Cremons

The assumption that a very early ancient Greek monument rests near Taganrog appeared in the 1930s, when shards of ancient Greek ceramics were discovered there while laying a storm collector there ^[3] . Archaeological work was not carried out then. Later, in the 1960s, a group of Moscow archaeologists, led by Professor VD Blavatsky, tried to reconnoiter the Sea of ​​Azov, but to no avail ^[3] .

The prehistory of modern cooperation between Russian and German archaeologists who explored Kremny began in 1994 , when Rostov archaeologists P. A. Larenok and V. P. Kopylov published a catalog of archaeological finds on the northern coast of the Taganrog Bay ^[4] . The sea constantly carries fragments of ceramics and other evidence of the presence of an ancient settlement to this shore ^[4] . In particular, fragments of ancient Greek Ionian ceramics, which were confidently dated to the end of VII - beginning of VI centuries BC. e. ^[2] .

As Pavel Larenok explains: “The history of the Sea of ​​Azov is very complicated, the formation of its territory can be divided into two stages: the acquisition of land and the acquisition of the sea. Geologically, the entire Rostov region is the bottom of the ancient sea, the only exception is the Donetsk Ridge . 40 thousand years ago, it was already in the memory of mankind, the Sea of ​​Azov did not exist yet, but there was a hollow through which the ancient Don flowed and flowed directlythrough the Kerch Bay to the Black Sea . And then gradually formed the current pool. By the time the ancient Greeks appeared in the area of ​​present Taganrog, the sea level was 3-7 meters lower. That is, they sailed not to the Taganrog Bay, but settled in the estuary of the ancient Don Estuary ” ^[2] .

Thanks to material assistance from the German archaeological community, large-scale studies have begun in Taganrog since 2004 at the foot of the Stone Stairs .

After lengthy correspondence and all kinds of approvals, the first excavations began in 2004 , when Professor of the Free University of Berlin Ortwin Dally arrived in Taganrog and specialist in ancient history Torsten Schunke ^[4] . The Russian side was represented by Rostov archaeologists Pavel Larenok and Sergey Myachin ^[4] .

During these excavations, the location of the ancient settlement, as well as the bronze foundry ^[3] was discovered. As archaeologists found out, Greek masters poured bronze arrowheads for the Scythians in it ^{[2] [3]} .

As noted by Pavel Larenok, the settlement was formed on a place already inhabited by someone before the Greeks ^[2] , and, having existed for no more than a century, disappeared; why this happened and who preceded the Greeks, is not yet clear to scientists ^[3] .

In March 2011, Professor Dalli made a presentation on the results of the German-Russian archaeological expedition at a scientific conference at the Russian Academy of Sciences ^[5] . According to archaeologists, the settlement arose in the seventh century BC and was inhabited mainly by immigrants from northern Ionia ^[5] . According to Dalli, the remains of public buildings, the Agora , were not found on the territory of this settlement, which indicates that the settlement was not a “full-fledged” Greek policy , but was a trading point, which in ancient times was also, for example, Marseille ^[5] . According to Dalli, both the local population and the Ionian Greeks lived in this city. Their origin was established through the study of ceramic samples found during excavations ^[5] .

It can also be noted that several cultural layers were found in this place, in addition to the antique: 12–13 centuries ago there was a settlement of the Khazar Haganate , and in the 12th – 14th centuries galleries of Venetian and Genoese merchants pestered here ^[3] .

The history of the issue of localization of Kremna is quite large, and the opinions of researchers are very different. Practically the Kremns were placed throughout the entire Northern Azov region. Most researchers place the Cremons in the middle of the northern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov near bays, convenient for ships, with high cliffs in the vicinity.

Yu.V. Boltrik and EE Fialko, in their work specially dedicated to the localization of Kremny, localized the city in the vicinity of the village of Botievo ^{[6] [7]} .

There were other localizations:

• Old Crimea - F. Westenberg.
• from Genichesk to Utlyuk estuary - F. Brun, S. A. Zhebelev, E. Mins, D. Rennel, V.V. Latyshev.
• Milk District - B.I. Grakov.
• near Primorsk - K. Neumann, H. Stein, G. Kipertom, F. G. Mishchenko, F. A. Brown.
• Berda mouth - N. I. Nadezhdin.
• near Mariupol - M. Ninka, K. Kretschmer.
• near Taganrog - K. Mannert, K. Baer, ​​Abikht.
• the mouth of the Don, the mouth of the Domuzgly - B. A. Rybakov. ^[eight]

E.N. writes about other searches. Tarasenko ^[9] .

• Tanais - the ancient city (III century BC. - V century BC. E.) at the mouth of the river. Don

• Zubarev V.G. Historical geography of the Northern Black Sea region according to the ancient written tradition. - M .: Languages ​​of Slavic culture. 2005 .-- 504 s. - (Studia historica)

• Ancient Greek fort in Taganrog