Melitopol Kurgan

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Melitopol’ Kurgan

 

a Scythian barrow of the fourth century B.C., located in the northwestern part of the city of Melitopol’. It was excavated in 1954 by A. I. Terenozhkin. Two catacomb-like tombs were discovered beneath a mound measuring about 6 m high. One of them contained the remains of a noblewoman and a female slave. About 4,000 gold ornaments and the remains of a funerary chariot were also found. The second tomb belonged to a Scythian warrior. A gorytus (quiver) faced with gold, a battle belt, and 50 small gold plaques were found in a secret chamber. A grave containing two horses was found near the second catacomb. The Melitopol’ Kurgan resembles such royal Scythian barrows as Solokha and Chertomlyk.

REFERENCES

Terenozhkin, A. I. “Skifskii kurgan v g. Melitopole.” In the collection Kratkie soobshcheniia instituta arkheologii AN USSR, fasc. 5. Kiev, 1955.
Pokrovskaia, E. F. “Melitopol’skii skifskii kurgan.” Vestnik drevnei istorii, 1955, no. 2.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.