Mykolaiv museum shows unique ceramics from an ancient shipwreck

The Mykolaiv Museum of Local History has partially restored its exposition: after a long break, visitors can see the archeology halls again. This year, a new exhibit was added to the collection - a copy of an ancient merchant ship.

The reconstruction was based on a discovery made near the Kinburn Spit, which is now occupied by the Russians. There, in 2018, underwater archaeologists discovered and examined a ship from the late fourth and early third centuries BC that was sailing to Olbia from the Greek island of Kos. The scientists have mapped out the exact route with all the stops, establishing the origin of the ceramics found at the site.

Archaeologists claim that this ship is the oldest known in the Northern Black Sea region. The discovery is unique for our country, as ships of this age have rarely been found even in Greece.

The remains of the ancient vessel still remain at the bottom of the Black Sea, but some of its cargo was recovered. Among the artifacts recovered during that expedition were a Kos affmore, amphorae from Synopus, and a rare complete Colchis amphora, found for the first time in mainland Ukraine.

Museum visitors can also see the most valuable of the finds - a crater-shaped vessel with a spout in the shape of a bull's head, originating from Attica and dating back to the fourth century BC. It was designed to hold 20 liters of wine and was intended for community rituals. There are no analogues of this object in the world.

The Museum of Local History in Mykolaiv is one of the oldest collections of antiquities in Ukraine. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, most of its collection was moved to storage facilities, and some exhibits were evacuated from the city. The building that houses the institution is an architectural monument built in the 1850s. It has been damaged by Russian shelling at least three times.