Slavic Pompeii or Slavic Jerusalem: Crimean Chersonesos between World Heritage and Orthodox Tradition (20 min)

Presenters

Adam Rabinowitz, University of Texas at Austin

Abstract

The Greek, Roman, and Byzantine site of Chersonesos in Crimea is known internationally as the “Slavic Pompeii” for the extraordinary preservation of its 13th-century layers as the result of a massive fire, or as a UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed for its unique ancient Greek agricultural landscape. The history of research at Chersonesos, however, began shortly after Catherine the Great’s annexation of Crimea, and has always had a strong connection with the story of the baptism of Volodymyr of Kyiv and the birth of Russian Orthodox Christianity in the context of the consolidation of the Russian state. The role of Chersonesos as a religious symbol has thus been in tension with its scientific value since the first excavations in 1827. Building on the work of historian Mara Kozelsky on the symbolic use of Chersonesos in the religious agenda of imperial Russia in the 19th century, this paper discusses the interplay between archaeological research at the site and claims to its religious legacy by the Orthodox church and the Russian state before and after the Soviet period. After a brief overview of state and church actions in the 19th century emphasizing the role of Chersonesos in Russian Christianity, the paper documents the accelerating claims of the Moscow Patriarchate to the site since 2000 and its growing importance to the political and cultural program of the current Russian government, especially after the occupation of Crimea in 2014. Through the analysis of the current situation and its comparison to the religious program of the 19th century, the paper demonstrates the way in which both the medieval religious history of Chersonesos and the connections it offers with the ancient Mediterranean world have allowed the archaeological heritage of the site to be incorporated into Russian state programs promoting a shared religious and cultural identity.