Current work site: Berezan Island (Ukraine)
Head of expedition: Dmitry Chistov
The Expedition studies the ancient site on Berezan Island, the oldest Greek colony in the northern Black Sea Region.
One of the few islands of the Black Sea, Berezan is located in the Dnieper-Bug Estuary (Ochakov District, Ukraine). Although small in size (it currently measures just about 400 × 850 m), Berezan provides a unique concentration of cultural deposits and ruins spanning across many historical periods - from the latter half of the 7th c. BC to the 1940s. Of particular archaeological interest are the remnants of an ancient Greek settlement or, rather, a small town named Borysthenes and dating back to the Archaic period (second half of the 7th c.–first quarter of the 5th c. BC). Founded by settlers from Miletus (Minor Asia), Borysthenes became one of the first Greek colonies in the northern Black Sea Region, an outpost of ancient Greek civilization.
In 2012, the Hermitage’s Berezan Expedition marked the 50th anniversary since the beginning of systematic work on the island in 1962. The Berezan archaeological projects are an excellent example of long-term research partnership: for decades, the Hermitage team has worked in close collaboration with their Ukrainian colleagues (at present, the Berezan settlement is also being researched by the Archaeology Institute, Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences).
Apart from the Berezan site, the Expedition has been implementing long-term projects exploring the ancient monuments in the rural areas around Olbia, the largest Ancient Greek city-state in the northwestern Black Sea Region.
Contact details:
Email: d.chistov@gmail.com
