Count Aleksey Uvarov as a Researcher of Olbia and Its Outskirts
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The paper is focused on the description of the visits of сount Aleksey Uvarov (1824—1884) to Olbia in 1848 and 1853. During the first visit, carried out as part of a scientific excursion to the Northwest Pontic coast, count Uvarov examined the ruins of Olbia and gathered information about the burial mounds excavated near it. The article details his descriptions of the ruins of Olbia and the excavations of five burial mounds carried out before him in 1832—1844. Particular attention is paid to the finds from the burial mound excavated in 1842, including a golden mask, the only one found in Olbia. It was probably the burial of a member of the Sarmatian elite. This information was published by him in the first volume of «Studies on the Antiquities of Southern Russia and the Black Sea Coast» (1851). In addition, thanks to the participation of a professional artist Moritz Webel (1821—1875) in the expedition, watercolors of Olbia’s views were painted. Also, on behalf of count Uvarov, two plans of Olbia and its surroundings were created, which are of important scientific interest. In 1853, count Uvarov excavated six burial mounds in the southern part of the Olbian necropolis, near Shiroka Balka, which had been looted before. In addition, several excavation areas were carried down in the lower city of Olbia, mainly in its southern part. Unfortunately, the information about these excavations is very limited. A separate subject is the exploration by count Uvarov in 1848 of the burial mound «Grave of Malaya Katarzha». This barrow is located on the top of the plateau formed by the shore of the Budak estuary and the Gulf of Shabalat, 2.5 km southwest of the village of Belenkoye (Shabalat) and 3.4 km northwest of the Black Sea. The participation of count Uvarov to the excavation of this particular, extant burial mound, is shown for the first time.
Authors: O. Kuzmishchev, I. Sapozhnykov
Institution: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4407009992