Two and a half thousand years ago, approximately in the 4th century BC, Greek settlers founded cities on the Crimean coast, which became the basis of a new state. One of these cities, called Acre, archaeologists could not find for more than 200 years.
Acre story
The ancient Greek historian Strabo called the acre a "village" and described it as an ice-free port of the Bosporus kingdom. Acre is indeed adjacent to other ancient cities of the Bosporus.
The inhabitants of the ancient city had the opportunity all year round fish and trade with merchants from different countries... In addition, a special kind of wheat was grown in Acre, which did not grow in the Mediterranean, and the bread from it was very good. Therefore, Acre has been a grain supplier for Athens for a long time.
And although Acra was founded a little later ancient rome, in terms of defensive tactics and trade turnover in a cozy harbor was not inferior to him. The ancient city was of indescribable beauty.
Approximate reconstruction of Acre
The discovery of Acre in the 1980s was a sensation. She was even nicknamed the Crimean Atlantis ... All because in the III century AD greek city flooded with sea waters. The majestic buildings sank immediately, and on great depth... Where have all its inhabitants gone? Archaeologists are now trying to unravel this and other secrets.
Discovery of Acre
By the end of the 18th century, the location of almost all the cities of the Bosporus kingdom was established - Panticapaeum, Nympheus, Cimmerika, others. But Akra could not be found for a long time. Why? Literally from the ancient Greek "acre" means "elevation". As "acropolis", that is, " upper town". Therefore, they looked for Akru in a high place, which was logical, since such a position is convenient for defense. And they managed to find her at Cape Taquil - in fact, in the lowland.
Archaeologist Alexei Kulikov is the discoverer of Acre. In 1981, when he was a schoolboy, there was a violent storm. He licked the sand off the beach and exposed the stonework of the ancient walls. According to Kulikov's recollections, the waves ate pieces before his eyes sandy beachand two or three coins streamed over the clay. It was necessary to catch them in time ... More often the Soviet trifle came across. But one day he managed to find the first Acre coin - almost 8 grams of gold, with a portrait of Basileus Cotius. Now she is in the gold storeroom of the Kerch Museum.
Gold storeroom of the Kerch Historical and Archaeological Museum.
In addition to the coin, 15-year-old pioneer Alexei Kulikov brought a plan of the ancient settlement to the museum.
In 1983, the Leningrad Institute of Archeology and members of the Kerch diving club conducted an expedition - and raised rare artifacts from the bottom of the sea. Forty meters from the coast, a powerful tall tower from large rusticated blocks, as well as a well with fragments of ancient Greek amphorae. Then it became clear that this was not just a settlement, but a real ancient city.
Acre Research
In 1990, excavations were stopped and only resumed twenty years later. Since 2011, the excavations at the site of Acre have been directed by the St. Petersburg Hermitage. Many exhibits were found, but all the treasures of the underwater city remain in Crimea. Experts are trying to prove that it is Akra - yes, this has not yet been proven, since no inscriptions confirming this have been found. According to scientists, more than 2,000 sunken objects are hidden at the bottom of the sea.
Underwater finds using an underwater pit 2012: 1 - lead fishing sinker; 2,3 - lead weights; 4 - red clay jug; 5.6 - fragments of red-figure ceramics; 7 - bronze arrowhead; 8 - bronze plate; 9 - copper nail; 10, 11 - Panticapaean copper coins.
Underwater archaeologists were able to establish that at least 1.5 meters of city walls have survived under water, and not 20-30 centimeters, as was initially thought. The masonry is still in good condition, and heavy wooden beams have been found at the base of the defensive tower. There were many other discoveries. Organic materials, which are practically not preserved underground, were preserved on the seabed under layers of clay and sand, and this made it possible to see household items used by the ancient Greeks. For example, in 2013, a perfectly preserved wooden comb from the Hellenistic period (IV-III centuries BC) was found.
Another interesting find was in 2015 - a gold earring in the shape of a lion's head. This is a unique masterpiece of the Bosporan jewelry art. In the entire history of archeology, 16 such earrings have been found. Some of them are in the Hermitage, some in the Louvre. But they all come from the northern Black Sea region.
In 2016, the Russian Geographical Society joined the excavations. It announced a gathering of volunteers - and people gathered from all over the country. Amateur archaeologists spent more than a month on the excavations. Many artifacts were found, including coins.
Coins from the excavations are sent to the Feodosia Center marine research for examination. Most often, these coins are not at all like means of payment - they are ordinary dirty mugs covered with green oxides. But gold coins have not yet come across to modern researchers. All that has been found is finds from the 80s.
The finds of Alexei Kulikov.
If on land, where there is a piece of the fortress walls and structures of Acre, volunteers can also work, then the underwater expedition consists only of professionals. There are no more than 15 of them.
For excavation at the bottom, they use hydroejectors - a kind of vacuum cleaner that sucks in the soil and sends it to the surface, where it is additionally washed. For example, in 2016, a room of the 4th century BC was examined, in the center of which a furnace was installed. When flushing, it turned out that the floor was filled with walnut shells, legumes, cherry and olive pits. That is, how in reality you can see what they ate 2.5 thousand years ago in this house, in this room.
As a result of the expeditions, archaeologists examined two walls and one tower, and found the remains of buildings similar to residential complexes. Researchers have established that Acre, which was part of the Bosporus kingdom, was a city surrounded by a fortress wall with towers. Urban development, as scientists assume, began on the opposite side of the street, which ran along the defensive wall.
An underwater survey using sonars will allow a more thorough study of the preserved fragments of buildings, determine their coordinates and, combining these data with the results of a ground survey, plot them on a map.
Perhaps one day Acre will become an underwater park, and anyone will be able to dive under water and at the same time into the depths of the centuries. In the meantime, Acra keeps her secrets ...
Location of Acre. On the horizon is the village of Zavetnoye.
Settlement Akra, one of the most ancient settlements of the Crimean peninsula, discovered at the end of the last century on the Kerch Peninsula. The settlement is sometimes also called the Crimean Atlantis, due to the fact that it is mostly under water.
Geographic coordinates of Acre on the map of Crimea GPS N 45.133028 E 36.423812
Ancient settlement of Akra located near the village of Naberezhnoe, or 25.4 km. from the city of Kerch, near Lake Yanysh. Excavations are underway on land today, but most of the city is located at a distance of 30-50 meters from the coast, at a depth of 4.5 meters to 8.5 meters. Every year, several dozen archaeologists build a fence from the sea from sandbags and pumping equipment to the base of the city. Visiting the city by swimming is completely open to tourists and guests of the peninsula. If you are not afraid of depths up to 10 meters, you can see the outlines of ancient streets, small stone houses (mostly foundations) and the famous Acre well. It was in the well that most of the artifacts and objects of that era were discovered.
History of the city of Acra
Acre city was founded in the 6th century BC. The first mentions of the city are found by the ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo. Strabo mentioned Acre as a small fishing village with a very convenient port, which, even in the fiercest winter, never froze. From the 6th century BC, until the 2nd century AD, the city of Acre flourished and expanded. Vineyards appeared in the vicinity of the city, land was developed, but from the 3rd century AD, for unknown reasons, the city began to sink under the water, as evidenced by the built 1.8 meter stone dam on the outskirts of the city. Gradually, the population settled on another peninsula. In the 4th century AD, the city was completely submerged and disappeared from the face of the earth.
In 1976, in the vicinity of Lake Yanysh, fragments of ancient amphorae and household utensils were discovered, which served as the beginning of research. So in 1981, on the shores of Lake Yanysh, about 150 antique coins of silver and bronze belonging to the Bosporus kingdom were found, and already in 1982, during excavations led by archaeologist V.N.Kholodkov, they were found at a depth of 2 3 meters, cultural layers, which indicated the existence of the ancient settlement.
Excavations, for the first ten years, were carried out exclusively on land, but gradually a large part of the ancient settlement was discovered under water, and this became one of the largest historical events of the 80-90s of the last century in Crimea. In the late 1980s, a well was discovered under water; most likely, after it was drained, residents began to use it as a warehouse. They found 7 ceramic jugs and many ancient artifacts. Excavations of the ancient settlement of Akra are carried out to this day.
How to get to the ancient city of Akra in Crimea
Get to Acre the easiest way is from the city of Kerch. From Kerch we leave for the South-West, towards the village of Priozernoye. Passing it, we move towards the village of Ogonki and further to the village of Zavetnoye. Behind the village of Zavetnoye is Lake Yanysh. Acre is located between the lake and the sea. If you love history or want to diversify your vacation in Crimea, then a visit to the settlement of Akra will bring variety and novelty, and if you like diving, then Akra was created just for you. In this area of \u200b\u200bthe Kerch Peninsula, there are especially many attractions -
Acra - "Crimean Atlantis"
The Black Sea still keeps many secrets, this sea is unique by its nature, but, perhaps, people do not always appreciate it properly. Many do not even suspect what secrets are hidden under the water column of the Black Sea. One of these secrets, which recently began to open its veil, is the ancient city of Acra, today it is called the "Crimean Atlantis".
Ancient settlement of the 5th century BC e. - IV century. n. BC, located on the coastal foot of the cape, part of the settlement is flooded by the sea. Acre belongs to the "small" cities of the Bosporus state.
“Behind Nympheus, even further south, on Cape Takil, there was a very small village of Akra. In ancient times, it attracted attention to itself because the coast turned west from it, and, thus, Acre was the extreme southern point of the strait from the Crimea. Opposite, that is, on the Taman Peninsula, the village of Korokondama, located on the present Cape Tuzla, was considered the southernmost point of the strait. According to Strabo, during the freezing of the strait, the ice reached in the south to these two points - to Acre and Corocondam. At present, almost no traces have been preserved from the village of Acre. On a high promontory, where an abandoned old lighthouse now stands alone, traces of a cultural layer with fragments of antique ceramics are only visible here and there. In the same area, ancient graves are found, which confirm the existence of an ancient settlement in this place. "
Acre is a mystery that has not yet been solved. It all began at the end of the 18th century, when Crimea was annexed to the territory of the Russian Empire. This event marked the beginning of active scientific research of these lands. Scientists began to make their journeys to new unexplored lands. In parallel, they tried to find the places of the Greek cities, known from ancient written sources.
In the "Periplus of Pontus Euxinsky" many cities are named on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait): Panticapaeum, Mirmeky, Nympheus, Kitey and the village of Acra. Strabo, Greek geographer of the 2nd century n. e., pointed out that Acre is located opposite Corokondama at the entrance to the strait. And Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar, attributes Acre to the Bosporan cities. Acre was also mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, Stephen of Byzantine and Aelius Gordian.
Thanks to the research boom, by the beginning of the 20th century, almost all ancient cities were marked on modern maps, but nothing was clear about Acra - its ancient ruins could not be found. Initially, researchers were confused by the etymology of the name of the city, because the main and most common meaning of this name suggested that Acre should be located on a high place. Literally the word "Acra" is translated as a hill or fortification. By the way, it is from here that the name "acropolis", that is, the upper city, comes from.
Academician Pallas was the first to place Akru on Cape Takil in the southeastern part of the Kerch Peninsula. He suggested this at the end of the 18th century. Paul Dubrux, one of the first scientists in Russian archeology, at the beginning of the 19th century placed Acre just south of Taquil, on the site he discovered. Until 1918, almost all researchers believed that Acre was located here, but suddenly a sensational find was made. Local fishermen accidentally found a cult table with an inscription that mentioned the Chinese community. Scientists immediately realized that another Bosporan city, Kitay, was located here.
For the next sixty years, Akru was located on Taquila itself. In 1975, excavations were carried out during their discovery of an ancient Greek sanctuary, and now it seemed that the city had finally been found. But many scientists still had great doubts about the accuracy of the localization of Acre. The location of the two neighboring Greek cities, between which Acre was located - Nymphaeum and Kitaeus - had already been established precisely. Greek periphery (ancient sailing directions) showed the distance between cities, and the distance from Kithei to Cape Taquil was half that to Acre.
And if not for the winter storms in 1981, nothing would have cleared up. But then, unexpectedly, one lucky Kerch schoolboy began to find ancient coins on the bank of a sandy spill separating the salty Yanyshskoye Lake from the Kerch Strait south of the village of Naberezhnoe, Leninsky District of Crimea. The schoolboy has collected a fairly large collection of antique coins, moreover, from different periods. It was this find that confirmed that scientists are not dealing with a blurred treasure, but with a flooded settlement. The coins were immediately transferred to the Kerch Museum, and in the summer of 1982 the first excavations were carried out on the embankment and on the hill south of the lake. It was then that large cultural layers of the ancient era were discovered. Finally, archaeologists have encountered not an ordinary settlement, but a small urban center. It was a real sensation - the ancient city was discovered under water. Acre was finally found.
Underwater expeditions started shortly after the first investigations established that the ancient city, which lay at a depth of 4.5 m, had a rectangular shape with an area of \u200b\u200bat least 4 hectares. To the east of it, more seaward and to a depth of 7.5 m, there was a harbor. Underwater research yielded amazing results - defensive walls, two towers and a well were discovered. One of the walls was well preserved for as long as 110 m. From the floor side, a tower with dimensions of 7x7 m was adjacent to the wall. Another defensive wall was examined in 150 microns to the north. At 170 m from the shore, at a depth of 3 m, there was a well covered with stones. And it contained seven branded amphorae of Heraclea of \u200b\u200bPontic IV century. BC e., fragments of black-glazed dishes, a fragment of a lead anchor rod, wooden parts processed on a lathe.
An interesting fact is that in 1994-1997. the archaeological research of Acre was continued by the same schoolboy who discovered the collection of coins many years ago. Excavations on the shore were combined with underwater exploration of the submerged part of the city. Buildings from the Roman era were found on land - three large households. But due to lack of funding, the excavations were suspended.
And for the next 15 years, the city of Acra was again unjustly forgotten.
And only in 2011, underwater archaeologists from the Kiev Department of Underwater Heritage and the St. Petersburg Hermitage again turned their attention to the unique archaeological site.
The modern period of the development of underwater archaeological research in the Northern Black Sea region was marked by the resumption of large-scale work.
For the first time in Acre, not just visual reconnaissance was carried out, but a truly underwater excavation with the latest professional equipment. For two years of research, another section of the city's defensive wall and city buildings of the 4th century was found. BC e. The preserved height of the fortifications reached 1.6 m.
The opening of the house in the first half of the 4th century was a sensation. BC e. A broken Heraclean amphora was found on the floor. The masonry of the walls was preserved in 3 rows, with a total height of up to 0.6 m. And such a good preservation of architectural remains under water is very unique. For example, in many other places on the Black Sea, such good preservation is not observed - all layers are washed out, the masonry is destroyed. But not in Acre.
It became clear that total area The monument occupied a large area from 4 to 6 hectares, while it was at the ancient coastal level and is now almost completely flooded by the sea. Some of the layers of ancient times have survived on the modern coast. Cultural strata dating back to the 4th century AD were found under water. BC BC, and layers - III – II centuries. BC e.
So, it turns out that Acre existed for almost 1000 years, from the end of the VI century. BC e. before the beginning of the IV century. n. e. The gradual flooding of the city began already with the beginning of a new era, due to changes in the level of the World Ocean and due to local geological processes of land subsidence. From the time of antiquity to the present day, the sea level has risen by 4 m. The conducted research, of course, is very little to summarize any results in the study of Acre. But a start has been made and the city under water has already begun to reveal its secrets.
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The ancient city of Acra in Kerch is a kind of local Atlantis. It provides a large number of mysteries that the world's best archaeologists are struggling with. They are trying to find out about the peculiarities of the life of the townspeople and about where the entire population went after the city was submerged. This is a truly amazing place worth seeing while in Crimea.
The ancient city of Acra in Kerch
This city was first mentioned in ancient Greek records in the 6th century BC. At the same time, the Greeks themselves and built it on the shores of the Crimean peninsula. Interestingly, archaeologists could not find Acre for 200 years until they stumbled upon it in the 1980s. It was then that active excavations began. But the more specialists found answers to the questions posed, the more new questions arose.
In the 3rd century AD, the city was completely flooded. Now historians are trying to understand where exactly all the people who lived in the city have gone. Underwater archaeologists find unique household items that are almost in perfect condition.
The city was famous for its high quality wheat and abundant fish. The most skilled traders of antiquity also lived here. However, exactly how the settlement was flooded and what became of the residents is not known for certain.
Brief history of the city
This city appeared as an independent settlement founded by the ancient Greeks. It is a little younger than ancient Rome. It was a transit trading city, which was used exclusively for unloading goods from different countries and their further transportation to others. shopping centers... There were always a lot of ships here, as it was one of the few ice-free ports.
Acre is located just 30 kilometers from modern Kerch. The largest number of buildings was near Cape Taki. It is interesting that until the 4th century this city was independent, but then it became part of the Bosphorus Kingdom. It was founded by several other satellites of Ancient Greece to defend against the Scythian tribes.
The city flourished due to its craft and trade. An elite wheat variety grew here, which could not be grown in mediterranean climate... That is why bread made from it was considered especially expensive. The city also sold large quantities of salted and dried fish.
Acra was first discovered in 1981. It was the archaeologist Alexei Kulikov. At that moment he was 15 years old and he was fond of history. One day, when there were strong waves at sea, he tried to find ancient coins. He found one, and was also able to accidentally discover the remains of an ancient wall that were under the sand. The wave swept away this sand, exposing part of the structure.
It is interesting that all the treasures of Acre are kept in the Kerch Museum, despite the fact that the main excavations are carried out by the Hermitage specialists. The city is of great interest to historians. In particular, the reason for its flooding is not clear and it is not known where all the people have gone.
Flooding theories
There are two main theories:
In 1983, another large-scale expedition took place to Akru. In the course of it, it was possible to prove that this is precisely a city, and not a village. Quite a lot of coins from various regions of the world, goods and other important exhibits typical of the city were found here. We also managed to identify the defensive wall and tower. The area of \u200b\u200bthe settlement was approximately 3.5 hectares.
Interestingly, there is a theory that the Crimean Peninsula itself is part of the once flooded Atlantis. This is evidenced by the flat relief and similar climatic features. But professional historians pay little attention to this theory.
About finds
Scientists manage to find a large number of exhibits. Some of them are on land /, but most are flooded. Therefore, we have to involve underwater archaeologists. Due to the peculiarities of technology development, it is impossible to raise some finds from the bottom now. This will pose a great danger to their safety. Therefore, they are buried back in order to wait for an increase in the level of technical equipment.
Here's what the specialists find most often:
- ancient coins;
- unique amphorae and jugs;
- household items of the inhabitants of Acre;
- remains of buildings;
- various jewelry ornaments.
All this is kept in the local museum. However, before being placed in the museum, all finds are analyzed for historical value in Feodosia. It is worth noting that items must be processed before they can be lifted off the seabed. Otherwise, some of them (especially wooden ones) may crumble after being moved to another environment.
Today, scientific and technological progress has stepped far forward, which allows more careful and deep study of the values \u200b\u200bin the Acre region. However, specialists still have to wait for better times to study the remains of antiquity in more detail. Perhaps they will reveal new secrets.
How to get to Acre
Unfortunately, most of the city is under water, so only scuba diving can see many of the exhibits.It is important to understand that unauthorized excavations are punishable by law. Therefore, you can find several antiquities, look at them and leave them lying in place. They can also be taken to the local museum.
This attraction is located just 30 kilometers from Kerch. You must use a private car to get to the ancient city. With the help of the navigator, you will definitely not be mistaken.
(Crimean Atlantis)
Archaeologists have proposed to turn the underwater ruins in the Crimea into a park of world significance.
Russian scientists, who are conducting underwater excavations of the ancient city of Acra in the Crimea, have proposed to make a scientific and tourist complex of world significance from the ruins. At the same time, they told what they had already managed to dig up, and what still had to be done.
Acre - small ancient Greek seaport in the Crimea, which existed from the end of the VI century BC. e. to IV century AD e. It was located at the southernmost point of the Kerch Strait, at the foot of Cape Takil.
The ruins of this ancient city are located in the western part of the Kerch Peninsula in the vicinity of the village of Zavetnoye. Moreover, most of the settlement is under water. Only west Side the city overlooks the land, about 20 meters. Acre was discovered in 1982. Written sources stop mentioning Acre from the 4th century BC, and the reason is that locality plunged into sea waters.
Local residents who have visited Acre say that the city is rectangular, and they themselves managed to find masonry and many household items. More precisely - 150 coins of the period of the Bosporan domination, seven well-preserved amphorae, produced in the 4th century BC, on which the stamp of ancient Heraclea is carved, also anchor parts cast from lead, lacquered ceramics, wood parts turned on a lathe, and so on. The flooded part of the city is 3.5 hectares. The main part of the ruins of Acre lies at a depth of 4.5 meters, and at a depth of approximately 7.5 meters lies the city's harbor.
A thorough survey of Acre revealed a well, remains of defensive walls, the ruins of two towers and several houses. The city walls rise slightly more than 1.8 meters, and 3-4 rows of masonry are left from the walls of the houses. Various aisles and openings are also distinguishable, as well as a mesh old streets... The most solid urban structure is an imposing tower with a square base of 7x7 meters, while the walls are 1.2 meters thick. At a distance of 600 meters from the embankment, a stone ridge protrudes diagonally to the shore. Most likely, the inhabitants of Acre tried to resist the onset of water, gradually moving to a higher part of the land, but the water was advancing, which the inhabitants could not prevent. Then they left their homes. Map and GPS coordinates settlements Akra in Crimea GPS - N 45 07.997 E 36 25.448
In Simferopol - the transport center of the peninsula - there is international Airport Simferopol (SIP). Planes arrive here from various russian cities and abroad (on the Biletik Aero website you can familiarize yourself with the flight schedule).
Direct flights from Russian cities to Simferopol are carried out by many airlines, for example, Ural Airlines, Transaero, Orenburg Airlines, VIM-Avia, Red Wings (Red Wings). But most of the flights from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Kemerovo and other cities are operated by Aeroflot.
For almost two hundred years they could not find Akru. It was "placed" on almost all high capes at the entrance to the Kerch Strait. But these places did not correspond to the descriptions of the distances between the Bosporan cities, which the Greek periphery preserved for us. The ancient city was found by chance by a simple schoolboy from Kerch. Lesha Kulikov on the bank of the sandy spill separating the salty Yanysh Lake from the Kerch Strait, found many coins of the Bosporan Kingdom of various dates. This became the key to solving the mystery of Acre's location. In 1982, professional excavations were carried out, which revealed to mankind a city hidden for hundreds of years under water. Underwater archaeologists at a depth of four and a half meters discovered an ancient settlement in the form of a trapezoid with an area of \u200b\u200bat least 4 hectares. The harbor was located to the east of the city at a depth of seven meters. Defensive walls, two towers and a well with seven branded amphoras of Heracpea of \u200b\u200bPontic, fragments of black-glazed dishes, fragments of a lead anchor rod, and wooden details of a small table turned on a lathe were found.
In life, things often happen that decide fate. The find of the Kerch schoolboy Alexei Kulikov not only opened the ancient flooded city to the world, but also determined the future life of the young man. He graduated from the university and became an archaeologist. And in the mid-1990s, a young scientist explored a small terrestrial part of Acre. Excavations on the shore were combined with underwater reconnaissance of the flooded areas of the city. On land, the buildings were studied already from Roman times - three large households. But for the next fifteen years, the city was again unfairly forgotten, telling its stories only to the dolphins. Since 2011, research has resumed, with both professional scientists and amateur divers engaged in this. And literally in three years more research has been done at Acre than in the previous thirty years. Underwater research in the Black Sea is difficult, especially in the strait, the water is often cloudy, and visibility is poor. Sometimes you have to work almost by touch. The expedition works at the site from May to early July. While the water has not yet had time to warm up and the overgrown algae have not covered the seabed with a terry green carpet.
According to scientists, Acre is the only well-preserved ancient settlement in the entire Black Sea region. And some other antique coastal policies were flooded, for example, most of Olbia (modern Nikolaev region). But there are many things that have been ground by storms. But Acre was lucky - its location and the geological processes of land sinking and sea level rise occurred in such a way that they could protect the city from destruction. From the materials collected by scientists over the years of research, a certain picture can be drawn. Acre was quite a typical ancient Greek city-state with culture and way of life, as in all other ancient settlements of the Black Sea region. The main occupation of its inhabitants was agriculture. Scientists have found a wooden comb in good condition at the bottom. On the one hand, there are large teeth, on the other, smaller ones. The first was intended for combing hair, and the second - to get rid of annoying insects - lice, since hygiene in those days was at a primitive level. One of the most amazing finds of Acre can be called a defensive tower, which has no analogues on other ancient monuments... The tower was decorated with rusticated blocks not only from the outside, but even from the inside. Most impressively, this massive structure of about fifty square meters stood on a wooden platform made of huge oak beams. And surprisingly, the tree has survived so well under water that if these beams were pulled ashore, then today they could be used in construction.
During the excavation of the bottom, archaeologists find a very large number of objects: coins from various alloys, arrowheads, lead products, wooden plates, kitchen utensils and parts of amphorae. At the bottom, researchers often came across wooden pixids-boxes and other interesting products of ancient masters. What on earth usually decays into dust during this period, here, in the underwater city, is almost in its original form. The preservation of structures is also striking: defensive walls up to two meters high, elements of block buildings, houses and pavements. It is clear that archaeologists have no problems with artifacts. But they are in something else. IN Kerch Strait active urbanization has begun - new large ports are being built that can transform the entire hydrological system of the adjacent water area. The currents will change, and Acre, so carefully preserved by the sea for almost two and a half millennia, may simply be washed away. That is why it is necessary to investigate it as soon as possible in order to tell the world the true story of "Crimean Atlantis".
with its ancient settlements - this is a kind of little Hellas. A bit worn out, but still living historyetched in every stone of its ruined walls. And it is not at all necessary to invent a time machine and fly it to Ancient Greeceto feel like a contemporary of Pythagoras or Aristotle. It is enough just to go to the excavations, and you are no longer in the 21st century, but, having passed through an unimaginable thickness of time, somewhere there, in the 5th-4th centuries BC, at the very source of the foundation of ancient Acre. It is not hard to imagine how Greek aristocrats and ordinary townspeople once walked along these now flooded streets. And now, two and a half thousand years later, curious and brave travelers with a rich imagination will have the opportunity to go under the water and see the ancient Acre with their own eyes. "Crimean Atlantis" is a real miracle, which is hard to believe, but its reality refutes all the ridiculous talk of skeptics that miracles do not happen. Underwater antique city I am ready to tell my stories not only to onlooker fish or dolphins, but also to Crimean tourists.
