On the History of Asian Bosporus in the Early Byzantine Times: Excavations at Verkhnegostagayevskoye

Abstract

This study focuses on Verkhnegostagayevskoye—a fortress in the Krasnodar Territory, dating to the Late Classical and Early Byzantine era. It has a multilevel fortifi cation system constructed with the use of Classical Greek building materials according to the tradition of adobe-and-stone architecture. The fortress, situated far away from major seashores and inland transport arteries and studied by nondestructive topographic methods such as magnetic prospection, was a strategically important refuge. The scale of construction activities indicates signifi cant administrative resources of the rulers. The master-builders were qualifi ed specialists with a good knowledge of local materials, relief, and geological structure of the area. Construction materials differed with regard to position: pumpkin shell was used for outside-facing walls, whereas peripheral defensive structures were made of local sandstone and limestone. Judging by parts of columns including Doric capitals with very flat echini, dating to the Late Hellenistic or Roman period, dismantled remains of public buildings were used for fortifi cation. The production of building materials and the construction works may have been a long-term job for the Bosporans. The fortress was probably part of a political structure involved in the minting of the famous replicas of Roman denarii. These replicas marked one of the oldest routes connecting the Black Sea coast with Central Ciscaucasia via the Kuban drainage.