Gilded Scythian sword found at Mount Mamai excavations in Ukraine

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on October 12, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Ukraine

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.

Gold-plated akinakes (Scythian dagger/short sword) with a leaf-ribbed grip, a cross-guard and a scabbard for the blade tip [Credit: MamaiGora/Facebook]

In July-August, 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.

The leaf-ribbed grip, cross-guard and scabbard of the Scythian short sword [Credit: MamaiGora/Facebook]

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

Excavation of the warrior's grave in which the sword was found [Credit: MamaiGora/Facebook]

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.

The gilded sword as it was found [Credit: MamaiGora/Facebook]

Judging by the objects lying nearby, he was a Scythian warrior and horseman. The archaeologists 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.

Ornaments and amphora found at the site [Credit: MamaiGora/Facebook]

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

In total, more than 700 burial sites have been found during excavations at Mamai Hora. 400 are Scythian. Nearby, close to Znamenka, 1162 burial sites dating back to the Middle Ages were excavated at Mamai-Surka burial grounds [Credit: MamaiGora/Facebook]

"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 archaeologists.

The basis of the Scythian army was lightly armed infantry. But the main strike force was detachments of heavily armed riders, protected by armour, helmets and shields. The Scythians were great arrows, skillfully wielding a short sword, bow, and spear [Credit: MamaiGora/Facebook]

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 BC, whereas previous Scythian findings were dated from the 4th-3rd century BC.

View of the excavation site [Credit: MamaiGora/Facebook]

For some time, the excavations work was kept secret as experts and researchers restored artifacts and conducted further studies.


The 32nd archaeological 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.

Author: Christine Chraibi | Source: EuromaidanPress [October 12, 2019]

Tripolye 'mega-structures' were ancient community centres

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 25, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Ukraine

So-called "mega-structures" in ancient Europe were public buildings that likely served a variety of economic and political purposes, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Robert Hofmann of Kiel University, Germany and colleagues.

Aerial view of the 200 ha large settlement area of the Tripolye mega-site Maidanetske with excavation areas. The construction of 3000 houses and the feeding of a population of several thousand people meant a considerable intervention in the landscape. The coexistence of 5000-15,000 people was also a great social challenge, which could only be met by establishing functioning political institutions for decision-making processes [Credit: CRC 1266]

Between 4100-3600BCE, the archaeological record in Eastern Europe reveals "giant-settlements" of the Tripolye culture that were home to many thousands of people. Recently, archaeological work at the giant-settlement of Maidanetske, Ukraine has uncovered evidence of so-called "mega-structures," large buildings of uncertain function also known from other similar sites.

In this study, Hofmann and colleagues compare the mega-structures of Maidanetske to over 100 others from 19 other ancient European settlements to investigate their function. The highly public location of these structures within their settlements and the lack of evidence of permanent habitation within them led the researchers to conclude these were public spaces. They also document a hierarchy of mega-structures based on their architecture and location; some were apparently well-suited to serve the entire community, while others served smaller segments of the community. These lower-level structures are also observed to decline in use over the history of the settlements.

Maidanetske. Redrawing of the plan of the magnetic survey (Adapted and extended for publication from the  Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Germany). Green buildings: Dwellings of settlement Maidanetske 1. White buildings: Dwellings of settlement Maidanetske 2. Light red buildings: adjacent dwellings of the primary plaza. Red buildings: Mega-structures at the  primary plaza. Yellow buildings: Mega-structures in the ring-corridor. Blue buildings: Mega-structures at different positions of radial pathways [Credit: Hofmann et al, 2019]

The authors suggest these buildings were likely used for a variety of ritual, economic, and decision-making purposes. The hierarchy of mega-structures may indicate that sequential decision-making at various levels of society was important for maintaining structure within such large populations. The team observed the disappearance of integrative buildings at lower and intermediate levels which is most likely the result of increasing centralisation in power. This underlying institutional loss, presumably, led to social imbalances in decision making processes and made giant-settlements unmanageable. The city-like settlements collapsed around 3650 BCE.

Hofmann adds: "The eldest protourban megasites of Europe collapsed after some generations around 3700 BCE, during which time they flourished with up to 10.000 inhabitants and attracted surrounding communities in the Northpontic forest steppe with their extremly fertile black soils. Now our interdisciplinary study detected one reason for their collapse: a social imbalance in decision processes led to an increased centralisation of power structures. These did not allow the managment of the city-like settlements any longer. In consequence, these Tripolye megasites are an example, how humans should not govern. Nevertheless, in consequence urbanism devloped much later in Europe then in the Near East."

Source: Public Library of Science [September 25, 2019]

Study reveals wildlife is abundant in Chernobyl

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on January 31, 2019 / comment : 0 Ecosystems, Environment, Natural Heritage, Ukraine, Wildlife

A scavenger study that used fish carcasses as bait provides additional evidence that wildlife is abundant in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, University of Georgia researchers said.

The rarely seen Eurasian otter preparing to feast in the canal [Credit: UGA]

A one-month camera study prompted the sighting of 10 mammal and five bird species, according to James Beasley, associate professor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

"These animals were photographed while scavenging fish carcasses placed on the shoreline of rivers and canals in the CEZ," he said. "We've seen evidence of a diversity of wildlife in the CEZ through our previous research, but this is the first time that we've seen white-tailed eagles, American mink and river otter on our cameras."

Beasley is referring to a 2015 study that provided the first evidence that wildlife--including gray wolves--exists in abundance in this ecological zone of about 1,000 square miles that was abandoned by humans after the 1986 nuclear accident.

The new results, published in the journal Food Webs, provide evidence that aquatic nutrient resources can flow to terrestrial landscapes and become available to terrestrial as well as semiaquatic wildlife, like otter and mink.

Lead investigator Peter Schlichting, an SREL postdoctoral researcher at the time of the study, said previous studies reported that scavenging activity can connect various food webs, but scientists don't fully understand how this occurs.

In the current study, fish carcasses were placed at the edge of open waters at the Pripyat River and in nearby irrigation canals, mimicking the natural activity that occurs when currents transport dead fish carcasses to the shore, according to Schlichting, now a postdoctoral research associate at Arizona State University.

The results show that 98 percent of the fish carcasses were consumed within one week by a multitude of scavengers.

"This is a high rate of scavenging, and given that all our carcasses were consumed by terrestrial or semi-aquatic species, it verifies that the movement of nutritional resources between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems occurs more frequently than often recognized," Beasley said.

"We tend to think of fish and other aquatic animals as staying in the aquatic ecosystem. This research shows us that if a reasonable proportion of dead fish make it to shore, there is an entire group of terrestrial and semi-aquatic species that transfer those aquatic nutrients to the terrestrial landscape."

The team compared scavenger activity at the river with scavenger activity at the canals, evaluating parameters including the percent of carcasses consumed and how quickly they were consumed; the number of species that showed up; and how frequently each species was detected.

The team found that scavenger efficiency was higher in the river because the limited shoreline cover increased the visibility of the fish carcasses, making them easier to find. But, as the team predicted, richness was higher in the canals.

"Many former agricultural areas within the CEZ were irrigated through the use of these small canals," Beasley said. "Most of them still hold water, but they are overgrown with vegetation that provides cover for wildlife, so they are used by a wider array of species."

Source: University of Georgia [January 31, 2019]

8,300-year-old ritual stone snake heads discovered in Ukraine

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on December 14, 2018 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Ukraine

What might be passed over as two oddly shaped rocks are the work of Stone Age artisans who sculpted the rocks into beady-eyed snake heads, archaeologists have found.

The archaeological site known as Kamyana Mohyla I (arrow), where the stone snakes were discovered. Nearby sits the Kamyana Mohyla stone mound [Credit: Kotova N., et al., Antiquity 2018; aerial photograph by S. Radchenko]

It's a mystery why these ancient people, who lived in what is now Ukraine, created the stoney serpents, but the researchers have a good guess.

"These sculptures could have ritual purpose," said study lead researcher Nadiia Kotova, an archaeologist in the Department of the Eneolithic and Bronze Age at the Institute of Archaeology National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine. "They were probably used during ceremonies."

Kotova and her team found the snakey stones in 2016, during an excavation at Kamyana Mohyla I, an archaeological site near the city of Terpinnya. Both stones, although different ages, were found near ancient bones and flints from the same period: the Mesolithic, which is the middle Stone Age between the earlier Paleolithic and later Neolithic. There were many sandstones at the site, but "these two had quite a strange shape, so we decided to look closer," Kotova told Live Science in an email.

The "younger" snape sculpture has triangular eyes [Credit: Kotova N., et al., Antiquity 2018;  figure by N. Kotova]

The "older" figurine was found near an open fireplace, near piles of shells and flint tools. Using organic matter from the fireplace, the researchers were able to radiocarbon date the yellow sandstone snakehead to between 8300 BC. and 7500 BC.

This snakehead is small, measuring only 5 inches by 3 inches (13 by 6.8 centimeters) and weighing almost 3 lbs. (1,215 grams). It has a triangular shape with a flat bottom. "Two rhombic eyes were carved on the upper surface alongside two knobs" on the stone, the researchers wrote in the study. "A wide, long line represents a mouth."

Regrettably, the snake was "damaged on the 'nose' during excavation," the researchers wrote in the study.

The "older" figurine of the snake. Notice its rhombic eyes [Credit: Kotova N., et al., Antiquity 2018; figure by N. Kotova]

The "younger" stone snake was also found by a fireplace and was dated to about 7400 BC. It measures about 3 inches by 2 inches (8.5 by 5.8 cm) and weighs just under 1 lb. (428 grams), meaning it can comfortably fit in a person's hand, Kotova said.

"The smaller stone has a flattened, round shape and so-called 'neck,'" Kotova said. "There are two deep traces, probably the eyes of the creature. There is also kind of a nose."

The two findings represent the only snakehead stones known at Kamyana Mohyla I. However, scientists did discover a fish-like stone sculpture at the nearby Kamyana Mohyla, a giant stone pile just a stone's throw from the snakeheads' spot.

The fish-like stone that was found in the Kamyana Mohyla mound [Credit: Kotova N., et al., Antiquity 2018; image courtesy of B. Mykhailov]

Archaeologists don't know much about the people who made these sculptures, except that these prehistoric inhabitants lived on the steppe of the northwestern region of the Sea of Azov. "They made tools from stones, flints and bones and hunted with bows and flint arrows," Kotova said. "It was the society of hunters and gatherers. Unfortunately, we don't know much about their cultural traditions yet."

The study was published online in the journal Antiquity.

Author: Laura Geggel | Source: LiveScience [December 14, 2018]

Unique ivory statuette of Graeco-Egyptian god Harpokrates unearthed in Crimea

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on October 01, 2018 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Crimea, Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine

A unique ivory statuette depicting the god Harpokrates was discovered by archaeologists from the Bosporos Archaeological Expedition of the Research Centre for History and Archaeology of Crimea, the Crimean Federal University in Vernadsky and the Centre for Archaeological Research Foundation Demeter.

Credit: Crimea Press

The statuette, which is exceptionally well preserved, was discovered during the excavations of the ancient city of Tyritake (Greek Diya) located in the southern part of modern Kerch.

Dating from the first century BC the statuette is believed to depict  the child god Harpokrates, "with a cornucopia, as well as two satyrs and a goose," said Alexander Aybabin, director of the Research Centre for History and Archaeology of Crimea.

Credit: Crimea Press

Harpokrates was the god of silence, secrets and confidentiality in the Hellenistic religion developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria (and also an embodiment of hope, according to Plutarch). Harpokrates was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptian child god Horus.

The head of the expedition, Viktor Zinko, added that this year work was carried out in two areas in the ancient city. Investigations focussed on the northern fortress wall of the ancient city, which in the second half of the fourth and early third centuries BC served as a powerful defensive structure.

Credit: Crimea Press

In 2018, scientists began researching the residential quarter to the south of the city wall, where they found an early medieval building with a large stone stove in its upper cultural layers.

In the central part of the city, the western city wall and the buildings adjacent to it were also investigated. This part of the city fortification wall was built at the end of the 6th century BC. During the course of excavations, a number of structures dating from the sixth to first centuries BC were discovered.

"In addition to the statuette of the god Harpokrates, various amphorae, pottery and bronze coins were also found,” said Viktor Zinko.

Source: Crimea Press [October 01, 2018]

Grave of Sarmatian warrior found in southern Ukraine

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 24, 2018 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Europe, Ukraine

An ancient warrior's burial has been found on the first day of excavations at the Arabatskaya Strelka site in Ukraine's Henichesk District.

Credit: Oksana Chornobrivtseva

"This is a great day! Today, the first day of excavations started by the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine at Arabatskaya Strelka, we found the burial of 2,000-year-old Sarmatian warrior, a rider about 160cm tall, his head facing north-west, with his iron sword and a vase next to him", said archaeologist Oksana Chornobrytsev.

Credit: Oksana Chornobrivtseva

Originating in the central parts of the Eurasian Steppe, the Sarmatians were a large confederation nomadic Iranian tribes that flourished from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD.

Credit: Oksana Chornobrivtseva

These tribes occupied much of southern Ukraine, inhabiting steppe areas from the watershed of Tisza and the Danube to the Aral Sea.

Source: Херсонці [September 24, 2018]

Grave of female Scythian warrior found in Ukraine

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on September 01, 2018 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Europe, Ukraine

Ukrainian news sources have reported the discovery of a burial of a female Scythian warrior – traditionally equated with the Amazons mentioned by the Greek epic writers and the historian Herodotus.

Credit: Mamia Gora

The burial, dating to the late fifth/early fourth century BC, was found on the Mamai mountain in the Kam'yansko-Dniprovskyi District, Zaporozhye region of Ukraine.

Credit: Mamia Gora

Among the grave goods was a miniature jar for perfurmes or aromatic oils (Greek lekythos), an exquisite bronze mirror, bronze arrowheads and two lead spindles.

Credit: Mamia Gora

The finds suggest that the grave belongs to a high-status woman, while the arrow heads are indicative that she was also a warrior.

Credit: Mamia Gora

The outline of the funeral pit was noticed by archaeologists after a trench was created by a bulldozer, after which manual excavation and cleaning around the area of the grave took place.

Credit: Mamia Gora

Anthropologists will study the remains to determine her age and cause of death.

Source: Zik [September 01, 2018]

Ancient marble statue found in Crimea

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on August 28, 2018 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Crimea, Eastern Europe, Europe, Russia, Ukraine

A marble statue of a partially draped male torso, said to date to the Hellenistic period, has been found during the course of excavations at the ancient fortifications Myrmekion, an ancient Greek colony in the Crimea.

Credit: Alexander Butyagin

The statue, possibly depicting Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine and patron of physicians, was found in a destruction layer of a villa dating to the first century AD.

Credit: Alexander Butyagin

The colony of Myrmekion was founded by Ionian settlers in the first half of the 6th century BC, in the eastern part of what is today the city Kerch.

Source: Russia News Today [August 28, 2018]