Voroshilova O.M.

Key words: Asian Bosporus, Phanagoreia, necropolis, burial rite, wooden sarcophagi, relief ornaments.
The article covers relief ornaments on wooden sarcophagi from burial complexes at Phanagoreia. The article is the first compilation of all currently known appliqué work in clay and plaster from the necropolis in the capital city of the Asian Bosporus. The relief artifacts from the funeral inventory were made of plaster and clay (burnt and unburnt). The most representative series of ornaments comprises relief images of the Gorgon Medusa. The relief images were popular for quite a short period of time (middle of the 1st – middle of the 2nd cc. AD) and hence can be considered as fairly precise chronological indicators. The diversity of the relief ornaments and the use of different colors, besides serving decorative purposes, had a ritual meaning and reflected specific notions of the afterlife. Since such artifacts have been found both in ground crypts and in covered pits, we may assume that both types of burial structure were used for burials of fairly wealthy residents of the capital city of the Asian Bosporus.