Chersonesos — Pesochnaya Bay Western Anchorage
Pesochnaya Bay Anchorage · Chersonesos Sandy Bay Harbour
Classical to Genoese (5th c. BCE – 1400 CE)·Herakleian / Byzantine / Genoese·🇺🇦 Crimea, Sevastopol, Pesochnaya (Sandy) Bay western lobe, Chersonesos chora, Ukraine
About
About Chersonesos — Pesochnaya Bay Western Anchorage
Western roadstead of Chersonesos in Pesochnaya (Sandy) Bay, a 200-m-wide open anchorage at 5–8 m depth with stone anchor field (30+ anchors, 4th c. BCE–13th c. CE) and a submerged rubble jetty 22 m long marking the chora wine-export landing. The anchorage served the chora vineyards (hundreds of wine presses in the chora) before ships moved to Quarantine Bay's protected mole. Lithology of ballast stones (Aegean marble, Sinopean limestone) reveals Cabotage routes. Storm beds at 6 m depth contain articulated amphora cargoes (Chersonesan type I and II). UNESCO chora protection covers the bay's terrestrial counterpart (Yukharina and Berman gullies).
Why it mattersAnchorage preserves chora-to-harbour logistics for UNESCO chora wine economy; ballast provenance reconstructs trade routes.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Wine press-to-anchorage path system across chora
- 02Proportion of Herakleian vs Sinopean amphora cargoes
Theories
- 01Pesochnaya served bulk wine; Quarantine Bay handled grain and fine wares — functional zoning
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.400 BCE anchorage use; jetty c.280 BCE
- Period
- Classical to Genoese (5th c. BCE – 1400 CE)
- Culture
- Herakleian / Byzantine / Genoese
- Builders
- Chersonesan maritime guilds
- Purpose
- Chora wine-export roadstead and bulk anchorage before inner harbour
- Abandoned
- 1400 CE Genoese eclipse; anchorage silted limited
- Rediscovered
- Diver anchor survey 2009; jetty sonar 2017
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.400 BCE
Roadstead in use for chora wine export
c.280 BCE
Rubble jetty built for loading
c.900 CE
Byzantine anchor field peak
2009
Anchor field mapped — 30 anchors
On the ground
Structures & features
44.6078° N · 33.4852° E · -6 m · 3 mapped features
Anchor Field (30 Anchors)
anchorageScatter of stone and lead-stock anchors 4th c. BCE–13th c. CE at 6–7 m
44.6079° N · 33.4850° ERubble Loading Jetty
harbour22 m rubble jetty for wine amphora loading at 5 m
44.6076° N · 33.4855° EArticulated Amphora Cargo Bed
depositStorm-sealed cargo of Chersonesan type I amphorae at 6 m
44.6080° N · 33.4848° E