TRACES OF THE ANCIENT PATHS IN THE STEPPE TAVRIA

The original appearance of the steppe surface of the southern part of the eastern European plane was transformed by the centuries of the anthropogenic impact. Along with feather grass the traces of the ancient roads have disappeared. However, the satellite images still detect the areas around some kurhans having kept the waggons traces. We can recognize them due to the different color of vegetation as well as by the coloration of the open soil. The antiquity of the roads near kurhans is witnessed by the cases of tracks, covered by the burial mounds, that were erected in the Bronze Age. An additional indicator of the ancient transport network on the maps of the 19th century are wells or groups of pits in the open steppe, the number of which should be associated with the need to water a large number of cattle. The latter occurred during the arrival of a trade caravan or a train of wagons. The kurhans themselves are an ancient form of mass cult buildings in the Eurasian steppe, which have attracted both large main and secondary roads. Powerful tradition of building kurhans, fading and restoring through times, existed from the Eneolithic to the late Middle Ages. The appearance of new mounds or the completion of existing ones periodically renewed the system of landmarks in the monotonous steppe. The paper provides an overview of previously unknown megastructures near the Scythian giant kurhans of Oguz and Chortomlyk, which in the form of light parallel stripes are recorded on satellite images. These stripes are probably traces of trenches or the foot of stone alleys, that were found to the east of the edge of the Oguz and outreached 800—850 m, and from Chortomlyk — 670 m. A search on various satellite images of the similar light stripes near other kurhans did not yield positive results. However, in the central part of the Dnieper-Molocha steppe region, satellite images luckily detected 19 nodes (intersections) of ancient ways connected to the kurhans’ mounds. Some of these nodes do yet not fit the complete road network of the region. But six of these nodes appear to be in the area of the route of the ancient path, known in the Middle Ages as Muravsky (Murava Route). It leaded from the Don basin, through the left (eastern) part of the basin of the Dnipro River to Crimea through the Isthmus of Perekop. Interestingly, this branch of the Muravsky Trail crosses the Sirogozy ravine between the kurhans of Kozel and Oguz. In previous reconstructions of the transport network, the option of passing this branch in the south of the Oguz, between the giant embankment and Diyiv kurhan, was preferred. The other three intersections lie in the lane of the old Chumaks’ Way or the Crimean Way, marking a forty-kilometer section between kurhans Kozel and Velyka Tsymbalka. From the center of the Tavria Steppe at least four directions of paths emerge towards the ancient Dnipro fords-crossings: Rogachytsia, Lepetych, Cair (Nosakiv) and Kіzikermen (Tavan).

THE COMPOSITION OF THE POPULATION BURIED AT THE SCYTHIAN AGE CEMETERY NEAR SVITLOVODSK CITY (ACCORDING TO CRANIOLOGY)

The anthropological composition of the population buried at the cemetery of the Scythian Age near Svitlovodsk city (Kirovograd region) is analyzed in the paper. The burial ground is located on the border of the Forest-Steppe and Steppe Zones of the Right Bank of the Dnieper. The anthropological material under study comes from cemetery without mounds. Archaeologists date the main massif of burials to the 4th century BC. The anthropological composition of the population that was buried at this burial ground was not homogenous. The male series of skulls is characterized by a long, medium-wide, high, dolichocranic skull. The face is of medium size, it is mesognathic. The horizontal profile of the face at the upper level is medium, but with a tendency to the sharp; at the middle level, the face is strongly profiled. The orbital and nasal indexes are medium. The bones of the nose are moderately protruding. The average characteristics of the male population fit into the range of variations of the Scythian series. The male series belongs morphologically and statistically to the circle of the steppe Scythian groups. The male group from the burial ground near the city of Svitlovodsk is close to the series from the Nikolaevka burial ground on the Dnister River, the group of skulls from the burial mounds near the village of Shirokoe (Left Bank of the Dnieper River), the group of skulls from the burial mounds near the village of Vyshchetarassivka, a series of skulls from the Mykhailivka burial ground. Of the forest-steppe series, only the combined group of skulls from the Trypillya region is somewhat close to it. All these statistically and morphologically similar groups originate from different territories. This illustrates the specifics of the settlement and demonstrates the mobility of the Scythian groups. The female series from the burial ground is characterized by a long, narrow, medium-high skull, mesocranic in shape. The size of the face is small, it is mesognathic. The horizontal profile of the face at the upper level is moderate, at the zygomaxilar level it belongs to the category of sharp, but with a tendency to moderate. The orbital index is medium, the nasal index belongs to the large category. The bones of the nose are medium protruding. The female series from Svitlovodsk burial ground turns out to be the most gracile among the Scythian series in Ukraine. For this reason, it differs significantly from the entire massif of the steppe Scythian series. The closest to the Svitlovodsk series is a group from mounds near Nikopol.

«THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN». THE SKYTHIAN GRAVE IN THE BARROW NEAR KUSTORIVKA VILLAGE

In 2013 near Kustorivka village of Krasnokutsky district, Kharkov region the Scythian burial mound (5th—4th centuries BC.) was excavated. The inserted burial of a beheaded man has been discovered there. Fragments of horse bones, horse harness, numerous arrowheads, the spearhead and knife were unearthed in the grave. Funeral inventory dates the burial to the 2nd half or the end of 5th — the early 4th century BC. The grave goods allowed us to suggest that the man was a horseman and possessed a bow with arrows, javelin or lance. These assumptions have been confirmed by anthropological studies of the development of muscles relief, injuries and specific skeletal markers. The skeleton showed clear signs of a horseman’ and archer’ osteological complexes. The man died at the age of 20—25. The skull, first and second cervical vertebrae were absent in the undisturbed burial. The upper part of the left intervertebral condyle of the 3rd vertebra was cut off by the hit from left behind and below. These signs are evidence of decapitation. In addition, numerous cut marks made with a sharp blade were found on the anterior and lateral surfaces of the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae, as well as on the left femur above the knee. Thus could be the signs of the body cleaning of waste tissue for its transportation or in course of the preparation for the burial. Studies of the horse’s remains showed that it has deceased at the age of 10—12 years. The horse was decapitated as well by the hit directed between first and second cervical vertebra. The head was also cut in half and only one part of it was present in the burial. There were also some bones of the animal’s skeleton, which do not belong to the edible parts of the body. The severed head of the horse was located above the place where the man’s head was supposed to be, thus the horse harness was situated on the level of the human skeleton. Traces of the possible preparation of the human body for burial and the location of the remains of a horse over a lost human head along with other changes in the skeleton indicate a certain funeral rite, direct analogies of which have not yet been found in the North Pontic region.

RESEARCH OF THE SETTLEMENT OF PRAGUE-KORCHAK CULTURE IN RIVNE CITY

The paper introduces into scientific circulation the results of research of the objects of Early Slavs of the Prague-Korchak culture in a multi-layered settlement in the southern part of Rivne city. The settlement is located on the eastern shore of the Basiv Kut Reservoir, on the oval hill measuring 220 Ч 120 m. The first finds of the Early Middle Ages were discovered here by V. K. Piasetskyi in 1989. In 2019, the excavations were carried out on the area of 590 m2; the housing and storage pit of the Prague-Korchak culture have been discovered. The quadrangular foundation pit of 3.5 Ч 3.5 m square was sunk into the earth to the 0.3—0.4 m from detection level. The remains of stone stove made on the wooden frame were located in the northern corner of the dwelling. Such semi-dugout dwellings with the stove in one of corners was the main type of residential buildings in the population of the Prague-Korchak culture. The pillar holes found in the corners of the foundation pit and in the middle of the walls indicate the frame-pillar construction of the wooden walls. Among the stones from the destroyed stove and on the earthen floor in the central part of the foundation pit of the dwelling the remains of nine clay pots were found. We managed to reconstruct the full profiles of seven of them; two else vessels are represented by the profiles of the upper parts. The pots from the dwelling have a conical body, weakly marked shoulder, scarcely marked neck and short rim. The surface of the item is insufficiently smoothed and bumpy. The admixtures in the clay are mostly of small and medium size, with added fireclay, grus and sand. By their size the vessels are divided into small (1), medium (5) and large (3). All pots from the dwelling belong to variants 1—3 of the first type according to I. P. Rusanova’s classification. This combination is typical of the early monuments of the Prague-Korchak culture. The analysis allows attributing the ceramic complex from Rivne to phaze 1 according to I. O. Havritukhin and to date it as belonging to the second half of 5th — mid-6th centuries. The settlement was not large; two or three farmsteads could simultaneously exist there. They were located at a distance of 100—150 m from each other.

MEDIEVAL FLANGED TILES FROM THE SOUTH-WESTERN CRIMEA: PROBLEMS OF PRODUCTION LOCALIZATION, TYPOLOGY AND CHRONOLOGY

This text is about the problem of typology, localization of the producing and dating of medieval building ceramics (Flanged tiles) of the South-Western Crimea. The investigation of products of tile production centers in the South-Western Crimea allowed to systematize a large complex of archaeological sources. They came from various archeological sites that were located throughout the region. Technological and morphological typology allowed to arrange and dating all this complexes and different material in some cases with an accuracy of up to two decades. The unified technological and morphological description and typology of the material described development and evolution of tile production craft in the South-Western Crimea trough the Medieval time. Therefore, this work could be a variant of a unified field guide for medieval Flanged tiles from Crimean sites and a chronological chart for them.

RAIKY CULTURE IN THE MIDDLE DNIEPER

The paper is devoted to the Raiky culture in the Middle Dnieper. It reveals major issues of the phenomenon of Raiky culture and their possible solutions considering the achievements of Ukrainian archeologists in this field. The genesis, chronology and features of the development of material culture of the Raiky sites in the 8th—9th centuries of the right-bank of the Dnieper are analyzed. In general the existence of the Raiky culture in the Middle Dnieper region can be described as follows. It was formed in first half of the 8th century in the Tiasmyn basin. The first wheel-made pottery has begun to manufacture quite early, from the mid-8th century (probably at the beginning of the third quarter). At the first stage, the early vessels have imitated the hand-made Raiky forms as well as the Saltovo-Mayaki imported vessels. Significant development of the material culture occurs during the second half of the 8th century. At the same time, the movement of the people of Raiky culture and the population of the sites of Sаkhnivka type has begun in the northern direction which was marked by the appearance of the Kaniv settlement, Monastyrok, and possibly Buchak. This stage is characterized by the syncretism both in the ceramic complex and in the features of design of the heating structures. Numerous influences of the people of Volyntsevo culture (and through them – of Saltovo-Mayaki one) are recorded in the Raiky culture. It is observed not only in direct imports but also in the efforts of the Raiky population to imitate the pottery of Volyntsevo and Saltovo-Mayaki cultures, however, based on their own technological capabilities. The nature of the relationship between the bearers of these cultures is still interesting. The population of Raiky accepts the imported items of Saltovo-Mayaki and Volyntsevo cultures, tries to imitate high-quality pottery of them, and even one can see the peaceful coexistence of two cultures in one settlement — Monastyrok, Buchak, Stovpyagy. However, the reverse pulses are absent. There are no tendencies to assimilate each other. Although, given the number and size of the sites, the numerical advantage of the Volyntsevo population in the region seems obvious. There is currently no answer to this question. The first third of the 9th century became the watershed. The destruction of the Bytytsia hill-fort and the charred ruins to which most of the settlements of the Volyntsevo culture has turned, is explained in the literature by the early penetration of Scandinavians into the region or as result of the resettlement of Magyars to the Northern Pontic region. In any case, this led to a change in the ethnic and cultural situation in the Dnieper basin. According to some researchers, the surviving part of the population of Volyntsevo culture migrated to the Oka and Don interfluve. For some time, but not for long, the settlements of Raiky culture remained abandoned. Apparently, after the stabilization of situation, the residents have returned which is reflected by the reconstruction of the Kaniv settlement and Monastyrok; in addition, on the latter the fortifications have been erected. The final stage of the existence of culture is characterized by contacts with the area of the left bank of Dnieper, the influx of the items of the «Danube circle», as well as the rapid development of the forms of early wheel-made pottery. The general profiling of vessels and design of the rim became more complicated, the rich linear-wavy ornament which covers practically all surface of the item became characteristic. This suggests the use of a quick hand wheel which has improved the symmetry of the vessels, as well as permitted to create the larger specimens. The evolution of the early wheel-made ceramic complex took place only by a variety of forms, however, technological indicators (dough composition, firing, density and thickness of vessel walls) indicate the actual invariability and sustainability of the manufacture tradition. The discontinuance of the functioning of the latest Raiky sites (Monastyrok and Kaniv settlements) can be attributed as the consequences of the first stages of consolidation of the Rus people in the Middle Dnieper dating to the late 9th — the turn of the 9th—10th centuries.

GRAFFITI FROM THE WESTERN OUTSKIRTS OF OLBIA PONTICA

This paper is preliminary review of a small collection of graffiti from the latest excavations on the western outskirts of Olbia Pontica (the so-called «suburbs») in 2015—2020, and their introduction into scientific circulation. The excavations were conducted by the Olbia International Archaeological Expedition led by A. V. Bujskikh as the part of Ukrainian-German multidisciplinary project (co-directors A. V. Bujskikh and J. Fornasier). The researches on the suburbs were headed by A. G. Kuzmischev and J. Fornasier. Over six years of research in various cultural strata and in the fillings of half-dugouts, pits and other objects more than 50 graffiti have been found, inscribed mainly on the fragments of Attic black-lacquered tableware of the 5th—4th centuries BC. Emphasis is placed on determining the main types of inscriptions and their features. Regardless of the year and location of discovery they are divided into five groups: A. Abbreviated anthroponyms or individual words; B. Initials of proper names or one-letter marks; C. Graffiti on treated ostracons; D. Various digital signs and records; E. Graffiti of unclear meaning. The collection under study significantly supplemented the source base of the small epigraphy of the Olbia polis. However, no original, rare and to some extent important informative inscriptions which were recorded in temenos, residential neighborhoods, in some settlements and in Borisfen have been found yet here. In addition the damage of many graffiti makes impossible to interpret them reliably. In no one case we could identify reliably the inscriptions dedicated to any deities. Instead, the large number of abbreviated names and initials of the owners of dishes coincides with a significant import of Attic black-lacquered ceramics in the life of the inhabitants of the suburbs in the 5th—4th centuries BC. Despite the relatively limited number, processed ostracons have replenished this category of Olbia votive finds by the original graffiti of magical significance. At the same time, the fact that in general in the suburbs is a lot of graffiti with digital markings which are most often attributed to traders, deserves special attention. Of course, in the future, all the graffiti from the suburbs need a more detailed visual study both as the fragments of ceramics and their exact professional sketches, and comparative analysis of this type of inscriptions from many ancient Greek sites.

NEW EXHIBITS OF ITEMS WITH CHAMPLEVE ENAMELS IN SUMY REGIONAL MUSEUM (PRELIMINARY REPORT)

During 2018—2020 items with Champleve enamels were presented to Sumy Regional Museum by Sumy residents, S. I. Gutsan and R. A. Bobkov. They were shown at an exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Museum in September 2020. The collection consists of more than 70 items (tabl. 1). There are brooches (horseshoe-shaped, triangular, round), pendants (cruciform, lunnula), chains, bracelets, diadems, torques, appliquй, finger-rings, trapezoidal pendants, spurs etc. Because these finds were kept in private collections and were presented to the Museum by their owners, the items could be considered accidental finds except location of them was more or less accurate. Preliminary analysis of things from the collection allowed us to determine the following. The area of finds includes different areas of Sumy region, but those found in Sumy’s suburbs significantly dominate, and by dating they mostly belong to the second stage of development of East European Champleve enamels, according to E. Gorokhovskyi — to the middle and second half of 3rd century. Metal and enamel of things were analyzed by the researchers of The Institute of Applied Physics of NASU using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Situation around archeological monuments requires a rapid reconstruction, adaptation of science to new unfavorable conditions. This publication is prompted by an attempt to obtain maximum information from sources whose reliability is questionable. Moreover, the things analyzed in this publication are of great importance for solving many important questions of archeology, in particular, for the reconstruction of the Slavonic peoples’s genesis.

D. T. BEREZOVETS AND NETAILIVKA BURIAL GROUND OF SALTIV CULTURE: DISCOVERY, MODERN RESEARCHES, RESULTS

Peculiarity of the Netailivka burial ground, noted by its discoverer D. T. Berezovets, is the total predominance of burials where the bones of the buried people are completely absent. At the same time the burials often contain grave goods located in the places when the bodies of the deceased should have been lied. This fact allowed D. T. Berezovets to suppose that initially the burial was performed on the surface of the earth where the body was exposed to natural factors and only after that it was re-buried into a pit. However, the researches of recent years show that burials were made in full accordance with the funeral rite of the Proto-Bulgarian population of the Saltiv culture. The absence of human remains in most of the burial pits should be associated with the specific hydrological conditions prevailing at the site of the necropolis in the post-Saltiv period. In a number of burials of the burial ground the later activity in the burial pits, associated with ritual actions performed in ancient times, were recorded. These actions testify the existence of the so-called «final ceremony» among the Netailivka people, the holding of which meant the end of mourning for the deceased person and made the death of a relative complete and final for the living. The study of the chronological markers of the site made it possible to attribute the time of the burial ground to the stage of the formation of the Saltiv culture in the region and to date the earliest burials of the necropolis to the 740—790 AD. The set of decorations and brooches from early burials shows that the original area of the migration of this population was the North-Eastern Caucasus (the territory of modern Chechnya and Dagestan). The location of the horse remains in the burials of the horsemen indicates the mixed Turkic-Ugric character of the population, which was part of the tribal union of the «Bulgars». The date of the burial ground and the probable area of residence of the population which made it, allows us to identify the «Netailivka» people with the representatives of the nomadic Bulgar union known from literary sources as «Sabirs / Savirs»

CERAMIC STAMPS FROM VILINO (RASSADNOE) — IN PERIODIZATION AND CHRONOLOGY OF THE SITE (SOUTH-WESTERN CRIMEA)

This paper is devoted to the publication of amphora stamps discovered during excavation at the settlement of Vilino (Rassadnoe) in 2008—2014. During the research of the settlement the eastern border of the ancient estate and the main chronological framework of the settlement life were ascertained. The stone monumental structure was discovered in 2008. This is the cistern for collecting and storage of rainwater. In the Late Scythian time it was used as a burial structure (crypt). Ceramic stamps found at the site are represented by such centers as Sinopa, Chersonesos, Rhodes. Unfortunately not all of them were discovered in the cultural layers (in situ) and some were found in disturbed layers, at the surface or in the looter’s holes. Nevertheless, with a lesser or greater degree of probability, it’s possible to correlate them with the chronology of the settlement and periods of its life. On the excavated areas of the site four building periods (A—D) were observed — two Classic and two Late Scythian. The first period is associated with the time of activity of the Greek fortified estate (Chersonesos Сhora) from the last quarter of the 4th to the early 3rd century BC. In the second period, after a break, the population has come back to the settlement in the last quarter of the 3rd century BC. There was the period of recolonization during which the restructuring of the settlement has carried out. At the end of the first quarter of the 2nd century BC the life at the settlement was stopped. The next two periods correspond to the Late Scythian culture. However, the layers and building remains of the late 2nd century BC — 1st century AD was destroyed by plowing and looter’s holes. The upper horizon of the settlement contains the material from the 1st—3rd centuries AD. The stamps and other archaeological material are important chronological indicators of the archaeological site in the system of the Chora of Chersonesos and in the whole Western Crimea.