Complex of medieval pithoi fromVarvarovka-3 settlement (Anapa city, Krasnodar region)

The article publishes a complex of pithoi of the 9th-10th centuries from the settlement of Varvarovka-3 (Anapa, Krasnodar Territory). All pithoi are imports from the southern part of Crimea. This complex mark the earliest stage of Byzantine coasting trade in the northeastern Black Sea region. Route connected the Bosporan Pont theme and the Anakopia fortress, where the Byzantine presence is also known. The authors suppose, that the s route was organized at the end of the 10th century. The security of coasting trade in the Black Sea region was provided by the theme of Euxine Pontus, mentioned in the Escurial Tacticon