ИСТИНА

Gray ware covered with a grayish slip makes up a small but constant percentage of table ware finds in the late Сlassic and Hellenistic layers of sites located in the Northern Black sea region. Settlements situated in the North-Western Crimea that during this period formed a part of Chersonesian state are no exception to this. As a rule, several types of vessels are found here: fish dishes, bowls with outturned rim, feeders, kantharos which forms are close to classical ones and saltcellars with echinus wall. A part of such vessels has analogues among items from Asia Minor (Pergamon in particular). But the absolute majority of vessels are traditionally considered to be of local Northern Black sea region production. Taking into account the big number of form variations, researchers surmised that several centers may have existed in the Northern Black sea region where such ceramics could have been produced: Tyras, Olbia, Chersonesos and probably some workshops on the territory of Bosporus. However, the problem of precise attribution of certain forms to corresponding production centers is still actual and under discussion. The analysis of gray ware from sites of the North-Western Crimea makes it possible to approach the potential solution. Where from could the gray ware arrive in the North-Western Crimea? Products from Bosphorus and goods from Tira were rarely brought to the outskirts of the Chersonesian state in the late Classic and early Hellenistic periods. That leaves Olbia and Chersonesos itself. Olbia was the biggest center for table gray ware production, especially during the 6th and 5th century BC. Therefore the researchers of polis assumed that it was from Olbia that gray ware was distributed to, among other sites, the settlements of farther chora of Chersonesos. However, relying on the data of the analysis of forms and comparison of these forms with the spoilage from ergasterion of Chersones as well as basing on the preliminary results of RFA conducted at the lab of the Department of Archaeology of the MSU History faculty we can surmise that the ware found at the farther chora of Chersonesos originated from Chersonesian workshops. Moreover, the analysis of sets of finds from such settlements as Kerkinitis, Chaika, Mayak and Belyaus allows us to clarify the chronology of certain types of these ceramics.