Graves with core-formed glass vessels from the Kepoi necropolis

The paper reports on assemblages of funerary offerings from the graves in the necropolis of Kepoi, an ancient Greek city on the Taman peninsula. These assemblages contain glass vessels of Mediterranean group I made using the technique of coreforming. Three alabastra, an amphoriskos and an oinochoe come from four graves, two of them (graves 29 and 69) are dated to the second quarter of the 5th century BC, one grave (grave 140) is dated to the turn of the second quarter of the 5th century BC, and one grave (grave 189) is dated to the fourth quarter of the 5th century BC. In two cases the dates of the core-formed vessels based on the typological features perfectly match the chronology of the graves dated using ceramic imports and weaponry; in another two cases the dates have been mutually adjusted within the quarter of the century. All types of core-formed vessels found in Kepoi are known in the cities of the North Pontic region where they were spread to a different extent. The highest concentration of such vessels has been found in eastern Greece, especially, in Rhodes, where, presumably, the largest centers where such items were produced were located. On the whole, this model of distribution is characteristic of all vessels attributed to Mediterranean group I. It is in Rhodes where workshops specializing in the production of such vessels, including those from Mediterranean Group I, have been discovered so f ar.