Phanagoreia

an ancient city that existed on the Taman’ Peninsula, near the present-day settlement of Sennaia in Krasnodar Krai, RSFSR. Phanagoreia was founded in the second half of the sixth century B.C. and flourished from the fifth to second centuries B.C. Coins were minted beginning in the fifth century B.C., when the city became part of the Bosporan state. In the first century B.C., the city became known as Agrippia. The population of Phanagoreia, which included Sindians, Greeks, Maeotae, and Sarmatians, engaged in agriculture, fishing, handicraft production, and trade.

Excavations of Phanagoreia began in the 19th century and were conducted systematically from 1936 through 1940 by V. D. Blavatskii and after 1947 by M. M. Kobylina. Since part of the city had been submerged by the sea, underwater excavations were performed in 1958–59. The foundations of fortress walls and the remains of residential quarters, gymnasiums, thermae, and a potters’ district have been found. A necropolis was located nearby. The city existed until the 11th or 12th century A.D.