Картография и археология острова змеиного конца XVIII – начала XX веков
Cartography and archeology of Snake Island at the end of the 18th century - beginning of the 20th century

Summary/Abstract: The work describes the history of cartography of Snake Island, as well as the history of the study of its antiquities since the end of the 18th century until the beginning of the 20th century. The first explorations of the island were carried out by employees of the Danube Military Flotilla during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1775. The first plan of the island with the remains of ancient buildings was made by I. Budishchev in 1801. The ruins of the Temple of Achilles and other objects were discovered by N. Kritsky in 1823. The active “development” of the island and the first “research” date back to the times of the Russian Empire (1829-1856). A quarantine post was established on the island (1841-1851) and a lighthouse was built (1837-1843), but scientists explored the island for only three days (1841). The “excavations” were mainly supervised by quarantine officials (until 1853). According to the plans and descriptions, the following are noted: two building horizons in the “temple”, a necropolis and individual graves, several dwellings, stone fences and retaining walls, a number of ancient Greek inscriptions, cisterns for collecting rainwater, and roads. But many finds (mostly coins) were stolen, and those that were transferred to the museum of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities are mostly not documented. Thus, a unique complex of ancient monuments, some of which were explored under water in the 20th-21st centuries (an anchorage and a lost sea vessel), has been practically lost.

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