У статті наводиться один з ключових аргументів на користь синхронності всіх підземних
споруд елітних курганів скіфів. Ідеться про первісне обвалування місця спорудження входу до
центральної могили. Первісне обвалування було основою зведення поховального насипу, по його
зовнішньому краю влаштовували додаткові бокові могили осіб, котрі супроводжували головного
небіжчика, або ж допоміжні входи до центральної підземної споруди кургану.
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 IV century BC.
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.
