Fishing on the border of the Ancient World

This paper presents an analysis of the environmental conditions for fishing and fish processing in Tanais, southern Russia, on the broader background of the territories surrounding the Sea of Azov. Although historical sources indicate that fishing played a crucial role in the region’s economy during Hellenistic and Roman times, archaeoichthyological sources show that the amount of fish as well as the species represented archaeologically in the area vary substantially. In the authors’ opinion, ecology is the main factor impacting fishing: interregional differences and changing environmental conditions around the Sea of Azov. The region has been divided into three areas according to current environmental conditions, given the similarity between the present-day climate and that of Hellenistic times. This paper discusses the diachronic changes in catches, availability of fish, the impact of climate and changes in the water basins that affect species composition, focusing especially on the Don delta.

Climate change · Fish <Actinopterygii> · Fishing · Natural (archaeology) · Natural resource · Similarity (geometry) · Food Industry and Aquatic Biology · Marine and environmental studies · Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology

• Fish Resource Exploitation at Tanais, Southern Russia, During the Hellenistic and Roman Periods

  Open Access•U Iwaszczuk, Marcin Matera•International Journal of…•2026

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