The Harbour of Olbia

The systematic study of harbours in the ancient world is a relatively recent development, which has progressed significantly in the last few decades. In the larger Northern Black Sea area the number of explored harbours is still very small, and only very few of them have demonstrated evidence for the presence of artificial facilities in antiquity. The Milesian colony of Olbia Pontica on the Northwestern Black Sea coast has produced considerable archaeological evidence with respect to its harbour and harbour area. The present work is a comprehensive analysis of relevant inscriptions, graffiti, and architectural remains from the Lower City of Olbia, as well as other pertinent material, which allows a reconstruction of the Olbian harbour area for some periods of its existence. It shows, in particular, that during the Hellenistic period the Olbian harbour area must have been comparable to major contemporaneous Mediterranean harbours in structure and organization. It also demonstrates that the harbour of the Berezan settlement, established by Milesian colonists in the 7th century BC prior to the foundation of Olbia Pontica in the same area, may have functioned for a longer period than is often recognized and possibly for different reasons than have been suggested before.