To the discovery of the stamped Roman mortarius in Panticapaeum: a new source about the Roman military presence on the Bosporus

Abstract

The article publishes a fragment of a stamped Roman mortarius, accidentally found during construction work in Kerch (antique Panticapaeum). Inspite of all the ordinariness of the stamp, this mark is a unique find for the European Bosporus. The recorded analogies of finds in Moesia and other parts of the Northern Black Sea region (Tyra, Olbia, Chersonessus) allow us to conclude, that mortarius is associated with the presence of Roman troops on the Bosporus in the late 2nd – early 3rd centuries AD.

Keywords

• bosporus
• ceramics
• moesia
• mortar
• north black sea area
• rom
• stamps