Tyras: An Ancient Greek and Roman City in Present-Day Ukraine
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Visitor Information
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Country: Ukraine
Civilization: Byzantine, Greek, Ottoman, Roman
Remains: City
Context
Tyras is situated in present-day Ukraine, occupying a position on the right bank of the Dniester estuary near the Black Sea coast. The site lies on low-lying riverine terrain influenced by estuarine dynamics, with archaeological deposits found both on elevated riverbanks and in adjacent floodplain sediments. This location provided access to maritime and riverine routes, facilitating trade and communication across the northern Black Sea region.
Archaeological investigations have revealed continuous occupation from its Greek foundation in the late Archaic period (circa 6th century BCE) through Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine phases. Material culture, including ceramics, inscriptions, and architectural remains, documents the city’s evolving role as a commercial, military, and administrative center. Excavations have identified destruction layers dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, reflecting regional instability. The site’s preservation is challenged by overlying medieval and modern constructions, notably the Bilhorod (Akkerman) fortress, which covers much of the ancient urban core.
Systematic archaeological research began in the late 19th century, with significant Soviet-era excavations establishing stratigraphic sequences and recovering coins, inscriptions, and structural remains. Artefacts and documentation are curated in regional museums and Ukrainian academic repositories, supporting ongoing study of Tyras’s historical development and urban fabric.
History
Tyras’s historical trajectory exemplifies the complex interactions between Greek colonists, indigenous populations, and successive imperial powers in the northern Black Sea region. Founded as a Milesian colony in the late 6th or early 5th century BCE, the city developed as a fortified trading settlement that integrated Greek and local cultural elements. Over time, Tyras experienced phases of prosperity, military conflict, and administrative transformation, reflecting broader geopolitical shifts from Hellenistic kingdoms to Roman provincial governance and later Byzantine and medieval control.
Greek Colonization and Archaic to Hellenistic Period (6th century BCE – 3rd century BCE)
Established by settlers from Miletus around the late 6th or early 5th century BCE, Tyras occupied a prominent position at the Dniester estuary’s mouth, facilitating trade between Ionian cities and indigenous Thracian and Scythian groups. Archaeological and epigraphic evidence confirms its membership in the Athenian-led Delian League by the late 5th century BCE, with tribute payments recorded in 425–424 BCE inscriptions, indicating its regional prominence surpassing nearby settlements such as Nikonia.
Fortifications constructed during the late 5th and early 4th centuries BCE include a substantial northern round tower (approximately 11 meters in diameter) built of large, rusticated rectangular blocks, and a distinctive southern defensive sector featuring pentagonal towers—an architectural feature unique in the Northern Black Sea. Residential architecture from this period comprises large, multi-story buildings with basements, paralleling contemporaneous structures in Olbia. The city’s population likely ranged between 2,000 and 4,000 inhabitants during its peak economic phase in the 4th to mid-3rd centuries BCE.
The economy was based on agriculture, including cultivation of millet, barley, and various wheats, alongside viticulture and winemaking, as evidenced by grapevine motifs on coinage and ceramic wine vessels (tarapans). Animal husbandry focused on small cattle, supplemented by fishing in the estuary. Tyras maintained extensive trade networks connecting it to Mediterranean and Black Sea ports such as Thasos, Rhodes, Attica, Cyzicus, Sinope, Heraclea, Tomis, Callatis, Olbia, Chersonesus, Bosporus, and Alexandria. Coinage minted from the mid-4th century BCE featured a range of deities and symbols, including Heracles, the river god Tyras, Demeter, Alexander the Great, Athena, Apollo, Tyche, and Dionysus.
Interactions with local Thracian and Scythian tribes were significant, with Greek goods from Tyras found in Getic and Scythian archaeological contexts, indicating active cultural and economic exchange. The city likely came under the influence of the Scythian king Ateas in the 4th century BCE. Military disruptions in the late 4th century BCE, possibly linked to the campaign of Macedonian general Zopyrion, caused damage to fortifications and prompted urban restructuring. By the mid-3rd century BCE, rural settlements surrounding Tyras were abandoned, probably due to Galatian incursions, initiating a period of contraction in agricultural territory and urban decline.
In the late 2nd and mid-1st centuries BCE, Tyras fell under the sway of the Pontic Kingdom under Mithridates VI Eupator but appears to have withdrawn from this control by 70 BCE. The city suffered destruction by Getic tribes led by Burebista in the mid-1st century BCE, as indicated by a fire layer dated to this period, resulting in a temporary cessation of urban life.
Roman Period and Imperial Administration (1st century CE – 3rd century CE)
Following Roman annexation, Tyras was restored in the 1st century CE, possibly during Emperor Nero’s reign (56–57 CE), and incorporated into the province of Lower Moesia. It emerged as the largest urban center in the Lower Dniester region, retaining strategic importance as a port and military site. The city resumed minting coins around 47 CE, with regular issues continuing through the reign of Alexander Severus (235 CE), featuring imperial portraits alongside local iconography.
A Roman military garrison was established within a citadel encompassing at least 2.5 hectares, integrating earlier Hellenistic fortifications. This complex included walls, towers, and a vexillation building associated with the I Italic Legion. Additional detachments from the V Macedonian and XI Claudia legions, as well as auxiliary units, were stationed here, commanded by a centurion and supported by scribes, medics, cavalry, and standard-bearers. The presence of the Classis Flavia Moesica naval fleet is attested by inscriptions, military tile stamps, and depictions of warships, underscoring Tyras’s role in regional maritime defense and control.
Residential quarters north of the citadel comprised Roman-style houses built over Hellenistic foundations, ranging from 150 to 330 square meters and including basements and upper floors. Some houses combined domestic and industrial functions, with workshops for iron smelting, ceramic production, and jewelry manufacture. Archaeological finds include coin hoards containing Roman denarii, local bronze coins, and luxury items such as gold rings with Hermes and serpent motifs. A domestic shrine featuring marble sculptures and ritual vessels indicates private religious practices.
The city’s population became ethnically diverse, encompassing Greeks, Thracians, late Scythians, Getae, Sarmatians, and Roman provincials, reflecting the cultural “barbarization” characteristic of the period. Surrounding rural settlements reappeared along the Dniester and Budak estuaries but were abandoned by the mid-3rd century CE, likely due to Gothic invasions. Tyras suffered destruction during Gothic raids circa 269–270 CE, evidenced by fire layers and a hiatus in coin circulation until the reign of Diocletian (284–305 CE). Despite this, the city was rebuilt and continued to function as a fortified port and military center, expanding southward and possibly westward with ongoing construction and fortification upgrades.
Late Antiquity and Early Christian Period (4th century CE)
In the 4th century CE, Tyras remained inhabited within the Roman and later Byzantine spheres, enduring pressures from barbarian incursions. Archaeological evidence documents continued urban occupation, including a building with an apse near the northern round tower, tentatively identified as an early Christian structure erected after the military citadel ceased operation. The city’s administration comprised five archons, a senate, a popular assembly, and a registrar, indicating a structured municipal government.
Economic activity centered on trade in wheat, wine, and fish, as suggested by coin imagery and inscriptions. The last securely dated Roman coin from Tyras is from Emperor Valentinian I’s reign (364–375 CE), marking the end of Roman monetary circulation. Subsequently, the city was renamed Maurokastron (“Black Fortress”) by the Byzantines following destruction caused by barbarian incursions. Despite these challenges, archaeological finds indicate a continued Roman presence in Tyras until the late 4th century under Emperor Theodosius I.
Medieval and Early Modern Period (Post-4th century CE)
Following the decline of the ancient city, the site of Tyras was largely overbuilt by medieval fortifications, most notably the extensive Bilhorod (Akkerman) fortress, which incorporated the ancient acropolis. This fortress became a major fortified port on trade routes connecting the Black Sea with northern and southern Europe. Constructed and expanded from the 14th to 18th centuries, the complex reflects Byzantine, Genoese, Moldavian, and Ottoman architectural and military influences.
Throughout the medieval period, Bilhorod was a multicultural city inhabited by Greeks, Italians, Jews, Tatars, Armenians, and others. It functioned as a transit point for grain and other commodities between Europe and Asia. The city was part of the Moldavian principality from the late 14th century, enjoying privileges such as coin minting and control over important trade routes.
Under Ottoman rule from 1484, Bilhorod served as a military outpost. The fortress played a central role in regional defense and witnessed numerous conflicts involving the Crimean Khanate, Moldavia, the Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire. The site’s archaeological record preserves evidence of continuous occupation and cultural interaction from ancient through early modern times, making it a distinctive historical landscape in Eastern Europe.
Daily Life and Importance by Period
Greek Colonization and Archaic to Hellenistic Period (6th century BCE – 3rd century BCE)
During its Greek colonial phase, Tyras supported a population estimated between 2,000 and 4,000 individuals, primarily of Greek origin engaged in trade, agriculture, and craft production. Social organization likely followed typical Greek patterns, with households centered on extended family units. Male citizens participated in civic affairs, while women managed domestic responsibilities. Although inscriptions naming officials are scarce, the city’s membership in the Delian League implies some form of local governance and tribute administration.
The economy was anchored in agriculture, including cultivation of cereals such as barley and millet, viticulture, and animal husbandry focused on small cattle. Fishing supplemented dietary resources, exploiting the estuarine environment. Archaeological evidence of grapevine imagery on coins and wine vessels attests to local wine production. Trade connected Tyras with Ionian centers like Chios and Attica, exchanging Greek ceramics and metal goods for local products. Craft activities, including pottery and metalworking, occurred at household and workshop levels.
Housing consisted of large, multi-story buildings with basements and courtyards. Defensive structures, including the unique pentagonal towers, reflect the city’s concern for security amid regional conflicts. Religious life centered on Greek polytheism, with coin iconography depicting deities such as Heracles, Demeter, and Apollo.
Roman Period and Imperial Administration (1st century CE – 3rd century CE)
Under Roman rule, Tyras’s population became ethnically diverse, incorporating Greeks, Thracians, Scythians, Getae, Sarmatians, and Roman settlers. Social stratification included Roman citizens, local elites, and military personnel. Inscriptions attest to military officers, scribes, and civic officials, though detailed civic titles remain limited. Family and social structures adapted to the provincial context, blending Roman and local customs.
Economic life expanded to encompass imperial administration, military provisioning, and artisanal production. The Roman garrison, including vexillation units of the I Italic Legion and detachments from other legions, anchored the city’s strategic role. Workshops for iron smelting, ceramics, and jewelry production operated within residential quarters, indicating small-scale industrial activity. Surrounding rural settlements supplied grain, wine, and fish to urban markets until their abandonment in the mid-3rd century CE.
Luxury items such as gold rings with Hermes and serpent motifs indicate social differentiation. Domestic spaces featured stone-paved courtyards and multi-room houses built atop earlier foundations, with interior decoration including marble sculptures and ritual vessels in private shrines.
Trade networks extended through the Black Sea and Mediterranean, facilitated by Tyras’s port and the naval base of the Classis Flavia Moesica fleet. Local markets likely offered imported goods alongside regional products. Transportation involved riverine boats, maritime vessels such as liburnae, and land routes connecting to hinterland settlements. Religious practices integrated Roman and local cults, with domestic shrines and public worship coexisting.
Late Antiquity and Early Christian Period (4th century CE)
In the 4th century CE, Tyras’s population diminished but remained ethnically mixed. Christianization is evidenced by the construction of a building with an apse near the northern round tower, possibly an early Christian church replacing or supplementing former military structures. Civic governance persisted with a senate, five archons, a popular assembly, and a registrar, indicating continued municipal organization.
Economic activities focused on sustaining local needs, with trade in wheat, wine, and fish continuing as central components. Coinage ceased after the reign of Valentinian I.
Markets and transportation networks contracted but maintained essential functions, with river and sea routes facilitating limited commerce. Religious life shifted toward Christianity, with ecclesiastical structures gradually supplanting pagan cults. Tyras evolved into the Byzantine outpost known as Maurokastron, retaining strategic importance amid the decline of classical urbanism.
Remains
Architectural Features
Tyras preserves a complex defensive system comprising three principal sections from distinct periods. The northern fortifications include a defensive wall and a separate round tower approximately 11 meters in diameter, constructed of large, well-cut rectangular blocks with rusticated surfaces. These features date to the late 5th or early 4th century BCE. A subsequent phase, likely postdating the late 4th-century BCE campaign of Zopyrion, added two curtain walls reinforcing the northern defenses.
The southern defensive sector, probably erected in the late Hellenistic or early Roman period, consists of several curtain walls connecting the round tower with a pentagonal tower. These southern walls are built from very large blocks and stylistically differ from the northern structures, rendering this section unique in the Northern Black Sea region. In the 1st century CE, these fortifications were incorporated into a Roman citadel covering at least 2.5 hectares, which housed a military garrison. The citadel’s western entrance retains a threshold with grooves for a gate.
Residential quarters lie north of the citadel, where Roman-era houses were constructed over earlier Hellenistic foundations. These dwellings, dating from the 1st to early 3rd centuries CE, range from approximately 150 to 330 square meters and include basement and above-ground floors. Architectural styles are generally irregular, though some houses feature Tuscan order capitals and column bases, indicating occasional use of classical architectural elements. Courtyards were paved with stone slabs and ceramic debris. Some houses combined living spaces with workshops for iron smelting, ceramic production, and jewelry manufacture.
Urban infrastructure includes stone-paved streets with drainage systems, primarily dating to the late 5th to early 3rd centuries BCE. Within the Roman citadel, two perpendicular streets have been identified near the vexillation building. The city’s inhabited area during its peak economic phase covered approximately 6 to 12 hectares, with possible submerged sections increasing this extent.
Key Buildings and Structures
City Walls and Fortifications
The defensive system comprises three main parts from different eras. The northern section includes a defensive wall and a separate round tower about 11 meters in diameter, built from massive, well-cut rectangular blocks with rusticated decoration, dating to the late 5th or early 4th century BCE. After the campaign of Zopyrion in the late 4th century BCE, a second phase of fortifications was added, represented by two curtain walls reinforcing the northern defenses.
The southern fortifications, likely constructed in the late Hellenistic or early Roman period, comprise several curtain walls connecting the round tower with a pentagonal tower. These southern walls are built from very large blocks and differ stylistically from the northern structures, making this section unique in the region. During the 1st century CE, these fortifications were rebuilt and integrated into a Roman citadel covering at least 2.5 hectares. The citadel housed the Roman garrison and included surviving walls and towers. The western entrance retains a threshold with grooves for a gate.
Vexillation Building
Located in the northwestern part of the Roman citadel, the vexillation building served as quarters for a detachment (vexillation) of the I Italic Legion. Constructed of massive rectangular blocks set on edge, this single-chamber structure is surrounded by a paved open area containing numerous marble fragments bearing Latin inscriptions. West of the building, remains of a poorly preserved two-column portico have been uncovered.
Residential Buildings (1st–3rd centuries CE)
Roman-period houses lie north of the citadel, built over and partially reusing earlier Hellenistic foundations. These dwellings range from approximately 150 to 330 square meters and include basement and above-ground floors. Architectural styles are generally irregular, though some houses feature Tuscan order capitals and column bases, indicating occasional use of classical architectural elements. Courtyards were paved with stone slabs and ceramic debris.
One eastern house combined residential and production functions, containing a round stone vat, two iron smelting furnaces (domnits), and a ceramic kiln. Large quantities of slag, charcoal, iron fragments, and tools attest to metallurgical activity. This house underwent two construction phases and was destroyed by fire in the first half of the 3rd century CE; coins of emperors Geta and Caracalla were found in the destruction layer. Two treasure hoards were discovered here, including Roman denarii, local Tyras copper coins, an Olbian tetrassarion, and gold rings.
Another house west of the First Transverse Street was similarly destroyed by fire in the early 3rd century CE. It contained residential rooms and workshops with kilns, including one associated with jewelry production. A domestic shrine was identified in one room, featuring an altar and three marble sculptures: a herm of Dionysus, a warrior figure with a shield, and a relief depicting seated Moirai, alongside ritual vessel fragments.
Early Residential Quarters (4th century BCE – 4th century CE)
Excavated residential areas from the late Archaic through Hellenistic and Roman periods include houses with basement rooms, some of which were rebuilt over time. These dwellings are generally non-orderly in style, with sizes between 150 and 330 square meters. Construction techniques show similarities to residential complexes in Olbia, another Greek colony on the northern Black Sea coast.
Necropolis and Burial
The ancient necropolis of Tyras has been largely destroyed by medieval and modern construction. Only one Roman-period stone tomb, known as the “Scythian Mound,” survives beneath a tumulus approximately 5 meters high. The tomb’s interior walls are decorated with wavy and spiral relief patterns.
Infrastructure and Urban Layout
The city’s infrastructure included stone-paved streets with drainage systems, primarily dating to the late 5th to early 3rd centuries BCE. Within the Roman citadel, two perpendicular streets have been identified near the vexillation building. The urban area during its economic peak covered roughly 6 to 12 hectares, with possible submerged parts increasing this size.
Other Remains
Some early structures, possibly basements, date from the late 5th to early 4th century BCE and were later rebuilt. The port and trading areas have been destroyed by water and subsequent constructions. Surface traces and cultural layers of the ancient city survive on 11 to 12 hectares outside the medieval fortress. A partially uncovered apsidal building near the round tower, possibly dating to the 4th century CE or later, may represent an early Christian or late antique structure.
Archaeological Discoveries
Excavations at Tyras have yielded a variety of artifacts spanning from the late Archaic through the late Roman periods. Pottery includes local and imported amphorae and tableware, reflecting trade connections with Mediterranean and Black Sea centers. Ceramic debris and glass fragments have been found in domestic and workshop contexts.
Numerous inscriptions, primarily in Latin, have been recovered from the citadel area, including dedicatory texts and military-related inscriptions. Coins from various periods have been discovered, including Greek issues from the 4th century BCE, Pontic and Getic coins, and Roman denarii spanning from Nero to Caracalla and Valentinian I. These coins were found in domestic quarters, destruction layers, and hoards.
Tools related to iron metallurgy, ceramic production, and jewelry manufacture have been uncovered in residential buildings. Domestic objects such as lamps, cooking vessels, and ritual vessels were also found, particularly in the domestic shrine within a Roman house. Religious artifacts include marble sculptures representing Dionysus, a warrior figure, and the Moirai, associated with the shrine.
Preservation and Current Status
The site of Tyras is heavily disturbed by medieval and modern constructions, notably the Bilhorod (Akkerman) fortress, which overlies much of the ancient city. As a result, preservation of Greek and Roman layers is limited. Surviving fortifications, including the round and pentagonal towers and curtain walls, remain partially preserved but fragmentary. The Roman citadel’s walls and the vexillation building survive in varying states of preservation, with some structural elements intact.
Residential buildings north of the citadel are preserved mainly as archaeological remains below ground, with some walls and floors exposed. The necropolis is largely destroyed, with only the “Scythian Mound” tomb surviving. The apsidal building near the round tower is partially uncovered but fragmentary. Archaeological materials, including inscriptions and coins, are housed in regional museums.
Ongoing research and conservation efforts are conducted by Ukrainian heritage authorities. The site is protected as a cultural heritage monument under national law. Excavations have been episodic, and preservation challenges persist due to urban development and environmental factors.
Unexcavated Areas
Significant portions of the ancient city remain unexcavated, particularly the port and trading zones, which have been destroyed or obscured by water and later constructions. Surface surveys and cultural layers survive on 11 to 12 hectares outside the medieval fortress, suggesting buried remains.
Modern urban development and the presence of the medieval fortress limit excavation opportunities. Future archaeological work depends on conservation policies and available resources. Geophysical surveys and historic maps indicate potential subsurface remains, but detailed exploration has yet to be undertaken in many areas.
