THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES OF B. V. FARMAKOVSKY IN OLBIA PONTICA

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the outstanding scholar B. V. Farmakovsky in honor of the 130th anniversary of the beginning of his archaeological research in Olbia Pontica and the 100th anniversary of its completion. For these dates the most important biographical data and an assessment of his scientific achievements are presented. The main results of his excavations are highlighted, the influence of the scholar on subsequent generations of archaeologists, mainly Ukrainian researchers is noted, and for the first time the most significant sites Olbia discovered by him are singled out. The archaeological and scientific activities of Boris Vladimirovich Farmakovsky were largely connected with the ancient Greek polis of Olbia. Due to the tireless and fruitful work in various fields of antique archaeology and culture B.V. Farmakovsky has a high reputation as an experienced and talented archaeologist. His scientific research method is characterized by a combination of meticulous analysis of each archaeological site, comparing it with others to establish ethnic identification and chronology, and its significance in the general context of antique spiritual heritage. First of all, it is worth noting B. V. Farmakovsky’s extremely important contribution to the development and application of the method of layer-by-layer square excavation of large areas, which is a universally recognized model for excavating antique sites. To this day, B.V. Farmakovsky’s works have not lost their scientific value, although, of course, improved technical means and the latest archaeological discoveries at the current level of knowledge have led to a revision of some of his judgments and hypotheses. Many articles have been dedicated to B. V. Farmakovsky, mostly on the occasion of anniversaries and obituaries which highlighted his unsurpassed archaeological and scientific achievements. Among them, we have selected the most significant sites discovered by him in Olbia. First of all, these are two unique large stone crypts with monumental revetments under high mounds of the 2nd century AD — Euresibios Kallisthenou and Arethe Papiou and «Zeus» mounds outside the city of the post-Getic period, as well as their graphic reconstruction. B. V. Farmakovsky researched the Olbia necropolis and published a huge number of burials from different periods of the city’s existence. Later, they became the main basis for three special monographs: Yu. I. Kozub on the Classical period (1974), M. Parovich-Peshykan on the Hellenistic period (1974), and V. M. Skudnova on the Archaic period (1988). In total, they published 760 burials from these periods. B. V. Farmakovsky is also credited with the discovery of the architectural and construction remains of two residential buildings unique to Olbia, which belonged to the wealthiest citizens of the Hellenistic period, and their graphic reconstruction. These are the «House near Zeus’s Mound» or «House with Mosaics» in the Upper City and the «House with an Altar» or «House NGF 2» in the Lower City of Olbia. A special place in the history of Olbia is occupied by the monumental stone structures of the southwestern defensive wall and northern gates of the city from the Hellenistic period and the fortress wall of the Roman citadel, researched by B. V. Farmakovsky. In addition, the most notable sites include the temple of Apollo Prostatus from the first centuries AD and numerous epigraphic and archaeological materials, on the basis of which subsequent scholars identified the location of the first temenos of Olbia from the 6th century BC — the first half of the 3rd century AD on the southwestern hill of the Upper City of Olbia. In general, the scientific and archaeological heritage of B. V. Farmakovsky is inexhaustible. To this day, unpublished materials from his excavations, stored in museums, are still being introduced into scientific circulation. Rare items are examined in various aspects, individual groups of original finds are studied, compared with the latest sources, chronology and attribution are reviewed, etc. A new generation of archaeologists also uses the scholar’s source database, continues to study it, and applies his methods of systematic excavations of Olbia and the necropolis. Based on all of the above, it can be assumed that modern researchers are his followers, which gives reason to talk about the Olbian archaeological school of B. V. Farmakovsky.