A small gold offering discovered at the Roman fortress of Apsaros in present-day Georgia bears the name of Trasymedes, a merchant from ancient Crimea. Researchers say he may have supplied Roman troops and travelled with some units across the Black Sea, but the link has not been established conclusively.
The Greek inscription, examined in a study published in 2026 in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, identifies Trasymedes as the donor and dedicates the object to Dolichenus. It is the first written evidence of devotion to the deity at Apsaros. The inscription does not explain why the offering was made.
The piece is a palm-sized, leaf-shaped votive, an object given to a deity in fulfilment of a promise or in thanks for help. Trasymedes may be the same merchant who was granted permission by the authorities of ancient Chersonesus to transport goods by sea without paying taxes or tolls—a privilege associated with considerable wealth. Whether he is the donor named at Apsaros remains uncertain.
Apsaros stood near the mouth of the Chorokhi River, about 15 kilometres from modern Batumi. Rome established a garrison there during Nero’s reign to oversee a frontier area of the Caucasus. Around 131 or 132, Arrian, governor of Cappadocia, inspected the fort and recorded details of its defences, weapons and supplies. Excavations have also uncovered a commander’s residence with mosaic floors and roof tiles stamped by units of the Legio V Macedonica.
A bronze figure of an eagle on a bull, found near the gold offering, may provide further evidence of worship at the site. Both animals were associated with Jupiter Dolichenus, and their proximity to the inscribed object supports the possibility that the garrison had a place for the deity’s veneration. Archaeologists have not yet found a chapel or temple that would have housed the offerings.
Dolichenus originated as a deity worshipped at Doliche in southeastern Anatolia, near modern Gaziantep. Roman soldiers and others connected with military camps helped spread his cult, though the reasons for its popularity remain unclear, according to Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski of the University of Warsaw, co-director of the excavations.
The objects from Apsaros date to the beginning of the second century, under Trajan and Hadrian. The cult’s widest expansion came later, from the second half of that century into the early third. The finds therefore raise the possibility that Black Sea garrisons helped carry the worship westward at an early stage, before it was also documented in places such as Vindolanda in Britain.
Sources: elDiario.es.