The Russian occupiers opened an exhibition of stolen goods from the Stone Tomb in Zaporozhye. PHOTO

The Russian occupiers opened an exhibition of stolen goods from the Stone Tomb in Zaporozhye.  PHOTO

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In the temporarily occupied Crimea, the Russians opened an exhibition, the exhibits of which are finds from the Stone Tomb (Zaporizhia region). The occupiers kidnapped them and took them away at the beginning of this year.

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The capsule exhibition “House of Fish” on the sacred mountain Stone Tomb” was opened on the territory of the Chersonese Tavriysky reserve, the Union of Archaeologists of Ukraine announced on its Facebook page.

The objects exhibited in the occupied Crimea belong to the Museum Fund of Ukraine and were stored in the historical and archaeological reserve “Kamyan Mogila” near Melitopol. They were stolen from there after the occupation.

In Crimea, the occupiers show looted goods in the Zaporizhzhia region. Photo: Chersonesus Tavriyskyi

As confirmed by publications in the Russian mass media, the exhibition was opened at the end of September. It will last until October 8. It is also specified there that the exposition of finds looted in the Zaporozhye region was placed in the hall of the small hall of the Byzantine exposition.

Screenshot from Russian mass media

The Center of National Resistance reported in May this year that the Russian occupiers had taken exhibits of the Stone Tomb to Crimea.

In January 2023, the “director” of the Chersonesus Tavriysky Museum, appointed by the occupation administration, Elena Morozova, reported that a delegation had left Crimea to study the funds of the Stone Tomb Reserve“, it was reported then.

In May, the Russians opened the first exhibition in Crimea with 120 archaeological artifacts stolen from the Stone Tomb. Among them were petroglyphs, ancient household items, ceramics and tools of the Stone Age.

The first exhibition of looted goods from the Stone Tomb in Crimea was opened in May 2023

Then the Deputy Minister of Culture Kateryna Chuyeva said that they had lost contact with the team of the Stone Tomb Museum last year – when the territory came under occupation.

Contact with this team, with the management of the Stone Tomb, was lost last year. They tried to get in touch, but instead information appeared that the representatives were participating in certain activities with the occupation authorities and it became clear that the reserve was no longer controlled by Ukraine“, she explained on the air of Public Radio.

What is a Stone Tomb?

Stone grave – a monument of ancient culture, located near Melitopol (Myrne village) in the Zaporizhzhia Region above the Molochnaya River.

This is a hill of natural origin with caves and grottos, which served as an altar for pagan rites. Several thousand unique ancient rock images – petroglyphs – were found in it, the chronology of which covers the period from the Late Paleolithic era to the Middle Ages (XXIV-XXII thousand BC to X-XIII centuries).

Stone grave. Photo: Shaplykoff / Wikipedia

The archaeologist Mykola Veselovskyi, known for his excavations of Scythian mounds, was the first to study the Stone Tomb at the end of the 19th century. In his “Report of the Archaeological Commission” for 1890, Veselovskyi described the penetration into the caves, the open grottoes and drawings cut into the ceiling slabs.

In total, the research led to the discovery of 65 grottoes and caves with rare ceiling paintings. They give an idea of ​​the economic activity and spiritual culture of the primitive people of Southern Ukraine.

Exposition of the “Stone Tomb” museum in 2018. Photo: Maksym Stoyalov

Since 2006, the Stone Tomb has been a candidate for inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In 2008, it received the status of the National Historical and Archaeological Reserve.

In February 2022, the Stone Tomb came under Russian occupation. In November 2022, the occupiers announced the subordination of the reserve to the Crimean Chersonesus Tavriysky Museum.

Read also: Cultural values ​​stolen by Russians from Melitopol are exhibited in Crimea. PHOTO

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