Hermonassa
HERMONASSA (ἙρμώνασσαDionys. 552; Scymn. Fr. 152; Pomp. Mela, 1.19.5; Ptol. 5.9; Steph. B. s. v.), a place lying between Sindica and Phanagoria, which Rennell (Compar. Geog. vol. ii. p 331) fixes at the opening of the lake into which the Kuban river flows.
[E.B.J]Ionian colony near Taman on the S shore of the Gulf of Taman. It is mentioned in the ancient sources (Eust. ad Dion, 1. 549; Strab. 11.2.10; Plin. HN 6.18). Founded in the mid 6th c. B.C., it reached its zenith in the 4th-3d c. B.C. Many ancient buildings and streets have been uncovered, including a large dwelling of the 4th c. B.C. with an interior peristyle courtyard; remains of archaic structures; grain pits; and a hearth. There are also remains of buildings of the 1st-4th c. A.D., some along a paved street, and evidence of extensive replanning and construction in the 2d c. A.D.
The necropolis, which dates from the 6th-5th c. B.C., contains tumulus tombs. There is a fine marble sarcophagus from the beginning of the 3d c. B.C.; the lid is shaped like a pitched roof and has acroteria. The sides of the sarcophagus are decorated with a frieze of rosettes. The Hermitage and Kiev Museums contain material from the site.
BIBLIOGRAPHYI. B. Zeest, “Raskopki Germonassy,” KSIIMK 58 (1955) 114-21; id., “Raskopki Germonassy,” KSIIMK 74 (1959) 58-63; id., “Arkhaicheskie sloi Germonassy,” KSIA 83 (1961) 53-58; V. P. Gaidukevich, “Tamanskii nekropol' (raskopki 1931, 1938 i 1940 g.),” Nekropoli Bosporskikh gorodov [Materialy i issledovaniia po arkheologii SSSR, No. 69] (1959) 154-87; N. P. Sorokina, “Raskopki nekropolia Germonassy v 1956-1957 godakh,” KSIA 83 (1961) 46-52; A. L. Mongait, Archaeology in the USSR, tr. M. W. Thompson (1961) 200-201; E. Belin de Ballu, L'Histoire des Colonies grecques du Littoral nord de la Mer Noire (1965) 129-31; I. B. Brašinskij, “Recherches soviétiques sur les monuments antiques des régions de la Mer Noire,” Eirene 7 (1968) 109-10.
M. L. BERNHARD & Z. SZTETYŁŁO