Archaeologists working near Anapa on Russia’s northern Black Sea coast have identified a bronze ring engraved with the portrait of Arsinoe III (Ancient Greek: Ἀρσινόη ἡ Φιλοπάτωρ), one of the queens of Ptolemaic Egypt.
The discovery also highlights the far-reaching influence of the Hellenistic Greek world, where rulers, art and trade connected regions from Egypt to the Black Sea more than 2,200 years ago.
The ring was uncovered during excavations at Voskresenskoye 6, a Hellenistic-period estate about 500 meters northwest of Anapa’s railway station. In antiquity, the area lay within the sphere of Gorgippia, an important Greek colony in the Bosporan Kingdom that linked the northern Black Sea with wider Mediterranean trade networks.
The discovery was reported by Mikhail Yu. Treister, Irina V. Rukavishnikova and Denis V. Beylin in the journal Problemy istorii, filologii, kul’tury. The researchers identified the engraved female profile as Arsinoe III, who ruled Ptolemaic Egypt between 220 and 204 B.C.
Greek dynasty ruled ancient Egypt
Arsinoe III belonged to the Greek-Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty established after the death of Alexander the Great. Although the dynasty ruled Egypt for nearly three centuries, its kings and queens maintained the Greek language, traditions and artistic styles.
Their influence spread well beyond Egypt through the Hellenistic world, which stretched from the eastern Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
Bronze ring depicts Ptolemaic queen
The ring is a large cast bronze piece with an oval bezel and a broad shank. Researchers classify it as a “Ptolemaic-type” ring, a group of artifacts found across the northern Black Sea region during the Hellenistic period.
Similar rings often depict queens of the Ptolemaic dynasty, including Arsinoe II, Berenice II, and Arsinoe III, showing that royal imagery associated with the Greek rulers of Egypt circulated far beyond the Nile Valley.
Portrait points to Arsinoe III
The engraved portrait shows a woman facing left. Although small, the image preserves several distinctive features. The hairstyle includes a narrow headband, long curved locks, and a rounded bun tied at the back of the head. The bun is decorated with small rounded details that may represent curls, hairpins, or bead-like ornaments.
A rare bronze ring engraved with the portrait of Arsinoe III, queen of Ptolemaic Egypt, has been discovered near Russia's Black Sea coast.
The find offers new evidence of how the Greek-Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty and Hellenistic culture reached communities far beyond Egypt. pic.twitter.com/4BTdTfw36Y— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) July 7, 2026
According to the study, these characteristics closely match known depictions of Arsinoe III. Only a small number of comparable rings have been identified.
The ring was found with imported pottery
The artifact was recovered from the fill of Pit 4 during excavations conducted in 2024 by the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The same deposit contained 112 ceramic fragments, including amphorae, tableware, cooking vessels and building materials.
Researchers identified imported amphorae from Heraclea Pontica, Chios, Colchis and Knidos. Several of these were major Greek centers, reflecting the extensive commercial networks that connected the Black Sea with the wider Greek world.
Evidence narrows the ring’s date
The archaeological evidence also helps establish the ring’s age. While much of the pottery dates broadly to the Hellenistic period, the portrait provides a more precise timeframe.
If the identification is correct, researchers say the ring was made between 220 and 204 B.C., the years of Arsinoe III’s reign. Such a narrow dating range is unusual for a personal object found far from the major royal centers of the eastern Mediterranean.
The study also found that the ring was cast from leaded tin bronze, the same alloy used in other Ptolemaic-type rings discovered in the Bosporan Kingdom and at Chersonesus. That evidence strengthens its connection to this distinctive group of artifacts.
Discovery reflects Hellenistic connections
Researchers caution that the discovery does not suggest Arsinoe III ever visited the Black Sea region or that the ring belonged to an Egyptian owner. Instead, it illustrates how Hellenistic culture, trade, and artistic traditions crossed political and geographic boundaries.
Found in a household near ancient Gorgippia, the ring shows how symbols of the Greek rulers of Egypt became part of everyday life in communities hundreds of miles from Alexandria, underscoring the cultural ties that united much of the ancient Mediterranean and Black Sea worlds.
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