Report details

The mounds are large burial mounds, sometimes up to 20 meters high, containing human remains and artifacts dating back to 3000 BC. A report by the American University of Virginia suggests that Russian invaders used the mounds as advantageous places for fighting and may have looted at least some of the mounds.

Thanks to this report, we can provide an understanding of what is happening in the occupied territories of Ukraine, which were occupied and are still under Russian control. Our analysis revealed that these objects were damaged [курганів] as a result of military operations as well as possible theft or vandalism that cannot be ignored,
– says Fiona Greenland, a researcher at the University of Virginia’s Laboratory for Informatics and Cultural Resilience Analysis.

The team found evidence of damage to archaeological sites at two sites in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine. According to the report, “the damage included the construction of military infrastructure at the archaeological sites and the creation of a large, obscene phallus-shaped geoglyph at a nearby site.”

Russia commits acts of vandalism against ancient archaeological sites / Photo by University of Virginia

“With the help of satellite imagery we are able to look at the occupied Zaporozhye lands. We have been able to carefully reconstruct the chronology of events from the beginning of the full-scale occupation to the arrival of Russian military units in the region and the corresponding impact that continues to be found in these ancient burial mounds,” added Fiona Greenland.

In the published comparisons, you can see numerous ditches and new roads next to the mounds, firing positions arranged right next to the embankments, and traces of excavations:

This image marks the following points: “New Excavation,” “Fire Position,” and “Path Made Northwest from Main Mound” / Photo by University of Virginia

This photo shows the burned mounds on July 15, 2024 / Photo: University of Virginia

The university then presents a comparison of the same location in 2020 and 2023. We see it in the second image holes dug on top of main moundThere is an additional trench on the north-eastern edge. You can also see that the small mounds (probably small barrows) on the left now look like pits.

The report concludes: Russian troops ‘potentially violated’ Hague ConventionContaining specific requirements regarding respect for cultural artifacts in time of war.

According to Kate Harrell, an archaeologist at the CURIA laboratory, there may be other sites similar to the recently studied mounds that may have been damaged by Russian activities: “There are thousands of mounds, and in this report we have only investigated two sites in the region. More documentation is needed for the Zaporozhye region,” Harrell said.