The Greeks on the don: results of joint German-Russian excavationsin Taganrog and vicinity (seasons of 2004-2007)

The paper presents the results of joint German-Russian excavations inthe Don estuary (Taganrog and its vicinity). In 2004-2007 the works covered mostlythe coastal side of Taganrog. Judging from stray finds of the archaic period, one of the ear-liest Greek settlements in the North Pontic region existed there since the last quarter of the7 th c. BC. Complex investigations included geomorphological and palaeosoil studies, aswell as radiocarbon dating. Reconstruction of landscape dynamics and climatic changeswithin a protracted period were suggested for the peripheral area of the site. A sequenceof 8 stratigraphic phases corresponds to the time from the archaic till the 11 th-12 th cc. AD.New important data have been obtained on the material culture and economy of the archaicsettlement, including evidently pottery production. Of importance were palaeogeographicand geoarchaeological investigations of fluctuation of the coastal line and the characterof the terrace occupied by the early settlement. Some materials characterize variations ofthe sea level during the Classical and medieval periods. Westward of Taganrog in the pen-insula of the Mius firth settlements and cemeteries of the Bronze and Early Iron ages wereinvestigated. The sites belong both to the local population and the nomadic newcomers.Geomagnetic prospection of the settlement near the village Levinsadovka has revealeda cluster of circular objects, probably underground dwellings. Hand-made pottery datesthe site back to the Middle - Late Bronze Age (ca. mid-2 nd mill. BC), while Classicalfinds fall within the 4 th c. BC. In the Beglitsky cemetery 20 burials were documented and3 excavated; the graves date from the 5 th c. BC till the 9 th c. AD, mostly to the 4 th and 2 ndcc. BC. Numerous kurgans have been revealed there by geomagnetic survey. It was evi-denced that the Elizavetovka settlement was not the only site in the Don estuary. Probably,a network of dwelling sites emerged there during the 4 th c. BC, at least in the Mius firthpeninsula. Unlike the Beglitsky necropolis, no kurgans were observed near the Levinsa-dovka settlement, which might indicate that the discussed area was inhabited by differentpopulation groups, or that the Beglitsky cemetery was central burial place used by com-munities of many settlements, some of them rather distant.