Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities, (Thessaloniki, 2022), this volume brings together leading scholars from across Europe and beyond to showcase new research on the diverse cultures, interactions, and archaeological discoveries that shaped the Black Sea region in antiquity.
The Black Sea: Hub of Peoples and Cultures (8th Century BC-5th/6th Century AD) presents the Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities, held in Thessaloniki in September 2022 and dedicated to the memory of Prof. Alexandru Avram. This volume continues the tradition of bringing together leading scholars from across Europe and beyond, showcasing new research on the diverse cultures, interactions, and archaeological discoveries that shaped the Black Sea region in antiquity. Despite the challenging global context in which the Congress took place, it successfully facilitated scholarly exchange on topics ranging from Greek colonisation and local indigenous societies to trade networks, religious practices, and imperial influences from the Archaic to Late Antique periods. The volume comprises contributions from specialists in archaeology, history, and numismatics, as well as reports on new excavations and projects, reinforcing the Black Sea's role as a crucial crossroads of civilisations. Maintaining the high standards set by previous congresses, this publication offers fresh perspectives and significant advances in Black Sea studies, ensuring its place as an essential resource for scholars of the ancient Mediterranean and Eurasian worlds.
Editors Preface
Message from the President of the Congress, Prof. Sir John Boardman
Appreciation of Gocha Tsetskhladze James Hargrave
About Gocha Manolis Manoledakis
Launch of the Festschrift, 26 September 2022 John Boardman(), James
Hargrave and Alexandru Avram
List of Illustrations
Session 1 Scythians, Taurians, Sarmatians, Dacians, Thracians, Colchians, the
Local Populations of the Southern Black Sea, etc.
The Getae and Scythians at Callatis and in its territory, 4th2nd centuries
BC Nicolaie Alexandru
The Sarmatian Cultural Phenomenon between Migration and Network Analysis:
From M.I. Rostovtzeff to recent historical debates Victor Cojocaru
Multiple Aiai in Colchis. On the creation and proliferation of mythical
landscapesin the eastern Black Sea region Altay Cokun
Bird-bowls as an Indication for the Foundation Date of Some of the Earliest
Greek Settlements in the Black Sea Region and the Early Trade in This Region
Jan G. de Boer
The Bithynians and the Greek Poleis of the Asian Propontis in the Archaic and
Classical Ages Ferdinando Ferraioli
Rock Sanctuary at Komatinski Skali in the Region of Brestovo Village,
South-Western Bulgaria Anton Genov, Dimitriya Spasova and Anastas Ifandiev
Phrygians in the Black Sea? Manolis Manoledakis
Rock Arches in Thracian Megalithic Sanctuaries on the Southern Black Sea
Coast of Bulgaria Vasil Markov
Why the Sea of Azov Was Called a lake in Antiquity. The Problem of Estuary
Lakes in the Pontus Euxinus lexander V. Podossinov
The Sumela Monastery Near Trabzon, an Important Pre-Christian Cult Site
Alexandar Portalsky
Gold Clothing Decoration of the Sarmatians in the North Pontic Area Evgenia
Velychko
Session 2 Relations of Greece, Rome and Anatolia with the Local Peoples of
the Black Sea: Cultural, Political, Commercial
Retracing Connections Through Artefacts: a Bone Plaque with an Image of a
Naked Woman from Ancient Armazi Eka Avaliani
The Presence of Tauric Chersonesus on the Western Coast of the Pontus Euxinus
Livia Buzoianu and Irina Sodoleanu
Archaeological Materials from the Early Byzantine Period in Pichvnari,
South-west Georgia Tamaz Darchidze
Literacy in Roman Iberia, South Caucasus Irina Demetradze-Renz
Greek Colonisation of Colchis (Western Georgia): The Failure of an Hellenic
Experiment Tedo Dundua and Natia Phiphia
Initiatives édilitaires ą Tyras aux premiertroisičme sičcles ap. J.-C. La
perspective épigraphique Ana Honcu
Were Thracian and Pontic Slaves Traded in the East Mediterranean in the
Archaic Period? Liviu Mihail Iancu
An Alternative Route of the Silk Road Through Svaneti (West Georgia) to the
Black Sea in the 6th Century AD Besik Lortkipanidze, Nikoloz Murgulia,
Davit Lomitashvili, Ian Colvin and Paul Everill
Postponing the End of the Lower Danube Limes Andrei Opai
Some Remarks on the Financing of Agonistic Festivals in Tauric Chersonesus
Oksana A. Ruchynska
Thracophobia? Greek Representations of Ancient Thracians: a Modern
Misjudgment Aliénor Rufin Solas
Coins and Trade in the Local Environment of the South-Western Istro-Pontic
Territory. Some Remarks Regarding the Archaeology and Numismatics of the
Hellenistic Period Gabriel Mircea Talmachi
Aspects of Monetary Circulation in the Province of Scythia in the 6th7th
Centuries AD. A Case Study: Tropaeum Traiani Gabriel Mircea Talmachi and
Gabriel Custurea
Tyche-Fortuna. The Image of a City-State between Europa and Asia Viktorya
Vasilyan
Session 3 Macedonia and the Black Sea
From Athens to North Greece and the Black Sea: Red-figure Vases of the Group
of the Vienna Lekanis Nikos Akamatis
Mapping river gods. Highlighting the importance of rivers as gods, as seen
through their representations in art during the Roman period in the regions
of Macedonia and Thrace Georgia Aristodemou
Macedonians and Scythians: a remarkable interaction through alliances and
conflicts mirrored by the archaeological evidence Francesca Fariello
Macedonia and Scythians in the second half of the 4th century BC Luigi
Gallo
Comparative research into the andrones from the Hellenistic houses of
Macedonia and the Greek colonies of the northern Black Sea Peli Plika
Session 4 New Excavations and Projects
Settlement pattern and exchange networks at the border of the territory of
Apollonia Pontica: the fortified settlement of Malkoto Kale Teodora
Bogdanova, Alexandre Baralis, Maguelone Bastide, Dimitar Nedev, Nicolas
Morand and Tsvetana Popova
Development of the city plan of ancient Sinope: infrastructure as ideology
Owen Doonan
Travelling in the Ionian and Dorian colonies of Thracia Pontica. Results of
the implementation of an innovative museological project Maria Girtzi and
Athanasia Bountidou
Early Roman amphorae from Tropaeum Traiani (Constana, Romania)
Bianca-Elena Grigora and Adriana Panaite
The sacred sea spaces of Byzantium and the mythology about its origins
Vanya Lozanova-Stancheva
The temple(s) of Apollo in Sinope. A preliminary study Eleni Mentesidou
The Early Roman burials from Histria Liana Oa
An important bothros from Oluz Höyük: the oldest Zoroastrian ritual finds in
Anatolia Mona Saba
Strabos Ancient Chersonesus: new discoveries (phrourion, acropolis, temple
of the acropolis) Angelina Zedgenidze
Session 5 Varia
Cases of premature colonisation in Greek history of the 8th5th centuries
BC M.A. Kolesnikov
Appendix 1: Programme. Seventh International Congress on Black Sea
Antiquities
Appendix 2: Summaries of Papers. Seventh International Congress on Black Sea
Antiquities
Gocha Tsetskhladze (PhD Moscow, DPhil Oxford) was a classical archaeologist who specialised in ancient Greek colonisation and the archaeology of the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, Caucasia, Anatolia, and Central and Eastern Europe in the 1st millennium BC. He was the author of more than 250 books, edited volumes, chapters, articles, etc.; founder and series editor of the publication series Colloquia Pontica, now Colloquia Antiqua; and founder and editor-in-chief of the journal Ancient West and East. He organised many international conferences, congresses, etc., notably the International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities which he established in 1995. He died suddenly on 11 September 2022, aged 59.
James Hargrave has a PhD in Economic History from the University of Durham and a Diploma in Archive Administration from the University of Wales (Aberystwyth). He specialised for 25 years in cataloguing large collections of papers accumulated by dukes, prime ministers, businesses, etc., but his historical interests stretch from antiquity to railway finance and equipment, Central and Eastern Europe, and the British Empire-Commonwealth, including comparisons between colonisations and empires ancient and modern. The diversity of his work is such that he has appeared as three unconnected people in the same library catalogue. As the archive world moved away from serious scholarship towards unreflective technophilia, he moved into editing (encouraged by the editing meted out to one of his own catalogues, and freed from the daily grind by an inheritance). He has collaborated with one or both of the other co-editors many times. He has been involved in the Black Sea Congress since 1997.
Manolis Manoledakis is Professor of Classical Archaeology at the International Hellenic University in Thessaloniki. He has also taught at the University of Ioannina, the Democritus University of Thrace and the Hellenic Open University. He has participated in various research programmes and is the director of the International Hellenic Universitys excavation in Neo Rysio, Thessaloniki. His research work concentrates on the archaeology and ancient history of the Black Sea as well as central Macedonia, ancient topography and geography, ancient Greek religion and cults, Greek mythology in its historical context, and ancient Greek painting and vase-painting.
