Cité antique de Chersonèse Taurique et sa chôra

Photo : Dmitry A. Mottl (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Located on the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine, this archaeological site encompasses the ancient Greek city of Chersonesos Taurica and its surrounding agricultural territory. Founded in the 5th century BCE as a colonial settlement, the city served as an important commercial and cultural hub in the northern Black Sea region for over two millennia. The site provides substantial evidence of Greek urban planning, architecture, and daily life during classical antiquity, with remains of temples, defensive walls, residential quarters, and public structures preserved within the archaeological layers. The associated chôra, or rural hinterland, demonstrates the organization of agricultural land and settlement patterns that sustained the urban center. The material culture recovered from the site, including inscriptions, pottery, and architectural elements, documents interactions between Greek colonists and indigenous populations. The dual composition of urban and rural zones makes this location significant for understanding the complete functioning of an ancient Greek city-state in its regional context.