The ancient temple of the Goddess at Ukraine.

It all started in very old days. Not less than 8,000 years ago at the lands along the Dnipro river the amazing community of people, which is now called Trypillians, created their unique culture, whose distinctive feature was the creation of symbolic images on the dishes and figurines of goddesses, adorned with mysterious patterns.

They sowed rye and raised cattle, wove cloth and built two-storey houses and temples. Some Trypillian cities could have more than 1,200 buildings and nearly 50 streets, as, for example, in the settlement excavated by archaeologists near the village Nebelivka. It is estimated that only the settlement occupied an area of about 618 acres, where there were houses from 13 to 17-20 feet in width and in length from 49 up to 59-66 feet.

Some buildings occupied more than 1435 square yards. So detected traces of one of them are truly enormous, it had bearing walls 23×64.5 square yards. By the trails on the ground it is possible to determine that the pillars, perhaps, supporting a balcony or canopy, stood around it. Was it a home or a public building? Who knows, but maybe next research will tell us the incredible story of this house and the whole village.

For now, the discovery of the century was made here — the ancient temple older than 6,000 years. Similar temples are known perhaps only in the history of ancient Mesopotamia.

Archaeologists discovered that during the construction of this building its walls were painted red, and the plants were added to the plaster. The traces of stalks and ears of corn grains are clearly visible in its remnants. In the clay coating of the wooden floors of the building the walled statue of a female deity was also found. Apparently, these were the rituals of construction and consecration of the temple.

On the first floor of the temple the stone graters and the traces of fireplace remained. On the second one there was an altar podium and directly the altar with size 6.5×6.5 square feet, where the sacred fire had been made.

It is believed that Trypillians worshiped the Great Mother. But here there were found not only women’s sculptures, but also two figures that have clearly male shape. So the idea of matriarchy and the unified cult of the Goddess in Trypillian culture seem not to be so uniquely.

And, of course, the fragments of magic bi-conical vessels with symbolic ornaments were found here. But the most important discovery at this time was the human figure in a striped dress. This is the oldest image of a man like that.

Remains of animals’ sacrifices, anthropomorphic figures, the altar with the sacred fire, mysterious binocular-shaped ritual ceramics, walls painted in red, the use of cereal plants for the plastering of the building all of this demonstrates the importance of this building for the ancestors and its sacred purpose.

The work of the international archaeological expedition, which began in 2009, still continues, so many new and amazing discoveries waiting for us.

More interesting facts about sacred place at Ukraine you can read in the article Sacred places of Ukraine Goddess .

©Эжени МакКвин, 2016.

Ancient Goddess.