Prydniprovye – Dniprovske Nadporozhe. A strange land with magical nature and an ancient, mysterious, dramatic history. A land where people have lived for 150,000 years. The steppes of the Northern Black Sea region, connecting Asia and Europe, were a “corridor” through which many tribes passed in ancient and medieval times.
The number of archaeological sites, the multi-ethnic composition of the population, the constant process of assimilation and the neighborhood of various cultures; finally, a wide chronological range of archaeological sites – parking lots, settlements, burial grounds – these are the main features of the ancient history of the Steppe Dnieper, which is presented in the first hall.
The oldest archeological monuments of the region belong to the Stone Age (from the Paleolithic – Old Stone Age – to the Neolithic – New Stone Age). Among them, such rarities as the tip of a dart from the Upper Paleolithic era attract special attention. Notches made by human hands are well preserved on its surface. Researchers believe that this could be the first calendar.
Among the most vivid and well-known monuments of the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age, – X – VII thousand years ago), presented in the hall, is a carving from an ancestral burial ground near the village of Vasylivka, Synelnikovsky district.
From the Copper and Stone Age (IV-III millennia BC) to the Middle Ages (XIII-XIV centuries) the steppes of the Dnieper region were inhabited by the so-called Kurgan peoples – ancient Aryan, Iranian-speaking, as well as Turkic- and Mongol-speaking cattle-farming peoples tribes, among which the rite of burial in barrows arose and existed.
Dozens of objects found in these barrows: weapons, tools, jewelry, utensils, are presented in the showcases of the hall. The Bronze Age (2nd millennium AD) is represented by a unique treasure of bronze objects (about 80 items), which was found near the village of Loboykivka
The most unique find related to the ancient Kurgan peoples (Aryans) is the Kernosiv idol. This is an anthropomorphic stele depicting the supreme deity (Creator of the Universe) of the Aryan pantheon and dates back to the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. The Kernosivka idol was accidentally found in 1973 by schoolchildren from the village of Kernosivka, Novomoskovsk district. This is a monument of national importance, which has no close analogues.
Of course, the Scythian mounds deserve special attention among the mounds of the Dnipropetrovsk region. 4th century to n. e. Steppe Dnieper became the center of the Scythian state – “Great Scythia”. According to the testimony of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, the Scythians buried their kings in Herra, an area believed to be connected to the rapids of the Dnieper.
The museum’s diverse Scythian collection is presented in the hall: stone women (VI-IV centuries BC); weapons – swords, daggers, arrowheads, darts, spears; horse harness – rods, psalia, buckles; objects of applied art in “animal style”; objects with mythological images: a mirror with a picture, a ring with the image of a dwarf riding a horse.
In the days of the early Middle Ages (IV-XIII centuries AD), the region became a peculiar corridor through which many nomadic peoples passed from Asia to Europe – Huns, Avars, Bulgarians, Khazars, Magyars, Pechenegs, Turks, Polovtsians, Mongols – Tatars
In this section of the exhibition, 2 ancient Hungarian burials of noble warriors of the 9th century attract special attention. not. (Vasylkovsky and Krynychansky districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region) with numerous silver and gold objects – jewelry, weapons, armor and a large furnace for heating ceramics of the VII century AD. from the Alan settlement in Kantserivka brook.
And nearby – things from Slavic settlements that appeared on the territory of the region in the 5th-7th centuries. not.
