The Dura Europos Map of the Black Sea
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A parchment fragment with an illustrated map of the Black Sea coast was found at Dura Europos on the Euphrates. Scholars debate whether it belonged to the shield of a Roman soldoer or is merely a painting for aesthetic effect. The painted itinerary alludes to the mythical world of Homeric epics, and in particular to the story of Achilles, whose shield described by Homer was the first map. Achilles' shrine on the island of Leukas in the Black Sea was described in Arrian's Periplos of the Pontos, a work interweaving together Greek and Roman army culture for the unification of empire.
