Kamyana Mohyla ( uk, Кам'яна Могила; literally: "stone grave") is an archaeological site in the

Molochna River The Molochna (, russian: Моло́чная ''Molochnaya''), is a river in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of south Ukraine. Literally the name of the river translates as Milky. The river is connected with the Russian Mennonite culture, once based in th ...

(literally: "Milk river") valley, about a mile from the village of Terpinnia,

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( uk, Запорі́зька о́бласть, translit=Zaporizka oblast), also referred to as Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запорі́жжя, links=no), is an oblast (province) of southeast Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhzhia. The ...

, Ukraine. Petroglyphs of Kamyana Mohyla are dated from Upper Paleolithic (Kukrek culture) to Medieval, with Stone Age depictions subjected to most archaeological interest. The site encompasses a group of isolated blocks of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, up to twelve meters in height, scattered around an area of some 3,000 square meters. As

Noghai The Nogais ( Nogai: Ногай, , Ногайлар, ) are a Turkic ethnic group who live in the North Caucasus region. Most are found in Northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well as in Karachay-Cherkessia and Astrakhan Oblast; some ...

legend has it, it resulted from a scuffle of two

baghatur Baghatur ( otk, 𐰉𐰍𐰀, Baga; mn, ''Baγatur'', Khalkha Mongolian: Баатар ''Bātar''; tr, Bağatur, Batur, Bahadır; russian: Богатырь Bogatyr; bg, Багатур Bagatur; fa, بهادر; pa, ਬਹਾਦੁਰ , بہا� ...

s who took turns throwing rocks at each other. In truth, the site had its origins in a sandbank of the

Tethys Ocean The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents ...

. For a long time it was an island in the Molochna River, which has since been silted up and now flows a short distance to the west. It is thought to represent the only sandstone outcrop in the Azov-Kuban Depression. The shape of this sand hill is similar to that of

kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central As ...

s that dot the

Pontic–Caspian steppe The Pontic–Caspian steppe, formed by the Caspian steppe and the Pontic steppe, is the steppeland stretching from the northern shores of the Black Sea (the Pontus Euxinus of antiquity) to the northern area around the Caspian Sea. It extends ...

Petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s are found only inside the caves and grottoes of Kamyana Mohyla, many of them still filled up with sand. No adequate protection from the elements has been provided to this day. Few traces of ancient human settlement have been discovered in the vicinity, leading many scholars to believe that the hill might have served as a remote

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

. Faint traces of red paint remain on parts of the surface. Scholars have been unable to agree whether the petroglyphs date from

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

. The latter dating is more popular, although the presumed depiction of a

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...

in one of the caves seems to favour the former date.

History

In 1889, the Russian archaeologist

Nikolay Veselovsky Nikolai Ivanovich Veselovsky (, November 1848 - 30 March 1918) was a Russian archaeologist and orientalist. Born in Moscow, Veselovsky went to school in Vologda, and then studied at Saint Petersburg State University. Reader in 1877, extraordinar ...

was called upon to explore the enigmatic site and started excavations the following year. As soon as he concluded that the site was a burial mound, excavations were terminated. There was very little scientific exploration of the site during the first third of the 20th century. In the 1930s, the site was investigated by a team of scholars from

Melitopol Melitopol ( uk, Меліто́поль, translit=Melitópol’, ; russian: Мелитополь; based on el, Μελιτόπολις - "honey city") is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Zaporizhz ...

under Valentin Danylenko (1913–82). The young archaeologist claimed to have discovered thirty caves with petroglyph inscriptions which he dated from the 20th century BC to the 17th century AD. Danylenko resumed his work on the site after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and claimed to have discovered thirteen additional caves with petroglyphs. The site was designated an archaeological preserve in 1954. The move was intended to prevent the area from being flooded after construction of a

water reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

. During the following decades, the condition of petroglyphs visibly deteriorated. In 2006, the government of Ukraine nominated the site for inscription on the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

. On the whole, the Stone Tomb images represent traces of religious exercises of the hunters and cattle-breeders of this steppe zone of southeast Europe from the 20th century BC to the 17th century AD. Some caves are of artificial origin; their cultural strata have been fixed as the Neolithic, Bronze and Early Iron Ages as well as of Middle Age

Engravings inside the Bull Grotto (the drawing have sometimes been considered to be a mammoth) at Kamyana Mohyla have been studied in the 21st Century using digital tools.

Gallery

File:Kamenna2.jpg, A stone with petroglyphs File:KM-Gallery01.jpg, File:KM-Gallery03.jpg, File:KM-Gallery04.jpg, File:KM-Gallery05.jpg, File:KM-Gallery06.jpg, File:KM-Gallery07.jpg, File:KM-Gallery08.jpg, File:Музей (Каменная могила).jpg, Museum File:Музей, экспозиции (Каменная могила).jpg, Museum

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control IUCN Category III Megalithic monuments in Europe Upper Paleolithic sites in Europe Mesolithic Europe Neolithic Ukraine Archaeological sites in Ukraine Historic sites in Ukraine Protected areas of Ukraine Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC Rock art in Europe Geography of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Landmarks in Zaporizhzhia Oblast History of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Tourist attractions in Zaporizhzhia Oblast Protected areas of the Pontic–Caspian steppe Protected areas established in 1954 Prehistoric art

History

Gallery

Further reading

See also

References

External links