Vnukov S.Yu.

Key words: Abkhazia, Dioskurias-Sebastopolis, amphorae production, “brown clay” amphorae, amphorae production centers, amphorae typology.
The article studies the morphology, chronology and composition of the clay mass of Classical “brown clay” amphorae and identifies the vessels that could have been manufactured in Abkhazia. The author lists the specific features of the clay mass and the technologies of the Abkhazian amphorae, identifies new varieties of Late Roman vessels, and gives a preliminary outline of their chronology and evolution. The amphorae that were manufactured in Abkhazia (in Dioskurias-Sebastopolis for instance) in Hellenistic and Roman times had specific technological and compositional features, and were similar in shape to contemporaneous vessels from other regions within the East and Southeast Pontic area.