Invaders steal archaeological heritage objects near Mariupol, CSO says
This was reported on Telegram by Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, according to Ukrinform.
According to him, the occupiers recently received news that three archaeological heritage sites had been discovered during the construction of a bypass road: the Starokrymsky I burial mound, the Kalynivka I settlement, and the Kalynivka II settlement. The total area of archaeological sites in the construction zone was about two hectares (1.95 ha).
It was noted that during the excavations at the Starokrymsky I burial mound, two ancient mounds were examined. Scientists have established that both were built in the Early Bronze Age by piling earth mounds over the central burial site. It is noteworthy that the soil for the mounds was taken from the surrounding area, resulting in the formation of wide ditches around them.
In addition to the central burials, a significant number of burials in earth pits and catacombs were found in the mounds and in the space around them — such burials are called inlet burials. A total of 19 such objects were studied.
The news reports even mentioned the artifacts that were found. But within a few hours, the news disappeared from almost all of the occupiers' official public pages. Not simply by deletion, but by replacement with news about the construction of a road in Volnovakha with the same photo. Why? Because the priceless artifacts had already been taken to Moscow under the escort of the Russian Guard," Andriushchenko said.
He suggested that these stolen artifacts would not appear in Russian museums, but would be plundered by those in power.
“All the finds will simply be distributed among the homes of those in power. And the evidence of their origin will be buried in the asphalt of the new highway. Once and for all. Another crime by the Russians against the history not only of Ukraine, but of humanity as a whole,” concluded the head of the Center for the Study of Occupation.
As reported, Russian invaders have turned Mariupol and the surrounding villages into their military and logistics hub.
