Fursove. The Kurgan — the Highest Point of the Mezhova Area

Kurgans — the burial places of the ancient Sarmatians and Scythians — are under threat of disappearing. As a rule, kurgans are interesting for the unusualness of their structures, and these steppe summits have cultural and historical value. There are ever fewer of these earthen giants among the agricultural fields.

 

The highest point of the Mezhova district

The historical and cultural landscape is being uprooted and wiped off the land by farmers, black-market archaeologists and developers. The archaeological and historical heritage perishes under tractor tracks and the plough. A huge part of these steppe pyramids has remained unexplored, and no one will ever find out whether the burial grounds appeared in the Cossack or the Scythian era. Sometimes these green islands amid the fields are part of the geodesic network.

 

The highest point of the former Mezhova district of the Dnipropetrovsk region is an artificial hill with an absolute height of 196 metres and its own height of about 4 metres. The kurgan lies 8 kilometres east of Mezhova and to the south-west of the Fursove railway platform. The monument is surrounded by a sown field. The rise, about 50 metres in diameter, is densely overgrown with grass, which creates comfortable conditions for steppe animals and birds to live. Steppe species of flora and fauna inhabit these earthen hills. Foxes have grown fond of the Mezhova height, judging by the characteristic burrows on its slope.

 

Treasure hunters and scrap-metal collectors have not passed the archaeological and historical monument by either. Part of the grass cover has been destroyed by fire, the metal parts of the triangulation tower have been sawn off, and the geodesic marker that served to determine the heights of the earth's surface has been ruined. There is no information plaque or sign with the marker's number and coordinates. On the eastern side a slight undulation is visible — a ploughed-over group of kurgans. The burial mound's geodesic significance helped it survive.

 

The highest point of the Dnipropetrovsk region has met the same fate — the Vasiukov's Grave kurgan, located near Prosiana. A few metres from the surviving kurgan its barely noticeable, ploughed-over twin can still be made out — an obstacle for tractors and combines that has been removed.

Coordinates:  48°14'25"N 36°51'39"E