The city of Aphrodite

At the bottom of the Taman Gulf, the ruins of an ancient settlement near Taman were found traces of a settlement, presumably the ancient Greek city of Apatur, which was flooded with the waters of the Taman Bay more than 2 thousand years ago. In ancient sources, it was reported that in the apopature there was a sanctuary of Aphrodite.

“At present, we will not indicate the coordinates of the find,” the senior researcher at the Krasnodar Museum -Reserve, Alexander Kondrashev, told the Gazeta correspondent. - Until the situation is definitely defined and research work has not begun, you should not rush. I can only say that the alleged residues of settlements are located about 1 km from the village of Taman at a depth of about 4 m. ”

A lover of scraping accidentally discovered ancient ceramics, including an entire amphora. Not far from this find, he came across a cluster of processed stones, which could be part of the wall of the ancient Greek city.

According to Kondrashev, the sanctuary of Aphrodite, which should be in the territory of the sunken city, is of the greatest interest among researchers. “The cult of Aphrodite was very developed in Greek settlements on the Taman Peninsula, and the very name of the city of apart, in Greek“ deceiver, ”is also connected with the beauty goddess,” the scientist noted. “According to legend, the charming Aphrodite lured one by the Titanes cave, with whom the gods were at enmity.

In ancient times, the sea level was approximately 5 m lower than now, and many sushi sections have gone under water since then. In total, according to archaeologists, over 20 ancient settlements rest in the waters near Taman. Some coastal beaches are covered with more than half a meter layer of amfort skulls. Archaeological monuments are destroyed from a laundry of shores and irrevocably lost for science.

The construction of ports and berths on the peninsula of ports and berths that began on the peninsula has also been leading to the destruction of the unique archaeological complex. In addition, the activities of “black archaeologists” were intensified.

Kondrashev believes that next year, it is necessary to equip a special scientific expedition to the place of detection of the settlement, which will establish the origin of the ancient stones at the bottom of the bay.

11/24/2008 / Sergey Kostenko / Krasnodar, the material was published in the newspaper No. 224 dated November 25, 2008.