Tyritake
Encyclopedia
Tyritáke was an ancient Greek
town of the Bosporan Kingdom
, situated in the eastern part of Crimea
, about 11 km to the south from Panticapaeum
. It is tentatively identified with the ruins in the Kerch
district of Kamysh-Burun (Arshintsevo), on the shore of the Cimmerian Bosporus. There are only few short mentions about Tyritake in ancient literary sources (Stephan of Byzantion, Ethnika 642, 12; Pseudo - Aelius Herodianus, De prosodia catholica 315.12; Claudius Ptolemaius, Geography 3.6.3.2; Ps. Arrian, Periplous Ponti Euxini 50,9 and Caius Plinius Secundus, NH 4, 86-87 who names the city as Dia). First serious excavations, started in 1932 (headed by J. Marti) and have been followed in 1946-1957 by great Bosporan Expedition headed by prof. V. Gaidukievich. In 70-s and 80-s the territory of Tyritake was excavated by expedition of the Kerch Museum headed by D. Kirilin and O. Shevelev and since 2000 started big project "Bosporan City Tyritake" directed by prof. V. Zin'ko. In 2008 joined the project Polish Archaeological Mission Tyritake of National Museum in Warsaw
with Alfred Twardecki
as director. All these archaeological projects allowed to establish that the colony, founded about the mid-6th century BC, specialized in crafts and viticulture. In the first centuries AD, fishing and wine production became the economical mainstay of the town. Tyritake was sacked by the Goths
in the 3rd century AD and again in the 4th century by the Huns
, but a settlement on the site continued into the Middle Ages
.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
town of the Bosporan Kingdom
Bosporan Kingdom
The Bosporan Kingdom or the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus was an ancient state, located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus...
, situated in the eastern part of Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
, about 11 km to the south from Panticapaeum
Panticapaeum
Panticapaeum , present-day Kerch: an important city and port in Taurica , situated on a hill Panticapaeum (Greek: Παντικάπαιον, Pantikápaion), present-day Kerch: an important city and port in Taurica (Tauric Chersonese), situated on a hill Panticapaeum (Greek: Παντικάπαιον, Pantikápaion),...
. It is tentatively identified with the ruins in the Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
district of Kamysh-Burun (Arshintsevo), on the shore of the Cimmerian Bosporus. There are only few short mentions about Tyritake in ancient literary sources (Stephan of Byzantion, Ethnika 642, 12; Pseudo - Aelius Herodianus, De prosodia catholica 315.12; Claudius Ptolemaius, Geography 3.6.3.2; Ps. Arrian, Periplous Ponti Euxini 50,9 and Caius Plinius Secundus, NH 4, 86-87 who names the city as Dia). First serious excavations, started in 1932 (headed by J. Marti) and have been followed in 1946-1957 by great Bosporan Expedition headed by prof. V. Gaidukievich. In 70-s and 80-s the territory of Tyritake was excavated by expedition of the Kerch Museum headed by D. Kirilin and O. Shevelev and since 2000 started big project "Bosporan City Tyritake" directed by prof. V. Zin'ko. In 2008 joined the project Polish Archaeological Mission Tyritake of National Museum in Warsaw
National Museum in Warsaw
The National Museum in Warsaw , Poland, is a national institution of culture, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in Warsaw. It comprise a rich collection of ancient art , counting about 11.000 pieces, an extensive gallery of Polish painting since the 16th century and a collection...
with Alfred Twardecki
Alfred Twardecki
Alfred Twardecki is a Polish historian of antiquity and translator. He works as curator at the Department of Ancient Art in the National Museum in Warsaw...
as director. All these archaeological projects allowed to establish that the colony, founded about the mid-6th century BC, specialized in crafts and viticulture. In the first centuries AD, fishing and wine production became the economical mainstay of the town. Tyritake was sacked by the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
in the 3rd century AD and again in the 4th century by the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
, but a settlement on the site continued into the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.