Ancient Greek city gorgippia description. Ancient cities on the Kuban. How to get there Address and Directions

The city of Gorgippia was not only a trade and craft center, but also a border fortress and one of the largest ports of the kingdom. Currently, the ancient settlement along with the necropolis is located under the central part of the resort of Anapa. Numerous archaeological finds record the existence of the Hellenic city on this site from the 5th century BC. e. to the III century AD e. - when Gorgippia died as a result of an enemy invasion and this ended the ancient stage of its history.

Archaeological excavations

In 1949, Vladimir Dmitrievich Blavatsky, an archaeologist-antiquologist, conducted the first reconnaissance work to find the ancient city. Five years later, excavations were organized on the site of the Gorgippian necropolis. Unfortunately, in the 50s, during construction work, significant areas of the ancient city were destroyed.

Systematic excavations of the ancient polis began in 1960. Then the stationary expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences under the leadership of I.T. Kruglikova. The dense development of the modern city complicated the excavation, and yet, over 15 field seasons, archaeologists managed to explore various sections of ancient Gorgippia and determine its layout. Scientists recorded the cultural layer of the ancient city at 800 m along the Black Sea and 500 m inland, with a total area of \u200b\u200babout 40 hectares.

In 1977, by decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Gorgippia settlement was declared a monument of archeology of federal significance, and a site of almost two hectares was allocated on its territory, which received the status of an archaeological reserve.

Archaeological finds

The earliest finds on the site of present Anapa date back to the 6th – 5th centuries BC. e. The first settlement of the Greeks stretched for 400 meters along the sea. By the beginning of the V century BC e. the city has grown significantly: archaeologists have established that the city market provided Mediterranean goods for the neighborhood of 15–20 km. From the residential buildings of ancient Gorgippia, cellars of houses were preserved, the walls of which were built of stone or made of mud bricks, and the roof was tiled with various shapes. The streets of the city were paved with cobblestones and fragments of clay amphorae, cart ruts were preserved on the pavements, ancient coins were found. Access to the city from land was covered by a powerful fortress, explored in 1978-1980.

The fragments of inscriptions give an idea of \u200b\u200bthe administrative structure of the city, of the composition of the population. A huge number of different items have been found that tell about the economic activities and everyday life of the inhabitants of Gorgippia. Scientists have proven that in the ancient city there was processing of iron, copper, glassmaking, stone-cutting craft and woodworking.

Crypts with unique frescoes and a large number of gold objects of the first centuries of our era were discovered. One of the most interesting finds was made in 1975. The archaeological expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR discovered a burial complex of two crypts and a rock tomb with a large number of gold and highly artistic items. The frescoes of the stone crypt depict the exploits of Heracles, who was considered the ancestor of the Cimmerian dynasty ruling in the Bosporus.

Today, archaeological finds of ancient Gorgippia are in various museums around the world.

Archaeological Museum-Reserve in Anapa

In 1977, the Gorgippia Museum Reserve was created with an open-air exposition and a permanent exhibition of finds. An integral part of the reserve was the Anapa Museum, which received archaeological status.

Visitors can stroll along the cobbled streets of the ancient city, see the foundations and walls of dwellings, the remains of workshops, wineries, wells, drains, marble slabs with inscriptions extracted from the necropolis, sarcophagi of the local nobility, architectural details. The total area of \u200b\u200bthe reserve is 1.6 hectares, of which 0.7 hectares are open to visitors.

The museum’s halls house several unique collections: epigraphic monuments, a collection of terracotta figurines, the frescoes of the crypt “Hercules”, a collection of amphorae, beads, tombstone and sarcophagus monuments, a collection of glass vessels, a collection of black-lacquered vessels and a collection of antique numismatics.

Anapa is a resort town on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory. Most tourists come here on summer holidays, dreaming of swimming in the sea, sunbathing and visiting the water park. But if the described vacation option seems to you too boring, you can always go on excursions. One of the most unusual and interesting places to visit in Anapa is the Gorgippia Archaeological Museum.

A resort town full of history

Unenlightened tourists scornfully refer to the Krasnodar Territory when it comes to historical sites. In Greece and Spain, you can see ancient ruins at every step, and what can the Russian south boast of? In fact, the Krasnodar Territory also has an equally interesting story, the full version of which, perhaps, we only have to find out.

On the site of modern Anapa, once there was the ancient Greek city of Sindh harbor. Thanks to archaeological finds, it was possible to establish that it was founded no later than the 6th century BC. e. In the 4th century BC e. the settlement becomes subordinate to the kingdom of the Bosporus and receives a new name - Gorgippia in honor of the ancient ruler of Gorgippus. The city is developing rapidly and is famous as a craft and trade center. On the territory of Gorgippia there was a large quarter of master potters. In the second century BC e. the city received the right to issue its own coins.

In the 2nd century AD e. Gorgippia is thriving - the streets are decorated with skilful statues and obelisks, pompous temples are being built, wealthy citizens spare no money for creating elaborate tombs and necropolises.

What happened to the rich ancient city? Why today only archaeological museum “Gorgippia” remained from him? In the 3rd century AD e. the city was constantly subjected to raids by barbarians. The once-blooming settlement ends its history in the 4th century AD. After another invasion of the Huns, Gorgippia forever disappeared from world maps.

Museum expositions

They were started back in the 19th century. In their course, it was possible to establish that the ancient city occupied more than 40 hectares and is located under modern Anapa, at the level of only about 1 meter.

Today, the Gorgippia Archaeological Museum-Reserve is located in the center of the spa town and covers an area of \u200b\u200b1.6 hectares. Excavations and research activities are still underway here. For tourists, a plot of 0.7 hectares is open, fully explored and is an open-air museum.

The Gorgippia Archaeological Museum invites everyone to take a walk in this ancient city. During the tour you will see with your own eyes: the foundations and cellars of residential buildings, streets, fortifications, winery complexes, drains, wells and a necropolis. Today it is the only archaeological museum in Russia inviting everyone to the excavation site. There is also a pavilion on the territory of the reserve, in which the most valuable and interesting exhibits are exhibited.

Pearls collection

The museum exhibits an interesting collection of ceramics. During the tour, tourists will find out how the Pithos differed from the amphora, and what other forms of vessels were most often used by our distant ancestors. In addition to household utensils, the Gorgippia Archaeological Museum delights guests with a collection of women's jewelry and bijouterie. The real pearl of the exposition is an ancient loom. No less interesting are the statues and fragments of marble slabs with inscriptions in the ancient Greek language. Also in the museum's collection are samples of weapons, tools and details of complex mechanisms.

Many unique and valuable exhibits are constantly exhibited in the largest museums in Russia - in Moscow and St. Petersburg. But, despite this fact, the permanent exhibition at Gorgippia itself is very interesting and informative.

Opening hours and prices

The Anapa Gorgippia Archaeological Museum-Reserve is open from Tuesday to Sunday, inclusive. You can visit the exhibition from 09:00 to 18:00. The cost of an adult ticket is 120 rubles, for children and beneficiaries an entrance costs 80 rubles. The following categories of citizens have the right to inspect the museum’s collection at a reduced price: students, pensioners, people with disabilities, war veterans, members of the military contract service, orphans. To receive a discount when purchasing a ticket, you must present the appropriate document confirming the preferential category.

How to get there Address and Directions

The exact address where the Gorgippia Archaeological Museum is located: Anapa, Naberezhnaya Street, 4. This is the very center of the resort town. The nearest public transport stop is called Astrakhan. Travel by bus and minibus No. 1, 2, 6, 16 and 18. The exact coordinates of the museum-reserve for motorists: 44.896262; 37.310507.

Far beyond the borders of the Krasnodar Territory, the resort city of Anapa and the village of Taman are known (find them on the map)

Walking along their embankment, our contemporaries, without even knowing it, step on the earth, whose history goes back to the distant past.

In the VI century. BC e. on the banks Black   (the Greeks called it Pontus of Euxinus) and Azov   (Methotides) of the seas the Greeks began to appear, creating large settlements (or colonies).
   They were skilled seafarers and engaged in trade, so they often made long trips on their ships. They preferred to settle near the local population, so that they could trade with them.

  In the 4th century BC e. from these colonies was formed Kingdom of bosporus   (we look at a time tape in a notebook) with the capital Panticopeia (modern city of Kerch).

Fanagoria(Sennoy settlement) was founded in about 542 BC. e.

In the 4th century BC e. Fanagoria was included in the Bosporus kingdom and served as the second (after Panticapaeum) capital of the Bosporus kingdom and a prosperous trading center.
  AT   antique   Fanagoria looked like a typical ancient Greek city.

It was surrounded by powerful fortress walls, bronze and marble statues were located on paved streets and squares, there were many wells lined with stone. In the central part of the city there were temples, a theater, various public buildings, as well as rich private houses. On the outskirts of Fanagoria there was even a quarter of potters, which was called Ceramics.
  The economy of Fanagoria was based on agriculture, viticulture and winemaking, and trade with the population of the Kuban region, with the cities of the Black Sea region and the Mediterranean Sea, also played an important role. Various goods were transported through the city: clothing, jewelry, wine. Merchants from Greece were particularly in demand with fish, bread, meat, furs and many other goods that were brought to Phanagoria from nearby settlements.

The second city we'll talk about is Hermonass.

It was located where the village of Taman on the Taman Peninsula is now located.
The history of Taman began from the time when the ancient Greek colony of Hermonass was founded on this site. It happened in the VI century BC. e. The Hermonass was the second (after Phanagoria) by value city of the Asian Bosporus, covering the Taman Peninsula and the Kuban. In general, in the VI century BC The Taman Peninsula was actively developed and settled by the Greeks.
  Judging by the findings of archaeologists, the main activities of the settlers were trade, agriculture, and cattle breeding. The cultural layer of the settlement is saturated with fragments of antique amphora   and dining room ceramics   bones of pets. Copper coins are often found, which are from the 4th century BC. were minted in Panticapaeum   and Fanagoria.

Those of you guys who were in the Ataman ethnographic museum could see with their own eyes a tiny part of Germonassa

This is my photo taken by me in Ataman :)

At first, in the territory of modern Anapa, representatives of the Sind tribe lived, their settlement was called Sindh harbor   and had well-established connections with nearby settlements - Panticapaeum, Batu, Hermonass, Fanagoria.   Then, in the IV century BC, the Greek colonies united and became known as the Kingdom of Bosporus, and the Sindian harbor   was renamed Gorgippia.
  Gorgippia turned out to be not only a trade and craft center, which until now was, but also a border fortress, and soon became one of the most important and richest cities in the region (the city was so successful that it even had the right to mint its own coins - silver drams )
What did the population of Gorgippia do?Archaeologists have unearthed industrial complexes - fish-salting tanks, wineries with pressure platforms, where the juice was poured for fermentation in pithos   pottery kilns, traces of metallurgical production.
  The most thoroughly investigated quarters of potters. Ceramic workshops supplied citizens amphorae   and tiles, utensils, sinkers and statuettes, at a later time - with brick.

I invite you guys on a virtual tour   to the Anapa Archaeological Museum, where you can get acquainted with household items of the ancient Gorgippia-Anapa.

Homework:
  1. Read the text carefully, mark unfamiliar words. Try to find their meaning.
  2. Write in a notebook three questions that you had when you read the text.
  3. Find on the intro map of the city of Anapu, the village of Sennoy, Taman, the Taman Peninsula, the Black and Azov Sea (their ancient names)

Coins of that time

At the beginning of the 4th century BC, the land of modern Anapa, which at that time was inhabited by the Sindi tribes, are part of the Bosporus kingdom. On the site of Anapa, a city arises, named after the governor of the Bosporus kingdom Gorgippa. From this moment begins the history of the city several centuries long. During its existence, Gorgippia went through several periods of prosperity and decline.

Gorgippia was inhabited mainly by Greek colonists, Greece was a distant ancestral home for modern Anapa, and today the descendants of those ancient Greeks make up a considerable part of the suburban village of Vityazevo (now perhaps the most famous resort village in Russia).
   Judging by archaeological excavations, houses of up to 100 square meters were built in the city, with cellars cut through in rock or laid out from tightly fitted stones. The walls of the houses were built of raw bricks (an analog of adobe), plastered (smeared) with clay. The roofs of houses for the most part were covered with tiles, which were made immediately in local workshops. If we compare these houses with the houses of the southern settlements of Russia in the middle of the last century, we can see that the construction technology has not changed much since then. The central streets of Gorgippia were paved with shards, in the city was built the sanctuary of the fertility goddess - Demeter. Gorgippia is becoming a prosperous city, fertile land and a variety of workshops, coupled with lively sea trade, bring considerable income to the city. Gorgippia along with Phanagoria and Panticapaeum entering the kingdom of Bosporus with it receives the right to issue its own silver coin.

  This is what Gorgippia looked like during its prosperity.

The wars of Mithridates of Pontius in the 1st century BC with Rome for supremacy in the sea, severely affected the economy of Gorgippia. Residents of the city were taxed, a large part of the male population was called up for military service, and various workshops, instead of goods in demand, were forced to make weapons. Most of the treasures discovered during excavations in Anapa belong to that period. So people tried to at least somehow preserve their property. The trouble does not come alone, and 63 BC, the Black Sea coast was shaken by a severe earthquake (according to scientists, up to 8 points), and after a few years the city was seized by a powerful fire, after which there were only ruins from the city. However, this time Gorgippia was able to reborn as a phoenix from the ashes. The exit from the Pontic state and the wise rule of Tsar Bospor-Aspurg allowed the city to recover and strengthen its economic position.

The remains of the ancient streets of Gorgippia

The stable situation in the Black Sea region at the turn of the 1st – 2nd centuries contributed to the rapid development of Gorgippia, a large construction began in the city. Under Tsar Savromat I, the borders of Gorgippia were expanded, the city fortifications were restored again, the townspeople erected magnificent temples to their gods - Aphrodite and Poseidon. Monuments to the kings of Bosporus and their governors were erected on the main squares. Well-off citizens by that time were building large houses with huge basements huge on the whole floor. The streets of the city were landscaped. The number of wineries and craft workshops in which all kinds of implements and military weapons from imported metal were growing very quickly. At the beginning of the 3rd century in Gorgippia began its own production of glass. Active maritime trade with all the cities of the Bosporus kingdom.
   But as you know, it cannot be good for a long time, and at the time of the greatest prosperity, Gorgipia is attacked by the barbarian tribes who came from the Baltic shores. By uniting and leading the alliance with the Sarmatian and Alanian tribes, the Goths attacked the cities of the Bosporus kingdom. Gorgippia was one of the first cities on their way. The city was burned down by the Goths in 238, judging by the excavations, the inhabitants did not expect an attack and left their homes in great haste, abandoning all their property. But this did not help much, most of the townspeople were captured by the Goths.
After some time, life in the city began to gradually revive, but Gorgippia was no longer able to become even a shadow of its former greatness, and in 70, the 4th century, the city finally dies under the blows of nomadic Hun tribes.
   Further occurrence

The ancient world left the following times a rich legacy. In many ways, it was perceived by the early Middle Ages (agriculture, craft, construction, coinage). Greek and especially Latin alphabets formed the basis of the alphabets of all the peoples of Europe. The technique of murals and mosaics was inherited by the Middle Ages. However, in all its wealth, the largely forgotten ancient culture began to reveal itself only in the new time.

Very little was known about the ancient paintings of the Northern Black Sea Coast. In the excavations of the last century, crypts with wall paintings were found. But this painting has not been preserved to this day. We judge the art of those ancient times only by images on vessels, coins, sarcophagi and sculpture.

In 1975, an expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences unearthed a unique monument of the ancient era in the city of Anapa - a crypt with numerous frescoes telling about the exploits of the legendary hero of the ancient world Heracles. Images of Hercules and his exploits were still known only on vessels, coins and in sculpture. But in monumental painting this image is met for the first time.

There are not many cities on the territory of our country that have behind them a two-thousand-year development path. These include the one that arose in the 5th century BC. e. on the banks of Pontus Euxinus. The ancient historian Strabo calls the city "the capital of the Sinds" - a mysterious and little-known tribe who lived in these places even before the appearance of the first ships with Greek merchants and colonists. Gorgippia was located extremely well: the goods of the Crimea, the Caucasus and the deep regions of the mysterious Scythia were found here on busy markets with the products of skilled craftsmen from Greece, Egypt, and the East. The city flourished. But in the III century AD e. Gorgippia dies as a result of an enemy invasion, and this ends the ancient stage of its history.

Systematic excavations of Gorgippia began since 1959. Archaeologists work extremely hard. The large resort town is densely built up: excavation is possible only in new buildings and in the courtyards of modern houses. Nevertheless, the expedition led by I.T. Kruglikova, senior researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, for 15 field seasons managed to explore various sections of the ancient city and determine its layout. The main highway of Gorgippia stretched along the sea, from it lanes scattered. In the first centuries of the city’s existence, the streets were paved with cobblestones and fragments of clay amphorae. On such pavements even cart ruts have been preserved, bronze coins lost in antiquity have been found. Later bridge (I-III centuries. BC. E.) - huge flat stones laid on a layer of clay and gravel. The streets of Gorgippia were repeatedly repaired and rebuilt three times during the existence of the city.

At the site of the Anapa Hotel was the acropolis of the ancient city: large public buildings rose here, marble statues stood and inscriptions were placed that told about events in the life of the city.

What did the population of Gorgippia do?   It is not difficult to answer this question. A number of production complexes were excavated - fish salting tanks, wineries with squeezing sites, pottery furnaces, traces of metallurgical production were discovered. The most thoroughly investigated quarters of potters. Ceramic workshops supplied the townspeople with amphora and tile, dishes, sinkers and figurines, and later - with bricks.

From the residential buildings of ancient Gorgippia, cellars of houses have been preserved. Their walls were built of stone or made of mud bricks, the roof was tiled with various shapes.

In the summer of 1975, when digging a pit on Gorky Street, builders stumbled upon a vault of a large stone crypt. He was only 80 centimeters from the surface of the earth. The burial chamber was cut down in rocky soil and went to a depth of three meters. Huge stone blocks weighing up to a ton each formed the walls of the tomb. The vault was erected according to the most exact mathematical calculations so that a number of castle stones held the entire arc of a multi-ton overlap. The entrance to the crypt was a well, also carved into the rock and faced with stone. It was through him that the sarcophagi with the remains of the dead were once lowered into the tomb, and then they closed the stone doors of the crypt, pushed back the wooden bolt and tightly wrapped everything around with small stones. But this did not save the tomb from plunder. Having broken through the arch, the robbers managed to penetrate the crypt. They lifted the heavy lids of the stone sarcophagi, put two stones under each of them, and pulled the dead to the floor through the cracks that formed. Having removed expensive clothes and jewelry and cleared the niches in the walls, the robbers left the crypt. Now we can guess that it was a rich crypt.

The burial chamber with an area of \u200b\u200b14 square meters and a height of 3.5 meters served as a family tomb: it contained three identical sarcophagus hollowed out from stone blocks. Large stone covers were fastened with sarcophagi with a solution of lime, and one of them with a lead brace. The robbers took things away, but the crypt preserved murals, unique in beauty and content.

Antique Murals   known: they were found both in rich houses and in burial structures. Most often, murals only imitate the laying of walls.

The same was in the Anapa crypt. The basement, which goes above the floor, is depicted as a red strip of a meter wide, encircling the wall. In the first centuries AD e. in the construction equipment of the ancient world, a fashion appeared to clad the walls of rich buildings with colorful marble and even amber, complex ornaments were laid out from thin stone tiles. On the walls of less affluent houses appeared reproduction of stone cladding. Crypts - the houses of the dead - signed in imitation of the houses of the living. In the Anapa crypt above the red socle there is a strip of meter-wide that imitates the mottled marble wall cladding: wide red ovals on a white, yellow or blue background, zigzags, specks in circles. And between them are picturesque columns with ornamented capitals. In this belt, the exact marking of the drawings made by the compasses and the symmetry in the general structure of the ornaments amazes. Above it was a strip with hangings hanging on hooks with fringe and tassels. In the bends of the fabric - expressive faces, probably masks. Above is an even more interesting tier, which tells about the life and twelve deeds of the great hero of Hellas - Hercules. He fights with a lion and a snake-headed monster - the Lernean Hydra, catches a Kerinoe fallow deer, shoots arrows at the Stiffallian birds with deadly feathers-arrows, leads the cows of Gerion, tames the Cretan bull and performs other immortal feats. The lion's skin, the club and burns with a bow is always with him. The movements of Heracles and the monsters defeated by him are full of realism and expression. This also includes the everyday scene, which probably depicts a meal: a bearded man in the center, two women in bedspreads and two young men on each side. Who are they?

The painting opposite the entrance to the crypt is beautiful: a man and a woman sitting in armchairs, a young man is standing in front of them. Perhaps it was on this scene that the three buried in the crypt are represented? The figures are framed by painted trees, peacocks, swimming turtles, above the heads of those sitting there is a circle with a snake.

Above the entrance are plants, wreaths of branches, motley circles and animals: two goats turned to each other, a scene of a sika deer being hunted by two dogs.

A wide circle is drawn on the ceiling of the crypt by a compass; a six-petal rosette is inscribed in it. The circle is surrounded by a motley ornamental border, the petals are painted in different colors. Garlands and rose petals are scattered over the white background of the arch.

All paintings are made using the fresco technique using natural paints on raw plaster, the thickness of which ranges from 1 to 2 centimeters.

The combination of the inlaid style of the mural, imitating the stone wall cladding, with the floral style, including plant motifs, images of birds and animals, allows us to date the Anapa crypt of Heracles to the second century AD. e.

During excavations, the crypt was constantly filled with groundwater, which threatened to destroy the murals. In order to preserve priceless murals for centuries, the crypt was disassembled into blocks and taken out from the foundation pit of a house under construction.

Actually, the story of the works of 1975 does not end with a story about the fate of the crypt of Hercules. In order to dismantle and take out the excavated tomb, it was necessary to expose the crypt's masonry outside. Digging a trench with an excavator, scientists discovered another crypt nearby. He, like the first, was also cut down in the rock. On the floor were two stone sarcophagi with massive stone covers. In one, two girls were buried. Their eyes were covered with gold eyecups, their lips with gold mouthpieces, gold breastplates were placed on their breasts and a silver vessel with a delicate pattern was placed. Each of the deceased relied on a golden wreath. All these things have been preserved: they are made of thin gold leaf.

The second sarcophagus was decorated with stone-carved columns, niches and graceful flowers. The lid is connected to the sarcophagus with an iron plate, filled with lead seals at both ends - undoubted evidence that the burial is not disturbed. In this sarcophagus were all sorts of objects - both designed specifically for burial (golden eyecups, a mouthpiece, petals covering clothes, a wreath), and the personal belongings of the deceased (two massive golden rings with the finest gems on dark agates, a gold bracelet with turquoise and glass inset, massive neck hryvnia, golden brooch (pin), inlaid buckle, iron dagger with a gold hilt in a wooden sheath with a gold lining, on the sheath there is a peacock and a repeated motif: an eagle tormenting a hare. Both objects decorated with garnets and turquoise). In addition to personal military armor, a part of a horse harness decorated with gold plates, a silver and bronze jugs, a glass vessel were put into the sarcophagus of the buried. A noble warrior was buried here.

Near the sarcophagi, scientists saw almost the most interesting things on the floor - a bronze incense burner with colored enamels forming an oriental floral ornament, and a glass bowl very expensive at that time, made of transparent blue, green and colorless types of glass. Between two layers of colorless glass a gold foil was laid. On the floor, scientists found four bronze strigel with enamel handles. Athletes cleaned the body of sand adhering to oil with strigeli. Silver spoons, glass jugs, two bronze lamps with bird heads on curved handles were also found here. Judging by these things, the second crypt refers to the II-first half of the III century. n e.

Crypts with wall paintings, like Anapsky, were excavated on the territory of the Black Sea in the 19th century, but for various reasons they have not survived to the present day, and painting has irrevocably died for science.