Tovsta Mohyla (Tolstaya Mogila) — Royal Scythian Pectoral Kurgan, Pokrov (Ordzhonikidze)
Товста Могила · Tolstaya Mogila · Thick Grave · Pokrov Golden Pectoral Kurgan
Scythian Late Classical (4th c BCE)·Pontic Scythian (Scythian–Bosporan elite, 4th c BCE)·🇺🇦 Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Nikopol District, Pokrov (Ordzhonikidze) outskirts, Dnieper amphitheatre, Ukraine
About
About Tovsta Mohyla (Tolstaya Mogila) — Royal Scythian Pectoral Kurgan, Pokrov (Ordzhonikidze)
6 m high, 60 m diameter at Pokrov — world-famous for the intact queen + groom+horse side catacomb bypassed by ancient robbers, yielding the 1,150-g solid gold Scythian pectoral (Kyiv Museum highlight). B. 6-cm crescent pectoral of three tiers (intertwined beasts, griffins, Scythian pastoral scenes with sheep, horses and two long-haired Scythians sewing a caftan), plus 3-year-old child, 3 horses, cauldron and 600 gold appliqués. Pectoral is considered the finest Scythian gold artwork alongside Solokha comb.
Why it mattersGold pectoral is the most celebrated surviving Scythian artwork; defines 4th-c Scytho–Greek toreutics.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Three-tier iconography
Theories
- 01Greek master for Scythian queen
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.360 – 350 BCE
- Period
- Scythian Late Classical (4th c BCE)
- Culture
- Pontic Scythian (Scythian–Bosporan elite, 4th c BCE)
- Builders
- Pontic Scythian royal house (Dnieper amphitheatre chiefdom)
- Purpose
- Royal dynastic double burial — king central, queen side catacomb
- Abandoned
- c.345 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1971 Mozolevskii Nakaz quarry watching brief
- Excavation
- Excavated
1971-06-21
Mozolevskii uncovers pectoral in queen catacomb
1972
Kyiv exhibition opens
On the ground
Structures & features
47.6700° N · 34.1200° E · 38 m · 2 mapped features
Gold Pectoral (1,150 g) Queen Catacomb
treasure30.6-cm crescent 1,150-g gold pectoral with 3 tiers — beasts, griffins, pastoral scenes
47.6720° N · 34.1220° EQueen Catacomb with Child and Horses
burialUnrobbed catacomb of queen, 3-year-old child and 3 horses with 600 appliqués
47.6680° N · 34.1180° E