The presented amphora was raised in 2015 from the bottom of the sea near Cape Malchin (Koktebel Bay) by participants of an underwater archaeological expedition at the site of a shipwreck that happened in the 8th–10th centuries.
Cape Malchin is the westernmost cape of Kara Dag, extending far into the sea. According to the sources of the 2nd century, there was an ancient harbor-fortress Atheneon once in these places, on a hill called Tepsen. The vicinity of Tepsen could also be the location of the early medieval town of Fulla, which is mentioned in hagiographies in connection with Cyril and Methodius and St. John of Gothia (other possible candidates are Chufut-Kale, Old Crimea and more than a dozen other places). Finally, some believe that the Venetian harbor of Kalliera was located in this area.
Underwater excavations in the protected zone of Kara-Dag are devoted to the search for material evidence that could confirm or deny these assumptions.
In the 8th–10th centuries, the eastern part of Taurica was filled with numerous settlements of semi-urban type. One of them was a fishing village on the plateau of Tepsen, as evidenced by the discovered remains of foundations, including the ruins of several temples. In 1997–1998, underwater archaeologists found clay shingles, amphorae, pithoi, jugs, dishware, and bones of domestic animals under the plateau. All finds were dated between the 8th and 10th centuries.
These objects are most characteristic of the Khazar period of the Northern Black Sea region. It is difficult to determine the exact place of their production today for lack of sufficient information on the specifics of raw materials used by different workshops.
One such pottery workshop might have existed at the excavation site and specialized in making amphorae and pithoi. This is evidenced by the abundance of burnt kiln bricks and potsherds.
A lot of the Black Sea region ceramics were found on the Taman Peninsula and in Crimea. They are featured less in the areas of the Cis-Azov, the Don, the Dnieper, and the Western and Eastern Black Sea regions. Sometimes they are found even near the Volga and Kama rivers and in the Caucasus.
