The olbian necropolis of the archaic period

The state hermitage possesses a very rich collection of items from the excavations in the olbian necropolis undertaken by b.v. Farmakovskii between 1902 and 1915. Some 300 burials were found in this period. Individual archaic burials were found throughout the necropolis, but the main concentration, excavated in 1908-15, was found to the west of the city, close to an important roadway.

Inhumation was the dominant rite in the olbian necropolis: inhumation burials of adults in a pit grave are very numerous; inhumations of children in pit graves were in amphorae or pithoi. No clay sarcophagi have been found in the necropolis. In rich burials there were fragments of wood from a sarcophagus or kline. Only one child burial has a cist of clay tile.

Archaic burials date from second quarter of the 6th century to first quarter of the 5th century bc. The finds from the necropolis consist mainly of pottery - east greek, corinthian and attic - bronze items, glass and jewellery (gold and silver). The study of the east greek pottery from the necropolis confirms that a considerable proportion of it was of north ionian origin and only a very small portion south ionian. From the middle of the 6th century the bulk of the pottery was attic (black-figured and black-glazed) and corinthian (late corinthian period).

Gravestones are very rare. Only one fragment of a kouros and one of a stele were within the necropolis. Typical offerings Gravestones are very rare. Only one fragment of a kouros and one of a stele were found within the necropolis. Typical offerings in graves include a bottle-shaped pottery for hanging, clay rattles in child graves, funerary eggs or imitations in stone or clay.