Melgunov Kurgan (), also known as Lyta Grave (), is one of the oldest

Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...

kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus (burial mound) constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons, and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into mu ...

s (burial mounds) from 7th century BC.

History

The kurgan was excavated in September 1763 near the village of Kopani (nowadays located in

Kropyvnytskyi Raion Kropyvnytskyi Raion is a raion (district) of Kirovohrad Oblast in central Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Kropyvnytskyi (until July 2016 Kirovohrad). Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, ...

Kirovohrad Oblast Kirovohrad Oblast (), also known as Kirovohradshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (''province'') in central Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kropyvnytskyi. The oblast's population is It is ...

). The work was carried out on the instructions of

Oleksiy Melgunov Oleksii, Oleksiy, Oleksij or OleksiĭALA-LC romanization of Ukrainian ( ) is a Ukrainian male name of Ancient Greek origin. Some people with the given name Oleksiy * Oleksiy Martinez (born 1996), Ukrainian haxball forward * Oleksiy Antyukhin (b ...

(after which the kurgan was named), who would later become the general governor of

Novorossiya Governorate Novorossiya Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, which existed in 1764–1783 and again in 1796–1802. It was created and governed according to the "Plan for the Colonization of New Russia ...

. It was investigated by in 1892 and in 1990. Excavations were also done by Y. Boltryk in 2019. Information about the excavations is fragmentary and contradictory. It was established that the kurgan was built in 7th century BC and modified in 4th century BC. The mound is about 10.5 m tall. The kurgan consists of burnt slagged soil with the remains of melted metals, burnt bones, stones, earth, and clay mixed with coal. The use of fire was a part of the funeral rite. Golden jewelry and sword decorations were found in the kurgan, and they are currently stored in

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

and Kharkiv Historical Museum (although a large part of the collection was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

bombings). At the depth of 2 m, multiple items were found under stone slabs: an

acinaces The acinaces, also transliterated as akinakes ( Greek ) or akinaka (unattested Old Persian ''*akīnakah'', Sogdian ''kynʼk'') is a type of dagger or xiphos (short sword) used mainly in the first millennium BCE in the eastern Mediterranean Bas ...

with a golden hilt and a gold-plated wooden

scabbard A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, dagger, knife, or similar edged weapons. Rifles and other long guns may also be stored in scabbards by horse riders for transportation. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring ...

decorated with images of fantastic animals, a golden

diadem A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty. Overview The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fro ...

, silver details of an Assyrian palace stool, 17 gold plates depicting an eagle with hinges on the back, a plate with images of monkeys and birds, a bronze clasp with images of lion heads, 40 bronze arrowheads, rings, and other objects. The items did not have any traces of fire.

Significance

The site has outstanding significance, as it is the only known Scythian royal mound of the time in the Northern

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

region. In 2020, the kurgan's mound was restored and a memorial sign was installed. The image of the eagle from the golden plates found in the kurgan is depicted on the coat of arms of Kirovohrad Oblast, which is also features on its

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

Gallery

File:Scythian Statue 4 Kirovograd Local History Mesuem Lapidarium (YDS 3166).jpg, A

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

from Melgunov Kurgan, now stored in Kropyvnytskyi Local History Museum File:Skifskaya baba (Kirovgrad).JPG, A stele found near

Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul, Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement ...

that is believed to have originated form Melgunov Kurgan

References

{{Coord, 48, 43, 28.9, N, 32, 22, 50, E, display=title Archaeological sites in Ukraine Kurgans Scythians Tourist attractions in Kirovohrad Oblast