№63-12

Results of a petrographic study of the material of the scythian stele from the poltava Museum of local lore

I. Nikitenko¹, O. Suprunenko²

¹ Dnipro University of Technology, Dnipro, Ukraine

²Poltava Museum of Local Lore named after Vasyl Krychevsky, Poltava, Ukraine

Coll.res.pap.nat.min.univ. 2020, 63:134-144

https://doi.org/10.33271/crpnmu/63.134

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ABSTRACT

Purpose. Obtaining new data on the history of the use of different rocks by the Scythians for the manufacture of stone sculptures.

The methodology is to conduct a mineralogical and petrographic analysis of the raw materials of an ancient Scythian stele and to compare the obtained data with the petrographic characteristics of similar rocks in order to identify the provenance of the material of the artefact under study.

Findings. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the Scythian stele found near the village of Velykomykhailivka, Pokrovske Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, was made of enderbite. In terms of mineral composition, the rock corresponds to tonalite, the mafic minerals of which are represented by biotite, clinopyroxene, hornblende, and orthopyroxene. A comparative analysis of the petrographic features of the studied sample and the rocks of the enderbite complexes, as well as other pyroxene-containing granitoids of the Ukrainian Shield, was carried out. As a result of the analysis of geological data, it was concluded that the most probable source of the origin of the stone stele is the enderbites of the Tokmak complex of the Azov craton of the Ukrainian Shield. In the Western Azov Sea Area, these rocks are exposed along the Tokmak and Kainkulak rivers, and some authors note their distribution in the basins of the Konka and Vovcha rivers. They have an identical mineral composition with the raw material of the stele under study; in addition, in contrast to most of the enderbites of the Ukrainian Shield, in the indicated rocks of the Tokmak complex, as in the studied sample, clinopyroxene prevails over orthopyroxene in terms of volumetric content.

The originality. For the first time, a petrographic study of a sample of Scythian stone sculpture from the Poltava Museum of Local Lore named after Vasyl Krychevskyi was performed. The fact of the use of the Ukrainian Shield enderbites for the manufacture of stone products, particularly, Scythian anthropomorphic stone statues, was established. The history of the use of stone raw materials of Ukraine in the Early Iron Age was supplemented with new facts.

Practical implication. The results of the research will be used in the excursion activities of the Poltava Museum of Local Lore named after Vasyl Krychevskyi, as well as when publishing museum and exhibition catalogues. Also, the information obtained can be used when writing textbooks and scientific papers on history, archaeology, history of mining, etc.

Keywords: stone raw materials, Scythians, stone sculpture, archaeological petrography, ancient mining, Poltava Museum of Local Lore.

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