SITE
The ancient Greek colony of Chersonesos, situated in the extreme south-west corner of Crimea in Ukraine, was founded in the sixth century BC by colonists from Heraklea Pontikamajor, and survived as a Roman and Byzantine outpost until destruction by the Tartars in the 14th century A.D. The site is located in the suburbs of Sevastopol, headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, and one of the most secret places of the Cold War. It was, in fact, a closed city until 1996, requiring a special visa and official permission to work there. Chersonesos is one of two sites that contain the best-preserved evidence for the organization of ancient agricultural territories in the Greek world.

In ancient Greek the word chersonesos means "peninsula." The city was indeed located on a small peninsula between two bays. Tauric Chersonesos further denotes the location of the colony, that is, "in the lands of the Taurians." a warring tribe that inhabited the neighbouring mountains. Its history is intertwined with that of ancient Greece, Rome, and Byzantium.

As in other Greek colonies, life for the Chersonesites depended entirely on the agricultural territory, or chora, which lay adjacent to the city. The chora is especially interesting because of the research potential for particular problems related to colonization, such as the relations of Greeks to pre-existing and non-Greek populations and the relationship between the polis and the chora, the urban and rural members of the colonial community. It is also a site that has been occupied by many civilizations, a contact zone on the frontier between the various Greek, Taurian, Scythian, Goth, and Hun areas. There are intact remains of the Byzantine city abandoned in the 14th century. Few human settlements have endured as long (nearly two thousand years) or left such outstanding monuments of Greek, Roman and Byzantine civilizations in a beautiful natural setting.

ARCHITECTURE
The city was surrounded by a powerful fortification system constructed by the Greeks and then rebuilt by the Romans. Multiple ancient structures have survived including: Acropolis and an agora (place of public meetings), Hellenic theatre, Roman Citadel, medieval Christian temples, dwelling quarters, streets, pottery shops, fish salting shops, water wells, etc. Archaeologists have studied the territory for nearly 170 years. More than one third of the town has been excavated. Among the archaeological finds are the objects of exceptional value: the oath of the Chersonesos citizens, decrees, wall paintings, slate icons from the Christian churches, inscriptions, numerous house utensils.

The Reserve also includes Genoese Cembalo Fortress in Balaklava and the ruins of Kalamyta Fortress (stronghold) that was founded by the Byzantines in the 5th - 6th centuries AD. In the 15th century, a new fortress was built on the site of the old one. It was destroyed by the Genoese in 1433 and captured by the Turks in 1475 who renamed it Inkerman.

Documentary sources as well as epigraphic evidence from Chersonesos attest to the presence of Roman troops stationed at Chersonesos during the late second and early third centuries AD. Black glass pottery of the Greek period was also reported. There were other evidences that the site had been occupied from the Hellenistic period (3rd through 5th centuries BC) or earlier through the Roman period, intermittently down to modern times.

However, considerable damages caused by the Crimean War and World War II, have hindered the interpretation of the ancient remains.

CONSERVATION
The National Preserve was created in 1978 on the basis of the former Archaeological and Historical Museum of Chersonesos. The main goals of the Preserve include the protection and study of Chersonesos and its environs, namely the ancient agricultural territory of the chora , the medieval fortresses of Kalamita and Cembalo, and numerous archaeological sites within the administrative region of Sevastopol. Outreach to the public is another aim of the Preserve.

A national preserve was established to accommodate and organize the large number of scholarly investigations surrounding the numerous archaeological sites of the ancient city. In 1993 by decree of the President of Ukraine, the Preserve was given the status of a national institution of culture. Currently, the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos is not only a leading tourist attraction, it is also an important scholarly and methodological centre for archaeologists, historians, and specialists of related fields. In 1996, the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, consisting of the ancient city, chora, and site museum, was established by the Ukrainian government, but it currently operates on an annual budget of only a few thousand dollars. Expansion of the now-open Sevastopol city and unregulated encroachment of vacation homes have combined with the considerable rate of coastal erosion to whittle away at the site. Large numbers of unsupervised visitors scramble and sunbathe among the ruins, and conservation and restoration efforts suffer from a near-total lack of funding. While international financial assistance to the preserve is increasing, the greatest immediate threat is posed by the Russian Orthodox Church, which is asserting ownership claims on the site in an attempt to create a pilgrimage centre for Slavic Christianity at the expense of Chersonesos' "pagan" monuments.

Dr. Carter nominated Chersonesos to the World Monument Watch's list of The 100 Most Endangered Sites of world cultural significance. It has been included on the list (1996-2002) and designated as the "Ukrainian Pompeii", bringing interest from a wider public in the West. There is a crucial need for planning the proposed archaeological and natural preserves. Visits to the farm sites excavated 20 to 10 years ago have led Dr. Carter to conclude that un-conserved farmhouses would progressively become indistinguishable from the surrounding land. It was this first observation that prompted the first trial season of site conservation, by a team of Ukrainian and American students, under the direction of experts from the Program in Historic Preservation at the Graduate School of Architecture, Columbia University. The conservation effort involved the training of Ukrainian and Russian students alongside American historic preservation students in the techniques of site preservation, so that the conservation work at Chersonesos would be sustainable and ongoing. A long-term goal of this project, effectively a field school for archaeological site conservation, is to provide a pool of local, trained professionals.

Also, on-site communication became an obstacle due to the lack of infrastructure. Electricity and telephone service are regularly interrupted. This limitation coupled with unreliable Internet access providers, effectively eliminated the option of dialup Internet access. The Museum, equipped in summer 2000 by ICA (Institute of Classical Archaeology, Austin, TX) with a satellite and a generator now has high-speed Internet access used for web research and e-mail. The outcome of this investment includes making the research for the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos available on the Internet, improving the efficiency of research and data compilation, improving the collaboration on tasks and projects with colleagues worldwide, and preparing the Museum for the establishment of the Archaeological Park and International Field School.

Dr. Leonid Marchenko presented in 1998 a well-developed plan to save the ancient city of Chersonesos, the Museum, and to create an archaeological park of the chora. Conservation of farmhouses has been completed. A tourism management plan is underway, including the development of adequate access to and protection of the site and creation of didactic materials. Dr. Carter has developed with Dr. Machenko and Dr. Nikolaendo a thorough cultural resources management plan. Professor Joseph C. Carter, the Director of the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Texas at Austin, has been working in conjunction with the Preserve to establish an archaeological park and to this end has enlisted the assistance of non-profit and non-governmental organizations abroad.

In 1996, Chersonesos became the first National Preserve of the Ukraine and now falls under the direct authority of the Ministry of Culture in Kiev. Also 1996 saw the beginning of a successful pilot project of site conservation as part of the plan to create an archaeological park. A $6,000 grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation provided through the 1996 World Monuments Watch led to a $9,000 grant from the RGK Foundation of Texas to support this on-site conservation, which focused on the pilot project to restore one of the ancient domestic structures. In addition to the work done here by the restoration team from the University of Texas, staff members of the National Archaeological Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos participated to exchange information related to conservation methods.

However in the recent months, continuous attempts by the Ukrainian Orthodox church to challenge the authority of the Ministry of Culture at the site has led to several disturbing developments. For years, the church has made an illegitimate claim on the valuable land of Chersonesos. At the end of June 1997, with permission denied by the Ministry, a metal kiosk-like structure was erected over the ruins of the baptistery on the site, thus violating the integrity of the archaeological monument. The next steps of the church and government are unknown, but the survival of this invaluable Greek, Roman and Byzantine site is in the balance.

Pending the resolution of the intensifying political problems, the state of conservation of the site remains poor and unstable due to continuous exposure to visitors, weathering and a lack of a successful cultural resource management strategy.

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