SCYTHIAN BARROW No. 25 NEAR VILSHANKA IN THE SYNYUKHA RIVER BASIN

Abstract

This article presents the results of excavations of a Scythian-period burial mound located near the village of Vilshanka, Holovanivskyi District, Kirovohrad Region. Mound No. 25 formed part of a burial ground comprising ten mounds. The site was investigated by an archaeological expedition of the Kirovohrad Regional Museum of Local History under the direction of N. M. Bokii in 1968–1970. The artifacts recovered during the excavations are currently housed in the collections of the Central Ukrainian Regional Museum of Local History and the Vilshanka Local History Museum, and have only been partially published to date. Beneath the mound, a burial was discovered in a trapezoidal pit with steps. Around the grave, the remains of a substantial wooden covering and a stone kerb were uncovered. In the Scythian period, the mound was encircled by a ditch. The burial had been looted in antiquity, which significantly complicates its interpretation. The fill of the pit contained bronze plates and iron armour plates, bronze arrowheads, and a decorative conical fitting. Remains of sacrificial meat offerings were also recorded, representing an important element of the funerary rite. The bronze arrowheads provide the basis for dating the complex to the 5th century BC. An analysis of the burial rite and associated material culture suggests that the interment belonged to a warrior. The funerary practices observed in Barrow No. 25 show close parallels with those documented in Mound No. 32 excavated nearby, as well as with other sites in the Synyukha River basin. Comparative analysis, together with materials from other mounds of the Vilshanka burial ground, indicates that the complex may be attributed to representatives of the Scythian military elite. The burial also displays features characteristic of steppe traditions, reflecting interactions between the forest-steppe and nomadic cultural environments in this region.