The present study is devoted to viticulture and wine-production - the main components of economic activities undertaken by residents of Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus in the 6th c. BC to the 6th c. AD, to the most important aspects of these activities in the agrarian history of antique centres in the Northern Black Sea and Mediterranean regions, as well as to economic, social and religious issues connected with this kind of production..

?CONTENTS

• Foreword
• Introduction:
  • 1. Brief historical outline of ancient viticulture and wine-production.
  • 2. Viticulture in antique States of the Northern Black Sea area – history of studies.
  • 3. Sources.
• Part I. Natural-geographic conditions influencing the development of viticulture and wine-production in antique States of the Northern Black Sea area.
  • 1. Climate and viticulture.
  • 2. Climate features of the vine as an agricultural product.
  • 3. Local natural conditions influencing the productivity of vineyards and the quality of wine.
  • 4. Natural-geographic areas of antique States of the Northern Black Sea area:
    • - Olbia;
    • - Chersonesus;
    • - Bosphorus.
• Part II. Viticulture in Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus.
  • 1. Acclimatization of the vine and the initial development of viticulture in the Northern Black Sea area.
  • 2. Viticulture in the State of Olbia.
  • 3. Viticulture in the State of Chersonesus.
  • 4. Viticulture in the State of Bosphorus.
  • 5. Viticulture in the Scythian State in Crimea.
• Part III. Agrotechnology of ancient viticulture.
  • 1. Antique agrotechnical installations and working methods used in vineyards.
  • 2. Natural conditions and inner structure of cleri with vineyard plots.
  • 3. Special features of agrotechnical installations in vineyards.
  • 4. Safety of "planting walls" (i.e. those dividing the vineyard plot)and fences in vineyards.
  • 5. Time and labour spent to establish a vineyard.
  • 6. Systems of planting vines, depth of planting and types of planting material.
  • 7. Negative consequences of agrotechnical activities connected with viticulture and the role of anthropogenic factors in changing the ecological situation in the Northern Black Sea area.
  • 8. Calendar of field works in vineyards.
  • 9. Agricultural instruments used in vineyards.
  • 10.Vintage:
    • - Time and types of vintage.
    • - Composition and number of vintagers.
    • - Subsidiary instruments of vintagers.
    • - Transportation of the vine.
    • - Keeping the vine for food.
• Part IV. Wine-production in antique States of the Northern Black Sea area.
  • 1. Wine-producing installations in antique States of the Northern Black Sea area.
    • - monolithic distilleries;
    • - composite distilleries.
  • 2. Distilleries in the State of Olbia:
    • - monolithic distilleries;
    • - composite distilleries with a standard disposition of reservoirs.
  • 3. Distilleries in the State of Chersonesus:
    • - monolithic distilleries;
    • - composite distilleries with a standard disposition of reservoirs.
  • 4. Distilleries on territories neighbouring the State of Chersonesus.
  • 5. Distilleries in the State of Bosphorus:
    • - main types of monolithic winepresses;
    • - composite distilleries with a standard disposition of reservoirs;
    • - composite distilleries with a non-standard disposition of reservoirs.
  • 6. Territorial location of wine-producing installations.
  • 7. Typical features of monolithic and composite wine-producing, installations in antique States of the Northern Black Sea area.
  • 8. Fermenting installations, wine depositories and subsidiary wine-producing installations.
  • 9. Comparative analysis of wine-producing installations in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.
  • 10. Technology and ancient and traditional wine-production.
• Part V. Role of viticulture and wine-production in the economy of antique States of the Northern Black Sea area.
  • 1. Productivity of vineyards and quality of wine.
  • 2.Vineyard productivity factors influencing the quality of the production.
  • 3. Productivity of vineyards.
  • 4. Profitability of viticulture and wine-production.
  • 5. Economy of wine-production:
    • - productivity of wine-producing complexes;
    • - profitability of wine-production;
    • - the realization of the production, the refunding of expenses and the profit received.
  • 6.Antique wine trades:
    • - the sea and land trade routes in the Northern Black Sea area;
    • - special features of wine trade through sea and land routes;
    • - wine as trade article;
    • - antique packing for transporting wine and its materials;
    • - transportation expenses depending on the type of transportation;
    • - the cost of wine;
    • - types of wine trade and its participants;
    • - trade contracts and the organization of wine trade;
    • - State regulations and the income from viticulture, wine production and trade;
    • - wine trade in Olbia;
    • - wine trade in Chersonesus;
    • - wine trade in Bosphorus.
  • 7. Special features of city, temple, private and State viticulture and wine-production.
  • 8. Dynamics and development stages of viticulture and wine-production in antique States of the Northern Black Sea area(myths and reality of special features in Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus).
• Conclusion
• Addenda
  • Addendum I. Classification and catalogue of garden-viticulture knives.
  • Addendum II. Aspects of the classification of wine-production monuments.
  • Addendum III. Chronology and summarized catalogues of wine-production monuments of the northern Black Sea area.
  • Addendum IV. Wine-production monuments in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions and Central Asia.
  • Addendum V. Viticulture, wine-production and religion.
  • Addendum VI. Culture of wine consumption; information on the provision of military troops with vine and norms of wine consumption; products of viticulture; wine and medicine in antiquity.
• Archives materials and literature
• List of abbreviations
• List of illustrations
• Illustrations

The present study is devoted to viticulture and wine-production - the main components of economic activities undertaken by residents of Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus in the 6th c. BC to the 6th c. AD, to the most important aspects of these activities in the agrarian history of antique centres in the Northern Black Sea and Mediterranean regions, as well as to economic, social and religious issues connected with this kind of production..

The book is based on the study of all antique wine-producing installations found on the territory of the Northern Black Sea area and on the analysis of materials connected with viticulture and wine-production, the publications and archives information collected in archaeological institutions of Ukraine and Russia which are supplemented with materials found during excavations led by the author of the book in Eastern Crimea. Besides analysing numerous publications on the history and technology of wine-production the author studied in detail the process of cultivating the vine from the time of its domestication and the technology of wine-production; he also undertook the reconstruction of ways and methods used in antiquity to produce wine. The author took into consideration the experience of wine-growers and wine-producers of Crimea, Moldavia, Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the information on the wine-production in various areas of the Mediterranean region and displayed in his book various ethnographic details and the description of wine-producing installations.

The publication is meant for archaeologists, historians, professors and students of historical faculties as well as amateurs of antique history and archaeology.

FOREWORD

The monograph "Viticulture and wine-production in antique States of the Northern Black Sea area" is a broadened, revised and re-edited version of the study "Wine-production in antique Bosphorus" by N. I. Vinokurov which was published in 1999. The new study devoted to a larger region and a greater number of various issues, is based on materials received through archaeological excavations of antique monuments in the Northern Black Sea area and compared with an abundant analogous information from various areas of the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions.

For a better reception of the material by those reading the book its author did not reduce significantly the sections and illustrations published in 1999. Otherwise a serious reader would be obliged to address himself to the studies published previously and the conclusions and hypotheses proposed in the monograph would seem unfounded and unconvincing. Besides this such a monograph would not contain a complete collection of archaeological sources on the wine-production in the Northern Black Sea area.

The number and quality of sources and the existence of preliminary publications determined the different volume of certain sections in this book. The section devoted to viticulture is based first of all on the material from Chersonesus since here, compared with other antique centres of the Northern Black Sea area, this branch of agriculture is better displayed in sources and analysed in research literature. For the time being the wine-production is better analysed in Bosphorus; that is why the respective part of the study is based on the material from Bosphorus, but the information on wine-production from Chersonesus and Olbia is also used as far as this is possible and generalized for the first time.

While writing his book its author took into consideration the natural-geographic factor and used on a broad scale evidences of written sources as well as ethnographic and statistic data for the reconstruction of ancient agrotechnical and wine-production means; the analysis of various types of sources was based on their iconographic, comparative study.

The author of the book paid a special attention to the study of antique viticulture, to methods of cultivating the vine, to ancient technologies of wine-production as well as to the special role of viticulture and wine-production in the economy and history of antique States of the Northern Black Sea area.

Various materials based on facts and displayed in a united presentation, their detailed study and the conclusions received are very important for analysing the economy of Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus and determine the research priorities, tasks and goals of further historical studies of agriculture in the Northern Black Sea area

CONCLUSION

The viticulture end wine-production are the most important branches of agricultural activities which appeared in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions as far beck as the very beginning of human civilization. Like all analogous productive activities they experienced the evolution from primitive to more complicated forms. The viticulture and wine-production reached their true flourishing in the Bronze and early Iron Ages when wine became one of the most important products to be used by the residents of these regions as food and article supplied and demanded in trade.

The Northern Black Sea coast formed part of the natural area where the vine was spread out; it is quite possible that here the first attempts were made to incorporate it into culture in the Bronze Age and maybe even earlier.

When the Greek colonization started this region became a proving ground sui generis for adapting imported vines, for using the local wild vine to cultivate grape sorts adapted in the best way to local natural conditions and the requirements of Greek agrotechnology.

The broad spread out of viticulture started within the general, economic development of the Northern Black Sea area which was undertaken by Greek colonizers who adapted successfully the vine imported from various areas of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions and domesticated the local sorts of the vine. This process seems to have taken place everywhere in the States of Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus, but only the local natural conditions helped reach successful results.

The conditions of the natural milieu determined in many respects the character and special features of viticulture and wine-production in various areas of Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus.

The economic process of mastering the natural resources gradually determined localities where grape sorts and agrotechnology imported from Greece by the colonizers were settled down - in spite of some negative climate factors - and successively improved during the whole period of antiquity. These localities included microgeographic areas which proved to be the most adapted for cultivating the vine. Specialized viticultural and wine-producing farms with a doubtless productivity started developping in these areas.

The viticulture and wine-production of the Northern Black Sea area are based on principles and recommendations elaborated by the antique agronomic science and practice partially reflected in written sources and ethnographic evidences.

The following points were established through the comparative analysis of a large number of wine-producing installations of the Mediterranean, Western and Eastern Black Sea regions and Central Asia with tie antique wine-producing installations of the Northern Black Sea area:

1. The closest and earliest analogies of the monolithic winepresses are in the Syro-Palestinian region and those of the later period are in various areas of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. Those are rather conservative wine-pressing installations in their outlook and metric parameters.
2. The stationary monolithic winepresses with a unique reservoir and one-two pressing platforms, repeating the plan of composite distilleries, but much more archaic, are found only in Chersonesus. Here they are very well represented and form a large part of wine-producing installations, stressing for the time being a certain peculiarity of the Chersonesus wine-producing area which has been quite possibly inherited from the metropoly. Such stationary wine-presses are not yet found in Olbia and Bosphorus.
3. While using Chersonesus materials - in contrast to those from Bosphorus - one could not establish the improving of the construction of distilleries in order to increase their productivity and the profitability of wine-production.
4. Because of their simple and cheap construction stationary monolithic winepresses were rather appropriate from a technical viewpoint. It is not accidental that such winepresses were broadly used in Crimean mountains in the medieval period.
5. Our analysis permits us to say with a certain degree of certitude that a large part of monolithic winepresses was used not for the initial pressing of grapes with feet, but only for the secondary processing of the crushed pulp with the press. The absence of composite distilleries in Chersonesus wine-producing farms1 presupposes that grape berries were initially split with feet in wooden vats which are not preserved in our natural conditions for quite evident reasons and, therefore, are not found during archaeological excavations. It is quite possible that wooden winepresses were used far home wine-production in Olbia and Bosphorus.
6. In Bosphorus the processing of trade volumes of grapes with feet took place mainly on winepress platforms of composite distilleries, the crushed pulp was pressed on stationary press bed immured into the web of one of winepressing platforms, or beyond the distillery - at an autonomous monolithic winepress. This gave a chance to manipulate freely the outflow and collection of the must. It is quite possible that the Chersonesus wine-growers used a less sophisticated wine-producing technology and technics in farms producing wine for trade, not to mention the home production, since their pressing installations to receive the must were not so perfect.
7. The large mass of composite distilleries of Bosphorus and 01-bia is based on a classical plan schema - with one, two-three neighbouring reservoirs and several main and subsidiary pressing platforms, usually with a press.
8. The analysis of available archaeological and ethnographic materials indicates that composite distilleries with one reservoir, one-two pressing platforms should be considered as the most spread out in all areas of the Mediterranean, Black Sea regions and Central Asia. Compared with other wine-producing installations they even dominated in some territories. In the Northern Black Sea area such distilleries existed in Cercinitides, in village farms of Chersonesus, in Olbia, in cities and villages of Bosphorus. It is interesting that analogous wine-producing installations were used till recent times in wine-producing farms of Algeria, Greece, Italy-and Caucasus.
9. But in general composite distilleries with two or three neighbouring reservoirs, so typical for Bosphorus, Olbia and rare In Chersonesus, are not typical for other wine-producing areas. Because of local technological peculiarities of wine-production and a variety of grape sorts these distilleries had a simple and rather complicated system of the outflow and collection of the must which permitted to ancient wine-growers to use in the most rational way all pressing platforms of the distilleries without fear that the production could be spoiled because of an accidental mixture of the must of various sorts or the must received through various technological operations. We should stress that distilleries with a complicated system of the outflow of the must are found only in large wine-producing farms of Bosphorus. These wine-producing installations are the most complicated and expensive.
10. The main evolution lines of the development of composite distilleries in Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus differed from the schemas of the development of distilleries in other regions, especially in Roman times; they represent a local but nevertheless uniform group of monuments. However sometimes there are here original distilleries of an unusual construction which have no analogy neither in Northern Black Sea area, nor in other wine-producing areas.
11. Probably antique wine-producing complexes could not be of the same type in their details and do not repeat exactly each other because of various peculiarities of the wine-producing technology which developed in isolated natural areas and territorial microareas in the context of processing local sorts of grapes which proved to be the most adapted to local conditions.
12. In Antiquity there were sorts of grapes and groups of sorts which were strictly localized; that is why there were also restricted local methods of wine-production which are reflected in the peculiarities of the construction of distilleries. But it is not always possible to reconstruct these "local" methods of wine-production, even if constructive differences in distilleries, wine depositaries and fermenting installations are quite evident.

The recent archaeological data permit us to affirm that the wine-producing farms of antique States in the Northern Black Sea area were dominated by the Greek wine-producing technology presupposing not only specific agrotechnical methods of cultivating and collecting grapes, but also the preparation of grapes in pithos dug in the, ground on different levels.

The Greek wine-production tradition, especially the late one the Byzantine tradition gave preference to small and medium pithos since the fermentation in big vessels proved to be worse and often the fermenting wine ran away and lost not only its smell but also its colour. The small vessels, on the contrary, contributed to the preservation and good quality of the wine.

The assortment of vines and the quality of the wine prepared according to the Greek technology, satisfied not only the Greeks, but also the Barbarians who used the Greek agrotechnology, sorts of grapes, methods of wine-production and preparation of pottery vessels for the wine even on territories which were far from the Greek States.

The main part of the wine produced at home in the Northern Black Sea area corresponded most likely to ordinary sorts of grapes and foresaw the mass consumption of wine during the first harvest year. At the same time it is quite probable that in the Northern Black Sea area many "industrial" distilleries working for trade were meant to produce high-quality wine. They processed the harvest of elitarian vineyards following the Greek technology and produced wine of the best quality which can be qualified as wine of liqueur type. But in certain points the best local wines were still of a lower quality than Greek wines produced in the South. This is indirectly confirmed by a significant amount of wine imported to this region.

The recent studies and excavations permit to establish the schema of the development of viticulture and vine-production - for Olbia only in general terms and for Chersonesus and Bosphorus quite clearly, and to distinguish six main stages in the history of antique viniculture and wine-production in the Northern Black Sea area which are determined by climate changes and peculiarities of the historical and economic development of States in this area.

At the initial stage (6th to 4th cc. BC) the imported vines were adapted in order to create out of local grape sorts cold-resisting and early harvesting clones meeting the requirements of Greek agriculture and wine-production technology.

At the second stage(4th-3d cc. BC) the successful acclimatization of the vine was completed in general terms thanks to the softening of the climate. This meant an agrarian-technological revolution sui generis which significantly changed the economic profile of the chora of many Greek cities and influenced all the economic structure of antique States in the Northern Black Sea area. This stage of the development of viticulture in this area was determined by a mass delimitation of the land property on the territory of antique States so that a part of this land unadapted to other kinds of agricultural activities was allotted for the needs of viticulture.

All this does not confirm the established scientific opinion that agrotechnical methods mentioned above and the Greek systems of land allotting which were found in Chersonesus, are unique for the whole Mediterranean-Black Sea region. Such agrarian structures connected first of all with viticulture, are found on the territory of Bosphorus, but, most likely, on a much larger scale than in the Chersonesus chora. This supposition is confirmed by the data of aerial photography.

In order to master lands unadapted for viticulture the peasants of the Northern Black Sea area used special agrotechnical methods elaborated by the Greek agronomic science in the metropoly. Those were rather labour - intensive and expensive measures for creating an artificial fertile layer, for planning the surface of the plots, for building up "planting walls" and terraces and laying down communications.

On the lands cultivated in this way adapted vine sorts were planted, planting methods adequate to local soil and climate conditions were used as well as those protecting the vine bushes from low temperature, hot dry winds and the winds of dominating compass points. Thanks to this the Greek peasants could - although with great difficulties - adapt on a maximum scale even infertile lands for the needs of viticulture, and level in a .certain degree the negative natural conditions; this led in some cases to the creation of a special cultured agrarian space which changed significantly the initial natural landscape.

The full economic mastering of new lands with complicated, very labour-intensive and expensive agrotechnical installations built up on them developed through many years, gradually, not at the same time, but in many local areas of Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus; one should remember that agrotechnical methods did not remain always unchanged. Probably one should not exaggerate the use of the labour of slaves or half-dependent groups of the population in these works.

In Chersonesus and Bosphorus on infertile lands with rocks being not far from the surface one can observe an evident similarity in principles of organizing the agrarian territory, in methods of cultivating the soil for vineyards and in ways of their building up; certain parallels can be established in the layout and plan of the cleri, in types of "planting walls" and ways of their building up, in the system of communications and in the agrotechnical viticulture in general. It is not excluded that they were also used in vineyards organized in subsidiary natural areas of the State of Olbia, e.g. where the aerial photography permits to establish traces of antique layout.

In Bosphorus and Chersonesus in the 4th-3th cc. BC the development of viticulture and wine-production determined the appearance of the first specialized viticulture farms and distilleries working for trade; the distilleries could process significant amounts of the grape, evidencing in this way the success of the Greek agronomic science, the profitability of financial investments into the local viticulture and wine-production, the interest in these economic branches manifested not only by private landowners, but also by State structures since without them these branches could hardly become so quickly profitable and oriented to large amounts of production meeting not only inner, but also external demands2.

The production of amphora packing for transporting wine, at least in Chersonesus is an eloquent evidence of the local surplus production of wine. One should not deny categorically that amphoras for the wine could be produced in Bosphorus and Olbia end that the wooden and leather packing was also used to prepare and transport wine and its products.

It is quite probable that in antique States of the Northern Black Sea area the trade of wine and its production for trade were monopolized by the States from the Hellenistic period.

The sources attest that from the Hellenistic period Bosphorus predominated remarkably in the number of wine-producing installations. Expensive composite winepresses predominate among them: they are in an evident contrast to the primitive types of monolithic and composite distilleries of Chersonesus, have a monumental, well planned and fundamental construction; this permits us to suppose that principles of organizing the wine-production which required large investments were quite different in Bosphorus and Chersonesus.

The trade distilleries of Olbia in the Hellenistic period are not yet known. One can only suppose why Tyras, area of Olbia, remained mainly the area of wine trade where imported wines were kept, sold and from where they penetrated the Barbarian territories. It is quite possible that some reasons (local natural conditions?) did not permit the local wine-production to become a developed branch of economy at that time.

At the third stage (3d to 1st cc. BC) the normal development of viticulture and wine-production for trade and everyday consumption was strongly hampered in the chora of Olbia and Chersonesus; this was due mainly to the long and exhausting resistance to Barbarians. The States weakened, a large part of the agrarian territory mastered with large material and human resources, was occupied and ruined provoking the decay of the trade viticulture, so that the local wine was hardly sufficient for the local consumption. On the background of these events the production of amphora packing for wine ceased in Chersonesus and in many cleri of the chora several plots of virgin soil remained uncultivated. All this evidences that the potential possibilities of wine-production were not realized, the extensive development of the local viticulture ceased and the wording power necessary to master the soil for vineyards was lacking.

It is interesting that from the Hellenistic period viticulture and wine-production started spreading out among the settled Barbarian population. This process was stimulated by the Greek influence and by the economic use of the former chora of Olbia and Chersonesus by the Barbarians, since here the population still had the experience of cultivating the vine in order to produce wine. Apparently the role of viticulture and wine-production in the economy of, e. g., the late Scythians is underestimated and we still have to analyse not only the structure of Scythian land-tenure, but also the level of Greek participation in its formation.

In the 3d c. BC a certain break down can be observed in the Bosphorus viticulture and wine-production; some specialized wine-producing farms on the Azov coast in Crimea cease existing. A certain stagnation of viticulture and wine-production observed here, continued, most probably, till the 2d c. BC and even in the 1st c. BC. This process provoked probably by natural phenomena and Barbarian invasions did not spread out all over the territory of Bosphorus and had probably a restricted character. According to the data of archaeological materials, in some Bosphorus areas the trade wine-production survived and even developed successfully in the 3d to 1st cc. BC.

At the fourth stage (1st c. BC - 1st c. AD) Bosphorus still played a leading role in processing grapes and producing wine since here the viticulture and wine-production developed in a stable way, compared with other States of the Northern Black Sea area; at the beginning of the Christian chronology this development brought about a real flourishing of the Bosphorus viticulture and wine-production and the favourable natural-climate conditions contributed to this process.

It is quite possible that the unification of Bosphorus medium, big and very big composite distilleries with two-three neighbouring: reservoirs reflects certain construction standards - the consequence of the unification of technology and the State monitoring of the wine-production.

At the fifth stage (1st-late 3d cc. AD) the development of the Bosphorus viticulture and wine-production for trade still remained rather active. In Bosphorus the largest wine-producing enterprises existed not only in cities, but also in villages ,thus forming special wine-producing blocks. The wine-producing installations at the remote (royal?) chora grew remarkably. Practically each Bosphorus settlement cultivated the vine and processed grapes in volumes which were much higher than the local needs. Thanks to the quick turnover of finances it was very profitable to produce wine and that is why from the first centuries AD the wine-production in Bosphorus grew significantly; at the same time the wine-production in Chersonesus decreased.

Following the data of archaeological excavations this period is characterized by a certain increase of viticulture in Olbia which was determined by the stabilization of the economic situation in this State and the growth of the demand for wine. However the small number of local distilleries and their comparatively low power presuppose mainly the satisfaction of local needs of the city and garrison as well as the nearest agricultural territory.

The viticulture and wine-production still developed in Chersonesus but we do not see here any evident production for trade. The majority of wine-producing farms was oriented to the local demand.

The absence of distilleries in Olbia, Chersonesus and Bosphorus which would be similar to the Ronan provincial wine-producing installations, evidences that even in the period when the Northern Black Sea area was included in the area of Roman interests the Greek wine-producing tradition still predominated here; the appearance of distilleries of Bosphorus type in Olbia and Chersonesus can be explained by the Bosphorus influence on the local wine-production.

At the sixth, final stage (late 3d-6th cc. AD) when after the well-known catastrophic events of the late 3d c. AD the major part of Bosphorus settlements was destroyed and ruined and the economy and agriculture of the whole State collapsed, the viticulture and wine-production for trade decreased sharply and was limited fey some surviving microareas which later became centres of trade contacts and determined a certain economic growth of Bosphorus. Probably the wine trade with Barbarians played a certain role in this process. It is interesting that "industrial" composite distilleries with three reservoirs and a complicated system of the outflow and collection of the must were still used in the Asian part of Bosphorus till the 5th c. AD. Maybe such distilleries oriented to the wine-production for trade were built up even later, but archaeological materials give no evidence of this.

Of course the amount of wine produced in the State of Bosphorus gradually decreased following the restriction of its territory. Unfortunately we can say nothing certain about the economic structure of the plots of Bosphorus chora in this period. We can only suppose that here the surface of vineyards was quite satisfactory (at least for meeting the local needs).

On the territory of Olbia and Chersonesus the viticulture and wine-production remained most probably within the home economy and were oriented exclusively to local needs. The Chersonesus viticulture in the area of the Heracleia peninsula was ruined and gradually ceased existing most probably by the 5th-6th cc. AD. In Olbia the same took place earlier - by the 3d-4th cc. AD.

In the later medieval period the viticulture and wine-production existed in local microareas on the territory of Bosphorus, the Southern coast of Crimea, in river valleys and the Tauric foothills. In some cases we observe an evident succession in the structure of wine-producing farms following the agrotechnical traditions of antique viticulture and the technologies of antique wine-production. One should note that the local Tauric wine-production preserved mainly Chersonesus features; the Bosphorus influence is less evident.

The analysis of all sources on the antique viticulture and wine-production in the Northern Black Sea area permits us to say with certitude, that the existing conception of Chersonesus as a leading wine-producing State in the Northern Black Sea area should be revised.

At the same time one should not underestimate the possibilities of viticulture and wine-production in Olbia. The latest discoveries of important wine-producing farms in Olbia evidence that the real scale of viticulture and wine-production in Olbia is only to be established, but even now we can affirm that at least in the Roman period the local wine-production was meant for trade and this kind of production played a rather important role in the trade balance of the State of Olbia.

Nevertheless Bosphorus was the most important wine-producing State in the Northern Black Sea area through many centuries( 4th c. BC to 3d c. AD). The economic potential of respective branches of the Bosphorus economy was remarkably higher than the combined possibilities of Olbia and Chersonesus. This is reflected in the amount and structure of its agriculture, in the ceramic production, in landowners relations connected with viticulture and wine-production, in the character and volume of inner and external trade and of course in the wellbeing of the population.

1. Several small and medium composite distilleries-found in the Chersonesus, do not change the general picture.
2. In a certain degree the tempo of the development of local viticulture and wine-production experienced the influence of external events and first of all the destruction of former trade markets and routes after the Macedonian conquests when the traditional suppliers of articles left the Black Sea markets. That is why the amount of imported wine started decreasing and the quality of wine deteriorated although the demand for this production within antique States and beyond their borders did not diminish but even grew. All this inspired the local wine producers to broaden their wine-production basis and increased the financial investments into the cultivation of new lands for vineyards.