On the History of Asian Bosporus in the Early Byzantine Times: Excavations at Verkhnegostagayevskoye

Abstract

This study focuses on Verkhnegostagayevskoye—a fortress in the Krasnodar Territory, dating to the Late Classical and Early Byzantine  era. It has a multilevel fortifi cation system constructed with the use  of Classical Greek building materials according to the tradition of  adobe-and-stone architecture. The fortress, situated far away from  major seashores and inland transport arteries and studied by  nondestructive topographic methods such as magnetic prospection,  was a strategically important refuge. The scale of construction  activities indicates signifi cant administrative resources of the rulers.  The master-builders were qualifi ed specialists with a good  knowledge of local materials, relief, and geological structure of the  area. Construction materials differed with regard to position:  pumpkin shell was used for outside-facing walls, whereas peripheral  defensive structures were made of local sandstone and limestone. Judging by parts of columns including Doric capitals with very flat echini, dating to the Late Hellenistic or Roman period, dismantled  remains of public buildings were used for fortifi cation. The  production of building materials and the construction works may  have been a long-term job for the Bosporans. The fortress was  probably part of a political structure involved in the minting of the  famous replicas of Roman denarii. These replicas marked one of the  oldest routes connecting the Black Sea coast with Central Ciscaucasia via the Kuban drainage.