5 INCREDIBLE archaeological sites in Russia (PHOTOS)

1 Chersonesos

Tauric Chersonesos is located on the Black Sea coast (in the territory of modern-day Sevastopol) in Crimea. The ancient city existed from the 5th century BC to the 14th century AD. It boasts the only surviving ancient amphitheater in Russia – concerts and performances are still held there in the summer. There's also a medieval basilica and a fortress tower. Chersonesos is considered to be one of the most sacred sites for Orthodox Christians: it’s believed that Prince Vladimir was baptized there.

Two years ago, another museum complex, ‘New Chersonesos’, opened in the south of the city. During excavations on its territory, the bed of the ancient Heroon River was discovered, which supplied fresh water to the entire city in the 10th century. Today, its waters once again flow through the ancient city.

2 Phanagoria

This city on the Taman Peninsula (Krasnodar Krai) was the second capital of the Bosporan Kingdom after Panticapaeum and existed from the 6th century BC. It was only in the 11th century AD that residents began to abandon it.

Excavations have been underway there since the 18th century: finds include the remains of the sanctuary of Aphrodite and the palace of Mithridates VI Eupator, a warship dating from the 2nd-1st centuries BC (one of the oldest in the world) and the world's oldest synagogue built outside the Middle East, dating to the 1st century BC. Since 2014, the Phanagoria site has officially become a museum.

3 Great Bolgar

Less than 150 km from Kazan and you're in Bolgar, the capital of Volga Bulgaria and the Golden Horde. The city stood on the Silk Road and engaged in active trade. In the 13th century, Mongols conquered Bulgaria and made the city the first capital of the Golden Horde. In the 15th century, the city fell into decline and Kazan became the new capital of the Volga Bulgarians.

Several mausoleums, bathhouses and craft workshops are preserved there.

It’s believed that it was there that the Volga Bulgarians converted to Islam: a mosaic panel in the local Museum of the Quran serves as a reminder of this today.

4 Gorgippia

In the 4th-3rd centuries BC, the city of Gorgippia existed on the shores of Anapa Bay, named after its governor, Gorgippus, brother of the Bosporan king. Local residents were engaged in agriculture: they grew wheat, lentils and barley, raised horses and sheep and made wine from local grapes. Gorgippia traded with the cities of the Bosporan Kingdom, Rhodes and Chios.

Streets and fragments of the ancient city's fortress wall, as well as parts of residential buildings, have also been preserved. During excavations, archaeologists discovered sarcophagi and tombstones, carved decorations on temples and columns and ornaments.

5 Divnogorye

White chalk pillars – is it Cappadocia? No! It’s Voronezh Region! Divnogorye is known for the Holy Dormition Monastery and its cave churches. But there, in the valley of the Don and Tikhaya Sosna rivers, lies the Mayatskoye settlement – ​​the city was founded by the Khazars in the 8th-9th centuries AD.

Divnogorye preserves a 9th-10th-century Khazar Khaganate fortress, Bronze Age burial mounds and a prehistoric settlement dating back 14,000-12,000 years. Archaeologists have found a large number of wild horse bones there. Local residents most likely domesticated this animal.