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Bilozerka Culture Burial Ground near Shyroke Village

The Bilozerka culture burial ground near the village of Shyroke (Skadovsk District, Kherson Region) is one of the largest and most important benchmark sites of the Final Bronze Age (11th — early 10th century BCE) in the Northern Black Sea region. It was excavated in 1961–1963 by the Krasnoznamensk detachment of the North Crimean and South Ukrainian expeditions led by Oleksandr Leskov.

Overview

The Shyroke necropolis was located 10 km north of the Dzharylhach Bay of the Black Sea and consisted of 130 excavated burials. The site was discovered by the head of the North Crimean expedition, N. P. Shults, during surveys in the construction zone of the North Crimean (Krasnoznamensk) Canal. Due to political persecution of the expedition leader, the excavation materials awaited professional publication for 56 years and were published as a monograph in 2019 with the participation of Evelina Kravchenko and Tetiana Hoshko. The necropolis plays a key role in the study of the Bilozerka culture and cultural links between the Lower Dnieper region, Crimea, and the Caucasus.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Structure and topography of the necropolis: The burial ground was divided into two parts — the northern part (a flat cemetery with rows of 2–12 graves) and the southern part (two low kurgan mounds with sub-kurgan burials). The mound of Kurgan 2 was formed by merging separate small individual mounds over new secondary burials, resembling the ridge-like cemeteries of the Kyzyl-Koba culture of Mountainous Crimea.
  • Burial rite and social stratification: The deceased were buried in a flexed position on their side (men on the right side, women on the left) facing south. The identification of sub-kurgan graves with rectangular corner post pits (from a hearse cart), wooden coverings, a layer of kamka (eelgrass), and gold and carnelian items indicates the formation of a higher social stratum (tribal elite).
  • Grave goods and food: In the southern part of the grave (near the head), grave food offerings (bones of cow/bull, sheep, less frequently horse and bird) and ceramic vessels (polished cups, korchahy [large pots], bowls, and unpolished pots) were placed. Ritual miniature vessels, sheep astragali, sea shells, and ochre were also discovered.
  • Analysis of metal artifacts: Metallographic and X-ray fluorescence analysis of a collection of 58 metal artifacts (conducted by Tetiana Hoshko) revealed a predominance of tin-arsenic bronzes with antimony and lead impurities. Technological features and alloy compositions indicate the influx of metal raw materials from the Caucasus (Koban culture) via Crimea. For more details, see Metallurgy and Metalworking of the Final Bronze Age.
  • Caucasian-Crimean connections and trade route: Caucasian contacts are also evidenced by finds of jet (heshyr) jewelry, a bronze plate temporal pendant with punched ornamentation, and anthropological parallels. The Shyroke burial ground, together with the necropolises of Brylivka, Chernianka, and Lukianivka, marks an ancient overland trade route running from the Dzharylhach Bay across Perekop and the Oleshky Sands to the Dnieper.
  • History of processing the collection: Following Leskov's dismissal, the collection remained in an unorganized state. In 2009–2019, Evelina Kravchenko performed the restoration of ceramics, digitization of field diaries and reporting documentation, and reconstructed the collection inventory (Collection No. 1545 of the Archaeological Museum of the Institute of Archaeology, NASU).