Researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences Archaeological Institute discovered a previously unknown ancient Hellenic settlement in eastern Crimea, a TASS report says.


Chairman of the State Committee for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Yefimov, told the Russian news agency

 “Researchers from the RAS Institute of Archeology uncovered a new ancient Greek settlement during their excavation near Kerch, which, preliminarily, dates back to the 4th to 3rd century BC, a period when the Bosporan Kingdom was flourishing. This is an important finding not just for Crimea but for all of Russia.” 

Yefimov further said that the community, called Manitra, occupied an area of about 5,000 square meters. The outpost consists of an estate-like residential area and a domestic zone, made up of livestock pens and middens. Yefimov also said that a necropolis was found near the settlement, which had not been looted, meaning there might be important findings to be made there in the future.

Crimea is a peninsula on the northern coast of the Black Sea in Eastern Europe that is almost completely surrounded by both the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov to the northeast. It is located south of the Ukrainian region of Kherson, to which it is connected by the Isthmus of Perekop, and west of the Russian region of Kuban, from which it is separated by the Strait of Kerch though now linked by the Crimean Bridge. The Arabat Spit is located to the northeast, a narrow strip of land that separates a system of lagoons named Sivash from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to its west is Romania and to its south Turkey.