On the Attribution of the Suburb and Sanctuary With Temple of Zeus in the Lower City of Olbia in the First Centuries Ad

The controversial issues related to the hypothetically defined suburb with the conventional name NG-centre in the central part of the Lower City of Olbia Pontica in the first centuries AD are discussed in the paper. The excavations were carried out separately by B. Borisov (1963—1964), S. Kryzhytskyi (1965—1967) and N. Leipunska (1968). In general, minor building remains of three extraordinary stone structures, separately located near each other, were discovered. The main interpretation is presented only in the publications by S. Kryzhytskyi with graphic plans and reconstructions and N. Leipunska. According to the authors, this is a complex of mainly warehouse, economic, industrial, partially residential, and other purposes in the suburbs of the Lower Town. However, the ambiguous interpretation of both the suburb and the two-chambered building NG-centre-1, which is unusual for this area of the city, and the differences in their interpretation led to special attention to the historiographical review of their works and a comparative analysis with other sources. First of all, the evidence of Dion Chrysostomos about the temple of Zeus in the Lower City, as well as synchronous epigraphic, numismatic and archaeological sources are considered. A comparison of the plans and sizes of the two-chambered structure at the NG-centre site with the discovered in situ temples in Olbia is made, which indicates its significant similarity to the Hellenistic temple of Zeus in the Eastern Temenos. Also presented are remains of cult «enclosures» as primitive altars typical of many sanctuaries. In general, on the basis of the sources reviewed, first proposed a hypothetical identification of the two-chambered structure with the temple of Zeus attested by Dion, and the so-called «wasteland» in the suburbs paved with rubble and ceramic fragments with the square in front of this temple in the center of the Lower City in the 1st centuries AD. In conclusion, it should be emphasized that by its significance, the complex of extraordinary structures at the NG-centre is among the important sites of Olbia, the more reliable attribution of which can be clarified through new archaeological excavations along with the study of previously acquired materials

Cult · Excavation · Mount · Temple · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classical Antiquity Studies