Ще раз до питання про одноактність зведення скіфських курганів

Abstract

У статті розглядається питання послідовності спорудження бічних могил в скіфських курганах. Помилкова оцінка стратиграфічних позицій цих могил призводить до спотворення внутрішньої хронології цих пам’яток. Зрозуміти ситуацію з бічними могилами допомагає встановлення факту існування первісного обвалування місця похорону. На прикладі Гайманової Могили спростовується помилкова оцінка бічних могил як впускних.

Вопрос о последовательности сооружения отдельных могил в кургане по-прежнему вызывает дискуссии. Неверная оценка стратиграфических нюансов в сооружении курганов скифской элиты привела к искажению внутренней хронологии этих памятников. Эта ситуация, в свою очередь, отразилась на общей картине хронологии ключевых погребальных памятников IV в. до н. э.

The question of the order of the construction of separate graves in a kurhan still provokes the debates. The incorrect evaluation of the stratigraphic nuances in the construction of kurhans of Scythian elite has led to a distortion of the internal chronology of these monuments. This situation, in turn, affected the overall picture of the chronology of key funerary monuments of the 4th century BC. The core of the problem consists in the estimation of the chronological interval between the centre and the lateral (side) graves in the kurhans of the Scythian elite. If these graves are dug up into the existing barrow mound, the date of their commission will be later than the date of the main burial mound. And in this case the date of the entire complex would be enlarged. If the lateral graves were made at the same time as the construction of the barrow mound of the kurhan, then the persons buried there accompanied the main buried and represented his retinue. In this instance, the date of the complex is narrowed to one year. Establishing the existence of the original circular embankment at the moment of the funeral process helps to understand the situation with the lateral graves. The circular embankment was represented as an earthen wall, built with the blocks of greensward. It separated the central tomb from the surrounding steppe. The side graves were placed along the perimeter of this embankment, most likely by the time of the main burial. Wrong evaluation of lateral graves as secondary ones is refuted by the example of Gaimanova Mogyla. This adjustment is done through the analysis of the general scheme of the space under the kurhan and the traces of «incision» of the barrow mound made by the lateral graves’ mines. A careful examination of these tracks shows the layers of clay, which were placed into the body of the embankments at the same time as its construction. Thus, the lateral graves turn out being simultaneous additional elements in a single compound funerary complex.