relatively more active than the northeast part. As a result, I posit that the PSF has the potential to produce earthquakes in the future similarly to those that were produced in the past, and that the most destructive earthquakes will likely occur on the southwest segments of the fault according to geomorphic indices.

Through the ages leprosy has filled mankind with awe and horror. It still remains one of the unconquered infectious diseases, although the World Health Organisation reports a decrease in its prevalence (18 million to two million new cases annually over the past 20 years). For many, leprosy’s origins are to be traced back to the Hebrew Bible and the condition of zara’ath mentioned in Leviticus 13-14. This was a light-coloured scaly skin lesion which rendered the patient ritually unclean. Such a person was banned from society by a priest, and could only return on being pronounced clean. Zara’ath was almost certainly a benign skin lesion and not leprosy. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek (the Septuagint) in the 3rd century BC, zara’ath was translated as lepros/lepra, possibly after an apparently comparable disease described in the Hippocratic Corpus (5th – 4th centuries BC). The Hippocratic disease was clearly a benign, scaly skin eruption, and not leprosy as we know it. The fact that leprosy, as a very chronic progressive disease with a characteristic clinical picture, was not described by Hippocrates, almost certainly means that it did not occur in the Greek community of the time. True leprosy is an infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae, and manifests initially as light-coloured skin macules. With prominent bodily immunity against the organism the skin lesions enlarge slowly, later become scaly with a numb surface, and are complicated by nervous infiltration and atrophic degeneration of the extremities (tuberculoid leprosy). With low immunity, progressive nodular infiltration of skin and underlying structures result in extensive deformities (e.g. the typical “leonine facies”), subcutaneous abscesses, destruction of nerves and other tissues, blindness, deafness and testicular atrophy (lepromatous leprosy). Medical writings of ancient civilisations show that a leprosy-like disease was recognised in Mesopotamia by the 2nd millennium BC, and possibly in India and China in the 1st millennium BC. It has been suggested that leprosy was brought to the Mediterranean region by Alexander the Great’s armies, 4th century BC.Leprosy produces pathognomonic bone lesions, and the earliest osteo-archaeological evidence of leprosy was found in Egyptian skulls dating back to the 2nd century BC. The first clinical description of a disease recognisable as classical leprosy, can be dated to Strato of Alexandria, 3rd century BC. This condition, which became known as elephantiasis or elephas, was subsequently described by numerous notable physicians of the time, and Aretaeus of Cappadocia in particular. It migrated to Greece and Italy; Pliny the Elder stating that it fi rst appeared in Rome at the end of the 1st century BC. Although it was considered incurable, complex therapeutic programmes including venesection, purges, enemas and perspirants were prescribed in order to rid the body of the presumed fluid retention. Elephantiasis spread through the Roman Empire, but only became a notable European epidemic during the Middle Ages. In time the zara’ath-associated lepra of the Septuagint and elephantiasis were considered related diseases, and by the 4th century they were seen as the same disease. The two names became interchangeable. The influence of the Christian Church was such that the ritualised banning of lepers became incorporated into the treatment of elephantiasis – against the advice of physicians like Caelius Aurelianus (4th/5th century AD). Gradually the name lepra (leprosy) replaced elephantiasis, which ensured the stigmatisation of leprosy as an “unclean disease” with divine punishment for previous sins – a tragic misconception which persisted up to modern times. Today elephantiasis refers to a tropical parasitic disease, fi lariasis, characterised by gross swelling and deformation of the lower body.

The paper deals with 221 burnt stones from the Scythian graves found on the left bank of the Lower Dniester dated to the 5th—2nd centuries BC. All of them, if it was fixed, come from wooden or handmade ritual vessels. Stones of approximately the same size and without traces of processing were used as heating elements. In all cases, traces of burning were recorded — soot spots and characteristic fracturing. Petrological thin sections showed the mineral composition of the rocks and their structural and textural features. These are, as a rule, sandstones and, much less often, other rocks (carbonate, igneous and metamorphic). The vast majority of stones are of local origin, and only a few are imported. At present, it is obvious that the tradition of fumigating graves among the Scythians of the North-West Black Sea region appeared no later than the 5th century BC. Initially, wooden vessels served as containers for red-hot pebbles and organic balms. Starting from the 3rd century BC as vessels for the same pebbles, handmade incense cups began to be used, widely known not only in the cemeteries of the 3rd—2nd centuries BC near the Glinoe Village and in other sites of the Dniester region, but also in a number of other Scythian sites, situated westwards (Dobruja, Lower Danube region) and eastwards (Bug, Dnieper, Crimea, Azov and Don regions). Keywords: Scythians, graves, 5th—2nd centuries BC, left bank of the Lower Dniester, wooden and handmade ritual vessels, petrography, rocks

In the beginning of the I Millennium BC on the territory of ancient Central Asia a special ethnopolitical union of nomadic people was formed, known in ancient Persian sources as the Saka haumavarga. They are most often referred to as Sakas, who worshiped or prepared the sacred drink of haoma. This article systematically investigates the process of formation and historical development of the ethno-political union of the Saka haumavarga as one of the most powerful associations of ancient nomads in Central Asia. Special attention is also paid to the issue of various features which formed this group of nomads. In addition, the aim of the study was to examine the influence of external factors on the integration of pastoral populations in isolated mountainous areas of PamirAlay as this phenomenon is poorly understood. The process of formation of ethno-political education of the Saka haumavarga was rather lengthy - supposedly having been completed at the turn of the 7th – 6th centuries BC. In the second half of the 6th century BC the Saka haumavarga are occupied by the Achaemenid Empire and forced to pay taxes and supply military contingents of the Persian kings. Around the turn of the 5th and 4th centuries BC they are freed of their subordination. After the conquest of Central Asia by Alexander the Great, they establish a variety of relations with the Hellenistic states. Despite cool relations with the Greco-Bactria, there is evidence of the presence of mercenaries from the Saka haumavarga within the troops of this Hellenistic kingdom. At the turn of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC as a result of military activity of the Greco-Bactrian kings, a reduction of territory of this Saka haumavarga union commences its gradual decline. The final collapse of this ethno-political group occurs towards the end of the 2nd century BC, as small independent tribes of local nomads are known to be the only inhabitants of the Pamir-Alay territory at this point in time.

Relevance. The relevance of this study is determined by its examination of the dramatic poem «Orgy» through a historical-receptive lens. This approach allows for the identification of the mechanisms behind the author’s interpretation of the historical period and the tracing of the specifics of the reception of Antiquity within the text. Aim. The aim of the article is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the dramatic poem «Orgy» by the Ukrainian writer and poet Lesia Ukrainka, utilizing the methodological framework of classical reception studies. It also seeks to identify the mechanisms and reveal the role of these historical borrowings in the context of the author’s vision of Antiquity as a whole, and specifically the Greco-Roman relations from the military conquest of Hellas to the era of the Second Sophistic (2nd century BC – 2nd century AD). Methodology. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, characterized by an interdisciplinary approach. The theoretical and methodological framework relies on the principles of receptive aesthetics and the concepts of classical reception studies. The study also employs analytical, hermeneutic, and comparative-historical methods. Results. The study establishes that the specificity of the author’s interpretation of historical events, against which the main plot unfolds, lies in chronological hybridization – combining two temporal spaces to provide a deeper elucidation of Greco-Roman relations. It was found that the historical narrative in the work functions as a «safe distance» for constructing analogies between the past and the present. The history and specifics of the perception of Greek culture in the ancient world (from the 2nd century BC to the Second Sophistic period in the 2nd century AD) are examined. It is revealed that the reception of Greek culture by ancient Rome, as described in the text, is based on the principles of selectivity and pragmatism, utilized for cultural appropriation to achieve the political self-determination of the Roman elite and the legitimization of power by the Antonine dynasty emperors. The evolution of the concept of «orgy» in a historical context is analyzed: from a sacred ritual associated with the cult of Dionysus to its interpretation by the recipient – ancient Rome. It is established that throughout the plotline, there is a shift in semantic accents regarding the primary definition of the concept of «orgy», which indicates the conflict of Greek and Roman identities depicted in the work. Conclusions. The obtained results indicate that applying the methodology of classical reception allowed for a holistic disclosure of the mechanisms of assimilation and interpretation of ancient history in Lesia Ukrainka’s dramatic poem «Orgy». The study emphasizes that the author appeals to universal problems, actualizing the issue of Greco-Roman relations during Antiquity (2nd century BC – 2nd century AD) as a model of interaction between dominant and subjugated nations. The semantic transformation of the concept of «orgy» serves as a key marker demonstrating the specifics of the Roman reception of Greek culture. The proposed approach opens prospects for further studies of Antiquity in the context of classical reception within the writer’s creative heritage.

In 1942, following readjustment works of the road connecting the Saveni and Avrameni communes, a barrow was destroyed, resulting the find of a bronze cauldron. A. Nițu deemed the vessel of Avrameni as part of the series of cauldrons coinciding with the civilisation and expansion of the Sarmatians by the Don and Lower and Mid Danube in the 1st – 4th century AD and dated it to this chronological span. Gh. Bichir argued that the Avrameni cauldron is somewhat later than that of Piatra Șoimului (Calu), which the scholar dated to the 1st century BC. The vessel’s shape resembles that of a “bell” cast together with its handles, while the biconical foot was made separately, the two parts being attached by a bronze cast-made plug. On the body, the vessel displays several repair traces. According to its features and specificities, the Avrameni cauldron belongs to type Demidenko II.1.B, being the single of the type in the area between the Don and the Carpathians. The remaining resembling specimens come from 2nd – 1st century BC complexes from territories left of the Lower Don and the Kuban region. The author believes that according to its shape, the curved vertical handles decorated each with a knob as well as its making manner and foot attachment, the Avrameni vessel is an artefact joining elements specific to the Sauromatian cauldrons used in the Volga and Lower Don area, but also in the Kuban region also in the 2nd – 1st century BC. Within the context of its analysis are also discussed the cauldrons of Bubueci and Velikoploskoe, both from “ritual hoards/deposits” part of a larger group of such features of the 3rd – 1st century BC from territories comprised between the Volga – the pre-mountain area from North Caucasus in the east and the Lower Danube - Prut to the west. The cauldron of Bubueci belongs to type Demidenko I.3.A. It has a body cast together with the handles, while the iconical foot, surviving fragmentarily, was cast separately. Similarly to the Avrameni vessel, that of Bubueci is the most western find of a cauldron of the type. The body shape, curved vertical handles decorated each with three knobs, the lip shape and its making manner, how the handles start from the cauldron rim as well as how they were made, indicate that the vessel combines elements specific to the Sauromatian and early Sarmatian cauldrons. In the case of the Avrameni and Bubueci cauldrons, as well as those similar, the author concludes they are either a continuation of ancient casting traditions or were produced sometime earlier, yet continued to be used for a good period of time after their production cease. The exhibited repair traces and presence far from their territories of origin, where they were made and used, as well as their find together with 2nd – 1st century BC artefacts confirm, according to the author, their use for a longer time span. In the case of the Avrameni vessel, its deposition might have occurred sometime during the 2nd century BC as well as between the end of the 2nd – first decades of the 1st century BC. With respect to the dating of the “ritual hoard/deposit” of Bubueci, the author believes it dates no earlier than the 2nd century BC, and that its framing sometime between mid 2nd century BC and early 1st century BC is very likely. In the case of the Velikoploskoe cauldron, its body shape and sizes resemble those of the Demidenko VI type cauldrons emerging in the 2nd century BC, yet the remaining elements specific to this vessel type are missing. The rudimentary attachment procedure of the foot to the body, rim shape, its making manner, as well as how the handles start from the vessel rim, are according to the author, specific to the Sauromatae and early Sarmatian cauldrons (types Demidenko I-III, V) used in the first centuries BC, which hinders its ascribing to a certain type. Therefore, it was concluded that the Velikoploskoe vessel seems to be intermediary between the 5th - 3rd century BC cauldrons, mainly Sauromatae, and those of the early and mid armatian periods between the 2nd century BC and mid 2nd century AD. Its elements and making manner allow, according to the author, for its dating to the 2nd – 1st century BC, likely only sometime during the 2nd century BC, which is not contradicted by the remaining artefacts in the find.