ИСТИНА

During the 2015-2017 research a cluster of non-rounded ceramics about 50000 sq. m. large was found on the bottom of the Kerch Bay near the Ak-Burun cape and almost 70000 finds were extracted out of 26 underwater trenches. It was established that the studied cluster is a damaged cultural layer, earlier formed near the Genoese pier of Kerch (Panticapaeum) and moved towards the Ak-Burun cape in the 1970s as a result of the Genoese harbor's dredging. The analysis of the finds allows us to conclude that some of them may originate from the territory of the port area of Panticapaeum, some from anchorage of ships. Set of imported Black-Glazed pottery is represented by 480 well-preserved vessels and their fragments, mainly of Table Ware, as well as Toilet Vessels, Containers for Oil and other products. General chronology of this complex – last quarter of the 6th – the end of the 2nd century BC, but most of them date back to the 4th-2nd centuries BC. The set of ceramics is characteristic for urban layers of Panticapaeum, although less diverse, which can be explained by the location of the excavation. In general, Attic ware prevailed at an early time, from the middle of the 3rd century BC Attic types of ceramics were very rare, and the variety of other centers greatly increased. It is typical for the Bosporus and for the complex of finds from the Kerch Bay too. However, the discovery of a group of Attic hemispherical cups (net-pattern, with Interior Decoration and relief emblems) and some other types that date back to the last third of the 3rd – first quarter of the 2nd century BC this indicates that this direction was not completely closed. Finds of vessels from other centers indicate several more directions: Asia Minor, including Pergamum and Cnidus, firstly; Macedonia and Western Black Sea Coast. But we don’t know exactly, can we categorize all found items as ware for sale or are some of them goods of ships crews? So, we have one find of Campana A Cup of the first half of the 2nd century BC. Such pottery was widely exported throughout the Western Mediterranean and less to the East. In the Northern Black Sea region and, in the Bosporus, in particular, such vessels are very rare, since there were probably no direct economic ties between the Bosporan Kingdom and Italy. The number of finds of Italian tableware in Panticapaeum and other city-states of this region is small, even in the Roman time. Therefore, it can be assumed that the vessel found belongs to the category of personal belongings of the crews, which for some reason ended up in the water.