Head of expedition: Alexander Butyagin
The Expedition explores the site of ancient Myrmekion, located in the area of the Quarantine Cape on the northern shore of the Kerch Bay, Kerch, Crimea. The first scientific description of the monument was provided by P. DuBrux in the early 19th c. Later, in 1834, A.B. Ashik studied a large tomb on the Quarantine Cape, which was found to contain fragments of a marble sarcophagus (2nd c. BC) – an unprecedented discovery in the North Black Sea Region. Further excavations in Myrmekion were undertaken by A.Е. Lyutsenko (1863) and F.I. Gross (1885); works on the necropolis continued throughout the 19th c. In 1927, the management of the site passed on to the Kerch Museum. Between 1934 and 1966, the Myrmekion Unit of the Bosporan Archaeological Expedition (USSR Academy of Sciences, Leningrad Department), headed by V.F. Gaidukevich, identified the boundaries of the ancient city, outlined the key chronological stages in the development of Myrmekion and explored its fortification structures, housing and religious buildings. The excavations resumed in 1982-1994 under the supervision of Yu.A. Vinogradov.
In 1999, the Hermitage launched the Myrmekion Expedition, supervised by А.М. Butyagin. At first, excavations were conducted jointly with the Myrmekion Archaeological Expedition (Institute of the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences) under the leadership of Yu.A. Vinogradov. However, since 2000 the Hermitage’s Myrmekion Expedition has functioned independently. The Expedition has carried out large-scale explorations in the area of the ancient acropolis, focusing on the ruins of the urban building communities (6th–2nd c. BC), an ash pit (3rd–2nd c. BC), a 2nd–3rd c. manor house and a 13th–14th c. necropolis. Additional investigations were performed on the remains of a unique ancient house dating from the 5th c. BC, the so-called shrine of Demeter (4th c. BC) and the enormous ash-pit heap (3rd–2nd c. BC) in the central section of the site. The expedition traced the key stages in the development of Myrmekion highlighting the most exceptional features of its historical evolution as part of the Bosporan Kingdom and obtained a large amount of archaeological materials. The most valuable finds include a trove of 723 bronze Panticapaeum coins retrieved in 2002, a unique hoard of 99 electrum Cyzicus coins in 2003 and a fragment of a large cameo dating from the 2nd c. BC.
The first years of field work by the team were showcased in the Myrmekion and Myrmekion hoard exhibitions held in the Hermitage in spring 2006.
