SCYTHIAN BARROW NEAR THE VILLAGE OF KOPANI IN THE UPPER REACHES OF THE INHULETS RIVER

Abstract

The article presents the materials from the excavations of the Scythian barrow near the village of Kopani of the Subotsivska community of Kirovohrad region. The site is located in the upper reaches of the Ingulets River basin on the border of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe and the Steppe zone. In antiquity, this region served as a contact zone between nomadic and sedentary tribes. The barrow was excavated in the summer of 1990 by an archaeological expedition led by N. Bokii. The materials of these excavations are in the collection of the Ninel Bokii Archaeological Museum of the Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University. At the time of the research, the barrow was damaged as a result of agricultural work. The excavations of the site were of a rescue nature. A warrior's burial was found under the mound in a sub-rectangular pit with steps near one wall. Despite the robbery of the grave, the remains of the accompanying equipment were found: two bronze arrowheads, fragments of iron armor, a bronze earring, and a stone spheroid. The remains of sacrificial food in the form of cattle bone fragments with oxides from an iron knife were also found in the grave. It was also recorded that during the funeral rites, rituals related to the cult of fire were used. There is a deep ditch around the mound. The artefacts allow us to date the site to the second half of the 6th century B.C. The presence of different types of arrowheads in a single assemblage suggests that the mound belongs to the so-called transitional group of Scythian antiquities. The analysis of the finds and the funeral rite suggests that the grave belonged to a representative of the Iranian nomads of the steppes. The site's dating aligns with the migration of a new wave of steppe nomads into the Forest-Steppe region. The materials of the mound are an interesting addition to the Scythian antiquities of the Right Bank.