On the Discovery of a Fossil Seal Scapula in Ancient Panticapaeum (Crimean Peninsula)
Journal: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
Year: 2025

ABSTRACT This study reports the discovery of a fossilized left scapula of the extinct Miocene seal Cryptophoca maeotica within Hellenistic layers of Panticapaeum, an ancient Greek city on the Kerch Peninsula, Crimea. Excavated from a 4th‐century ad water cistern repurposed as a refuse deposit, the scapula represents a rare instance of fossil remains in an urban archaeological context. Morphological and biometric analyses, supported by the region's Miocene geological context, confirmed the specie