The Lower City of Tanais

Abstract

Situated near the point where the Tanais River (the modern Don) flowed into Lake Maeotis (the modern Sea of Azov), the Greek colony of Tanais was located on the frontier of the ancient Greek world. Founded in the first quarter of the 3rd century B.C. as a small trading settlement, the city gradually became a large center of commerce and a major emporion. The systematic excavations at this site began in 1955, but after almost one hundred and fifty years, the size of the ancient city, as well as its precise topography and lay-out, still remain largely unknown. From the 1990s onwards, more archaeological work has been undertaken in the territory of the Upper City outside the main part of the settlement, bringing to light new evidence. The part of the city about which we know the least is the area to the south of the citadel, where the Lower City must have been located. The present article discusses all available evidence that may help us to reconstruct the diachronic development of the Lower City of Tanais and indicate the possible location of the ancient harbor. В настоящей статье на основе археологических данных детально реконструируется развитие Нижнего города Танаиса, а также проводится анализ сведений, помогающих определить возможное расположения древней гавани.