Скіфське поховання в двокамерній катакомбі з ґрунтового могильника біля м. Світловодськ

Abstract

(en) The Scythian cemetery of the 4th century BC was discovered in the outskirts of Svitlovodsk (Kirovohrad Region) in 1975. As of now, 155 separate burials belonging to the Scythian period have been researched there. Burial No 155 raises some interest due to the peculiarities of the funeral rite. It is a catacomb which has two burial chambers. The entrance pit is subsquare-shaped and has dimensions 1.65 x 1.90 m. It is also 1.7 m deep and oriented along North West — South East axis. A vertical granite slab was positioned in the middle of the entrance pit closer to its Western wall. The remnants of the offered food (cattle bones) were found near the foundation of this symbolic stele. In the pit itself a bronze three-bladed arrow point was found. Three X-shaped relief signs could be discerned in the lower part of the point between its blades. Similar arrows Eire well known in the Scythian sites of the Steppe and Forest-Steppe regions. Two burial chambers, male and female ones, are located parallel to the South-Western and North-Eastern sides of the entrance pit. According to the V. Olkhovskiy classification the features belong to the catacombs of Type 1 Variant 3 А which existed in the late Scythian period. The peculiarities of the funeral rite and the grave goods stock including arrow points and adornments indicate that Burial No 155 of the Svitlovodsk burial field could be dated 4th century BC.