Amphora container of the second half of the 6th – 5th centuries BC from underwater excavations near Cape Ak Burun

The article is devoted to the publication of ceramic containers of the 6th – 5th centuries BC from excavations of the bottom sections of the Kerch Bay within the boundaries of the AkBurun Bay Archaeological Museum – an extensive burial site of bottom sediments moved here from the Genoese harbor of Kerch during dredging operations in the second half of the 1970s. The amphora complex includes a standard, although incomplete set of container types, including vessels from Chios, Thasos, Klazomenae, Miletus, Samos, etc. A significant part of the finds are represented by large fragments of vessels, and sometimes whole or archaeologically intact forms. The earliest of them are dated within the second half of the 6th century BC. Considering that during excavations of the acropolis of Panticapaeum complexes of an earlier period were discovered, it can be assumed that the ancient port of Panticapaeum was located in another part of the Kerch Bay, or the cultural layer deposited around the ancient city pier was not damaged during dredging operations and is still preserved in the Genoese harbor.