Opuk (mountain)

Opuk
Opuk from the sea side
Highest point
Elevation183 m (600 ft)
Coordinates45°2′15″N 36°13′25″E / 45.03750°N 36.22361°E / 45.03750; 36.22361
Geography
Opuk is located in Crimea
Opuk
Opuk
Opuk is located in Ukraine
Opuk
Opuk
CountriesRussia, Ukraine
RegionCrimea

Opuk (Ukrainian: Опук, Crimean Tatar: Opuk, Опук) is a mountain 183 meters high, located on Opuk cape, on the southern tip of the Kerch Peninsula, in Crimea, the highest point in the area. The Opuk massif was declared the Opuk Nature Reserve in 1998.[1] The slopes of Opuk mountain are a combination of stepped ledges, steep precipices, chasms and stone placers.[2]

Geology

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Opuk mountain is an isolated synclinal fold composed of Meotian limestones underlain by Sarmatian clays.[3] The fold is strongly dissected by faults (seismogenic ditches),[3] and several small natural caves, such as the Opukskaya-Yubileinaya discovered in 1996, are found in it, partially filled with clastic material.[4]

Archeology

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View of Opuk mountain
Opuk quarries

The earliest ancient Greek settlements on the mountain date back to the turn of the 6th and 5th centuries BC.[5] Fragments of early Chios amphorae and painted black-lacquer table pottery have been found.[5]

In the V century BC at the foot of the mountain was a Greek settlement — Kimmerikon, which was part of the Bosporan Kingdom.[6] Remains of structures, house foundations and walls have been preserved here.[5] There are also remains of structures on the top of the mountain.

Opuk quarries are located on the syncline's eastern wing, on the upper plateau's cliff. The total length of excavations is small — about 790 m. About 500 m to the southwest is another relatively small quarry. At present, due to the destruction of the rock and a large number of rockfalls, it is dangerous for unprepared excursionists to visit the quarries.[7][8]

Fortress

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The fortress on the eastern summit of Opuk mountain was first built in the I century B.C.[9] It may have been associated with the Cimmerian shaft.[6]

The cultural strata of the citadel contain much material from the late II—III centuries A.D.[9] This could be related to the activities of the Bosporan king Tiberius Julius Sauromates II Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes (174–210).[5]

The new citadel is dated IV—VI centuries A.D.[10] At that time the area became a borderland between the possessions of Chersonesus and the Bosporan Kingdom.

The Russian researcher Paul Du Brux was the first to explore this monument from 1817 to 1830.[11]

Since 1989, the fortress has been investigated by the South Bosporus Archaeological Expedition under the leadership of V.K. Golenko.[12][13] A stele with four runic signs was found in the grotto under the citadel in 1996. At first, it was dated to the middle of the IV century.[14][15] Currently the stone is kept in the Central Museum of Tavrida in Simferopol.[16] However, already in 2010 N. F. Fedoseev in his article disavowed all these constructions.[17] The inscription was made by O. Kupriyanenko, a Kerch resident fond of esotericism, in 1994 as part of artistic trials. In two years it underwent a natural aging process and was discovered by V. K. Golenko. Later, the success of the "sensational find" generated a whole boom of "runic stones" on the Kerch Peninsula.[17]

Conservation and significance

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Opuk mountain and the area of Opuk cape, as well as the adjacent sea area (together with nearby sites including Koyashskoye Salt Lake), are a nature reserve. Opuk Nature Reserve and wetlands of international importance "Aquatic-coastal complex of Cape Opuk and the islands of Skaly Korabli" (Ukrainian: Прибережний аквальний комплекс біля миса Опук та островів Скелі-Кораблі, Russian: Прибрежный аквальный комплекс у мыса Опук и островов Скалы-Корабли) with a total area of 1,592.3 ha,[1] created in Ukraine in 1998 and re-approved in the Russian Federation according to the Order of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea from 05.02.2015 No. 69-p "On Approval of the List of Specially Protected Natural Areas of Regional Importance of the Republic of Crimea".[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Опукский". Information-analytical system «Особо охраняемые природные территории России». Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  2. ^ "Aquatic-coastal complex of Cape Opuk". Ramsar Convention. 2019-08-10.
  3. ^ a b Аркадьев, В.В. (2014). Геологические экскурсии по Крыму. Издательский Дом “ЧерноморПРЕСС". pp. 98–99. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  4. ^ Вахрушев, Б. А. (2002). "Пещеры Опукского спелеорайона на Керченском полуострове (Крым)" (PDF). Свет (1-2(22-23)): 15–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-07-21.
  5. ^ a b c d Голенко, В.К. (2006). "Основные этапы освоения горы Опук и её окрестностей" (PDF). Труды Никитского ботанического сада – Национального научного центра. Vol. 126. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-02-21.
  6. ^ a b "Киммерик". Энциклопедия «Всемирная история». Archived from the original on 2018-02-21.
  7. ^ Сохин, М. Ю. (2020). "Типология и краткий обзор подземных выработок Керченского полуострова" (PDF). Учёные записки КФУ им. В. И. Вернадского. География. Геология. 2. Vol. 6. pp. 266–267. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-29.
  8. ^ Грек, И. О. (2017). "Реестр каменоломен Керченского полуострова. Исследование каменоломен экспедициями клуба "Поиск"". Военно-исторические чтения. 4. Неизвестное становится известным. Simferopol: Бизнес-Информ. pp. 85–96.
  9. ^ a b Голенко, В.К. (2007). Древний Киммерик и его округа (PDF). Simferopol: Сонат. pp. 121–122.
  10. ^ Голенко, В.К. (1999). "К вопросу о времени сооружения "цитадели" на горе Опук". In Золотарев, М.И. (ed.). Херсонесский сборник. 10. Collection of scientific articles. Sevastopol: Национальный заповедник "Херсонес Таврический"; Крымский филиал Института археологии НАНУ. pp. 39–49.
  11. ^ "Дюбрюкс, Павел". Русский биографический словарь. Vol. 6. Saint-Petersburg: тип. Товарищества «Общественная польза». 1905. p. 736.
  12. ^ Пономарев, Л.Ю. (2011). "К археологической карте памятников VIII - первой половины x вв. Южной части Керченского полуострова". Боспорские исследования (25): 343–378.
  13. ^ Голенко, В.К. (1995). "Исследования Южно-Боспорской археологической экспедиции в 1992 г.". Крымский музей (1/94). Simferopol.
  14. ^ Голенко, В.К.; Юрочкин, В.Ю.; Синько, О.А.; Джанов, А.В. (1999). "Рунический камень с г. Опук в Крыму и некоторые проблемы истории северопричерноморских германцев". Древности Боспора (2): 77–97.
  15. ^ Юрочкин, В.Ю. (2000). Готы-трапезиты на пограничье Боспора. Пантикапей. Боспор. Керчь. Материалы международной конференции. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23.
  16. ^ Мальгина, М. Р. (2007). "Опыт создания каталога лапидарного собрания Крымского республиканского краеведческого музея". VII Таврические научные чтения. 1. Simferopol: 181–199.
  17. ^ a b Федосеев, Н.Ф. (2010). "О достоверности рунических надписей Причерноморья". Археологiя (1): 127–128.
  18. ^ "Распоряжение Совета министров Республики Крым от 05 февраля 2015 года № 69-р «Об утверждении Перечня особо охраняемых природных территорий регионального значения Республики Крым»". Portal of the Government of the Republic of Crimea. 2015-02-05.

Bibliography

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