Cytae

(Greek, Kytaion), an ancient city on the Kerch’ Peninsula, located 40 km south of Kerch’. Cytae existed from the fifth century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. as part of the Bosporan State. In the fourth century B.C. the city was ringed by a stone defensive wall, which was further fortified in the first centuries A.D. The city had a mixed Greco-Scythian population, which primarily engaged in farming. A marble table from a temple, bearing a Greek inscription, was discovered at the site in 1918. Excavations were conducted from 1927 to 1929 and in 1957.