Mound group “II” near Askania-Nova

Abstract

The article is devoted to the publication of the excavation results of the Krasnoznamianka expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in 1989 near the urban type settlement Askania-Nova in Kherson Oblast. Data are provided for 24 burials, almost entirely related to the Bronze Age: six Yamna culture burials, 13 Inhul culture burials, three Zrubna culture burials, one Sarmatian burial, and one indeterminate burial. Yamna culture burials belonged to ordinary representatives of this culture. All of them were found in the burial mound no. 7. Burial structures are pits with ledges. Noteworthy is a small flat-bottomed amphora from the grave no. 13. This type of ware is rather rare. A small number of Yamna culture burials does not allow drawing broad conclusions. However, it can be noted a rather rare orientation of some burials in the south-north direction. Catacomb burials belong to the Inhul culture. All of them have rounded entrance pits, short dromos, oval or semi-oval small chambers. In only one case, the deceased lies on his back with his legs bent at the knees. They are also represented by ordinary burials. Only the grave no. 12 from mound no. 7 can be considered an exception. The stone axe belonged to a warrior. Although in all other respects this is an ordinary burial. Attention is drawn to the burial no. 5 from mound no. 7. Three people are buried in this catacomb. Two adults and a teenager. Two adults are buried on top of each other on earthen bedding. The third — a teenager — lies at the feet of the first two. Perhaps this is an accompanying burial. The relatively large number of children’s burials is striking. The burial no. 8 from mound no. 7 testifies to the long coexistence of the Yamna and Inhul cultures. The legs of the deceased, raised at the knees, fall to the left. There are a lot of such burials in the steppe.
Among several Zrubna culture burials, the burial from the mound no. 6 attracts attention. There was a pit with ledges, in which the skeleton of a calf lay. This is a socially significant burial. In general, the burials described above supplement our knowledge of the Syvash sites of the Bronze Age.