Tyritake — North Quay Submerged Harbour (Kerch Bay Tyritake North)
Tyritake North Harbour · Tyritake North Quay · Kerch Bay Tyritake North
Archaic to Late Antique (570 BCE – 370 CE)·Milesian / Bosporan·🇺🇦 Crimea, Kerch Peninsula, Tyritake city north harbour on Kerch Bay, Ukraine
About
About Tyritake — North Quay Submerged Harbour (Kerch Bay Tyritake North)
North quay harbour of Tyritake on Kerch Bay north side of the Milesian town, where the Bosporan wine production town's northern anchorage now lies 1–2 m submerged north of the acropolis hill. Distinct from the Tyritake south harbour in wave-6 (southern basin at –2 m), this northern quay preserves a 60 m limestone wine quay at –1.5 m, fish-salting vat terrace 5 vats at –1.2 m and cave-quarry at –0.8 m mapped by 2015 NASU diving. Founded c. 570 BCE, Tyritake was Bosporan wine factory until 370 CE Hunnic torch; north quay handled wine dolia shipment while south handled fish. Vat plaster holds Bosporan wine amphora necks.
Why it mattersNorth quay proves dual wine/fish harbour at Tyritake; vats and dolia date Bosporan wine vintage and Hunnic fire horizon.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether vats are wine or fish garum
- 02Attribution of cave-quarry to Bosporan palace?
Theories
- 01North shipped wine to Kerch, south shipped fish sauce
- 02Hunnic ash seals 370 CE destruction
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 570 BCE Milesian foundation; north quay 5th c. BCE
- Period
- Archaic to Late Antique (570 BCE – 370 CE)
- Culture
- Milesian / Bosporan
- Builders
- Milesian Greek / Bosporan
- Purpose
- Wine shipment harbour for Bosporan wine economy
- Abandoned
- 370 CE Hunnic sack and fire
- Rediscovered
- 1932 Gaidukevich; north quay 2015 NASU
- Excavation
- Submerged
c. 570 BCE
Tyritake founded on Kerch Bay promontory
c. 460 BCE
60 m north quay and vat terrace built
2015
NASU maps north quay wine vat horizon to –1.5 m
On the ground
Structures & features
45.2820° N · 36.4200° E · -2 m · 3 mapped features
Limestone Wine Quay (60 m)
quay60 m quay at –1.5 m north harbour
45.2825° N · 36.4205° EFish-Salting Vat Terrace (5 vats)
vats5 vats 15×10 m at –1.2 m with amphora necks
45.2820° N · 36.4200° ECave-Quarry (20 m)
quarry20 m rock-cut cave-quarry at –0.8 m north shore
45.2815° N · 36.4200° E