Kamyana Mohyla
Encyclopedia
Kamyana Mohyla is an archaeological site in the Molochna River (literally "Milk river") valley, about a mile from the village of Terpinnya, Zaporizhia Oblast
, Ukraine
.
The site encompasses a group of isolated blocks of sandstone
, up to twelve meters in height, scattered around an area of some 3,000 square meters. As Noghai legend has it, it resulted from a scuffle of two baghatur
s who took turns throwing rocks at each other. In truth, the site had its origins in a sandbank of the Tethys Ocean
. 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
s that dot the Pontic-Caspian steppe
. In 1889, the Russian archaeologist Nikolay Veselovsky
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
under Valentin Danylenko (1913-82). The young archaeologist claimed to have discovered thirty caves with petroglyph
inscriptions which he dated from the 20th century B.C. to the 17th century A.D. Danylenko resumed his work on the site after World War II
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
. During the following decades, the condition of petroglyphs visibly deteriorated.
Petroglyphs are found only inside the caves and grottoes of Kamenna Mohyla, many of them still filled up with sand. No adequate protection from the elements has been provided to this day. No traces of ancient human settlement have been discovered in the vicinity, leading many scholars to believe that the hill served as a remote sanctuary
. Faint traces of red paint remain on parts of the surface. Scholars have been unable to agree whether the petroglyphs date from Mesolithic
or Neolithic
. The latter dating is more popular, although the presumed depiction of a mammoth
in one of the caves seems to favour the former date.
In 2006, the government of Ukraine nominated the site for inscription on the World Heritage List. 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 c. BC to the 17th c. 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 Ages.http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5075/
Danylenko's magnum opus about the site was released posthumously, but it took the publication of Anatoly Kifishin's hefty monograph in 2001 to attract wider attention to Kamenna Mohyla. In this controversial work, Kifishin compared the petroglyphs of Kamenna Mohyla to those of Çatalhöyük
and concluded that both were related to the Sumer
ian cuneiform script
. Shortly before his death, Igor Diakonov
lashed out against Kifishin's hypothesis (the two openly feuded since the 1960s).
Zaporizhia Oblast
Zaporizhia Oblast is an oblast of southern Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhia.This oblast is an important part of Ukraine's industry and agriculture.-Geography:...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
The site encompasses a group of isolated blocks of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, up to twelve meters in height, scattered around an area of some 3,000 square meters. As Noghai legend has it, it resulted from a scuffle of two baghatur
Baghatur
Baghatur is a historical Turco-Mongol honorific title, in origin a term for "hero" or "valiant warrior".The term was first used by the steppe peoples to the north and west of China as early as the 7th century as evidenced in Sui dynasty records...
s who took turns throwing rocks at each other. In truth, the site had its origins in a sandbank of the Tethys Ocean
Tethys Ocean
The Tethys Ocean was an ocean that existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia during the Mesozoic era before the opening of the Indian Ocean.-Modern theory:...
. 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
Kurgan
Kurgan is the Turkic term for a tumulus; mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves, originating with its use in Soviet archaeology, now widely used for tumuli in the context of Eastern European and Central Asian archaeology....
s that dot the Pontic-Caspian steppe
Pontic-Caspian steppe
The Pontic-Caspian steppe is the vast steppeland stretching from the north of the Black Sea as far as the east of the Caspian Sea, from western Ukraine across the Southern Federal District and the Volga Federal District of Russia to western Kazakhstan,...
. In 1889, the Russian archaeologist Nikolay Veselovsky
Nikolay Veselovsky
Nikolai Ivanovich Veselovsky was a Russian archaeologist and orientalist, specializing on the history and archaeology of Central Asia. Born in Moscow, schooled in Vologda, studied at Saint Petersburg State University. Reader in 1877, extraordinarius in 1884, ordinarius from 1890...
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
Melitopol is a city in the Zaporizhia Oblast of the southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River that flows through the eastern edge of the city and into the Molochnyi Liman, which eventually joins the Sea of Azov....
under Valentin Danylenko (1913-82). The young archaeologist claimed to have discovered thirty caves with petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
inscriptions which he dated from the 20th century B.C. to the 17th century A.D. Danylenko resumed his work on the site after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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
Water reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
. During the following decades, the condition of petroglyphs visibly deteriorated.
Petroglyphs are found only inside the caves and grottoes of Kamenna Mohyla, many of them still filled up with sand. No adequate protection from the elements has been provided to this day. No traces of ancient human settlement have been discovered in the vicinity, leading many scholars to believe that the hill served as a remote sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
. Faint traces of red paint remain on parts of the surface. Scholars have been unable to agree whether the petroglyphs date from Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
or Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
. The latter dating is more popular, although the presumed depiction of a mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
in one of the caves seems to favour the former date.
In 2006, the government of Ukraine nominated the site for inscription on the World Heritage List. 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 c. BC to the 17th c. 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 Ages.http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5075/
Danylenko's magnum opus about the site was released posthumously, but it took the publication of Anatoly Kifishin's hefty monograph in 2001 to attract wider attention to Kamenna Mohyla. In this controversial work, Kifishin compared the petroglyphs of Kamenna Mohyla to those of Çatalhöyük
Çatalhöyük
Çatalhöyük was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BCE to 5700 BCE...
and concluded that both were related to the Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ian cuneiform script
Cuneiform script
Cuneiform script )) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium , cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs...
. Shortly before his death, Igor Diakonov
Igor Diakonov
Igor Mikhailovich Diakonov was a Russian historian, linguist, and translator and a renowned expert in the Ancient Near East and its languages....
lashed out against Kifishin's hypothesis (the two openly feuded since the 1960s).
See also
- Ural charactersUral charactersThe Ural pictograms are prehistoric pictograms in Ural dated to 3,000—2,000 years BC and located along the coasts of Tagil River, Neyva River, Rezh River, Yurozan River and some other sites. The color of the pictograms is different, varying from ochre, probably mixed up with blood, to lilac and...
- Vinča signs