Panskoye I : The Monumental Building U6

The Tarkhankut Expedition launched in 1959 aimed to study the expansion of Chersonesos Greeks and Crimean Scythians to the west coast of the Crimea in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC and the resulting construction of opposing fortresses.

This is the first volume of the complete publication of Panskoye I, a rural settlement in Northwestern Crimea dating from the period c. 400-270 BC. The settlement was founded by Olbia, the most important Greek city on the northern shores of the Black Sea. Half a century later the fortress was destroyed and the settlement taken over by another Greek city, Chersonesos Taurica. From then on and until its final destruction it formed part of the chora (territory) of this city. The first volume of Panskoye I reports the results of research into a monumental building (U6), which was erected after the takeover by the city of Chersonesos, and details the very varied and rich finds such as sculpture, pottery, lamps, terracottas, coins, metals, stone and glass objects, and graffiti, excavated here. The architecture and layout of the building is studied in detail, and the results of a number of scientific studies, such as geological, palaeo-botanical and petrographic analyses are also included. The Introduction presents the large-scale survey of Northwestern Crimea which began in 1959, of which the excavations of Panskoye I (1964-94) form a central part. This publication offers an extraordinary insight into two important issues in ancient history and classical archaeology, a Greek city's exploitation of its territory and of the interaction between Greek settlers and local tribes, in this case the Scythians and the Taurians. The volume is the first of three. Volume 2 will deal with the necropolis of the settlement, and volume 3 with the earliest fortress.