Stolen artifacts and destroyed burial mounds: how Russia is erasing the cultural heritage of Kherson region.

During the great war, Russia systematically kidnaps and destroys unique objects of cultural and historical heritage in the Kherson region and other areas of Ukraine. While the exact scale of this disaster is currently impossible to determine, numerous facts about such crimes are already known. The article from RBC-Ukraine discusses the consequences of the occupation and the crimes committed by Russians, as well as the challenges of documenting the destruction and theft.

The appointed Russian gauleiter of the occupied part of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, periodically claims that the Russian army will recapture Kherson. Just before the new year of 2025, he reiterated this statement, addressing the Kherson residents who, according to him, are "waiting for liberation."

However, in reality, there is no talk of any "care for the people." Occupation primarily signifies looting and the destruction of everything related to Ukrainian cultural and historical heritage. The appointed overseer by the occupiers cannot be unaware of this.

Damaged burial mounds and trenches at ancient settlements

The Kherson region is at the center of Ukraine's southern steppe zone. It is literally saturated with archaeological monuments from nearly all eras. The Kherson steppes are still home to burial mounds that date from the Eneolithic period to the Middle Ages.

According to the Kherson Regional Inspectorate for the Protection of Monuments, there are 308 burial mounds concentrated in this area. A monitoring of the destruction of archaeological sites in the occupied territories of Kherson, conducted by the Crimean Institute of Strategic Studies, showed that almost all burial mounds over two meters tall are currently damaged.

As specialists explain, most of the burial mounds have been turned into Russian firing points during the occupation. Deep pits have been dug on the tops of these structures, which are clearly visible in photographs. Meanwhile, any burials that may have been there, regardless of their depth, have likely been destroyed or looted.

One of the most interesting places in southern Ukraine, which was planned to be transformed into an archaeological reserve before the war, is the Valley of Burial Mounds. Currently, the mounds designated as such have been mutilated by bunkers and trenches.

Another unique monument in Kherson suffering from the war is the settlements and burial sites of the late Scythian culture (2nd century BC - 3rd century AD). They are located on both banks of the Dnipro River, placing them directly in the combat zone.

For instance, the Yagorlytske settlement is a national archaeological site located near the village of Ivanivka in the Chulakov community of the Skadovsk district of Kherson region. The settlement is a colony of Ionian Greeks, dating back to the 6th century BC.

Its inhabitants were engaged in bronze smelting, ironworking, and glassmaking, providing their products to the Scythian population of the steppe zone of the Northern Black Sea region.

Since the occupation began in March 2022, trenches and bunkers have been dug in the cultural layer of the settlement, and an ammunition depot has been established there. It is likely that the area of the ancient settlement is now mined and partially flooded by the waters of the Kakhovka Reservoir.

Photo: Trenches and bunkers have been dug in the cultural layer of the settlement, and an ammunition depot has been established there (ciss.org.ua)

"What our northern neighbors have done to the monuments of Kherson is beyond any reasonable assessment," says Alexander Simonenko, leading researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and expert at the Crimean Institute of Strategic Studies.

It is unknown what they have uncovered with their trenches, what they have destroyed while digging their defensive lines, which will not save them from anything.

"The late Scythian settlements and burial sites are located right on the bank of the former Kakhovka Reservoir and are undoubtedly suffering from rocket and artillery shelling from the left bank," he notes.

Aloshkovska Sich in the Flood Zone

The Crimean Institute of Strategic Studies is a public organization focusing on researching the state of protection for cultural heritage objects in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

In 2023-2024, the institute's experts were involved in the development of international policies – Research for the CULT Committee – Protection of Cultural Heritage from Armed Conflicts in Ukraine and Beyond, and also participated in drafting the resolution "Countering the Erasure of Cultural Identity During War and Peace," which was adopted by PACE.

They also contributed to the writing of a large study "Flooded by War," dedicated to a broad analysis of the damage caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station.

Photo: Monuments at the site of Aloshkovska Sich (wikipedia.org)

The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station, which occurred on the night of June 6, 2023, requires special attention. In addition to the obvious humanitarian, social, economic, and ecological consequences, the detonation of this hydraulic structure by the occupiers caused colossal damage to cultural heritage objects located in the region.

One of these is Aloshkovska Sich, which functioned from 1711 to 1734. This administrative and military center of the Zaporozhian Cossacks is located on the eastern outskirts of the occupied city of Oleshky and consisted of a regular quadrilateral with moats and ramparts 1.5 meters high.

To the west of the center stood the Church of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, made of reeds, near which there was a cemetery and a well where the water never froze. After the Russians blew up the Kakhovka Reservoir, which resulted in large areas being flooded in the lower reaches of the Dnipro, the city of Oleshky, once home to the glorious Cossack Sich, found itself in the flood zone.

Photo: Many unique objects were flooded after the dam breach (uhe.gov.ua)

According to the Kherson Regional Inspectorate for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, 78 immovable historical and archaeological monuments have been completely flooded, as well as monumental and artistic structures.

Legal Problems and Gaps in Legislation

One of the issues is that due to the lack of archaeological work on these sites prior to the occupation, there is no official record of the artifacts that were stored there, and sometimes the very locations where the occupiers are conducting their illegal activities were not designated as cultural heritage objects – they do not exist in the legal realm.

This makes it impossible to hold the occupying archaeologists accountable for excavations at such sites due to their lack of official status.

Another gap is the absence of a coherent state position regarding archaeologists, museum workers, and cultural heritage protection specialists who continue their activities in occupied territories.

Currently, there are no standardized remote monitoring regulations in either Ukrainian legislation or the rules of international cultural heritage protection bodies, as noted by Denis Yashny, leading researcher at the National Reserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra" and head of the monitoring group at the Crimean Institute of Strategic Studies.

"This is the only tool we have to assess cultural losses in occupied territories," he emphasizes.

The next issue is the absence of a unified state register of immovable cultural heritage objects. According to the expert, changes in Ukrainian legislation need to be initiated. There should also be cooperation between public organizations monitoring the state of cultural heritage objects in occupied territories and state authorities.

"We must understand that if those working in government do not possess certain skills, they simply need to be taught. This is a significant task because very often representatives or heads of certain government bodies believe that they do not need the help of public organizations, which is not the case. An example is our previous collaboration with the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," explains Denis Yashny.

Another danger to the cultural heritage of Ukrainians is that the Russians are conducting a policy of destruction in the temporarily occupied territories. They are attempting to erase the historical memory of the Ukrainian people. This process is accompanied by the looting and destruction of museums and other cultural institutions related to the cultural heritage of the Ukrainian people.

The main direction of Russian cultural assimilation policy in Kherson is the destruction of memorials commemorating tragic events for Ukrainians, specifically the Holodomor of the 1930s. For instance, a memorial plaque to the victims of the Holodomor at the Church of the Archangel Michael in Oleshky, established in 2008, was destroyed in November 2023 by the order of the occupying authorities.

Photo: Destruction of the memorial plaque to the victims of the Holodomor at the Church of the Arch