Solokha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Solokha is also the name of a witch in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Night Before Christmas.

Solokha is also a hamlet at 49.969° N 34.330° E.

The Solokha comb, found in the lateral grave of the Solokha kurgan in 1913.

The Solokha (Солоха) kurgan is on the left bank of the Dnepr, 18 km from Velikaya Znamenka (opposite Nikopol). It has a height of 19 m and a diameter of about 100 m, dating to the early 4th century BC. It contained two royal Scythian tombs, the central tomb had been robbed already in antiquity, but still contained the remains of a female ruler and two horses in rich attire, while the side tomb was found intact by the 1912-1913 campaign by Russian archaeologist N. I. Veselovski. The tomb is notable because it confirmed the historicity of an account of Herodotus.

The intact lateral tomb yielded spectacular treasures. It contained the remains of a male ruler, completely covered in gold. He had been buried with his weapon bearer, a servant and five horses. He was armed with bronze greaves, a bronze helmet, and a sword in a sheath covered with gold sheets and a quiver covered in silver containing 80 bronze arrowheads. The most notable find in the grave, however, was a golden comb with an extremely detailed group of three fighting warriors worked in gold. The comb, as well as other finds, are part of the Hermitage Museum's holdings of Scythian art.

The site is in an area where according to Herodotus the "royal Scythians" buried their kings, the land of Gerrhos, corresponding approximately to the modern Zaporizhia Oblast.