CHERSON IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE XIII – XIV CENTURIES: TO THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CITY

Abstract

The article briefl y highlights the main approaches to considering the history of Chersonesus in the last stages of its existence (in the second half of the XII – XIV centuries) and gives a critical assessment of some of them. The work is divided into two parts. In the first part, an attempt was made to clarify the dating of the fire that engulfed most of the city in the third quarter of the XIII century and a hypothesis was put forward about the possibility of the presence of two layers (in the third quarter and the end of the XIII century) associated with destruction. The second part of the work examines various versions of the destruction of the city in the XIV century. Based on the analysis of written records and comparing them with archaeological material, an assumption was made about the destruction of Cherson during Mamai’s campaign in the summer of 1365. Probably, along with Cherson, its surrounding area could have suffered significantly. Among the places that could have been aff ected during Mamai's campaign is the skete on the Cape Vinogradny.

Keywords

• archaeology
• fire layer of the xiii century
• destruction of the xiv century
• chersonesus
• сherson
• archaeological complex
• glazed pottery
• cherson in the xiii –xiv centuries