Vadim V. Maiko^a,#

^aInstitute of Archaeology of Crimea RAS, Simferopol, Russia

^#E-mail: vadimmaiko1966@mail.ru

Keywords: eastern Taurica, second half of 13th century, Sugdea, Cypriot pottery, trade, material culture.

The article considers a rare category of medieval pottery of Crimea represented by the Byzantine dish made in Cyprus in the second half of the 13th century. It was found during underwater investigation in the bay of Novy Svet settlement, where the main city port of medieval Sugdea was located during the period in question. The author concludes that the reasons for the arrival of Cypriot ceramics in the city are associated with various seafaring trade routes and active trade operations whose centre was Cyprus, particularly in the last third 13th century, owing to its geographical location and political situation. The dish under analysis is most likely associated with the well-known shipwreck at the bottom of Novy Svet Bay clearly dated from the last third of the 13th century. A high proportion of imported pottery, including Byzantine, of almost all types and variants known today is a feature of the material culture of the peninsula’s eastern part during that period. It was Sugdea and Bosporus encouraged by the Golden Horde administration, that seized the initiative from Chersonesos in the second half of the 13th century to become the largest trade centres in the entire Taurica.

DOI: 10.31857/S0869606322020131