Mariupol burial site

Mariupol burial site (Маріупольський могильник; Mariupolskyi mohylnyk). Late Neolithic tribal burial site from the second half of the 5th millennium BC, located near the city of Mariupol, Donetsk oblast. It was excavated in 1930 by Mykola O. Makarenko, who published a monograph about his findings in 1933. The site included approximately 120 skeltons buried in a supine position with their heads oriented toward the east or west. The grave pits were covered by an elongated wooden vault to which sections were added as needed. Traces of red ochre, evidently used in burial rites, were found on half the skeletons. Stone utensils and adornments made from shells and the teeth of animals were also uncovered. Similar burial sites were found in the lower Dnipro River area after the Second World War.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]