Urban plans of the archaic greek apoikiai of the Northern Black Sea region: “imaginary” and real ones

The archaeological data obtained during excavations in recent decades allow to fix a new approach to the study of the original layout of the Greek apoikiai of the Northern Black Sea region in the Archaic period. In the process of their urbanization a number of common features can be discerned. At its initial stages, many of these settlements were built up according to a single plan; urban development was regulated. This regulation resulted to the emergence of city grid having a general orientation with some variations caused by the topography or the shape of the coastline. However, in no case these “pre-Hippodamian” grids were strictly orthogonal. The number of houses constituting the insula as well as the internal area of insulae greatly varied. Apparently, the egalitarian principles ( isonomia ) were not strictly followed when founding new city and during the plots’ division by the first generation of settlers. The axial element of Olbia’s planning grid was the wide Main Street. Residential blocks shapes as well as the location of three temenoi and agora corresponded with its direction and turns. However, such an urban planning principle has not been identified in any of the other archaic urban centers of the region, including the neighboring Berezan settlement.