3. History of Scythian Mounds Research in Ukraine.

Active study of Scythian mounds and burials began in the nineteenth century. At that time, Ukrainian lands (except Western Ukraine) were part of the Russian Empire.

Regular archaeological research in the steppes of the Lower Dnieper began by archaeologist Ivan Zabelin.

Ivan E. Zabelin (born September 17 (29) 1820 – died December 31, 1908 (January 13, 1909) is a Russian historian, archeologist, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (since 1907). Member of the Moscow Archaeological Society. He studied the history of the ancient Russian state and Moscow, as well as the crafts and life of the feudal era. Excavated the Scythian and Greek graves of the northern Black Sea.

In 1835-1854, Zabelin worked as a history teacher at the Konstantinov Border Institute. In 1859, at the suggestion of Count Sergei Stroganov, Zabelin went to the Imperial Archaeological Commission as a junior member, and was commissioned to excavate the Scythian mounds in Katerynoslav province and the Taman Peninsula, near Kerch, where many interesting finds were made.

The results of the excavations are described by Zabelin in The Antiquities of Herodotus Scythia (1866 and 1873) and in the reports of the Archaeological Commission. In 1876, Zabelin left the commission. In 1871 the University of St. Vladimir was awarded his Doctorate in Russian History. In 1879 he was elected chairman of the Moscow Society of History and Antiquities and then a friend of the chairman of the Imperial Russian Historical Museum named after Emperor Alexander III.

He spent most of his archaeological excavations on the territory of modern Ukraine (in the 19th century, these lands were part of the Russian Empire). In 1860, Ivan Zabelin explored partially the Krasnokutsk Barrow. In 1862–1863 an expedition of the Imperial Archeological Commission under his leadership explored the Chortomlyk mound. In 1865, Zabelin explored the Kozel Mound.

Zabelin noted the peculiarities of the structure of the mounds, distinguished some details. In 1865, Zabelin in Kozel Barrow (Mound) opened three horses' graves and a central mine with chambers at angles. In Greater Cymbalka in 1867–1868, he opened a catacombs with three cameras, and a separate grave with six horses.

Another archeologist. who at that time excavated Scythian mounds was Dmitry Samokvassov.

Dmitry Samokavsov (born 15 (27) May 1843, Stakhorshchyna, Novgorod-Siversky County - died 5 (18) August 1911, Moscow) - an archaeologist and historian of law, originally from Novgorod-Siverskyi; Professor of Russian Law at Warsaw and Moscow Universities. Head of the Moscow Archives of the Ministry of Justice (1892-1911). Samokvassov excavated archaeological sites in the Russian Empire, including in Ukraine.

He was born on the village of Stakhorshchina (now the village of Novgorod-Siversky district, Ukraine) in a noble family. He completed his secondary education at the Novgorod-Siversky Gymnasium, and his higher education at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University (graduated in 1868).

He remained at the department of Russian law to prepare for the degree of master of law. In 1873 he became professor of law at the University of Warsaw, in 1877 he became secretary, and in 1887 - the dean of law. In 1892 he moved to Moscow, became an extraordinary professor at Moscow University, and in 1900 - emeritus professor emeritus.

Since 1872, Dmitry Samokvasov has conducted archaeological excavations in Ukraine, Poland and Bessarabia. One of the most significant excavations was the study of mounds in Chernihiv, in particular, the Mound of the Black Tomb.

He participated in the III Archaeological Congress in Kyiv (1874), VI Archaeological Congress in Odessa (1882), IX Archaeological Congress in Vilna (1893); XIV Archaeological Congress in Chernihiv (1908).

In 1908, during the congress in Chernihiv, he also excavated. Excavations from the territory of Ukraine (Chernihiv, Vyshgorod, Gatne, Kyiv (China) were submitted to the Archaeological Museum of Kiev University.

In 1884, Dmitry Samokvassov excavated the largest Mound (5th century B.C.) - 7 meter height, where he discovered a large tomb pit with the remains of a wooden cellar.

In the late 19th century Scythian mounds were investigated by M. Veselovsky.

Veselovsky Mykola Ivanovich (November 12 (24), 1848, Moscow - April 12, 1918, Petrograd) is a prominent Russian archeologist, orientalist who has studied the history and archeology of Central Asia. He conducted excavations in Samarkand, the first to explore the Black Sea and Scythian antiquities, excavated the Kelermessky Mounds, the Maikop Mound, the mounds of Solokha and Oguz. Professor of St. Petersburg University (1890), Corresponding Member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1914).

In the years 1889-1892 Mykola Veselovsky spent the field seasons in Tavriya, excavating the Shulhiv mound on the outskirts of the village. Novomykolaivka (now Melitopol district in Zaporizhzhya). Four field seasons from 1891 to 1894, Mykola Veselovsky, at the head of an archeological expedition, explored the Scythian Mound of Oguz in the territory of the modern Kherson region. Around the same time, a scientist is exploring the Stone Tomb.

In 1896 - Mykola Veselovsky led excavations at the Belorichenska village. 1897 - he excavated a barrow near Maykop. 1898 - Mykola Veselovsky excavated a barrow near Ulyap (Adygea) aul and found the burial place of a Scythian king in it.

For two field seasons (1909-1910) a scientist explored the mound of the Chmireva grave in Zaporizhzhya. M. Veselovsky, resumed work on the Chmireva Grave. He opened the catacombs for the second time, and in the West he was able to find a hiding place with 10 silver vessels.

Mykola Veselovsky's work began in the Dnieper-Molochansky inter-river region in 1889. For three seasons he explored two mounds near the village. Shulgivka. In addition to Shulgivka, in 1891. Veselovsky began four-year excavations of Oguz and examined the Dive Mound for a "test".

In 1890 the residents of villages neighboring to Syrohozy village conducted unauthorized excavations of Scythian mounds. Therefore, the Archaeological Commission in 1897 sent K. Dumberg there. He dug up the Dive Mound, collected items from the destroyed Mound in Pokrivka, and explored the Small Mound near Oguz. K. Dumberberg's mission did not stop the looting, so it was continued by F. Brown the following year. Between the Upper and Lower Syrohozes, he excavated four mounds, and in Chmireva Grave opened two catacombs and a grave of 10 horses in a precious bridle.

The first generalizations of the Scythian monuments were made by O. Lappo-Danilevsky (1887). He expressed considerations on the life and burial customs of the Scythians, among them the opinion on the dependence of the depth of the grave with the quality of the soil, examined the moats and crepes. O. Lappo-Danilevsky divided the Scythian graves into four classes.

Alexander Lappo-Danilevsky (born 15 (27) January 1863 – died February 7, 1919) - Russian historian, archeographer and sociologist. Ordinary Academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1905). Member of the International Sociological Institute, International Association of Academies (1913). Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Cambridge (1916). Coordinator of activities of a number of provincial scholars of archival commissions.

He was born in a noble family on the estate Udachne (Malo-Sofiyivka) - now the village of Malosofiivka of the Krynichansky district of Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine. He graduated in the Simferopol High School with a gold medal (1882), St. Petersburg University (1886). Author of works about Russian social and economical history of the 17th-18th centuries, the history of the peasantry, diplomacy, the problems of Russsian archeography, as well as Scythian studios. Science heritage and views of Alexander Lappo-Danilevsky had a considerable influence on growing up of the historical science in Russian empire.

The first half of the twentieth century in Ukraine proved to be very difficult. In 1917-1921 the Ukrainian Revolution took place and Ukraine's independence was restored. But this independence was lost. The territory of Ukraine was divided by neighbors - Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania.

During the First World War 1914-1918 and World War II 1939-1945, the study of Scythian mounds for archeologists was almost impossible.

The most successful period of scientific study of the Scythian mounds should be considered to be the period after the end of World War II. On July 14, 1944, the Bureau of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic approved the structure of the Institute of Archeology. A department of Scythian-Sarmatian archeology was established within the Institute of Archeology as a separate scientific unit. Subsequently, its name has been repeatedly changed.

Well-known Ukrainian archaeologists worked in the department. It was they who led the excavations of Scythian mounds and settlements in the 1940s and later. The next period of exploration of the great Scythian mounds was opened in 1954 by O. Terenozhkin's expedition. In the Melitopol Mound, he dug two deep graves. A mound near Kamyansky settlement (1946) was explored on the Left Bank by the expedition of B. Grakov.

During the 1940s-2000s, Scythian settlements and mounds explored archaeological expeditions under the direction of Fabritsius I.V., Terenozhkin O.I., Chernenko E.V., Mozolevsky B.M., Murzin V.Yu., Skory S.A., Pokrovska E.F., Dmitrov L.D., Grakov B.N., Illinska V.A., Vyazmitina M.I., Bidzilya V.I., Cherednichenko M.M., Leskov O.M., Yakovenko E.V., and others.

It was during this period that the staff of the Scythian-Sarmatian archeology department explored the unique Scythian burial mounds of Gaimanova Tomb, Fat Tomb, Kazenna Tomb, Zavadsky Tombs, Babi's Tomb, Water Tomb, Chabantsev's Tomb, Denysov's Tomb and others. The results of the excavations were analyzed in hundreds of scientific papers and books.

Excavations in the period after 1945 had to be carried out under new conditions. The steppe territories of southern Ukraine were actively inhabited. At this time, the development of new industrial sites was rapid. The construction of new factories and factories sometimes threatened the destruction of old Scythian mounds. Archaeologists, in collaboration with local authorities and businesses, tried to make it possible to excavate the mounds. This had to be done before construction work was started near them.

Scythian settlements and tombs are regularly studied by archaeologists. Every year there are new interesting finds. Archaeologists exploring the history of the Scythians and Sarmatians make new discoveries every year. Just a few facts.

1996. Ukrainian and Polish scientists have discovered an undisturbed tomb of a Scythian military commander containing some 1,000 gold and silver decorations and weapons.

The tomb was found near the central Ukrainian village of Ryzhanivka, 90 miles southeast of Kiev.

It was the first undisturbed Scythian burial site found since 1830, said Yuri Boltrik of the Ukrainian Archeological Institute. The Scythians were an ancient nomadic people who lived north of the Black Sea and founded a powerful kingdom that fell in the 3rd century B.C.

''Central Ukraine has many Scythian burial mounds,'' Mr. Boltrik said, ''but most of them have been robbed in ancient times, so finding an undisturbed tomb is a rare stroke of luck.''

And here are more recent finds.

2016. About 30 pieces of Scythian gold have been found in a kurhan (burial mound) in Bilsk, Kotelevsky District, Poltava Oblast.

Scholars and archaeologists started exploring the ancient city of Gelonus 110 years ago. According to the Greek historian Herodotus (484–425 BC), Gelonus was the capital of the Scythian tribe Budini. In his account of Scythia, Herodotus writes that the Gelonii were formerly Greeks, having settled away from the coastal towns among the Budini, where they “use a tongue partly Scythian and partly Greek”: “The Budini for their part, being a large and numerous nation, are all mightily blue-eyed and ruddy. And a city among them has been built, a wooden city, and the name of the city is Gelonus. Of its wall then in size each side is of thirty stades and high and all wooden. And their homes are wooden and their shrines. For indeed there is in the very place Greek gods’ shrines adorned in the Greek way with statues, altars and wooden shrines and for triennial Dionysus festivals in honour of Dionysus…

Above the Sauromatae (Sarmatians), possessing the second region, dwell the Budini, whose territory is thickly wooded with trees of every kind. The Budini are a large and powerful nation: they have all deep blue eyes, and bright red hair. The Budini, however, do not speak the same language as the Geloni, nor is their mode of life the same. They are the aboriginal people of the country, and are nomads. Their country is thickly planted with trees of all manner of kinds. In the very woodiest part is a broad deep lake, surrounded by marshy ground with reeds growing on it. Here otters are caught, and beavers, with another sort of animal which has a square face…”

Many expeditions have been organized in the area, but no precious objects were discovered during the digs… until today. Stanislav Zadnikov, senior fellow at the Museum of Archaeology of the Karazin Kharkiv National University: “I’ve never found so much gold. Once I found a plaque measuring 1 cm by 1 cm, but here we’ve found several dozen!”.

And completely new finds from the tombs of the Scythians.

2019. An intact grave of a Scythian warrior was the main find of the 2019 season at the excavation site at Mount Mamai burial grounds in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine.

In July-August 2019, during excavations and exploration of a small mound on Mount Mamai, archaeologists came across a trench with remains of animal bones and small fragments of amphorae. These constitute clear signs of a mourning celebration characteristic of the Scythians and other ancient cultures.

Further excavation revealed two graves – a larger central burial pit and a smaller one. At first, the archeological team decided to clear the smaller one. It took almost three days.

While dusting and cleaning the contours of the pit, the archaeologists came across a rare gray clay amphora.

In the pit lay a skeleton, which, as later revealed by anthropologists, belonged to a young man aged 18-20 years.

Judging by the objects lying nearby, he was a Scythian warrior and horseman. The archeologists also discovered an iron axe, bronze and bone arrows, and bridle buckles. The most interesting artifact is a gold-plated akinakes (Scythian dagger/short sword) with a leaf-ribbed grip, a cross-guard and a scabbard for the blade tip.

Not only had the young warrior been buried together with his weapons, but also with some ornaments; the archeological team found beads made of glass paste, a red deer tooth necklace, a gold earring and a gold pendant with chalk inlay.

“This grave was adjacent to another, much larger tomb, which had been looted some time ago. We found an arrow tip and bone fragments. An elderly man had been buried here. It’s quite possible that this 18-20-year-old warrior could have been escorting a prominent leader.” say the archeologists.

Not only is the dig important because of its ancient treasures and weapons, but it also brings more specific information on the dating of Scythian findings in Mount Mamai area. Experts date this burial site further back in time – from the 6th century B.C., whereas previous Scythian findings were dated from the 4th-3rd century B.C.

For some time, the excavations work was kept secret as experts and researchers restored artifacts and conducted further studies. On September 26, the heads of the archaeological expedition of the Zaporizhzhia National University, Hennadiy Toshchev and Svitlana Andrukh held a press conference to explain the Scythian burial grounds.

The 32nd archeological season at Mount Mamai has been called the most successful of all. The artifacts will be preserved in the Museum of Local History in Kamianets-Dniprovsky.

NOTE. Mamai Hora (Mount Mamai) is the most important multi-complex burial mound in the Northern Black Sea region, as well as one of the largest ancient burial sites in Europe. It is located on the left bank of the Khakhovka Reservoir near the village of Velyka Znamianka in Kamianets-Dniprovsky Raion, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Archeological teams have discovered an impressive array of artefacts dating back to the Neolithic period, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, Middle Ages, in other words, regional history spanning about 8,000 years.

It is possible that the original footprint of the site was substantially larger, but has been reduced considerably due to the loss of more than 300 metres of shoreline after the Kakhovka Reservoir was created.

Unfortunately, the shoreline continues to slide into the reservoir. Over the past 30 years, nearly 400 metres have dropped into the water. Scientists say that it is impossible to stop this process. Therefore, since 1988, archeological teams from the Faculty of History of Zaporizhzhia National University have been continuously carrying out digs and salvage work on the site.