The Greeks and Romans in the Black Sea and the Importance of the Pontic Region for the Graeco-Roman World (7th century BC-5th century AD): 20 Years On (1997-2017)

The Greeks and Romans in the Black Sea presents the Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities, dedicated to the 90th birthday of Prof. Sir John Boardman, President of the Congress since its inception. It was held in Constanţa in September 2017 with the same theme as the first of these congresses, which took place just down the coast in Varna 20 years earlier (‘the Greeks and Romans in the Black Sea and the importance of the Pontic region for the Graeco-Roman world between the 7th century BC and 5th century AD’), celebrating the work of successive congresses in bringing together scholars and scholarship from Eastern and Western Europe and the extensive progress of ‘Black Sea Studies’ in the intervening years. Overall, 85 papers were received for publication from authors in Western and Eastern Europe—there is also a full set of the abstracts submitted to the Congress in Appendix 2. As with previous congresses, the work is divided into sections, the largest of which, the fourth, is, following a pattern established with the first congress, devoted to New Excavations and Projects. The opening lectures and various papers in the first sections reflect (on) the ‘20 years on’ in the title. The vast majority of contributions are in English, a handful each in French and German.