1. Location-Excavations
Chertomlyk was one of the Scythian royal tumuli of the 4th c. BC, situated on the western bank of the Lower Dnepr, 30 km to the north-west of Nikopol, in the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine.
The central part of the burial mound was excavated in 1862-1863 by I. Zabelin. The unexcavated part of the tumulus was researched in 1979-1986 by a joint Soviet-German expedition directed by B. Mozolevskii, V. Murzin and R. Rolle.
The height of the burial mound before the onset of the excavation was 19.5-22 m, with a diameter of ca. 115-120 m, shaped like a frustum (top diameter ca. 15 m). The tumulus was enclosed by a supporting stone wall ca. 2.5 m high. Assemblages of horse bones mixed with harnesses and human bones were found outside the wall near the surface, at regular intervals. They probably constitute the remnants of the guard of dead riders, which were placed along the perimeter of the royal tumuli according to Herodotus.1 Traces of funerary feasts were also discovered near the wall, namely animal bones and fragments of amphorae, including stamped ones from the end of the 4th c. BC.
2. The central tombs
The main tomb is situated in the centre of the tumulus. The entrance is essentially a well ca. 11 m deep, quadrangular in plan. The well led to four chambers situated on the tumulus corners ca. 5 x 4 m each. One more chamber (No. 5) is situated to the northwest of the north-western chamber (No. 4) and is connected with it by a large passage. The central tomb was plundered in antiquity, but many objects have survived. Chamber no. 5 contained the burial of a king and one accompanying burial. Among the finds are numerous gold objects (rings, plaques for sewing on clothes etc.), two bronze cauldrons, several iron swords decorated with gold, the gold facing of a gorytos and of a scabbard, various other weapons, and Greek black-glazed pottery. The adjacent chamber no. 4 contained a rich female burial (probably the queen) in a wooden sarcophagus accompanied by another burial. The main skeleton lay amidst numerous gold jewellery items and plaques for sewing on clothes and a headdress. A set of Greek silver vessels (amphora, tub and ladle) and 14 wine amphorae were also found here. The south-western chamber (No. 3) contained two skeletons of warriors of high status. They had gold and silver ornaments (torques, bracelets, rings), gold plaques, armour (belts, bronze greaves), weapons (iron swords decorated with gold, quivers with arrows, five spears). The two eastern chambers were characterized by the presence of domestic objects and contained mainly female clothes and headdresses, a chest made of bone plates, a bronze mirror, beads, and wine amphorae. The north-eastern chamber contained also a burial of a person of low rank with 67 arrowheads and an iron knife. In the south-eastern chamber, a dog was buried. Thus, the central tombs contained the burials of the king, his wife, 5 other accompanying persons and a dog.
3. Horse graves and other tombs
The king’s burial was also accompanied by three separate horse graves (ca. 3 x 3 m, 2.5 m deep), which were situated 14 m to the west from the entrance well. The southern grave contained three horses and an additional harness set, while the two others four horses each; all harnesses were decorated with golden and silver elements. Two human graves (“grooms”) ca. 1 m deep adjoined the southern and middle horse graves. One more accompanying burial was found 45 m to the west from the centre of the tumulus, 0.3 m from the ancient ground level. It was covered by 15 wine amphorae, while several more dozens of amphorae were found nearby, which led to the interpretation of this burial as belonging to a cup-bearer. The fourth accompanying burial was discovered under the eastern part of the supporting wall.
The burial mound also contained a second tomb situated in its northern part. Its entrance well was 6.3 deep and had one funeral chamber (5,5 x 6 m). The tomb was looted in antiquity. It contained a bronze cauldron, a silver kylix, a goblet, and an Heraclean amphora. The northern tomb was constructed in the existing tumulus, but it antedates the other tombs for no more than a generation.
4. The ceremonial weapons
The most famous finds in the tumulus are the ceremonial weapons from the royal burial: a sword with a golden Achaemenid hilt from the 5th c. BC and an iron Scythian blade of the 4th c. BC; a scabbard with gold facing depicting a battle between Greeks and barbarians probably comes from that sword. The scabbards of two other Scythian swords (the first from the 8th Five Brothers tumulus, the second of unknown origin in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) were probably made using the same matrix. The scene is interpreted in different ways: Amazonomachy; episodes from the Trojan war; battle of the Greeks against the Persians. The golden facing of a gorytus decorated with scenes from the life of Achilles also found here was probable manufactured in the same workshop. The same matrix is used for the manufacture of three other gorytus’ facings found in the tumuli Il’incy 8th, Five Brothers and Melitopol. The workshop from which they originate was probably located in the Bosporan kingdom. Another masterpiece of Greek art found here is the silver amphora: the upper frieze of its decorative zone is occupied by a scene of griffins rending a deer. On the central frieze, several scenes with Scythians and their horses are depicted. The main part of the amphora is covered by a floral pattern and images of birds, among which stands the protome of a winged horse. The amphora is paired with a silver tub decorated with the image of a female half-figure in a calathos emerging from an acanthus (Rankenfrau). The same set included also a ladle with the representation of a wolf on its handle.