Traces of an unknown people found in the Moldavian steppes?
The first "pyramids of the steppes" - mounds - had their predecessors, builders. They freely crossed vast flat areas and played an important role in the ancient history of not only the Northern Black Sea region, but the entire Balkan Peninsula. It turned out that this strange and previously unknown people did not erect burial mounds and, it would seem, did not at all strive to leave their mark on history.
Sensation on the banks of the Prut
In 1992, near the village of Giurgiulesti in Moldova, near the confluence of the Prut River with the Danube, the construction of the port began. A small mound fell into the construction zone, which, according to the law, had to be urgently investigated. The very first finds were common - ordinary early and late Bronze burials. But a few days later, a sensation broke out: under the embankment at the level of the mainland, strange burials began to appear in pits of various shapes.
The first of them was located in the catacomb and contained the remains of a child with copper twisted bracelets and other rich inventory. A second child with similar findings was buried in the sidewall. In the third burial, an adult man with a large number of metal objects lay in a round pit. The finds poured in as if from a cornucopia.
It turned out that a unique and practically untouched burial ground of the copper-stone era was discovered near the village of Giurgiulesti! It was a single family complex and consisted of five burials: a man, a young woman and three children aged from 3 months to 2-3 years. Interestingly, all the pits were filled with clean clay during the funeral rite. Therefore, finding them was almost impossible!
The main thing in the burial ground, of course, was a man, next to whom lay the tools of labor, as well as a copper "rod", a bone pommel with gold clips, two bone spears and gold temple rings. Children's burials were no less interesting. Two children wore more than twenty (!) Copper bracelets and necklaces made of shells, copper and marble beads. They were complemented by bone torcs and pendants made of deer teeth. Eleven more flint-shaped knife-like plates and a knife, a copper awl and a stone adze lay side by side. On the whole, the entire found inventory was distinguished not only by its rare abundance, but also by a stable set of basic finds. These included copper awls, spiral bracelets, necklaces, flint plates and bone torcs.
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But besides the burials, the mound also included a cult complex, which consisted of a pit with the skulls of domestic bulls, a fire pit and ritual ditches (special grooves that are the border of the mound). This structure was originally located on a natural hill and, of course, was clearly visible on the surface. It is natural that, being on the dominant point of the landscape, it turned out to be subsequently covered by a later mound.
Mysterious people
The opening of the Giurgiulesti complex raised a lot of questions. And the main one of them sounded like this: what kind of people were they who left such expressive and so rich monuments for their time? The history of its study creates the impression that these people mysteriously "hid" themselves in the ground, doing everything so as not to remain in the memory of their descendants. The opening of the burial ground on the Prut is just one of the happy exceptions in a monotonous series of losses and destruction.
Judging by the stratigraphic data and expressive inventory, the kurgan builders had their own predecessors. It was they who first began to penetrate into the depths of the steppes, leaving rare, but extremely rich for their time, ground burial grounds. The fact that they had nothing to do with the construction of the kurgan was shown by the undisturbed layer of the so-called buried soil, which was traced over the burials near the village of Giurgiulesti. This level of the ancient steppe was preserved exclusively under the burial mounds and is now widely plowed up. The fact that the humus layer managed to form over the structures of the burial ground testifies that they were in the open steppe for a long time and fell under the mounds only several centuries later.
This important historical discovery of a new people or a large tribal association was exclusively due to archeology. After decades of field research, the sources of this time were collected and systematized bit by bit. The first chance finds only raised questions, but when a sufficient number of them accumulated, the historical picture began to gradually clear up.
According to the first open complex near the village of Novodanilovka in Ukraine, these monuments got their names. Of course, they represent a different cultural tradition than the main burial mounds. Their feature is the combination of steppe and agricultural burial implements, which makes it possible to speak with confidence about the contacts of the inhabitants of the steppes with the bearers of various agricultural cultures. In almost all burials of this time, long knife-like flint plates are found. They are made with special skill and are not only exemplary examples of ancient handicraft art, but also an iconic characteristic of such monuments.
The first treasures of humanity
Perhaps the earliest treasures belong to the mysterious Copper-Stone Age - the Eneolithic. Treasures are usually associated with items made of precious metals, but it turns out that they can also consist of simple flint tools. The fact that they were collected and hidden indicates that these things were no less valuable to their owners than precious metals. And there are many such treasures.
Their survey on the territory of the Northern Black Sea region allowed the prominent Russian archaeologist Alexander Formozov to identify the region of the Donetsk steppes with the famous deposits of flint and workshops for its processing as the starting point of their distribution. Noting dozens of hoards of flint tools, he emphasized that most of them contained blanks for knife-like blades, which were the main material for exchange. Together with them were usually spearheads or triangular dart heads, as well as wedge-shaped axes-axes and scrapers.
In turn, the connection of these beautifully made products with the Novodanilov burials led the famous Ukrainian archaeologist Dmitry Telegin to an interesting conclusion: these Eneolithic burials were left by mobile teams, which to a certain extent consisted of the masters of flint processing and students of metallurgists. In his opinion, they worked on Donetsk raw materials and manufactured their products for exchange for copper items. This assumption was confirmed in the materials of rare Eneolithic burials. 4 Practically in each of them there were characteristic long-shaped plates, the blanks of which were hidden in hoards discovered in the Black Sea steppes from the Lower Don region to Bulgaria.
The material value of these tools is practically zero, but their scientific value can hardly be overestimated. These, at first glance, nondescript finds reveal the complex world of intertribal relations, show the level of development and formation of the craft; finally, reflect the amazing mobility of the people of that era. Amazingly, many similar items were found in Bulgaria. The city of Varna in this context does not sound casual. And that's why.
Golden necropolis of Varna
In 1972, the scientific world was shocked by the outstanding discovery of a copper-stone age burial ground near this resort in Bulgaria. As often happens, it happened by accident. During the work on laying the cable, the excavator operator Raicho Marinov accidentally noticed several shiny objects in the bucket. He stopped the equipment and went down into the trench. Having examined in detail the finds, I realized that I had found ancient gold jewelry, and … I reported this to archaeologists. Employees of the Varna Archaeological Museum immediately arrived at the site, who immediately began excavations and saved this monument for science and civilization.
Over the decades of excavations, about 7,500 sq. m, which is approximately two-thirds of the estimated area of the necropolis. Found 294 burials, more than 3 thousand items of gold with a total weight of more than 6 kilograms, a lot of copper products, ceramics, tools and jewelry. An unexpectedly large number of finds of copper and gold in the burial ground completely turned all scientific ideas about the era of early metal in Europe. Excavations have shown that huge wealth at that time was concentrated here, and the development of metallurgy was at such a height that no one even imagined. Among other finds in the burials of Varna, knife-shaped plates, indistinguishable in shape from the steppe items, were often found. It is quite possible that some of them could have been made by Donetsk craftsmen who reached the Balkans in their movements.
If it turns out that at least some of them are of Donetsk origin, then the hypothesis put forward by Telegin will receive its unconditional confirmation. But it will be possible to put an end to this question only after studying the composition and production technology of Varna flint. On the other hand, the concentration of treasures was noted only in the Dnieper and Don basins, and they are still unknown in the territories adjacent to the west. However, even if the plates from the western regions are made from flint from other deposits, this still does not mean anything. The stocks of raw materials could have ended during long migrations, but the skills of silica processing remained with the masters. Therefore, the Novodanilov craftsmen did not have to work on Donetsk raw materials, with the same success they could process qualitatively different flint.
The spread over a vast territory of the same flint products is hardly accidental and could well be associated with the migrations of the same tribes. The identity of most of the knife-shaped plates, adze-hatchets and spearheads suggests that they could have been made by the Novodanilov flint-working masters.
The oldest history of the Balkans
Currently, the most ancient history of this region can be presented as follows. Approximately in the 4th millennium BC, the advance of these tribes through the Budzhak and Siret steppe to the left bank of the Danube and further to the west begins. Its historical result was the displacement of the local agricultural population from Bessarabia, which, according to the observations of archaeologists, left their native places in advance, without engaging in armed clashes. This is proved by the fact that not a single fortified settlement of farmers was found on this territory.
Foreign steppe tribes penetrated the Budzhak steppe and the Danube in separate small groups, but, apparently, created a real threat to the sedentary inhabitants of the region who were forced to migrate. This advancement was reflected in individual burial complexes in southern Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and even Hungary. Most likely, it changed the current political situation here, since these territories were found to be without agricultural settlements during their heyday. The reason for this could be the domination of aliens from the east. Interestingly, in the same era in Romania, the number of fortified settlements is increasing, which indicates not always peaceful relations between the indigenous population and the newcomers.
It is believed that the emergence of the first pastoralist tribes in the Balkans is documented from the beginning of the 4th millennium BC. It may be associated with the Novodanilovskoye burials discovered to the west of the Dniester and Prut. But the emergence of a serious demographic tension has not yet been confirmed archaeologically. Currently, the noted phenomenon can be given the only explanation: ground burial grounds are difficult to find. Therefore, they are still waiting for their discovery.
And yet this people did not manage to disappear without a trace in the foggy layers of history. Its influence, strength and powerful dynamics had a real impact on the historical process in the steppes of Eastern Europe. It is still a mystery, hiding its main monuments. And the earth is in no hurry to part with its secrets and ancient treasures. So who knows what discoveries await us or a new generation of archaeologists in the near or distant future?
Mysteries of History - №33, August 2014, Evgeny Yarovoy