Chertomlyk

a Scythian royal barrow of the late fourth century B.C., located 22 km northwest of the city of Nikopol’, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR. It was excavated by I. E. Zabelin in 1862–63. Parts of horse harnesses and other items were found in a mound that stood 19.5 m high and had a circumference of 350 m. Within the mound were four chambers, in which were buried a queen and a king (the burial had been robbed), along with two soldiers and a guard at the entrance to one of the chambers. Among the finds were gold ornaments, pottery, and weapons, including several outstanding examples of applied art: a silver amphora, with depictions in relief of Scythians taming horses, a gold facing for a sword scabbard, with a scene depicting a battle between the Scythians and Amazons, and a gold plate from a gorytus (quiver), with scenes from the life of Achilles. Separate graves yielded the skeletons of 11 horses, with gold and silver harness ornaments, and the burials of two stablemen.