Two Hellenistic dugouts at Myrmekion

Gritsik Е.V. 

Third International Congress On Black Sea Antiquities: 
The Black Sea and its Relationship with Ancient Central and Eastern Europe, 1st Millennium B.C. - 5th Century A.D. Prague. 2005. P. 61.

 

It is known that dugout constructions were widespread in the Black Sea region in the 6th-5th centuries BC, but later their number decreased. Therefore, we are very interested in two Hellenistic dugouts found at Myrmekion in the eastern Crimea.

The dugouts were discovered in the western part of the settlement, close to each other. They are quadrangular constructions with rounded corners. The entrance to the first dugout was by two steps on the east side. According to material found here - fragments of Sinopian and Thasian amphorae, "West Slope" ceramics, "Megarian" bowls and fragments of black-glazed vessels - it is possible to date the dugouts to about the first quarter of the 3rd century BC. The constructions were not very big and lacked signs of a hearth and clay daub on the floor, so we can assume that they had household functions.

There are no traces of building construction, but it is possible to restore the external view of the dugouts based on examples from other sites. Dugout No. 1 would have had adobe walls and a simple roof, most likely made from rushes and sloping upward away from the entrance. Such structures are known in Olbia and the Lower Dniester.

The second semi-dugout possibly had a conical roof supported on central pillar, supported by a flagstone. Analogies are found in Olbia, the Lower Dniester and Anapa.

The territory where the dugouts were found is situated on the shore of the bay to the west of the centre of the Hellenistic city. There was no regular pattern of building here; for many years this part of the coast was used by the ancient inhabitants as a refuse dump. These facts and the nature of the constructions discovered testify that this part of the town was a household region.

 

Рубрика: Библиография.