"The Large Chora" of Olbia with special regard to the Belozerskoe settlement

Bylkova, V.

Expeditions from both the Kherson State University and the Kherson Regional Museum conduct archaeological investigations in the territory adjoining the Lower Dnieper river. The main tasks of excavation and laboratory processing of the material are performed by students of the University, who, after passing the examinations for the 2nd Course, take an archaeological practicum.

We live and work in lands where the most northern Greek apoikiai of the Ionian Greeks in antiquity were located. It is a distinctive feature of the north coast region of the Black Sea that, in the period immediately preceding the colonisation by the Greeks, no trace of a local settled population has been discovered. Later, the Black Sea steppes were occupied by Scyths, but Scythian monuments dated to the 7th and 6th centuries BC are very few in number. In the 7th century BC a settlement was founded on the island of Berezan (Borysthenes) and for a thousand years the historical situation on the north coast of the Black Sea as a whole, and in its separate regions, was determined to a significant degree by the presence of Greek colonists. Originally, when Olbia Pontica was founded in the 6th century BC, the Lower Dnieper had not yet become an area of Greek colonisation, but later this territory found itself within the sphere of interest of the Olbiopolitai. A section of the right bank of the Lower Dnieper could belong to the Olbian polis as a part of the "great chora" or a "distant chora" of Olbia, at least, manner of life, material and spiritual life of these new settlers were very similar to the population of the settlements, situated just near Olbia-city. The occupation of these lands by the colonists did not begin, as in most of the territory on the north coast of the Black Sea, in the Archaic, but in the Late Classical period. At the time of the foundation of the first colonies, the agricultural territory of Olbia was situated fairly close to the city, on both shores of the Bug liman, and extended in the east only as far as Cape Hippolaus. Possibly the temple of Demeter mentioned by Herodotus (IV.53.6) marked the boundary, in so far as sanctuaries were located on the frontier of the chora of ancient cities with the aim of its protection.

Written sources which relate directly to our territory are very few, and the chief ones - Herodotus and Hippocrates - belong to the 5th century BC. Of later sources, one can only apply indirectly to our territory the testimonia of Ptolemy, Strabo, and Dio Chrysostom. Epigraphic sources which touch on the situation in the Olbian polis do exist, but for the Lower Dnieper region in the period of colonisation such evidence is lacking. Archaeological study of our territory goes back about one hundred years. In the 19th century “the valley of the Dnieper, from the rapids to the liman” was considered Scythian territory, while Olbia and the settlements on both shores of the Southern Bug were treated as antique classical settlements.

Archaeological work conducted shortly before the 2nd World War, and particularly after the war, produced hypotheses which for a long time were considered unshakeable. The Lower Dnieper was isolated within the north coast region of the Black Sea as the “classical” Scythian territory, the nucleus of “Steppe Scythia”, where this culture developed uninterruptedly down to the first centuries AD. The site of the Scythian “capital” was determined, and Scythian “cities” were identified.

Our expedition also set itself precisely this objective, to study the Scythian settlements of the Lower Dnieper and clarify their role in the culture of the nomadic Scyths, but in the process of our work we came up against the fact that the material recovered often did not fit the parameters of the existing hypotheses. Excavations conducted in the settlements in the 1980s and 1990s (our expedition worked on 8 of them) allowed us to increase the source base significantly. More recently, the University expedition has been working for five seasons on a single monument - the settlement of Belozerskoe, located at the mouth of the Dnieper, on its right bank.  Our current excavations may be termed rescue work, since the settlement is being destroyed by ploughing and especially by irrigation channels which are dug in different places each year. One of our problems is the attitude of the local population to the excavations. Our work, undoubtedly, evokes interest, but at the same time the locals destroying our excavation.

The material from the settlements on the north east shore of the Dnieper liman (they are supposed as fifteen, but in only six has a substantial cultural layer been revealed and it is these that have been excavated) is fairly representative and it allows us to assign the foundation of these monuments to the turn of the 5th-4th BC. In none of the settlements is there a “barbarian” layer of earlier date.

A group of settlements which may be included in the area of an Olbian type of population is characterised by a certain set of indicators in their culture. In recent years our expedition, as already mentioned, has been working at the settlement of Belozerskoe at the mouth of the Dnieper, new material from this site will here be brought to you attention. The excavations on this monument expand our ideas about the situation in Olbia and on its boundaries, in particular on the time the "great chora" (or the "larger chora", or the "distant chora") came into being and the period of existence of the settlements in the eastern part of the Olbian agricultural territory.

The settlement extends approximately 250 m along the line of the bank. Its area might have comprised 2 ha. Despite the severe destruction of the cultural layer the settlement seems suitable for excavation. Each year about 300 m² are uncovered.

The cultural layer is about 1 m thick, it is mainly composed of clay and ashes, as mud-bricks were used for construction. The subsoil is a loess. Stratigraphically one can distinguish a layer of yellow clay, which lies directly on the subsoil, a layer of brick and stone debris and a dark disturbed layer lying above them, in an intermingling position. The earliest layer, lying directly on the subsoil, is a layer of quite dense yellow clay, containing almost no finds. In those cases where it was possible to identify sections left undisturbed, they contained only small, isolated fragments of ceramic and bone. This leads to difficulties in establishing an absolute chronology. In particular, in determining the date of the foundation of the monument we must proceed, primarily, from the dating of the material. In cases where an ash-filled layer overlies the yellow clay stratum its formation is connected with the levelling of the sector prior to new construction works. The structures of the following period were raised directly on the ashy layer, therefore remains lie on top of it in the form of debris of brick and stone.  In those sectors where there were no mud-brick and stone structures a gradual change was observed from a uniform, dark, crumbly stratum to one of yellow clay without the thick layers of bricks. Such “empty” sectors, apparently, separated the farmhouses of a single proprietor. The dark, crumbly layer takes the form of a mixed layer of humus with an upper portion of cultural deposits. Unfortunately, the structures have often suffered severely from modern digging.

The settlement existed for approximately 100 years. Thus, despite the poor state of preservation of the cultural layer, building periods have been traced. However, the material is remarkable for its surprising uniformity.

We may propose the following absolute chronology:

[1] from the very beginning of the 4th century BC to the end of the third quarter of the 4th, and

[2] from the fourth quarter of the 4th to the 80s-70s of the 3rd century BC.

Cultural deposits occurred as a result of the destruction of mud-brick and stone-brick buildings and subsequent levelling of the construction area. Possibly the first reconstruction was linked to a fire or even an enemy attack (only a preliminary proposal). The buildings of the first period were completely destroyed (it is likely that fire contributed to this) and in their place new construction took place. At the same time, the new building period was not accompanied by any serious change in the planning of the sector in the settlement being investigated.

The date of the great reconstruction is determined by the finds in the early mud-brick debris. Apparently, it took place at the beginning of the last quarter of the 4th century BC. An absolute date is established, above all, by a selection of amphoras and also by the black-glaze pottery and the numismatic material. An Olbian copper coin of the second quarter of the 4th century BC - 380-360 (the head of Demeter on the obverse, an eagle with folded wings on a dolphin on the reverse, with three letters of the name of the polis). An analogous coin with another type of different was found on the floor of a ground level room. Amphora stamps from the brick debris are dated to the middle - third quarter of the 4th century BC (on amphoras of Sinope, of the group 359-346).

The sectors of the large Excavation IV, 2,000 m² in area, differ in their stratigraphy, but it should be noted that the territory of this settlement is densely built up and the organisation of these buildings has been revealed. Masonry and objects along a line going NE-SW has been traced (that is, corresponding to the direction of the line of the riverbank) another has been traced approximately perpendicular to it. It is possible to distinguish the “riverbank” and the “interior” sectors of the settlement. In the open sectors a cultural layer was deposited, but it contains little material. One gets the impression that the boundaries of sectors, or at least the planning principle, was preserved more or less unchanged over the entire period of existence of the settlement. In any case, if the sector is empty, then it stays empty, and the same is observed in regard to the built up sectors.

In all the settlements ground level houses made of stone/mud-brick, were common, but also dwelling and household structures dug into the subsoil. Pavements of stone and a mix of stone and ceramic on a base of clay are partially preserved. They are, apparently, courtyards and. They have also been found in the spaces between houses, alleys and roads. The masonry of the walls is laid flat in single rows, a system which was popular in Olbia. The distance between two parallel lines of masonry is 4.4 m, or close to that. Right angled corners of rooms are traced. The stones of the masonry are simply pieces of local ("shell") limestone, in some cases they take the form of carefully prepared blocks. Ten or more slabs have a cutting in the centre, possibly for the turning post of a door or some other wooden upright. The roofs of the houses were tiled and nowhere such a large quantity of tiles was found as at Belozerskoe, nowhere in the chora of Olbia are more encountered. The tiles consist of large, flat pan-tiles of standard dimensions (66 x 51 x 3 cm) with raised edges on the long sides, and narrow semi-cylindrical cover-tiles of Sinopean manufacture. They correspond to the Sicilian system of roofing. Judging by the tile stamps - they all belong to the first early group, with the “eagle on a dolphin” emblem - houses began to be roofed in tile  in the 60s of the 4th century BC. These stamps contain the names of several astynomoi, but only one fabricant.

In each dwelling complex was found at least two pear- or bell-shaped pits of large capacity. Their walls were often coated with clay and fired. Other household structures found include wells, cisterns and cellars. Some of the built objects are of interest in their construction, and several are distinguished by a particular material. In some cases amphoras for storing food products were discovered  in situ, as also hand-made pots (4) in the hearth. One of the vessels was covered by a lid and another by a tortoise shell. Alongside were found three more hand-made pots of different sizes, the largest of them blackened with soot just like those found in the hearth.

Just what kind of above ground structure is located in the sectors investigated is not always easy to establish. In some sectors of the excavation it can be clearly seen in the stratigraphy, as for example above an earlier object cut into the subsoil, that a building was erected using stone and mud-brick

Object #63 takes the form of a cellar of regular rectangular shape with sides measuring 6.15 x 3 m. Beneath the floor, in the centre, was a large bell-shaped storage pit with a bottom diameter of 3.15 m It was filled up, and its mouth several times plastered with clay containing admixtures before being fired; i.e. the floor was made completely flat and did not settle. The cellar continued in use and was divided into two almost square parts by a projection built of mud-brick and rising from the floor to the upper level of the subsoil. A remarkable feature of the cellar itself was that the entire walls to their full height, i.e. 1.5 m, were carefully constructed of mud-brick and was well preserved. The bricks were 0.46 m long and 0.09 m thick. They were formed from well mixed clay with admixtures of vegetative material, which left voids within them as it decayed.  Judging by the fill, the walls rising from the level of the subsoil were made of the same bricks. From the material of the fill one may highlight two Thasian stamps belonging to group G (342-330). It is not excluded that they are from the same amphora. There is one emblem - a goat. The name Aristokleos is restored. On one handle one may propose the name Timesitheos, on the other there seem to be traces of the letter 'm'. (One may note that a stamp of this group with the emblem of a “bee” and the fabricant’s name Bion was found among the debris of the bricks). The black glaze pottery and the amphoras belong to types from the middle - third quarter of the 4th century BC. All the remains and debris from the fire were therefore cleared into the objects cut into the subsoil, the sector levelled and a new house built.  It is also interesting that in the fill of this object several Scythian bronze arrowheads were found. This compels us to suppose (only as one of several possibilities) that the ashy layers might have been formed as a result of a fire at a time of enemy attack and that it was for this reason that a complete reconstruction was necessary.

The fill of a small semi-dugout #20, might speak in favour of this hypothesis. The destruction and demolition of these premises undoubtedly occurred in a fire, and in the fill there are the remains of an iron horse bit and a psalia of Scythian type. This structure which also had ground level mud-brick walls, might have been a temporary dwelling or a separate kitchen. It ceased to be used after the fire. The smashed and fallen pottery was left to lie on the floor beneath the layer of ashes.

In several objects in the excavation there are traces of a simultaneous fill of rubbish.

Cistern #56, was filled up at the same time as the cellar, it constitutes a closed complex. It has a capacity of more than 10 m³ and could hold 1,035 litres of water. It was stuccoed throughout and the plaster about 3 cm thick was made of lime with a mixture of sand. The surface of this coating was carefully smoothed and covered with a further layer of thin plaster. The cistern has a regular conical shape with a depression in the centre for a sump and three niches in the form of cavities with sloping steps of different height. It is 4.25 m deep, and at the bottom of the sump 4.73 m. The bottom diameter, ignoring the niches, is 2.4 m. The superb quality of this cistern demonstrates a very high level of craftsmanship. To date no exact analogue has been found, but in its construction it has a similarity to the Olbian examples, although there no cisterns with niches have been discovered. The most impressive houses in the Upper city have instead of wells individual cone-shaped cisterns with sumps and a layer of stucco of similar composition. In her excavations in the Kerameikos at Athens U. Knigge found a cistern with niches, but it seems not to be analogous. Into the bottom and lower part of our cistern were thrown great quantities of rubbish along with the ashes. There lay a complete though broken unstamped Heraklean amphora of a large standard with the dipinto PA, and a black glaze lekythos, the lower part of which was left unglazed. The surface is carefully smoothed, the upper part below the swelling of the body is covered with a thin slip of black glaze. The dating material includes a rectangular stamp on the handle of a Thasian amphora, with an emblem in the form of a shield. There is an ethnikon above and the name of a magistrate, Nauson, in the lower part (335-325 after M.Debidour). In the upper part of the fill was found a large tulip-shaped hand-made pot of a Geto-Thracian type, it was decorated with a relief band which runs around the circumference of the upper part of the body and droops down in semicircles, covering the entire body except for the narrowing lower part. It is interesting that in the cistern was found a piece of a massive, ornamented hand-made lid, the main part of which had been found in 1991, approximately 20 m to the north east of the cistern. As over cellar #63, above the level of the mouth of the cistern stones from the masonry of structures of the following building period were uncovered.

 
A number of structures, apparently synchronous, were filled up at the same time as the cellar and the cistern. Cellar #18 is the largest pit discovered in the settlement. It is 2.8 m deep with a bottom diameter of 3.8 m. The capacity of the main storage chamber is 18.3 m³. To one side is an entrance at approximately mid-height.

In the eastern part of the excavation there is a notable complex of pits #62, in which were found terracottas with relation to agricultural cults. These consist of a pendant figure and a fragment of a protome of Demeter or Kore - part of the right shoulder is preserved. She stands in a ritual gesture with a hand raised to her breast and clutching an elongated object in the fingers - grain, a flower bud, or something else. The pendant figure is almost fully preserved. It is a grotesque representation of a stout, elderly, naked woman. On her head is a head-dress in the form of a kerchief or conical hat, through which is pierced the hole for hanging the figure. The statuette is single sided, on the front it has been worked with a modelling stick. Distinctive features of the iconography are the thrust out tongue, the rounded, puffy eyes, the clearly delineated folds of the stomach and the sagging breasts. Similar grotesque representations are connected with the image of Baubo. All the statuettes are of Attic manufacture. The closest analogue on the north coast of the Black Sea is a find from Pantikapaion in the Hermitage museum, for which the date proposed by Silant’eva is at the end of the 5th-beginning of the 4th century BC. The finds of four terracottas in Excavation 4 are concentrated in the south-west part of the excavation, where one may propose, as a preliminary hypothesis, the existence of family worship of deities within the home.

The material from Belozerskoe is extensive and on the whole coincides with the materials from the other Olbian settlements. Usually, we find 7-8,000 artefacts per season, depending on the area excavated and the density of the finds. On average, more than 500 artefacts are to be found in a standard square.

In all the settlements of the rural territory of Olbia ceramics comprise 99% of the material. The same picture one can see here. The ceramic complex consists on average, counting by fragments of about 80% of amphoras, 9% of other wheel-made pottery (a variety of imported and Olbian wares: grey-clay, red-clay, light-clay, black glaze, kitchen, thick-walled), 6% hand-made, while roof tiles are present in quantities of 5-6%. To some extent, such a break-down is explained by the fact that amphoras and hand-made pots break into a large number of fragments.

On the whole, the ceramic material dates from the beginning of the 4th century BC to the last quarter of the 4th-first quarter of the 3rd century BC. Ceramics of the second-third quarters of the 4th century is represented in the greatest quantity and variety. The amphoras from the settlement of Belozerskoe are numerous and varied concerning centres of production and types. Chian and Heraclean amphoras are the most numerous. Chian amphoras are always represented by the greatest number of fragments and are discovered in all structures and in the cultural layer. Among the Heraclean amphoras there are whole exemplars, with stamps and dipinti occasionally encountered on them. The amphoras of Thasos are represented in the overwhelming majority of cases by bi-conical types; the stamps are of the type with an emblem in the centre and an inscription around the perimeter. Imports from the northeast Mediterranean are represented by a significant quantity of Mendean, or Chalkidian (after Papadopoulos and Paspalas) amphoras. The amphoras of Peparethos are also represented by two kinds of ceramic fabric. Sinopean amphoras are found alongside other products of this centre - tiles, louteria, pitchers and lekythoi. Fragments of amphoras with roll-shaped rims and cylindrical toes, which were characteristic of Sinopean containers of the 4th century BC, have a wide distribution. The stamps also belong to 4th century groups, beginning with the earliest which has the emblem of an "eagle on a dolphin". Fragments of the early amphoras of Tauric Khersonesos with sharply ribbed and roll-shaped toes are found. There are only isolated finds of stamps and they belong only to early groups (down to 272 BC). It is interesting that it is precisely in our settlement that a notable group of Corinthian products are found - amphoras, louteria, thick walled vessels, and the rounded handle of a thick-walled vessel made of Corinthian Type A clay. Fragments of Corinthian Type A amphoras are represented and finds of Type B are particularly common. There are many Koan amphoras of the last quarter of the 4th century-the first quarter of the 3rd century BC. There are also types with mushroom-shaped rims, including those of type Solokha 1. There are isolated fragments of Knidian amphoras with early stamps on them. In addition there are quite a number of rare types from unknown centres, but they are not represented by whole shapes.

Grey-clay pottery is considered an Olbian product. It clearly predominates among table ware, comprising no less than half. Pitchers, bowls, cups with looped handles, fish plates, all of them on ring feet, were in constant use. The pots were made from a fabric of various hues, but of similar composition - fine grained, with rare, small particles of lime. They often have a dark slip over all or part of the surface. Sometimes grey-clay pots are covered with a thin glaze, reminiscent of poor black glaze. Large pitchers - more than 30 cm in height and more than 20 cm in diameter, medium sized - up to 20 cm in height with an average diameter of 15 cm, and much more rarely small vessels, are all encountered.  Fragments of two-handled  cups are occasionally found. Lamps are widely distributed. On the bottoms and walls of grey-clay vessels graffiti and dipinti are encountered, most often in the form of individual letters - pi, lambda, theta, delta. These are, possibly, designations of price, or names of proprietor.

A variety of red-clay and light-clay pottery was found. The pitchers have a similarity to the grey-clay forms, though they are of a different size, on ring feet with ribbon handles of a different configuration, which are attached to the edge of the rim. Fragments of lekythoi are regularly encountered. Frequently found are pieces of conical lids and lamps, as well as fragments of bowls with in-turned rims. Slipped surfaces are found on all types of vessels (except lamps).

Black glaze ceramic is encountered constantly and serves as dating material along with the amphoras. Based on the composition of the fabric it may all be assigned to an Attic production. There are fragments (or more or less preserved vessels) of bolsals, cup-kylixes, cup-kantharoi, one-handlers, bowls, fish plates, plates, pelikai, skyphoi, lekythoi and lamps. Red figure pottery is represented by isolated fragments of “Kerch style” pelikai and skyphoi with schematic painting in the form of spiral  volutes. Fragments of thin-walled Attic cups with thin, high, square-shaped handles are the most common finds among the black glaze ceramics. Black glaze vessels often have incised and stamped decoration on the inner bottom. Cup-kantharoi are represented by types with plain or moulded rim. The lamps most often encountered are closed types with an elongated spout of square section, and a round body on a solid base. They are always found in living quarters, together with simpler and sometimes even hand-made lamps of similar shape. Graffiti is quite often found on black glaze pottery, consisting of single letters, parts of words and abbreviations. The latest finds include INI, PO. The earliest material belong to the types of the second quarter of the 4th century BC. Other material is dated to the second-third quarters of the same century. A black glaze vessel of the third quarter was also found (after Fr. Blonde, P. Alexandrescu, S. Rotroff and al.). The latest material (last quarter of the 4th century or the first decades of the 3rd century BC) is found only in the upper stratum, or by chance.

The population of our settlement constantly used imported wheel-made kitchen ware, though in small quantity - cooking pots and casseroles. Complete vessels are also found. The fabric the casseroles are made from is of yellowish, red-brown and grey tints with light colour inclusions. The outer surface of the casseroles and the edge of the rim are covered with a thick layer of pale engobe. The casseroles have a wide mouth - 20-25 cm in diameter inside the rim, and two ring-shaped handles, attached at an angle to the body below the curve of the neck. These casseroles have a lid. Fragments of conical lids are found, made from the same clay as the casseroles, and they clearly belong to them. Cooking pots are made from the same clay also. Some of them are made of dark grey clay and it is possible that these are of local production. The edge of the rim of the pot is slightly out-turned and of rounded or triangular section. Looped handles are attached vertically. The bottom is rounded.  There are always traces of soot on these pots. Fragments are found of pitchers which in the composition of the clay are more reminiscent of kitchen than table ware. All the shapes and types of wheel-made kitchen ware encountered in the settlement of Belozerskoe (as in the others) have been identified by Cook among the materials from the Athenian agora.

However, hand-made kitchen ware, which bears no similarity to the wheel-made forms, was used in much greater quantity. This pottery broke very easily and had to be replaced frequently. Whole hand-made pots are practically never found.  Pots of Scythian type make up a significant proportion of the hand-made pottery, while Geto-Thracian types have a minimal distribution. The predominant shape has an out-turned edge to the rim, a funnel-shaped neck and a smooth transition to an elongated, rounded body, which in turn narrows to a flat bottom. They tend to be decorated around the edge of the rim or below the curve of the neck with finger-nail impressions, or, more rarely, oblique incisions, but some have no decoration. In one case the decoration is applied with a circular stamp. The primary additive to the fabric is fireclay, but sometimes sand is encountered. On the bottom the imprints of finely woven material and cereal grains have been discovered. All the pots show traces of their use for cooking food. Hand-made bowls were also produced, some of them with one or two handles, reminiscent of wheel-made table-ware. They are carefully smoothed and covered with a thin clay slip. Some bear traces of fire and they give the impression of being cooking pots. Pieces of large sized vessels belong possibly to earthenware containers for food storage. Hand made lids for these pots are very rarely found. Pieces of hand-made braziers are encountered and lids with a thick layer of carbon on the inside, which can only have accumulated if they were regularly used to cover a fire. That is, they were covers for the opening of a stove or hearth. In the centre of all these lids was a solid, round, vertical handle with a small hole in it. The pieces of braziers and their covers are included in the overall quantity of hand-made ceramic and thus increase the percentage of hand-made pottery in the settlements. Individual shapes include lamps, footed pots and small miniatures. 

There are comparatively few metallic finds, apart from nails and knives. Artefacts of iron, bronze, and lead are found, but no traces of their production. Finds of slag relate exclusively to pottery production, and the same is true of structures which might hypothetically be interpreted as productive. Practically all the iron objects are articles of daily, household life. Nails, often quite large (8-10 cm), predominate, and sometimes the remains of wood are preserved on their shanks. In second place come knives of varying shape and size, very often with a curved blade. There are rare finds of sickles with metal handles, and a unique find of a psalia and pieces of the horse bit in dwelling #20. The poor state of preservation of metal objects does not allow us to determine from the fragments the full range of artefacts.

Small bronze artefacts are found - nails, needles, ornaments, arrowheads. A rare find was a bronze article, pointed at one end and flattened at the other in the form of a curved blade. It is reminiscent of a medical or cosmetic instrument.

The coins of Olbia are used in these groups of settlements in both the early and late stages of their existence. The earliest coins are cast asses with the head of a Gorgon on the obverse. On the reverse is the emblem of an “eagle on a dolphin”. The earliest coins of this type belong, according to Anokhin, to 438-410 BC, and the latest to c. 400-380. Later struck coins were widespread. A depiction of Demeter was popular on the coins and we see her face on the late asses, her head represented in profile, on small coins of the 4th century. Borysthenes was a local deity and his rugged face is represented on coins of the beginning of the 3rd century BC. On the reverse of these “Borysthenes” are depicted a bow and an axe.

Pyramidal loom weights and spindle whorls of clay or lead are found in all dwellings, evidence of the domestic character of textile production. The clay spindle whorls are conical in shape, biconical or rounded biconical and made of a light fabric, which is evenly fired and dark grey in colour. It has some similarity with that of the hand-made pottery. Polishers made from amphora handles are also found.

There is a great deal of evidence for highly developed fishing activity: sinkers for the nets, needles for making nets, fish remains. Sinkers for fishing nets, made from amphora fragments, are common finds. Most often they are made from flat pieces from the body of large amphoras and are of irregular shape, approximately oval or square. One is   perfectly circular, with two carefully drilled holes in the upper part. The stone artefacts also include a large number of sinkers made of local “shell” limestone.

Stone whetstones, grain-rubbers, millstones, pestles and polishers are also represented. On one carefully made pestle are preserved traces of paint - possibly, it was used for pulverising it. Most frequently encountered are whetstones with four faces. As a rule, on their working faces there are traces of severe wear. There are also tools for sharpening needles and similar pointed objects. A unique find is a small, biconical bead made of schist, of apparently local manufacture, in contrast to the imported glass forms.

Glass ornaments are, in fact, rarely found. Beads of transparent coloured glass, pendants in the form of face-masks with inserts of yellow or white paste are found.

Graffiti is mainly found, in the main, on pots, and in isolated cases on astragaloi (non-lettered marks possibly are connected with a game). Dedications, names, individual letters of the Greek alphabet or monogrammes, are represented. This year an interesting graffito was found - DI / ELAI with aligature KA to the left of the words.

The presence of terracottas is characteristic and it is supplemented by distinctive clay artefacts connected with the disposal of ashes - small ”loaves” or “cakes. Two of them have round hollows - six at one side and four at the other.

Among the bone artefacts so-called rasps, made from the bones of large horned cattle, are often found. They are commonly found both in the city of Olbia and its chora. The bones are worked to a square shape with notches cut into the surfaces. They are sometimes negligently made, but some examples are made with particular care. Knife handles, awls and net needles are also made of bone. The raw material for the manufacture of bone items was abundant. Small horned cattle (more sheep than goats) make up 40-50% of the animals, large horned cattle 20-30% (and adult animals predominate), horses, pigs, and dogs in approximately the same quantity near 10%. There is no noticeable difference in herd remains of different building periods. There is a single find of the bones of a domestic cat. There are few wild animals (hare, fox, red deer, wild boar) but fish of various kinds are found in great quantity. We also found the bones of birds and turtles. Paleobotanical analyses (by G.A. Pashkevich) show a dominant role for barley and wheat.

If we compare with sites which are situated to the west from it, closer to Olbia-city, we could observe similarities, nevertheless there are differences in the details of building structures and the material. The Belozerskoe settlement also looks rather prosper. 

On the whole, according to the archaeological data, the end of the existence of the settlement in the first quarter of the 3rd century BC does not create an impression of a universal catastrophe. The condition of the cultural layer does not offer a basis for any real conclusions. In some cases it may be understood that houses were left with pottery and other things in situ.  Traces of fires have been uncovered at Belozerskoe, but they belong to the 4th century and not to the time when life there ended. Indirect evidence of the emergence of some kind of threat may be seen in the find of hoards of Olbian Borysthenes of 300-280 BC in the immediate vicinity of the settlement. Nevertheless, we see that houses were abandoned, and in some places pottery and heavy things were left behind.

Life was not later renewed directly on the territory of the Belozerskoe settlement and its neighbours. The Sarmatians made burials in the cultural layer, but settlement only took place here in the Middle Ages, in the 11-13th centuries AD, as attested by the regular finds of medieval pottery. This year of excavation we also found a medieval iron arrowhead. Nearby, on the headland, a fortified settlement appeared in the Roman period, when the territory of the Lower Dnieper again was occupied.                     

Year 2002