On the Verge of an Unexpected Discovery

I live in the west of Ukraine, close to the magical mountains - the Carpathians. This region is rich in medieval stone castles, but when it comes to more ancient times, there is little information. There are not enough material finds, and there are almost no written ones at all. We're not used to high-profile archaeological discoveries, but that may (or may not) change soon.

A bridge to Europe

Historically, due to its geographical location, the territory of Ukraine was a bridge to Europe for warlike nomadic tribes. Because of this, a lot of blood was spilled here and more than one tragic page was turned. The presence of fertile lands led to the development of great agricultural civilizations, such as the Tryplians, but all these peoples sooner or later suffered the devastating blows of nomads.

In the fourth century, another great military threat to all of Europe appeared on the territory of modern Ukraine - an innumerable army of the Huns and their subordinate tribes. Around 370, they conquered the Alans, who lived on the left side of the Don River. The Huns slaughtered most of the Alans and incorporated the rest into their army. After that, they attacked the Ostrogoths with larger forces and conquered them as well. Next, they destroyed the Greek cities of the Cimmerian Bosporus and destroyed almost all the Greek colonies of the Black Sea. Without hesitation, they crossed the Dnipro River and destroyed the Gothic state.

Having occupied the territory of modern Ukraine, the whole of Europe opened up to the Huns as if in the palm of their hands. And they set off for further conquests. Without going into details, I will only note that the Huns were at that time a real disaster for the whole of Europe and in many ways caused the fall of the then system of life and the beginning of the Great Migration of Peoples. Their state stretched from the Black Sea to the Rhine and from the Danish islands to the right bank of the Danube.

Attila

In 445, Attila became the leader of the Huns. During his reign, the Huns gained the highest power. Under the leadership of Attila, they attacked the Byzantine Empire, invaded Gaul and threatened Rome, and the Eastern Roman Empire redeemed themselves from their attack with a large tribute.

Attila threatened all the countries of Europe so much that he was called "the scourge of God".

If you like historical films, then you can learn about Attila by watching the film Attila, in which the main role was played by Gerard Butler. Of course, like any feature film, it does not claim 100% historical accuracy, but it will still allow you to learn about the events of those times in an interesting way.

In 453, in the midst of preparations for an invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire, Attila decided to strengthen his own forces by enlisting the support of the Goths. For this, he arranged his own wedding with the Gothic princess Ildeko. He died of an internal hemorrhage on his wedding night in his pond (probably on the Tisza River in Pannonia). There are also other various versions of death.

According to traditions and legends, Attila is buried in three coffins - gold, silver and iron. Servants and witnesses of the burial were killed. Therefore, the location of Attila's grave is unknown.

An unexpected find

More than a decade ago, in the manuscripts department of the Vasyl Stefanyk Lviv National Library of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a handwritten message by the well-known Austrian local historian and archaeologist Antoni Schneider about the probable location of "Attila's grave" in the North-Eastern Carpathians was discovered. There is a record here, which in translation reads as follows: "Rykyv, traces of burials in the vines, the so-called Graveyard to Glynskyi Kut and the Vatashchyna Cemetery. It was supposed to be the tomb of Attila. Back then, the Ilnyk valley was once the road to Hungary."

Given the fact that, along with Rykiv, Antony Schneider mentions two more villages - Vovche and Nizhne Vysotske, then the manuscript can only refer to the village of Rykiv, which is in today's Turkiv district. This means that the probable burial of such a well-known historical figure, although not at all positive, is in the region of my residence🙂.

In order to verify the information provided by Antony Schneider, on August 13, an on-site reconnaissance was conducted directly in Rykov and its surroundings. It is known from numerous more or less reliable written sources that Attila was buried at the bottom of the river bed, for which the water was diverted beforehand. And after his burial, the water was again let into the old channel.

In the process of surveying the area along the fast-flowing and wide Zavadka River in Rykov, Doctor of Historical Sciences Mykola Bandrivsky managed to identify two most promising places for searches.

Thus, the reconnaissance work started in Rykov may soon shed light on one of the intriguing questions of archaeology, namely: the likely burial place of one of the most powerful rulers of Europe, whose mention made the entire late antique world tremble.

Sources:

• en.wikipedia.org
• dailylviv.com