Chertomlyk Royal Kurgan — Scythian King Ateas? (Nikopol amphitheatre, Dnipro)
Чортомлик · Chortomlyk · Great Chertomlyk
Scythian Late Classical (4th c BCE, Philip II horizon)·Pontic Scythian (kingdom of Ateas / Late Scythian)·🇺🇦 Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Nikopol District, Chertomlyk hill, Dnieper left-bank amphitheatre, Ukraine
About
About Chertomlyk Royal Kurgan — Scythian King Ateas? (Nikopol amphitheatre, Dnipro)
E. Zabelin for the Imperial Commission. Central catacomb robbed but side queen + attendant catacombs yielded 250 g gold sphero-conical vessel with Scythian–Greek procession frieze (Amazonomachy analog), gold gorytos overlay, 11 horses in a separate dromos and a Greek amphora service of 80 vessels. 339 BCE) or his successor. Debated whether central and side burials are generational (father/son). Chertomlyk is the volumetrically largest Pontic mound and the source for Hermitage's largest Scythian gold assemblage.
Why it mattersLargest Pontic volume; anchors Philip II absolute Scythian chronology and Ateas historical linkage.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Ateas identification
Theories
- 01Ateas vs successor generation gap
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.350 – 325 BCE
- Period
- Scythian Late Classical (4th c BCE, Philip II horizon)
- Culture
- Pontic Scythian (kingdom of Ateas / Late Scythian)
- Builders
- Nikopol amphitheatre Scythian royal house
- Purpose
- Paramount royal burial with massive attendant horse sacrifice and Greek tribute vessels
- Abandoned
- c.320 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1862 Zabelin Imperial excavation
- Excavation
- Excavated
1862
Zabelin uncovers gold vessel sphero-conical
1986
Rolle re-study with stratigraphy
On the ground
Structures & features
47.6200° N · 34.3500° E · 42 m · 2 mapped features
Gold Gorytos Overlay Fragment
treasureGold gorytos overlay with Amazonomachia frieze from queen catacomb
47.6220° N · 34.3520° EHorse Dromos (11 Horses)
burial11-horse separate dromos with attendant grooms along south skirt
47.6180° N · 34.3480° E