Sinopean Amphorae and Chernyakhov Culture

Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 16 (2010) 479-485 brill.nl/acss

Boris Magomedov & Sergey Didenko

Abstract The Chernyakhov culture existed in the Eastern Europe in the second third of the rd3 to the early 5th century AD. Its dominant population group was that of the Goths. Among the goods imported into the region were amphorae of “Delakeu” type, or type C Snp I according to the classiﬁcation of D. Kassab Tezgör. A workshop which produced these amphorae has been discovered on the outskirts of Sinope. The amphorae from the region of the Chernyakhov culture belong largely to the variant C Snp I-1, module L and M, and, less frequently, to the variant C Snp I-2. Sometimes the clay of these amphorae does not have many added inclusions. This fact led to the mistaken conclusion that the amphorae of “Delakeu” type from the Chernyakhov territory might have been produced not in Sinope but somewhere else. Most of the types of the repertoire of Sinopean amphorae dating to the late Roman period occur across the whole Black Sea littoral. However, the variant C Snp I-1 is known mostly in the region of the Chernyakhov culture, and is not very common on the southern and eastern coasts of the Black Sea. We assume that this distribution pattern can be explained by the speciﬁc purpose of these containers. In AD 332, Constantine I signed an agreement with the Goths, whereby they received subsidies in exchange for service. A part of this agreement could have been the provision of wine. Approxi- mately in the middle of 4th century, Sinopean wine started to be delivered to the Chernyakhov territory. Presumably, amphorae with a larger than normal capacity (the type “Delakeu” / C Snp I-1) were produced in order to deliver the wine. These circumstances might explain the mass appear- ance of such amphorae on the Chernyakhov sites and also the absence of these amphorae from Greek towns.

Keywords Chernyakhov culture, Amphora, Trade, Late Roman period

The Chernyakhov culture existed in the south of the Eastern Europe in the second third of the 3rd to the early 5th century AD. Its dominant population group was that of the Goths.1 Among the numerous imported goods which arrived in the area of this culture were many red-clay amphorae of the “Delakeu” type. These are absolutely dominant on the northern Black Sea coastal sites of the second half of the 4th to the beginning of the 5th century, but they are rarely met in the hinterland of the Eastern Europe. The smaller

1 Magomedov 2001.

B. Magomedov, S. Didenko / 480 Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 16 (2010) 479-485

Heraklean light-clay amphorae of Shelov type F prevail here.2 Reliable finds of the “Delakeu” type are presented on the accompanying map (fig. 1), as well as finds of fragments of red-clay amphorae, probably of the same type. Until recently, researchers accepted the fact that the amphorae of “Delakeu” type corresponded exactly to Zeest Type 100, which is well-known from late Roman sites across the whole Black Sea region.3 However, quite different ves- sels have now been linked to this type “Delakeu”, and this has been reflected already in many publications.4 A workshop which produced these amphorae has been discovered on the site of Demirci on the outskirts of Sinope.5 Several types of amphorae were made here, and these have been researched and classified by D. Kassab Tezgör. Two variants of Kassab Tezgör’s type C Snp I corre- spond to the “Delakeu” type.6 Variant C Snp I-1 has a wide lower body and a helmet-shaped base, and very often the base has a smooth bend (fig. 2.1-12). Amphorae of variant C Snp I-2 have the same upper part, but the lower part of this form has a narrow conical profile (fig. 2.13-15). Each of these variants can be classified according to different sizes (modules L, M and S). Most of the amphorae from the region of the Chernyakhov culture belong to the variant C Snp I-1. Variant C Snp I-1, module L is represented by large containers from Delakeu (H: 95 cm, D max.: 46 cm) and Komariv (H: 96 cm, D max.: 44 cm), and probably by fragments from Aleksandrovka7 (fig. 2.3, 4, 8, 9). Examples of variant C Snp I-1, module M include one whole amphora from Kamenka-Anchekrak (H: 78 cm, D max.: 37 cm) (fig. 2.6), as well as fragments from the same site and probably also from Aleksandrovka (D max.: 34-36 cm)8 (fig. 2.6, 7, 10-12). Analogous examples of both variants have been found on the outskirts of Sinope9 (fig. 2.1, 2, 5). Here, there are also smaller amphorae with a height of about 66 cm (C Snp I-1, module S), but these have not yet been discovered in the area of the Chernyakhov culture. Containers of the variant C Snp I-2, with narrow base, are seldom met in the territory to the north of the Black Sea. One whole amphora (H: 75 cm, D max.: 28 cm) has been found near the village of Gusinka close to the

2 Didenko in print. 3 Zeest 1960, 120, pl. XXIX.100; Kuzmanov 1985, 16, type X; Sazanov 1989, 50-51; Opaiţ 1996, 217, type E-Ia,b; and other authors. For the latest and most extensive bibliography, see Paraschiv 2002, 175. 4 Sazanov 1995, 185. 5 Garlan & Kassab Tezgör 1996, 327, 331. 6 Kassab Tezgör 2010, 127-129, pl. 16. 7 Rikman 1967, fig. 18.1; Smishko 1964, fig. 5; Magomedov 1987, fig. 8.1, 4. 8 Magomedov 1987, figs. 8. 2, 5 and 9.1; 2001, fig. 62.2, 4. 9 Kassab Tezgör 2010, pl. 16.