The Lost Fresco Paintings of the Inkerman Cave Churches (“Temple with Baptistery”, “Church of Geography”, Monastery of Saint Sophia)

Introduction. Among the “cave towns” of Mountainous Southwestern Crimea, there are monuments located in the lower reaches of the Black River valley. There are no less than 9 rock-cut monastic complexes which include about 30 temples. Methods. Some churches of the 13th–15th centuries were decorated with fresco paintings. Today, frescoes have been preserved only in one church. Sources of the 18th–20th centuries indicate traces of paintings in more than five temples. Frescoes inside the “temple with baptistery”, “Church of Geography (Eugraphy)”, and the Monastery of St. Sophia have not survived. Archival materials that expose the plots and compositions are published in this work. Analysis. The frescoes of the “temple with baptistery” date back to the 13th century. The Deesis composition is reconstructed in the apse conch. In the “Church of Geography (Eugraphy)” (the 13th century), on each side of the throne, four figures of saints are depicted (The Holy Fathers composition). This is probably: John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, Cyril of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, Athanasius of Alexandria and two more saints from among the Cappadocian Fathers. One of them is obviously St. Blaise. This painting in general terms repeats the traditional scheme of the lower register of the painting of the apses of the cave temples of the mountainous Crimea. The monastery of St. Sofia should be dated back to the 14th–15th centuries. During the period of the monastery’s functioning, there were fresco paintings in the Main Church and Church no. 3, but all the attempts to attribute them were unsuccessful. Results. The analyzed frescoes show themes of Deesis and the Great Cappadocians. They are common for altar compositions in cave temples in South-West Crimea. In the interiors of the cave temples of Inkerman, there are: simple linear ornaments, complex plant reports, linear ornaments with complex weaving and plant elements.

THE ROMAN SILVER COIN ASSEMBLAGE FROM THE FRONTOVOYE 3 NECROPOLIS TOMB 3 (SOUTHWESTERN CRIMEA): INVESTIGATION OF METAL BY MEANS OF X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY AND PB ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS

В статье представлены результаты исследования химического состава металла и изотопного состава Pb в серебре группы римских монет из раскопок могильника Фронтовое 3 (Юго-Западный Крым). Из погребения 3 происходят семь монет Септимия Севера, Плавтиллы, Гордиана III, Филиппа I, отчеканенные на монетном дворе Рима. Данные о составе металла этих монет сопоставлены с результатами анализа других римских монет данного периода. Исследования изотопного состава Pb в римских серебряных монетах из Фронтового 3 и денариях из раскопок Горгиппии показывают, что наиболее вероятным источником серебра для чеканки римских монет, найденных на территории Северного Причерноморья, являлись стратиформные серебро-полиметаллические месторождения Центрального массива Франции. The article presents the results of investigation of a group of Roman silver coins from the excavations of the Frontovoye 3 burial ground (the Southwestern Crimea). Seven coins of Septimius Severus, Plautilla, Gordian III, and Philip I, struck in the mint of Rome, were discovered in tomb 3. Data on the metal composition of these coins are compared with the results of analysis of other Roman coins of this period. The Pb isotopic analysis of the Roman silver coins from Frontovoye 3 and the denarii from the excavations at Gorgippia shows that the stratiform silver-polymetallic deposits of the Massif Central in France was the most likely source of silver for mintage of Roman coins found in the North Pontic Region.

Element Contents in Three Commercially Important Edible Mollusks Harvested off the Southwestern Coast of Crimea (Black Sea) and Assessment of Human Health Risks from Their Consumption

Mollusks are a prospective food for the world’s growing population, but the contents of toxic and essential trace elements in them have not been studied comprehensively. In this work, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, the contents of 72 elements in soft tissues of the edible mollusks Mytilus galloprovincialis, Rapana venosa, and Crassostrea gigas from the coastal area of the southwestern Crimea were estimated and compared with the maximum permissible levels. Element accumulation similarities were observed in the two bivalve species. Cluster analysis applied to the non-normalized contents allowed finding an optimal number of non-overlapping element clusters: 1 group of macroelements, 1–2 groups of trace elements, and 1–2 groups of ultratrace elements. As an outcome of this analysis, the element accumulation universality index was introduced, which demonstrated the accumulation universality decrease in the order: mussel > sea snail > oyster. An original approach to estimating the mollusk consumption rate was proposed to assess human health risks. Two possible consumption scenarios were identified for Crimean residents. From the expected consumption of all species in both scenarios, there are no health risks, but they are not excluded, within the 95% probability, from high consumption of mussels and sea snails in the pessimistic scenario.

Geomorphology and Neotectonics of Southwestern Crimea

—The area of southwestern Crimea includes the ending of the Crimean Mountains that arose during the neotectonic activation at the place of the Cretaceous–Paleogene denudation plain and the adjacent shallow-water carbonate sedimentation basin. The Crimean Mountains are one of the links of the Alpine–Himalayan orogenic belt formed during the collision of the Eurasian, African, and Indo–Australian plates. Their area includes late Cenozoic marine terraces of the complete Mediterranean series and a staircase of Neogene, Paleogene and Cretaceous planation surfaces over them. The planation surfaces of different ages resulted from the successive lowering of the World Ocean level. Their subsequent deformations make it possible to outline the area of the neotectonic uplifting and determine its parameters. The main mechanism of the neotectonic activation was the thrust of the East Black Sea microplate under the Scythian one and the formation of a ramp fold structure. The amplitude of the neotectonic uplifting of southwestern Crimea for the past 2 Myr varies from 0 to 800 m, i.e., is up to 0.04 mm/year. The recent neotectonic structure of the area is formed by the northern flank of the ramp fold; it is a monocline of NW dip consisting of “keys” of NW strike separated by the latest faults with vertical displacements of 10 to 120 m. The uplifting of the area and the lowering of the World Ocean level led to a widespread of denudation surfaces. Their good preservation makes it possible to refine the sequence of neotectonic events, whose first pulses reached the study area in the Oligocene, and the main activation phase began in the Pliocene.

Byzantine Healing Amulets from Southwestern Crimea

Introduction. The article presents two unique items from the Southwestern Crimea – a bronze finger ring with an image of a lion-headed serpent Chnoubis, originating from a female burial of the first quarter of the 7 th century of the Gothic-Alanian burial ground near the village of Luchistoye, and a bronze medallion, which was found in the area of the village of Goncharnoye, with magic signs, formulas and an image of Chnoubis, which is tied to an altar, fighting a snake. Methods. According to some similar findings from the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire, the ring and the medallion are attributed to the group of Byzantine medical amulets. The amulets of the Early Byzantine time demonstrate continuity with pre-Christian magical practices, therefore, late ancient magical gems and texts were involved to decipher the plots and inscriptions engraved on those amulets. Analysis. The finger ring was intended to improve digestion and to treat diseases of a digestive tract. The woman who owned the item was wearing it in a chest necklace, at the level of her stomach – just as it was recommended in medical treatises to wear amulets for abdominal pain. The medallion was a complex amulet intended for women. Chnoubis in the scene of fighting the snake and the spell ÐÉÍÏ are depicted on both sides of the medallion. In one case, Chnoubis is a guardian of a stomach and a fighter against diseases of the digestive tract, whose actions are enhanced by the three times repeated spell ÐÉÍÏ, which contributes to better digestion. In the second case, Chnoubis is a defender of women’s health, and the disappearing word ÐÉÍÏ should help stop pathological uterine bleeding. The action of the amulet is enhanced by a formula against demons that cause disease, and its healing properties are confirmed by the inscription ÕÃÉÁ (health). Such an amulet should be worn suspended from the neck by a long cord, or fastened to the belt. Results. Both items belong to the group of medical magic amulets. They were brought from the Eastern Mediterranean provinces of the Empire, where in the 6th – 7th centuries there were magic amulets similar in form and repertoire of protective means. The appearance of such items among the Gothic-Alanian population of the Southwestern Crimea is not surprising. The influence of the Byzantine civilization on all aspects of the life of the local population in the Early Middle Ages can be traced both from written sources and from numerous archaeological findings.