Scythian barrow near Bychok village on the left bank of the Lower Dniester

Abstract

The article for the first time publishes and analyzes the materials obtained during the study of Scythian mound 6 near Bychok village on the left bank of the Lower Dniester. Description of the of the barrow and the graves: Four Scythian graves were studied under the mound. The barrow was built above the main burial in the catacomb. Its entrance pit was filled with stone, then covered with wood, and after a stone core was built in the center of the mound. Despite this, the burial was robbed; two amphoraу of Ikos, a black-glazed vessel, gold plaques, a silver finial and horse harness items were preserved from the grave goods. The bridle belonged to two horses, which were laid in the dromos. Simultaneously with the main burial two accompanying graves were built in rectangular pits under a wooden covering and a stone core in the center of the barrow. A “guard” was buried in one of them with a quiver set and sacrificial food with an iron knife, in the second burial were buried two bridled horses in a “standing” position. After a short time, the grave of a child in the catacomb was sunk into the mound. The entrance to the funeral chamber was covered with a stone wall; a molded jug and an abrasive tool were placed in the chamber. Barrow dating: Two Greek amphorae and a black-glazed lekanis from the main burial in the catacomb allow us to date the barrow to the second quarter of the 4th century BC. The secondary child burial was sunk into the mound no later than the middle of the 4th century BC. Final remarks: It must be stated that mound 6 near the Bychok village was built for the internment of a person (persons?) with high social status. This is evidenced by the design of the mound (with a stone core and a wooden covering in the center), the labor spends for the construction of the main catacomb, as well as two accompanying graves (“a guard” in a separate pit and two horses in a separate pit) and the burial of two horses in the dromos of the main grave. An iron bridle preserved undisturbed in the paired horse burial allows us to conclude about the evolution of some of its elements among the Scythians during the 4th–2nd centuries BC. The totality of data obtained during the study of the barrow not only adds the picture of the Scythian presence in the North-West Black Sea region, but also allows us to draw attention to some elements of the funerary rite and material culture, which were previously recorded extremely rarely or were not found at all in the region.