Unique Bronze Age Discovery in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia Region

Archaeologists have discovered a two-meter male skeleton from the Bronze Age in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region. It dates back to the third millennium BC. Near the skeleton, a scepter and a knife were found.

“Our scientific adviser Hennadiy said ‘Valentyna, my congratulations! We have a sensation!’ I was shocked,” said Valentyna Papanova, head of  the archeological laboratory.

“This ornament is a symbol of eternity, it can be interpreted in different ways. The knife was lying on the left to the chest. It’s a leaf-shaped bronze knife. I can’t describe the emotions I experienced when we cleaned it fully!” said Valentyna Papanova.

“It was connected with little bronze nails. It’s not broken, it’s part of it,” she said.

This discovery is unusual for the Zaporizhia region. Earlier, objects of this type were only found at burial sites in Bulgaria.

“I thought it would be some average object. There has never been such a discovery in Ukraine before,” said Oleksiy Korotkyi, research assistant at the archeology department.

The skeleton was lying on its left side in the grave pit.

The skeleton is cleaned with brushes, and sketches are made. Then tests are made to determine the age of the artifact. The structure and the state of the bones helped specialists tell that the man died at the age of approximately 40 years old.

The expedition team will later study the skeleton more carefully in a laboratory. Along with their colleagues from Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria, they will establish different details about the man.