SUKHUM, August 22. / TASS /. Abkhazian and Russian archaeologists during joint excavations in the Ochamchira settlement discovered a lead sarcophagus of the 5th-6th centuries. Such a find is unique in the republic, the head of the expedition, director of the Abkhaz State Museum Arkady Dzhopua told TASS.
“For the past three years, together with a Russian archaeological group headed by Alexander Skakov [Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences], we have been carrying out excavations in the ancient antique city of Guenos [now the city of Ochamchira]. letter, and this year, finishing the expedition, we came across a burial, a lead sarcophagus. This is an isolated case in Abkhazia, it is very difficult, a little crushed, but in good condition. We cleaned it, dug it out, and this find will be kept in our state museum “, – said Jopua.
According to an Abkhaz archaeologist, the layer in which the sarcophagus was found dates back to the 5th-6th centuries AD. Jopua believes that a clergyman or civilian was buried in it, but “someone very significant”, since the sarcophagus is original, it is clear that it was made especially for someone difficult. “There was a skeleton inside the sarcophagus. Currently, the materials found with the sarcophagus are being studied, as other details become clear, we will definitely report them,” Jopua said.
The archaeologist noted that in the Ochamchira settlement in the pre-antique layer, a mass of archaeological material was found, indicating that before the appearance of the Greeks, local people lived in this region, the traces of the Abkhaz tribes are very well recorded by finds, material culture. “This year we were unable to complete the expedition, we hope that we will be able to complete it next year. We are at a depth of 4.5 m. The cultural layer is even lower, we will explore it next year,” Jopua said.
Guenos (Hyenos) – the oldest city on the territory of modern Abkhazia, was a Greek polis, first mentioned by the navigator Pseudo-Skilak, who lived in the 6th century BC. and used the information of various Greek geographers in his historical vicissitudes.
