Acre, city Acre, or Acres, was an ancient city in Sicily, the ruins of which are located in the mountains near the Anapo spring, above the present Palazzolo Acreide (west of Syracuse).
Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - S.-Pb.: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907 .
See what “Acre, city” is in other dictionaries:
- (St. Jean d'Acre) see Akka...
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- (Akka, in ancient times Akko), at one time Ptolemais, small town in northwestern Israel, located on a small cape on the northern side of Haifa Bay, 16 km northeast of Haifa. The city stands on a narrow coastal plain west of Lower... Geographical encyclopedia
At one time Ptolemais, a small city in northwestern Israel, is located on a small promontory on the northern side of the Gulf of Acre, 16 km northeast of Haifa. The city stands on a narrow coastal plain west of the Lower Galilee. Akra is the only... Collier's Encyclopedia
Acre: Acre (Crimea) is an ancient Greek port city that completely sank under water in the fourth century BC. Acre Cape in Greece. Acre block in Jerusalem. Acre is one of the names ancient city Akko. Acre fortress in Syria... ... Wikipedia
- (Hebrew: עיר דוד Ir David) oldest populated area Jerusalem on the site of the ancient city of the period of the Jebusites (who called it Jebus), as well as the period of the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem. Already in Bronze Age was surrounded by walls... ... Wikipedia
Acre (according to the Chald. Hakra, from the Greek άκρα, high, fortified place) is the special name of one quarter of ancient Jerusalem, the so-called Lower City (Shuk gatakhton), surrounding upper city(proper Zion) in a semicircle from the north. This is the one... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
This term has other meanings, see Acre (meanings). The city of Acre is Arab. عقرة … Wikipedia
This term has other meanings, see Acre (meanings). Ancient city of Acre Country Ancient Greece ... Wikipedia
This term has other meanings, see Acre (meanings). Acre (Aram. Hakra, from other Greek άκρα, “high, fortified place”) the name of one of the quarters of ancient Jerusalem, the so-called “Lower City” (Shuk ha takhton), ... ... Wikipedia
Books
- Library of Souls No Exit from the Home of Peculiar Children, Riggs R., Abaton. A mysterious disappeared city, where the souls of great strange people are kept in the library... An ancient legend will remind itself when, in search of kidnapped children, Jacob, Emma and faithful Addison... Category: Mysticism. Horror
- Library of Souls. There is no way out of the House of Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs, Abaton... A mysterious disappeared city where the souls of great strange ones are kept in the library... An ancient legend will remind itself when, in search of kidnapped children, Jacob, Emma and the faithful Addison,... Category: Horror and Mystery Series: Miss Peregrine Publisher: Book Club "Family Leisure Club", eBook(fb2, fb3, epub, mobi, pdf, html, pdb, lit, doc, rtf, txt)
- Library of souls. No Exit from the Home of Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs, The film based on the first part will be released on big screens in October 2016! The novel was included in The New Your Times bestseller list. The work became the “Choice of the Year” of the world book social... Category:
Acre - “Crimean Atlantis”
The Black Sea still keeps many secrets; this sea is unique in its nature, but perhaps people do not always appreciate it properly. Many do not even suspect what secrets are hidden under the water of the Black Sea. One of these secrets, which has recently begun to lift its veil, is the ancient city of Acre, today it is called the “Crimean Atlantis”.
Ancient settlement of the 5th century. BC e. - IV century n. e., located on the coastal base of the cape, part of the settlement was flooded by the sea. Acre belongs to the “small” cities of the Bosporan state.
“Behind Nymphaeum, even further south, on Cape Takil, there was a very small village of Acre. It attracted attention in ancient times because from it the coast turned to the west, and thus Acre represented the southernmost point of the strait on the Crimean side. On the contrary, i.e. on Taman Peninsula, the village of Korokondama, located on the present Cape Tuzla, was considered the southernmost point of the strait. According to Strabo, when the strait froze, the ice reached these two points in the south - Acre and Corocondama. There are currently almost no traces of the village of Acre. On a high cape, where now an abandoned old lighthouse, only here and there are traces of a cultural layer with fragments of ancient ceramics visible. In the same area, ancient graves are discovered that confirm the existence of this place settlements of ancient times."
Acre is a mystery that has not yet been solved. And it all started at the end of the 18th century when Crimea was annexed to the territory Russian Empire. This event marked the beginning of active scientific exploration of these lands. Scientists began to make their journeys to new unexplored lands. At the same time, they tried to find the sites of Greek cities known from ancient written sources.
The “Periplus of Pontus Euxine” names many cities on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait): Panticapaeum, Myrmekium, Nymphaeum, Kitey and the village of Acre. Strabo, Greek geographer of the 2nd century. n. e., indicated that Acre was located opposite Korocondama at the entrance to the strait. And Pliny the Elder, a Roman scientist, classifies Acre as a Bosporan city. Acre was also mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, Stephen of Byzantium and Aelius Gordian.
Thanks to the research boom, by the beginning of the 20th century, almost all ancient cities were marked on modern maps, but nothing was clear about Acre - its ancient ruins could not be found. Initially, researchers were confused by the etymology of the city's name, because the main and most common meaning of this name suggested that Acre should be located on an elevated place. Literally, the word “Acre” is translated as a hill or fortification. By the way, this is where the name “acropolis”, that is, the upper city, comes from.
The first person to locate Acre on Cape Takil in the southeastern part of the Kerch Peninsula was academician Pallas. He suggested this at the end of the 18th century. Paul Dubrux, one of the first scientists in Russian archeology, in early XIX century, he placed Acre just south of Takil, on the site he discovered. Until 1918, almost all researchers believed that Acre was located here, but a sensational discovery was unexpectedly made. Local fishermen accidentally found a cult table with an inscription that mentioned the Chinese community. It became immediately clear to scientists that another Bosporan city was located here - Kitey.
For the next sixty years, Acre was located on Taquila itself. In 1975, excavations were carried out and an ancient Greek sanctuary was found, and now it seemed that the city had finally been found. But many scientists still had serious doubts about the correct localization of Acre. The location of two neighboring Greek cities, between which Acre was located - Nymphaeum and Kitaeus - had already been established precisely. Greek periplus (ancient sailing directions) showed the distances between cities, and the distance from Kitea to Cape Takil was half that of Acre.
And if it weren’t for the winter storms in 1981, nothing would have become clearer. But suddenly one lucky Kerch schoolboy began to find ancient coins on the shore of a sandy embankment separating the salty Yanyshskoye Lake from the Kerch Strait south of the village of Naberezhnoe in the Leninsky district of Crimea. The student collected a fairly large collection of antique coins, from different periods. This find confirmed that scientists are not dealing with a washed-out treasure, but with a flooded settlement. The coins were immediately transferred to the Kerch Museum and already in the summer of 1982 the first excavations were carried out on the embankment and on the hill south of the lake. It was then that large cultural strata of the ancient era were discovered. Finally, archaeologists encountered not an ordinary settlement, but a small urban center. It was a real sensation - an ancient city was discovered under water. Acre was finally found.
Underwater expeditions, which began shortly after the first explorations, established that the ancient city, which lay at a depth of up to 4.5 m, had a rectangular shape with an area of at least 4 hectares. To the east of it, more seaward and to a depth of 7.5 m, there was a harbor. Underwater research yielded amazing results - defensive walls, two towers and a well were discovered. One of the walls was well preserved for as much as 110 m. A tower measuring 7x7 m was adjacent to the wall on the floor side. Another defensive wall was examined 150 microns to the north. At 170 m of the shore at a depth of 3 m there was a well lined with stones. And it contained seven branded amphorae of Heraclea from the Pontic IV century. BC e., fragments of black-gloss pottery, a fragment of a lead anchor rod, wooden parts processed on a lathe.
An interesting fact is that in 1994–1997. archaeological research in Acre was continued by the same schoolboy who discovered a collection of coins many years ago. Excavations on the shore were combined with underwater exploration of the flooded part of the city. On land, buildings from Roman times were found - three large households. But due to lack of funding, excavations were suspended.
And for the next 15 years, the city of Acre again found itself unjustly forgotten.
And only in 2011, underwater archaeologists from the Kyiv Department of Underwater Heritage and the St. Petersburg Hermitage again paid attention to the unique archaeological monument.
The modern period of development of underwater archaeological research in the Northern Black Sea region has been marked by the resumption of large-scale work.
For the first time in Acre, not just visual reconnaissance was carried out, but truly underwater excavations with the latest professional equipment. Over two years of research, another section of the city’s defensive wall and urban development of the 4th century was found. BC e. The surviving height of the fortifications reached 1.6 m.
The opening of a house from the first half of the 4th century was a sensation. BC e. A broken Heraclean amphora was found on the floor. The masonry walls were preserved in 3 rows, with a total height of up to 0.6 m. And such good preservation of architectural remains under water is very unique. For example, in many other places on the Black Sea, such good preservation is not observed - all layers are washed away, the masonry is destroyed. But not in Acre.
It became clear that total area The monument occupied a large area from 4 to 6 hectares, while it was located at the ancient coastal level and is now almost completely flooded by the sea. Some of the layers of ancient times have been preserved on the modern coast. Cultural layers dating back to the 4th century were found under water. BC e., and layers - III–II centuries. BC e.
So, it turns out that Acre existed for almost 1000 years, from the end of the 6th century. BC e. until the beginning of the 4th century. n. e. The gradual flooding of the city began with the beginning of the new era, due to changes in the level of the World Ocean and due to local geological processes of land subsidence. From antiquity to the present day, sea level has risen by 4 m. The research carried out, of course, is very small to summarize any results in the study of Acre. But a start has been made and the city under water has already begun to reveal its secrets.
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Premiere screening of the Nauka TV channel film “Acres. Crimean Atlantis” about archaeological excavations of the ancient city of Acre, founded two and a half thousand years ago. How underwater excavations differ from excavations on land, what artifacts archaeologists managed to find during the excavations of Acre, why the ancient city went under water, and what difficulties arose during the filming of the film - the site talked about all this with the head of the underwater archeology department of the Black Sea Underwater Center research” by Viktor Vakhoneev and the film’s director Alexander Konevich.
“Nature constantly reclaims everything more shore»
Alexander, why did you choose this particular plot for the filming of your film? What attracted you to the history of the ancient sunken city?
This is the largest, unknown and unexplored story that exists right now. The mystery of the disappearance of the city was not solved for a long time, and even now it holds more mysteries than solutions. The attention of the Russian Geographical Society also played an important role. They made an expedition there with volunteers to cover significant and interesting events. In addition, this city is the least studied compared to the others. Perhaps now the most complex work can be carried out there. In the 1980s, when the city was found, it was impossible to do anything that can already be done today. At the same time, not everything can be done now that can be done in 15-20 years, when new technologies for underwater archeology appear.
How was filming underwater, did you encounter any difficulties?
Difficulties always arose due to the weather. The city is located at a shallow depth and, accordingly, any rough sea creates problems: muddy water, poor visibility. At a depth of 2-2.5 meters, any disturbance matters. In addition, we went twice. During this time, the picture on the shore changed dramatically. It turns out that nature is constantly “conquering” more and more of the coast, and, accordingly, the city is retreating more and more.
Scientific fixation
To conduct underwater filming, we had our own cameraman, but we took a lot of underwater filming from underwater archaeologists, who record everything using special equipment. Their footage helped a lot.
- Which finds impressed you the most?
Among the unique finds is an earring that was found literally on the last day and is a couple of thousand years old. There are a lot of coins and ceramics, which confirms that people lived in Acre for a long time. There are fragments of ceramics that have certain identification marks on them, by which right on the shore you can determine what century, for example, an oil vessel found was.
Gold earring from the 4th century BC
Black Sea Center for Underwater Research
Underwater archeology and secrets of the Black Sea
Victor, why are archaeological excavations under water so attractive to scientists, since research on land is much easier to conduct?
Underwater archeology is a fairly young and dynamically developing area of historical science. The development of technical means over the past decades has made it possible to increase the depth and area of research. Nevertheless, this area is still underdeveloped; in Russia, underwater archaeologists can be counted on one hand, while there are several hundred, if not thousands, of land-based archaeologists. There are many reasons for this, both subjective and objective. Until now, underwater archeology is not taught as a separate discipline in universities. We tried to fix this and in 2017 we organized this course of lectures at the Crimean Federal University. The Black Sea Center for Underwater Research is the only state specialized institution in the field of underwater archeology. Of course, there are individual specialists in scientific institutes and museums, but this is definitely not enough given the number of underwater objects cultural heritage, resting at the bottom and subject to study.
- How did the underwater archaeological expedition to Acre begin?
Acre was localized in the early 1980s thanks to the work Kerch archaeologist Vyacheslav Kholodkov and Leningrad submariner Konstantin Shilik. They carried out the first exploration work in the place where, shortly before, a Kerch schoolboy had found more than a hundred antique coins. Then, in the 1980s, after the first expeditions, the area of the flooded settlement and its structure were established, defensive walls and towers were identified, and a cistern filled with amphorae was excavated.
Aerial view of Acre (the dark spot is the city boundaries)
Black Sea Center for Underwater Research
In 2011, employees of our Center and the State Hermitage joined forces and organized the first modern expedition, which focused not just on exploration, but on serious underwater excavations. This year our underwater expedition on Acre celebrated its sixth anniversary.
- Is it known when and why the ancient city went under water?
This happened in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. during the so-called Nymphaean transgression. The city was originally founded on a low cape jutting deep into the sea. Since antiquity, the sea level in this area has risen by an average of four meters, so that almost the entire city, founded in the lowlands, was flooded. But even during the life of the Greeks, flooding occurred here. They explain construction technologies. We studied the city's defensive tower, the foundation of which was made of wooden beams, which protected the structure from being washed away by groundwater. Our expedition did not record evidence of a sharp catastrophic rise in water. The excellent preservation of the building remains is explained by the fact that the defensive wall of the city served as a kind of barrier that protected the remains of the city from being washed away by storms.
- What do the expedition members do?
For the last six years we have been drawing up a plan for the site, conducting excavations of a number of objects: defensive walls and towers, city blocks and households. Since 2016, with the support of the Russian Geographical Society and IHMC RAS, work began in the coastal zone of Acre (about 10% of the city faces the shore). When reaching sea level, water from the excavation site is pumped out with pumps, and excavations are carried out using ground methods.
- At what depth do you have to work?
The settlement is located at a depth of zero to four meters. Now the expedition is working at a depth of two to three meters. The harbor of the ancient city was located at a depth of up to seven meters. Ancient anchors can still be found there.
Underwater excavation
Black Sea Center for Underwater Research
- Where and how are finds examined?
The word “expertise” is not entirely correct. Finds from Acre are stored in the funds of the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, in its golden storeroom, and in the Museum of Underwater Archeology of the Black Sea Center for Underwater Research. There they undergo restoration and participate in exhibitions.
It’s much better if we talk about organic matter, and metal products are also generally preserved.
Are there any special difficulties in ensuring the safety of finds taken from water, rather than excavated on land?
Eat. Conservation and restoration of finds from water is a special area. It is necessary to desalt the item and constantly monitor its condition. Preserving wood is a completely separate problem.
How many mysteries do you think the Black Sea still holds and which are the most important discoveries What remains to be done regarding our past?
According to our calculations, there are thousands of sunken objects in the Crimean waters alone, of course, most of which are shipwrecks. Predicting discoveries is difficult. Every year, underwater archaeologists make new discoveries in one way or another. Thus, recently our colleagues from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences studied the ship of Mithridates VI Eupator in Phanagoria, and from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences they studied the remains of a medieval merchant ship into which the president embarked. A little earlier, we excavated two medieval ships of the 10th and 13th centuries at depths of more than 100 m. In 2016, we studied the legendary steamship Vesta, a hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. So there are a lot of discoveries.
The ancient city of Acre in Kerch is, in a way, the local Atlantis. It provides a large number of mysteries that the best archaeologists in the world are trying to solve. They are trying to find out about the peculiarities of life of the townspeople and where the entire population went after the city sank under water. It's really amazing place, which is worth watching while in Crimea.
Ancient city of Acre in Kerch
This city was first mentioned in ancient Greek records in the 6th century BC. Moreover, the Greeks themselves built it on the shores of the Crimean Peninsula. Interestingly, archaeologists could not find Acre for 200 years until they stumbled upon it in the 1980s. It was then that active excavations began. But the more experts found answers to the questions posed, the more new questions arose.
In the 3rd century AD the city was completely flooded. Now historians are trying to understand where exactly all the people who lived in the city went. Underwater archaeologists find unique household items that are in almost perfect condition.
The city was famous for its high quality wheat and large quantities of fish. The most skilled traders of antiquity also lived here. However, exactly how the flooding of the settlement occurred and what became of the residents is not known for certain.
Brief history of the city
Appeared this city as an independent settlement founded by the ancient Greeks. He's a little younger ancient Rome. It was a transit trading city, which was used exclusively for unloading goods from different countries and their further transportation to other shopping centers. There were always a lot of ships here, since it was one of the few ice-free ports.
Acre is located just 30 kilometers from modern Kerch. The largest number of buildings was near Cape Taki. It is interesting that until the 4th century this city was independent, but then became part of the Bosphorus Kingdom. It was founded by several other satellites Ancient Greece for protection from Scythian tribes.
The city flourished due to its craft and trade. An elite variety of wheat grew here, which could not be grown in the Mediterranean climate. That is why bread made from it was considered especially expensive. The city also sold large quantities of salted and dried fish.
Acre was first discovered in 1981. It was archaeologist Alexey Kulikov. At that moment he was 15 years old and he was interested in history. One fine day, when there were strong waves on the sea, he was trying to find ancient coins. He found one, and was also able to accidentally discover the remains of an ancient wall that were under the sand. The wave swept away this sand, exposing part of the structure.
It is interesting that all the treasures of Acre are kept in the Kerch Museum, despite the fact that the main excavations are carried out by Hermitage specialists. The city is of great interest to historians. In particular, the reason for its flooding is unclear and it is unknown where all the people went.
Flooding theories
There are two main theories:
In 1983, another large-scale expedition to Acre took place. In the course of it, it was possible to prove that this is a city, and not a village. Quite a lot of coins from various regions of the world, goods and other important exhibits specific to the city were found here. It was also possible to identify the defensive wall and tower. The area of the settlement was approximately 3.5 hectares.
Interestingly, there is a theory that Crimean peninsula- This is part of the once flooded Atlantis. This is evidenced by the flat terrain and similar climatic features. But professional historians do not pay much attention to this theory.
About the finds
Scientists manage to find a large number of exhibits. Some of them are on land, but most of them are flooded. Therefore, we have to involve underwater archaeologists. Due to the nature of technology development, it is impossible to lift some finds from the bottom now. This will pose a great danger to their safety. Therefore, they are buried back in order to wait for an increase in the level of technical equipment.
Here's what experts most often find:
- ancient coins;
- unique amphorae and jugs;
- household items of the residents of Acre;
- remains of buildings;
- various jewelry decorations.
All this is kept in the local museum. However, before being placed in the museum, all finds are analyzed for historical value in Feodosia. It is worth noting that before lifting objects from seabed, they need to be processed. Otherwise, some of them (especially wooden ones) may crumble after moving to another environment.
Today, scientific and technological progress has made great strides, which allows us to more carefully and deeply study the values in the Acre region. However, experts still have to wait for better times to study the remains of antiquity in more detail. Perhaps they will discover new secrets.
How to get to Acre
Unfortunately, most of the city is under water, so many of the exhibits can only be seen with scuba gear. It is important to understand that unauthorized excavations are prosecuted by law. Therefore, you can find a few antiquities, look at them and leave them in place. They can also be donated to a local museum.
This attraction is located just 30 kilometers from Kerch. It is necessary to use a private vehicle to reach the ancient city. With the help of a navigator you will definitely not get lost.
The ancient Greek city of Acre, which is located on the territory of modern Crimea, went under water about a thousand years ago - at the end of the 10th century AD. Local journalists nicknamed him Crimean Atlantis, because only a few meters of the fortification reach the land.
The city could not be found for more than a hundred years. The fact is that from ancient Greek the word “acre” is translated as “hill” (and here it is difficult not to remember the Acropolis - “upper city”). In addition, ancient authors (Pliny, Strobo, Ariana, Pseudo-Arian) mention Acre as a very small settlement, which led to the formation of two stereotypes among historiographers. Firstly, Acre is a small city, and secondly, it is located on a hill. But in reality, everything turned out to be exactly the opposite. Acres, where about a thousand people lived (at that time - the population of a large city), was an important port city south of the Bosporan state, which stood at the foot of Cape Takil - in fact, in the lowland. But all this became clear much later - only about thirty years ago - thanks to chance.
Underwater ruins of the city of Acre. Photo: https://s1.tchkcdn.com
In 1982, Crimean schoolboy Alyosha Kulikov found ancient coins on the coast, which, as it turned out, were used by local residents 2.5 thousand years ago. Later, having already received an archaeological education, Alexey Vladislavovich Kulikov began researching the ancient city and discovered three households, which were about two thousand years old. In the 1990s, excavations were stopped, but they were resumed quite recently, in 2010, on the initiative of Hermitage staff.
Antique map of Kerch. Photo: https://img.tourister.ru For the last six years, archaeologists have been exploring the ancient monument of ancient architecture - the city of Acre, most of which is under water. This year, the excavation spaces were “drained” for the first time.
“For the sixth year in a row, my expedition and I have been systematically exploring the ancient Greek site of Acre. But this year, for the first time, we carried out not only underwater work, but also work on land. More precisely, in the area under the coast: they made a large excavation with an area of one hundred square meters and studied the exits to the preserved underwater coastline remains of the city. We do not see such preservation of architectural remains that we see here anywhere else in the Northern Black Sea region,” comments Viktor Vakhoneev, deputy director of the Black Sea Center for Underwater Research.
Exploring Acre. Photo: http://cheap-trip.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Akra-Crimea-2.jpg Every year during the expedition, the scientists’ collection is replenished with amazing artifacts. One of the most important finds is a defensive wall with towers 150 meters long. Interestingly, it is visible even on satellite images.
“Acre was founded on a trapezoidal sub-triangular cape, which extended into the waters of the Kerch Strait for about 250 meters. The cape itself was very low. The Greeks settled here as a result of the colonization of the Bosporus in the early 5th century BC. And in the middle of the 4th century BC they crossed the cape with a defensive wall. This protected the city from barbarian raids,” says Viktor Vakhoneev. - We examined the defensive tower for several seasons, and what was our surprise when the base of the tower turned out to be made of huge oak beams in the shape of a cage! There are no known analogues in terrestrial archaeology. Perhaps this building was needed to combat seismicity or groundwater. One way or another, we examined wooden structures that are two and a half thousand years old!”
And in 2013, an ancient wooden comb about two thousand years old was discovered in Acre. It is impossible to find such an object within the framework of land-based archaeological excavations: organic matter simply disintegrates over such a long period of time.
Acre. Photo: http://suntime.com.ua/img/content/sight/2440/big_57426731330.jpgAs for the expedition of the 2016 season, archaeologists managed to collect many artifacts. Alexander Konevich, the author of the film “Acres,” spoke about one of the most significant: Archaeologists found a real home in the remains of an ancient Greek dwelling. Such an artifact is a real success. And one more proof that Acra really was big city, where the inhabitants were permanently located, and not a temporary fortress with massive fortification structures.”
In addition, a huge amount of ceramic remains from different times were discovered near the fireplace.
