Ceramic and Stone Bread Stamps of Taurica. To the Question of the Allocation of Stylistic Groups

Abstract

Introduction. Among the liturgical objects of the Byzantine Christian cult, liturgical bread stamps make up a special category. Despite the fact that they have become widespread on the territory of the Byzantine Empire since late antique and early medieval times, for medieval Crimea they remain a rare find. The source base of the work consists of 34 ceramic and limestone bread stamps, discovered in different years in almost all regions of medieval Taurica. Of these, only 3 copies were not introduced into scientific circulation, which greatly simplifies the work and avoids unnecessary repetitions. Bronze and wooden bread stamps, which have a pronounced originality, are not considered in this work. Methods and materials. The standard methods, which usually involved for the study of archaeological materials, are used in the work: stratigraphic, typological, and comparative. Analysis. Despite the fact that each bread stamp found on the peninsula has individual features, the work for the first time made an attempt to distinguish several stable stylistic groups. The main criterion is the design features of the objects and the arrangement of the elements forming the composition. Results. The data obtained made it possible to conclude that today we can talk about 8 groups in which stamps of different morphology are presented. The chronological scope of the occurrence and the period of existence of each of these groups is different. Archaeological complexes are also different, where products of a particular group were recorded. In quantitative terms, the groups are also not uniform. Some of them form single specimens of prosphores, others are more numerous.