Landscape and historical research of ancient natural resource management on the Taman Peninsula

Taman Peninsula was selected as a key area for detailed landscape and nature studies. In the antique period, it was a part of the Bosporus state. Over a long period of uninterrupted economic use the landscape structure has changed significantly – the majority of local landscape complexes have been anthropogenically transformed. According to paleo-geographic reconstructions, the Taman Peninsula was a group of islands that were split by the river arms of the Kuban-Antikit. The elements of the antique settlement system were city-states (Phanagoria, Hermonassa, Kepoi, Patrei), rural settlements, roads, as well as plots of land. Rural district (khora) filled natural geographical boundaries – territorial and economic local microzones and occupied the whole islands: Cimmerida, Phanagoria and Sindika with one dominant city each. Around the settlements, along with vineyards, crops and vegetables occupied the main area of plains characterized with the steppe and dry-steppe landscape complexes. The most developed ones were landscape complexes of low-sloped plains and valleys of synclinal origin. Boundary fences of land plots fit into the terrain, which contributed to snow and water retention and prevented rain flows. At that time, a developed reclamation system existed. Perhaps this was the first experience of managing land plots in the territory of our country. As a result of the research conducted, a common set of anthropogenically transformed landscape complexes of the Taman Peninsula was identified, and a fundamental diagram of the landscape-economic system of the Khora of Phanagoria was made. Detailed landscape and historical studies with historical reconstructions of landscapes and nature and economic systems have allowed to trace distinct dependance of the development of cities, villages and farm lands of antique period on the landscape structure of the territory.