Archaeologists have identified compelling evidence for the long-term reuse of ritual sites in the North Pontic Steppe, offering new insights into cultural continuity and landscape engagement in prehistoric Europe.
A study published by Cambridge University Press examines Revova Kurgan 3, a monumental site in present-day Ukraine.
Initially established during the Eneolithic period (c. 4500–3300 BC), the site was subsequently transformed into a burial mound by populations associated with the Yamna culture in the late fourth millennium BC—a period widely linked to significant demographic expansion and cultural transformation across Eurasia.
The researchers propose that this transformation reflects a broader and intentional pattern, which they term the “continuity of sacred spaces.” Rather than representing opportunistic reuse, the integration of earlier ritual sites into later funerary practices is interpreted as a deliberate strategy through which emerging groups appropriated existing sacred landscapes to reinforce ideological frameworks and territorial claims.
Stratigraphic analysis at Revova Kurgan 3 identified four successive construction phases spanning nearly two millennia (c. 3711–1748 BC). The earliest phase comprised a prepared ritual platform, formed by the removal of topsoil to expose underlying loam, and encircled by a semi-circular ditch. At its centre, a deposit of disarticulated human remains—likely placed within an organic container—suggests a primary function as a ceremonial locus rather than a formal burial site. Associated evidence of burning further supports the interpretation of sustained ritual activity.
During the Early Bronze Age, Yamna groups inserted burials into the pre-existing mound. Notably, a centrally placed grave was cut into earlier deposits without disturbing the Eneolithic remains, indicating a precise and potentially meaningful engagement with the earlier structure. Subsequent interments, distributed around the mound, conform to established Yamna mortuary practices, including contracted body positioning, the application of ochre, and the use of constructed grave features.
Radiocarbon dating confirms that these activities form part of a continuous sequence rather than discrete episodes of occupation. Complementary palaeogenetic data indicate shared ancestry between Eneolithic and Yamna populations in the region, suggesting that the observed continuity may reflect both cultural transmission and population interaction.
The study situates these findings within broader discussions of steppe mobility and social organisation. For mobile pastoralist groups, the reuse of prominent ritual sites may have served to anchor identity within the landscape, legitimise territorial presence, and articulate connections to ancestral pasts. In this context, sacred spaces functioned not only as religious centres but also as instruments of social and spatial integration.
There are also geographic reasons for the site’s repetition. Revova Kurgan 3 is a visually recognisable site, one that witnesses around the North Pontic Steppe from multiple points of elevation and along the Velykyi Kuialnyk River over long distances.
It could have made such a historic site more recognisable as a ritual site as well as a marker of territorial survival. In the end the research confirms the culture continued to hold on to sacred landscapes in the North Pontic Steppe. It also demonstrates that when society changes, so do we, not only have cultural changes, but we also experience continuing touchstones of the way the past had been lived, and we also have long-time traditions that evolved from the traditions.
Sources : Antiquity – https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10292
