Sensational discovery in Khortytsya: archaeologists discovered a deep grave of a Scythian warrior
A team of archaeologists has made a sensational find - the grave of a tall Scythian warrior buried about 2,500 years ago on the island of Khortytsya in the Zaporizhzhya region.
The burial was discovered by the archaeological expedition of the Khortytsky National Reserve under the guidance of Dmitry Nikonenko , candidate of historical sciences and leading researcher of the department of protection of monuments of history, archaeology and nature.
The entrance to the three-meter deep catacomb was buried under a large number of heavy granite boulders. Archaeologists explain that this was done to protect the burial site from robbers and gravediggers.
Photo: Khortytsky National Reserve
By the standards of his time, the warrior was very tall - a little more than 1.8 meters, and was clearly able to shoot a bow. The average height of the Scythians did not exceed 1.6 meters. Archaeologists also found an iron knife with a bone handle, the remains of a quiver with bronze arrows and sacrificial food (sheep bones).
"Our team from Khortytsky National Reserve has been working for two months at the Scythian cemetery, where we discovered an intact burial. This is a very rare find! The warrior was about 35-40 years old, his teeth were in perfect condition, he was very tall. He was definitely not a peasant, but a Scythian warrior!" - says expedition leader Dmitry Nikonenko.
A closer examination of the warrior's pelvic bones revealed that he probably spent most of his time riding a horse. In addition, according to Dmitry Nikonenko, he was not an ordinary man, as he was buried in such a deep grave with great care.
Photo: Khortytsky National Reserve
A cromlech was built over the burial site. It is a megalithic construction of large stone blocks symbolizing the sun. Such stone constructions were very common among ancient peoples.
"The burial site was quite deep. The depth of the pit was three meters. It was not easy to build it. I can describe it as a catacomb, that is, they first dug the entrance pit, then made a niche - an underground chamber where they placed the deceased. The entrance to the pit was lined with large stones. Usually we find one or two boulders, but here we found a large number of stones, some of which weigh more than 200 kilograms," Nikonenko added. - Nikonenko added.
According to Maxim Ostapenko , director of the Khortytsky National Reserve , in 1995 he and his team found the burial of a Scythian woman with a mirror, a necklace and a cantharous (a large two-handed drinking vessel). All these objects were brought from Egypt.
Archaeologists say that such findings indicate that the island of Khortytsya was an important Scythian settlement, a major trading center, which was visited by foreign traders, namely Greek merchants.
"Such findings indicate that Khortytsya was a relatively densely populated settlement in Scythian times. It was an important trading point, as merchants and nomadic tribes could cross from one bank of the Dnieper to the other. Thus, the people who lived here controlled and ensured the crossing of the river. This means that Khortytsya was a very important, strategically important place at that time," Nikonenko concluded.