By the way, the history of Berezan Island is pretty interesting:
Berezan was home to one of the earliest Greek colonies (possibly known as Borysthenes, after the Greek name of the Dnieper) in the northern Black Sea region. The island was first settled in the mid-7th century B.C. and was largely abandoned by the end of the 5th century B.C., when Olbia became the dominant colony in the region. In the 5th century BC, Herodotus visited it to gather information about the northern course of the eponymous river. The colony thrived on wheat trade with the Scythian hinterland.
In the Middle Ages, the island was of high military importance because it commanded the mouth of the Dnieper. During the period of Kievan Rus’ there was an important station on the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. It was there that Varangians first came into contact with the Greeks.
The only Runic inscription in Southern Ukraine, the Berezan’ Runestone, was found on the island in 1905, now on exhibit in the Odessa Historical Museum. The inscription seems to have been part of a gravestone over the grave of a Varangian merchant from Gotland. The text reads: “Grani made this vault in memory of Karl, his partner.”
The article on the Berezan Runestone has a great deal more to say about Grani and his félag Karl.
The House of Vines 
Interesting you should mention this now…
I was going to look up Borysthenes yesterday, because I knew it had some geographical significance…the reason I was going to is because Hadrian had a horse that he especially loved of that name, who died in Gaul and whose funeral/tomb inscription we have. I wondered what the name might have meant to him…In line with Alexanders Bucephalus, which is in itself an intriguing name for those who are into, oh, I don’t know, Minotaurs and such…!?! ;)
[This has happened a lot over the last week: some random thought or memory which is then relevant within a day…I had the song “Mambo #5” pop into my head on Friday, and that night, a little clip from it was part of a show I was watching, which had just come out!]
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Oh, I didn’t know that – very, very cool! (Re the name of Hadrian’s horse.)
Re “Mambo #5” – I love when that shit happens. It usually indicates you’re tapping into something important even if the glitches and synchs in and of themselves are not significant.
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