Mikhail Abramzon

Irina Tunkina

The article is the first publication of the plates drawn by N.N. Murzakevitch (1806–1883), the Secretary of Odessa Society of History and Antiquities. The plates represent the tracings of 241 ancient coins, along with the lists of the coins excavated on Fidonisi Island (present-day Zmeinyy Island, known as Leuke in antiquity) in the 1840s ‒ early 1850s. The new data doubles the list of the Greek centers (up to 202) and rulers of the states and tribes whose coins were in circulation on the island. The contents of the finds and issue dates of the coins illustrate both the dynamics and chronological framework of religious and economic ties of the northern coast of Pontus with various regions of the Northern oecumene. The geographical spread of the coins (from Magna Graecia, Sicily and the Levant to the Aegean Sea, Balkans, the Black Sea coastal area, Asia, and even Mesopotamia) proves that the sanctuary of Achilles located at the crossing of trade routes on Leuke was dramatically popular in the Ancient World. This publication of N.N. Murzakevitch’s plates provides new information on the sea trade in Pontus during the fifth century BC – fifth century AD.