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extend access to The American Journal of Philology
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AMERICAN
JOURNAL OF PHILOLOGY
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232 THOMAS S. NOONAN.
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GRAIN TRADE OF THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA. 233
need to import food may be two different ways of emphasizing the same
basic situation.
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234 THOMAS S. NOONAN.
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GRAIN TRADE OF THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA. 235
that the sixth century B.C. Greek colonies of the Kerch peninsula
re-exported grain obtained from the native population.
Various excavations on the so-called Asiatic side of the Kerch
strait, i.e., the area in and around the Taman peninsula, have
identified several non-Greek settlements of the sixth century
B.C.1' In considering these settlements, two points are worth
noting. First of all, the largest concentration of these settle-
ments is found south of Hermonassa in the area of the Sind land.
Of the nine sixth century B.C. settlements in this region, only
seven are considered agricultural settlements. The remaining
two, according to Blavatskii, were probably temporary settle-
ments of herdsmen.15 Secondly, judging from the Greek finds,
trade between these settlements and the Greek colonies of the
Taman peninsula only originated in the late sixth century B.C.16
Consequently, it does not seem that the Greek colonies obtained
any sizeable quantities of grain from this area until the late
sixth century B.C at the earliest.
The comprehensive survey by Zeest of Greek amphora finds
from other areas surrounding the Cimmerian Bosporus (the
lower Don, the Kuban, etc.) also indicates that Greek trade with
these regions did not arise until the late sixth century B.C.17
Thus, the evidence now available seems to show that the earliest
possible date for grain exports from the Cimmerian Bosporus to
Greece was around the end of the sixth century B.C. This does
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236 THOMAS S. NOONAN.
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GRAIN TRADE OF THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA. 237
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238 THOMAS S. NOONAN.
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GRAIN TRADB OF THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA. 239
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240 THOMAS S. NOONAN.
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GRAIN TRADE OF THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA. 241
* * *
An examination of the w
strongly suggests that the
Black Sea to Greece could
or early fifth century B.
time that the Greek colon
volume with the natives t
Consequently, we should n
sible written reference to g
Sea dates to about 480 B.
when written sources conf
Greece, do significant amou
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242 THOMAS S. NOONAN.
THOMAS S. NOONAN.
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS.
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