Northwest Black Sea Region Research Articles

Scythian barrow near Bychok village on the left bank of the Lower Dniester

The article for the first time publishes and analyzes the materials obtained during the study of Scythian mound 6 near Bychok village on the left bank of the Lower Dniester. Description of the of the barrow and the graves: Four Scythian graves were studied under the mound. The barrow was built above the main burial in the catacomb. Its entrance pit was filled with stone, then covered with wood, and after a stone core was built in the center of the mound. Despite this, the burial was robbed; two amphoraу of Ikos, a black-glazed vessel, gold plaques, a silver finial and horse harness items were preserved from the grave goods. The bridle belonged to two horses, which were laid in the dromos. Simultaneously with the main burial two accompanying graves were built in rectangular pits under a wooden covering and a stone core in the center of the barrow. A “guard” was buried in one of them with a quiver set and sacrificial food with an iron knife, in the second burial were buried two bridled horses in a “standing” position. After a short time, the grave of a child in the catacomb was sunk into the mound. The entrance to the funeral chamber was covered with a stone wall; a molded jug and an abrasive tool were placed in the chamber. Barrow dating: Two Greek amphorae and a black-glazed lekanis from the main burial in the catacomb allow us to date the barrow to the second quarter of the 4th century BC. The secondary child burial was sunk into the mound no later than the middle of the 4th century BC. Final remarks: It must be stated that mound 6 near the Bychok village was built for the internment of a person (persons?) with high social status. This is evidenced by the design of the mound (with a stone core and a wooden covering in the center), the labor spends for the construction of the main catacomb, as well as two accompanying graves (“a guard” in a separate pit and two horses in a separate pit) and the burial of two horses in the dromos of the main grave. An iron bridle preserved undisturbed in the paired horse burial allows us to conclude about the evolution of some of its elements among the Scythians during the 4th–2nd centuries BC. The totality of data obtained during the study of the barrow not only adds the picture of the Scythian presence in the North-West Black Sea region, but also allows us to draw attention to some elements of the funerary rite and material culture, which were previously recorded extremely rarely or were not found at all in the region.

Two Cimmerian Steles from the North-West Black Sea Region

New finds of stone sculptures from the epoch of early nomads are quite rare. Therefore, the publication of such new sculptures of pre-Scythian times, besides, two more at once, should be of interest. Moreover, both steles were found in a very limited area of the North-Western Black Sea region and each of them has a unique iconography and a rather original repertoire of objects. The stele from Kairy village is a type of pillar-shaped sculpture. The most original image on it is a round shield with a very rich ornamental composition. The stele from Aleksandrovka belongs to the stele-slabs. This type of sculpture is possibly an intermediate link between purely phallomorphic (Cimmerian) and anthropomorphic (Scythian) sculptures. Since markers of relative chronology are columnar and slab steles – the first are early, the second – late, this may mean that in the upper reaches of the Tiligul estuary in a fairly limited area, the tradition of installing the Cimmerian sculptures persisted for quite a long time.

Ancient cultural heritage is an important resource of the coastal geoecosystems of the Dnipro and Bug estuaries

The article is part of a series of publications [1, 2, etc.] dedicated to examining the cultural heritage embodied by archaeological sites within the Northwest Black Sea region. These sites constitute anthropogenic components and serve as cultural, touristic, and scientific resources within the modern coastal, partially terrestrial, partially estuarine geoecosystems. Drawing on findings from underwater and terrestrial geoarchecological studies, the article presents a preliminary reconstruction of the dynamics of the boundaries between the paleogeoecosystems of the Bug and Dnipro estuaries during ancient times. It explores the characteristics and typology of underwater sections of archaeological sites representing ancient cultural heritage, as well as significant antique archaeological sites as well as the most significant ancient archaeological sites. Today, remnants of these sites can be found in the southern border region of the terrestrial geoecosystem, situated between the right bank of the Dnipro and the left bank of the Bug estuaries. The article also reconstructs the historical development of the research area in antiquity, shedding light on the role of natural factors in this process.

Earliest burial complexes of the Kubey cemetery

The article presents materials of the Kubey kurgan cemetery in the North-West Black Sea region which is dated to the late Eneolithic. The most ancient graves of the cemetery stratigraphically and chronologically can be divided in three successive horizons. According to kurgan architecture, burial rite and inventory primary burials can be attributed to the Cernavoda I culture of the late Eneolithic. Secondary graves in the kurgans can be assigned to the Zhivotilovka type and to the group of graves with extended skeletons. The most ancient graves of the Kubey cemetery obviously support an idea that the territory of the North-West Black Sea region can be included in the area of the Cernavoda I culture.

Камни из ритуальных сосудов в скифских погребальных комплексах на левобережье Нижнего Днестра

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

Страсти по детям, или этюд о Высшем Третьем

The article considers a few burial sites with numerous chindren’s graves of the Early Eneolithic and the beginning of the Bronze Age (the fifth and fourth millennia BC) in the North-West Black Sea region (cemeteries at Giurgiulești, Koshary, Vykhvatintsy and Bursuceni). Analysis of the burial rite and distribution of grave goods allows us to discern some ternary structures which could exemplify certain principles in the organization of prehistoric societies and institutions of social power. It is suggested that young children could be treated in a ritual as sacred victims whereas burial sites themselves could partially or completely function as sacrificial places. Archaeological parallels for such triple structures can be also traced outside the region in question. The ritual ternary compounds uncovered at archaeological sites are compared with threefold structures and motives evidenced within different mythological traditions. An inference is drawn that triple social models have no universal character and can emerge and disappear depending on specific historic situations.

Characteristics of forecasting meteorological conditions of air pollution over Odesa

Formulation of the problem. The level of atmospheric air pollution in large cities is influenced by a number of factors, among which the most important are the emissions of pollutants into the air, the characteristics of the sources of admixtures, the landscape features, synoptic and meteorological conditions (Vystavnaya, Zubkovych 2014). The influence of the latter is associated with the scattering, washing out and transformation of harmful substances in the atmosphere, as well as the significant variability of their concentrations in space and time. The characteristics of the wind regime (wind direction and velocity), temperature inversions, and formation of low-troposphere currents are among the meteorological factors that most influence the concentrations of contaminants in the layer of atmosphere near the surface (Ivus 2017), (Agayar 2018) Shevchenko 2020). The purpose of the article is to develop and improve methods of forecasting meteorological conditions of atmospheric pollution over industrial areas of Odesa, as well as characterize the variability of meteorological values over the Northwest Black Sea. Methods. the data of four-time observations (01, 07, 13, 19 hours) for the main pollutants on the network of eight stationary posts for the February, April, July and October of 2011 are used as the initial materials. The catalog of typical synoptic processes over the territory of Ukraine for the period of 2011-2015 is compiled at the Department of Meteorology and Climatology of the OSENU. To clarify specific synoptic situations, synoptic maps of all levels (ground-level, AT-925, AT-850, AT-700 and AT-500) from the archive of the ARMSin (‘automatic forecaster workstation’- program for processing synoptic maps that is applied in Ukraine. Results. 1. CO concentrations in the city of Odesa increase with distance from the coastal strip in to the depth of land with maximum values in places with high traffic load, regardless of the season; 2. Absence of industrial facilities and meteorological conditions contribute to the low level of air pollution around post N 8. Exceedance of the maximum allowable concentrations of carbon monoxide is observed in 6 out of 8 observation posts; 3. Favorable conditions for the accumulation of admixtures are formed in peripheral processes with low-gradient pressure fields, in front parts of cyclones and in low-motion and small cyclones with the same air mass; 4. Temperature inversions almost always accompanied the accumulation of harmful admixtures in the ground layer of air above Odesa. Scientific novelty and practical significance. In this article we have analyzed influence of meteorological conditions on the level of atmospheric air pollution in Odesa region. For these purposes the more nuanced-based method of forecasting was adapted. We have demonstrated that its use has efficiency at the present time for improvement of operative prognostic units work for the Northwest Black Sea region. Such conclusions may be identified as a result of empirical findings.

Ранневенгерское погребение у с. Фрумушика в Среднем Поднестровье

Early Hungarian burials, previously being unidentified in the North-West Black Sea region, were confidently localized in this territory over the past decade. Among them, there is a plane grave near the Frumuşica village, discovered occasionally on the right bank of the Middle Dniester in 1975 and published in 1981 as the Golden Horde burial. The inventory consisted of a knife, a firesteel with fire flint, bone plates on the bow, arrowheads, ornamented bone plates on the quiver, a bone end of the arrowhead. Analysis of the materials showed that the complex from Frumuşica is the burial of a warrior-archer from the early Hungarian migrations period. The commonality of the details of the funerary rite, the identity of the items of the inventory and the chronology of things make it possible to quite definitely attribute this site to the group of Hungarian graves of the first third of the 10th centuries, studied in the North-West Black Sea region).

Emerging and Persistent Pollutants in the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Lower Danube Basin and North West Black Sea Region—A Review

The tremendous impact of natural and anthropogenic organic and inorganic substances continuously released into the environment requires a better understanding of the chemical status of aquatic ecosystems. Water contamination monitoring studies were performed for different classes of substances in different regions of the world. Reliable analytical methods and exposure assessment are the basis of a better management of water resources. Our research comprised publications from 2010 regarding the Lower Danube and North West Black Sea region, considering regulated and unregulated persistent and emerging pollutants. The frequently reported ones were: pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim), pesticides (atrazine, carbendazim, and metolachlor), endocrine disruptors—bisphenol A and estrone, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorinated pesticides, and heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Pb, Hg, Cu, Cr). Seasonal variations were reported for both organic and inorganic contaminants. Microbial pollution was also a subject of the present review.

Античная расписная керамика архаического времени из поселения Чобручи на левобережье Нижнего Днестра

The paper publishes finds of antique painted pottery of the 6th century BC, discovered in the multilayered Chobruchi settlement in the Lower Dniester region. The materials are represented by ceramics of the Eastern Greek and Attic manufacture with a significant predominance of vessels from the North Ionian centers (Chios, Klazomenai and Samos). Eastern Greek ceramics includes open vessels (craters and bowls) and closed vessels (amphorae, alps, askeys, etc.). Attic pottery is represented mainly by vessels of open forms (kiliki and/or bowls). The collection of antique painted pottery from the Chobruchi settlement in total dates to the 6th century BC. Its appearance in the barbaric environment clearly demonstrates the emergence of trade relations between the local population and the ancient world. Apparently, the main sources of archaic painted ceramics for the site were the Greek cities-colonies of the North-West Black Sea region, first of all Olbia, as well as the Berezan settlement, from where the closest analogies of East Greek ceramics came to Chobruchi. The connection between Berezan and Chobruchi, in addition, is confirmed by the presence on the Chobruchi settlement of vessels made in the workshops of the Borysthenes.

Бронзовые плоские черешковые наконечники стрел с жальцами из Северного Причерноморья

The article considers the currently known bronze flat petiolate arrowheads with stings found in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the Northern Black Sea region, along with new finds. In total, 19 petiolate arrowheads with stings and 3 negatives of similar products on casting molds were taken into account. The distribution area of such items covers the entire western part of the region, between Danube-Carpathian region and the Dnieper basin. The finds are concentrated in the southern part of the Middle Dnieper region (9 items), the North-West Black Sea region (5 items), and the Upper Dniester region (3 items). One arrowhead was found in Podolia and another one was discovered in Northern Bukovina. All currently known casting molds for manufacturing petiolate arrowheads stings come from the North-Western Black Sea region, which allows to localize there one of manufacturing centers. Based on the design features of petiolate, it is proposed to divide all flat petiolate arrowheads with stings into five types. In addition, it is considered the possibility of selecting sub-variants if necessary: by the width of the feather, by the length of the petiole, by the presence of rib in the middle of the feather, by the asymmetry of the stings, by massiveness, etc. Arrowheads of the discussed type, with their archaeological context being reliably known (Magala, Novoselitsa, Volkovka, Gordeevka, Petrikov, Stary Buyukany), are associated with closed complexes of the BrD – HaB1 period (XIII–X centuries BC) in the North Black Sea region. All occasional finds from the region can be dated within these limits. The arrival of bronze petiolate arrowheads with stings in the Northern Black Sea region may have been influenced by contacts with the Balkan-Carpathian and Middle Eastern cultural centers. It cannot be ruled out that the regional manufacturing of such arrowheads could be based on imitating local flint implements of the same type, found in various Bronze Age cultures.

Scythian barrow 12 of the «Sluiceway» Group in the Lower Dniester

The article publishes and analyzes the materials obtained in the study of the barrow 12 of the «Sluiceway» («Vodovod») group near the Glinoe village, Slobodzeya district, on the left bank of the Lower Dniester. The grave in a catacomb of the type I (undercut) was the main under the mound, and three other in the pits were secondary. A similar situation is extremely rarely recorded in the North-West Black Sea region. The construction of round cult pits accompanying the main burial is also noteworthy. The handmade pot with a beak from the children’s burial indicates the manufacture of special dishes designed for dispensing food during feeding. The finding of the miniature bracelet with a plate receiver in the burial of a child, apparently, indicates the Thracian influence on the material culture of the Scythians of the North-West Black Sea Region, at least from the second half of the 4th century BC. It was at this time that the published mound was built and graves were made under its mound. Materials from the barrow Glinoe / «Sluiceway» 12 and other, later, Scythian burials on the left bank of the Lower Dniester demonstrate that the Scythian culture of the North-West Black Sea region continues to maintain its originality not only in the second half of the 4th century BC, but also in the next two centuries.

Features of the morphological structure of soils of the North-West Black Sea region

Features of the morphological structure of soils of the North-West Black Sea region

Гніздування очеретянки тонкодзьобої Acrocephalus melanopogon (Temminck, 1823) на південному сході України

The territory of Ukraine is located between the areas of two subspecies of Moustached Warbler Acrocephalus melanopogon (Temminck, 1823) - A. m. melanopogon (Temminck, 1823) and A. m. albiventris (Kazakov, 1974). In the North-West Black Sea region, the nesting of the nominative subspecies has been proven, while the second one nests in the East Azov Sea region. By 2016, neither in the North Azov Sea region, nor in the South-East of Ukraine, this species was not observed. However, there are certain meetings of solitary birds in the adjacent regions during migrations on the Eastern Syvash on 21.10.2006 and westwards of the Don mouth on the Mius River bank on 05.09.2011. It was photographed for the first time on 24.04.2016 on the Shaitanka River near the Novodonetske village Velykonovosilkivskyi district of Donetsk region. Its nesting is reliably proven on 30.04.2020 on the Mokri Yaly River of the same region. On this river, there are plant communities with different proportions of common reed (Phragmites australis) and narrowleaf cattali (Typha angustifolia) grow in some places around open areas of the water area. It's on such sections of the river the Moustached Warbler males were observed. On a 600 m long section of the river, 3-4 males were observed. 2 males were caught, which were assigned to the subspecies of A. m. albiventris by color and measurements. On 19.05.2020 there were 5 eggs in one of the found nests. Egg sizes, mm: 18.0x13.0; 18.0x12.9; 16.9x12.9; 17.6x12.9; 17.9x12.9. The nest was located at a height of 250 mm above the water. Nest measurements, mm: D=85; d=50; H=53; h=43. It is suggested that in the South-East of Ukraine, birds appeared on nesting grounds due to the increase in the range of the subspecies in the north-west direction over the last 20 years due to climate warming. It is quite likely to find new localities of the Moustached Warblers on small rivers, large ponds or reservoirs in the southern part of Donetsk, eastern part of Zaporizhzhia or south – eastern part of Dnipropetrovsk regions.

INTERETHNIC CONTACTS IN THE HELLENISTIC BLACK SEAREGION: THE NORTHERN BORDERLANDS OF THE CHORA OF TAURIC CHERSONESOS AND THE WORLD OFBARBARIANS ACCORDING TO THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES

The article deals with the problem of Greeks and barbarians contacts in the border areas of the Oecumene, which has not been finally resolved for a long time. The particular interest belongs to the northern outskirts of the Chersonesan polis, where, according to the archaeological sources, traced the direct contacts with the barbarians - the Scythians and the Tauri. During the Hellenistic period, the cultural and economic development of these policies was on the rise, which was ensured by a successful internal policy and by established ties with the local population, as well as with the barbarian tribes of the steppe and steppe zones. There are the opposite points of view on such connections in the Northwest Taurica at the Hellenistic period in a significant historiography: peaceful coexistence and military confrontation. The economic contacts of the Chersonesan police with the barbaric population on the Lower Dnipro also were controversial. They were mainly realized through the trade with centres of the Northwest Black Sea region, in particular with Olbia. However, it cannot be ruled out that there also could be exist the direct contacts between the population on the place, where Chersonesan and Olbian chorae bordered with the barbarian settlements. The archaeological complex of monuments of this region testifies to the close ties between the Scythian and Hellenic populations, which obviously benefited the economies of both ethnic communities. Of course, the northern part of Taurica needs additional field research, but we can already tell about the fact that the material culture of distant settlements of the Chersonesan chora retained the traditional ancient style. Thus, the area of Northern Taurica should be considered as a powerful site of cultural and economic ties of the ancient Black Sea region with the world of barbarians.

Sarmatian Barrow 1 of Kotlovina I Cemetery on the Left Bank of the Lower Danube

Introduction. The paper deals with analyzing the Sarmatian burial complex investigated in 1990 in the barrow 1 of Kotlovina I cemetery located on the western shore of the lake Yalpug, 3 km from the village of the same name in Reni district of Odessa region. Materials. The mound was surrounded by a circular ditch with a single gap in the south. Similar ditches were recorded on the Sarmatian sites of the North-Western Black Sea region, as well as on the territory of Hungary and in the Don region. The burial was made with an offset from the geometric center of the mound, apparently, in order to avoid robbery. The main and only grave was done in a pit with an undercut. The buried man laid under the western wall of the funeral chamber in an elongated position on his back, his head to the north. The accompanying inventory is represented by a red clay pottery jug, which was covered by a handmade lid-bowl, as well as a large handmade pot. A large onehanded red clay pottery jug is of particular interest. Such vessels were widespread in the North Black Sea region, and their findings are known both in funeral complexes and in ancient settlements of the Roman time. The large size of the handmade lid-bowl, as well as the presence of traces of fuliginosity makes it possible to assume its dual purpose: as tableware during life and as a lid of the pottery vessel for the internment. The handmade pot is distinguished by an ornament in the form of impressions on the upper part of the body, forming a triangle. Conclusions. The analysis of the features of the funeral rite and the time of the inventorys existence make it possible to date the barrow to the 2nd – 3rd centuries AD. Grave 1 from barrow 1 of Kotlovina I cemetery clarifies the historical picture of the stay of Sarmatian tribes in the North-West Black Sea region, in particular, on the left bank of the Lower Danube.

High resolution modelling of severe wind patterns over the north-west Black Sea Region

The research studies the performance of the convective-permitting Harmonie model in reproducing mesoscale features of the wind regime over the north-western part of the Black Sea. It allowed establishing the optimum configuration, projection and geometry of the model's high spatial resolution area over Ukrainian part of the Black Sea, preparing a digital format for a coastline based on the resolution and conducting numerical experiments to verify informativeness and stability of computations. It also presents a detailed description of the forecasting procedure which includes a data flow from the Meteorological Archiving and Retrieving System (MARS) of the European Center, creating boundary conditions, forecast computations and a model output composition for the particular region and domain resolution.
 The results have shown that the Harmonie model with the 2.5 km spatial resolution and the 60 second time step is able to reproduce detailed spatial variability of a near-surface wind field and its evolution to the corresponding scales. In particular, the model is able to simulate mesoscale circulation features of approximately ten km over a homogeneous sea surface and to track their evolution; to monitor the position of convergence zones; to highlight the spatial characteristics of a lee-side wind attenuation band along the coast line when wind blows from the shore; to specify mesoscale wind patterns in bays and along the coastline with complex orography; to reproduce the weakening of a wind velocity over an urban area due to increased surface roughness.
 Two operational forecasting systems, GFS-WRF and ARPEGE/IFS-Harmonie are compared by the following components: numerical solvers, sub-grid parameterizations, efficiency of computer resources and intellectual potential. The GFS model output with the 25 km spatial resolution is able to correctly reproduce over the region only large-scale atmospheric patterns. However, for rapid changes in the atmospheric circulation accompanied by changes in the wind direction to the opposite and wind increase, the model simulations are delayed in terms of wind field evolution. Additionally, because of crude spatial resolution, the GFS model is unable to describe mesoscale atmospheric features due to differences in surface types, orography, thermal contrasts, etc. Comparison of the both model outputs versus observations from Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhnyi port during severe wind conditions has shown that the discrepancy between the models and observations within the allowable error value (5 m/s) occurred only for Odesa port with regard to the Harmonie model for weak wind velocity. The difference partially increases for moderate wind from the shore, while for strong wind from east and south directions indicates disagreement between the model results and observations and achieves critical values of 20-25 m/s. Such values are mainly determined by the discrepancy in wind direction (up to 180°). The comparison results clearly indicate the doubtful representativeness of wind observations at Chornomorsk and Yuzhnyi stations in general, and at Odesa station in particular.

Barrow 11 of the “Garden” Group in the Lower Dniester Region and Contemporary “Mythmaking” About Scythian “Amazons”

The article publishes and analyzes materials obtained during the study of the Scythian barrow 11 of the “Garden” group excavated in 2018 near village Glinoe, Slobodzeya district, on the left bank of the Lower Dniester, for the first time.The barrow was surrounded by a circular ditch and contained four burials – one infant and three female. The tools from the barrow are represented by knives, spindle-whorls, needle. The only piece of tableware was found and it was a wooden bowl. The adornments (a pair of earrings, two bead necklaces, one bead bracelet, two “elbow bracelets”) were also discovered. Earrings with conical bulges on one of the endings testify to the Thracian influence on the material culture of the Scythians of the North-West Black Sea region. All female graves contained mirrors. Two of them are identical, and both were laid under the body of the buried. One of the mirrors has handle aforethoughtly broken in antiquity. The cult objects are a pendant made of a dog’s tooth and a stone slab, the arrowheads are the only weapons. The barrow dates back to the second half (preferably the third quarter) of the 4th century BC. Finding a quiver set in the grave 4 of barrow 11 of Glinoe/”Garden” group made the authors to analyze the burials of the so-called Scythian “amazons” of the North Black Sea region. It turned out that many of them were attributed with flagrant violations of scientific methods as burials of women-warriors, which is nothing more than modern “myth-making”. As a result, the authors claim that an open-minded analysis allows us to distinguish three groups of Scythian burials with weapons: 1) containing weapons, placement of which reflects certain “ethnographic” features of the rite or the special status of buried; 2) containing arrowheads that may indicate hunting; 3) the burials of warriors with diverse and numerous weapons.

NEW FIND OF OLBIAN COINS. TARASHCHA DISTRICT, KYIV REGION, UKRAINE

The aim of the study is presentation of a new hoard of ancient coins discovered in the Ukraine. In the Summer of 2019 fifteen bronze coins of Olbia (Greek polis in the North West Black Sea region) were found in the Kyiv region. Research methodology – principles of science, historicism, objectivity, methods of analysis, classification, generalization, historical-genetic and historical-typological. Scientific novelty. All coins are of “Borysthenes” type (head of river god Borysthenes / Scythian axe, bow in case, ΟΛΒΙΟ). An assemblage has been described by the founder as found in the ground between village Lukyanivka and the town Tarashcha (Kyiv region), near the highway P 04. The coins are dated to the end of fourth and the middle of the third century BC. The assemblage is one of interesting finds of Olbian coins on the way from the North Pontic Region to the West. The hoard from Lukyanivka is one of finds registered very far outside of Greek states of the northern coast of Black Sea. The cognitive value of the hoard lies above all in the region of its finding. The find from Lukyanivka is an important find as in recent years Olbian bronze coins as well as Bosporan coins were found on Celtic settlements in Poland (Upper Silesia; other coin finds were registered in Central Poland) and Czech Republic (Celtic oppidum at Nĕmcice, Moravia; a very rich assemblage of Greek and Roman coins). The find from Lukyanivka is a new important element in the discussion on inflow of Olbian coins to the West. The Lukyanivka hoard consists of 15 bronze coins with the head of river god Borysthenes, one of the most popular coins of Olbia. According to data obtained from the founder, the coins were found together in ‘one place’ but at ‘different depth’. In the founder’s opinion the value of the information on the find can’t be negated. Following to the chronology of “Borysthenes” coins proposed by P. O. Karyshkovskii coins found not far from Lukyanivka should be dated from the late fourth century BC to the ca. 250 BC. The most coins are dated to 290 – 250 BC. The structure of the Lukyanivka hoard should be treated as ‘typical’ for hoards of Olbian coins. The Conclusions. The find from Lukyanivka confirms that in the third century BC the most popular Olbian pieces of “Borysthenes” type penetrated the area of the Central Ukraine, precisely Middle Ros river region, in significant quantity. The “assemblage” is important find as the majority of Olbian and Bosporan coins in Central Europe – find from Germany is doubt all are single finds. The coins described in the article fills “a gap” between finds from Dnieper and Dniester rivers and Central European finds. The find is located inside the “tongue-shaped” area of finds from the North Pntic region). The “tongue-shaped” area dominated’ by single finds. The area of Olbian and Bosporan coin-finds indicates that the appearance of coins minted by Pontic Greek poleis in Central Europe may be connected with activity of people of Scythian culture. This is extremely important as we have in mind a unique find of Greek amphora from the Scythian settlement located in the south-eastern Poland.

CAMULODUNUM 184 AMPHORAE FROM TYRAS

The Camulodunum 184 amphorae are one of the most well-known varieties of early Roman containers in the Mediterranean region. At the same time, such vessels are not believed to enter the Black Sea region, with the area of their distribution being limited only to the territory of the Roman Empire. The aim of this article is introduction and comprehensive study of the Camulodunum 184 amphorae findings from Tyras. This will allow shedding light on the issues related to Tyras’ trade contacts, as well as expanding our notion about the economic relations between the Pontic and Mediterranean regions in the Roman era. The findings of Camulodunum 184 amphorae in Tyras are few in number and represented only by fragments. Such vessels are characterized by high, straight and wide neck with rounded rim, elongated ovoid body, conical stem and «horn-shaped» handles. Their volume is mainly 13,6 liters, although a specimen is known, containing only 8,5 liters. The main product transported in such amphorae was passum – a raisin wine made from dried grapes. This expensive kind of wine was very popular in the capital of the Roman Empire and among the prosperous population of its provinces. The Camulodunum 184 amphorae were produced from the late 1st century BC till the late 2nd century AD, and their production reached a peak in the turn of the eras – mid-2nd century AD. Such vessels were produced in Rhodes, Rhodian Peraea, Kos, in some centers of Asia Minor north-west coast. The Camulodunum 184 amphorae came to Tyras from several workshops. Based on visual differences in composition of fabric and its color, the fragments found in Tyras can be divided into five groups, three of which appear to originate from Rhodes and Rhodian Peraea. The vessels attributed to the other two groups could also have been produced in the Eastern Mediterranean, possibly not far from Rhodes. The fragments of such amphorae from Tyras were found in the redeposited layers, making it difficult to establish the time of their entry to the city. Probably, the Camulodunum 184 amphorae were exported to the Black Sea region during their highest production intensity. Thus, fragments of similar vessels from Panticapaeum date to the 1st – second quarter of the 2nd centuries AD. Thus, in the 1st – second quarter of the 2nd centuries AD Tyras imports passum contained in the Camulodunum 184 amphorae. It was brought in from Rhodes, Rhodian Peraea and unidentified Eastern Mediterranean centers. These supplies were intended for the city’s prosperous population and were few in number. The entry of such amphorae to Tyras was most likely a consequence of the restoration of trade relations with Rhodes and Rhodian Peraea, incorporated to the Roman Empire by this time. However, these contacts were no longer as intense as during the Hellenistic period and were sporadic. The findings in Tyras allow expanding the distribution area of the Camulodunum 184 amphorae to the North-West Black Sea region.