The Greeks’ geographical view of the Taman Peninsula - geoarchaeology solves old problems and gives new perspectives
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29 septembre 2021
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Daniel Kelterbaum et al., « The Greeks’ geographical view of the Taman Peninsula - geoarchaeology solves old problems and gives new perspectives », HAL-SHS : géographie, ID : 10670/1.fkv4og
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After the reconnection between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea c. 5600 BC, an archipelago evolved in the area of the later Taman Peninsula (Russia). As sea level rise decelerated, the primary coasts turned into secondary ones by the continued progradation of the Kuban delta, and by the evolution of sand spits and sand bars due to cliff erosion and longshore drift. When the Greek traders and settlers arrived during the 8th/7th century BC, at least two waterways were still open which connected the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov: several Greek and Latin sources included both channels into the “Cimmerian Bosporus”. Nonetheless, modern scholars who were not aware of the existence of a second channel before our discoveries, reduced the “Cimmerian Bosporus” to the Kertch Strait. This is why, in order to mark the modern character of the reconstruction of the second channel further to the east, we called it the “Kuban Bosporus” (or, for some colleagues now, the “Sindian Bosporus”). This second channel was subdivided into several outlets, but had at least one main corridor near the centre of the recent Taman Peninsula. This natural setting of a special coastal configuration with small inlets, extended sand barriers and sand bars as well as sheltered embayments created ideal harbour sites for the Greek settlers from Archaic up to Hellenistic and, in some cases, up to the Roman times. The reconstruction of this palaeogeography sheds new light on the descriptions of ancient authors like Strabo, Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy. For the first time, we can suggest identifications of sites ancient toponyms such as Hermonassa, Korokondame, Kepoi, Sindikos Limèn, Kimmerikon, Clazomenian Towers, Satyrou Mnêma which fit all the literary descriptions and distances. The spatio-temporal coastline changes can be exemplified for several of the ancient Greek settlements, but are still lacking a high precise model for the entire Taman Peninsula.