Among several archaeological cultures that claim to be the most ancient, the civilization that was born on Ukrainian soil stands out. Excavations near the village of Tripoli, which is located near Kiev, are still a complete mystery to researchers. Scientists are trying to figure out what the roots of Tripoli culture are, and where it suddenly disappeared.
At the end of the XIX century, archaeologist V. Hvoyka made a sensational discovery during excavations near the village of Tripoli. The scientist's gaze revealed objects of culture, rooted in the sixth millennium BC. Findings of agricultural utensils and the remains of dwellings led to the conclusion about the existence of a developed civilization long before the legendary Sumerians.
Half a century later, researchers supplemented the concept of culture, which was called Tripoli. On the territory of Ukraine, huge cities were found, traces of which are hidden underground. According to some estimates, the population of ancient settlements exceeded 15, 000 people, which by the standards of those times was very significant. The nature of the development is noteworthy: all the settlements found were created according to a single plan. The location of the houses was ring-shaped, the buildings stood close to each other. This location was ideal from the point of view of the defense of the city. In the center of such a settlement, built of concentric rings, was a temple.
One of the mysteries of the Trypillian settlements was that, having existed for several decades, cities were destroyed by fire. The causes of the fires have still not been ascertained. Among the possible versions were very exotic, involving the intervention of aliens armed with powerful lasers. Other researchers see a kind of ritual in the burning of cities, the roots of which, however, are not quite clear. An interesting fact is that the population of the burned city left the ashes in a very short time and moved to another place where the settlement was rebuilt anew.
After a series of such displacements witnessed by archaeologists, which lasted about one and a half thousand years, Trypillian culture simply disappeared. Archaeologists cannot trace its further development. The disappearance of traces of a highly developed culture causes many hypotheses. One of them is related to climate change. Dry times came, which no longer allowed to develop agriculture on the same scale, so the Trypillians gradually ceased to exist.
According to another original hypothesis, the last representatives of the Trypillian culture switched to the underground way of life. In several places in Ukraine, traces of human habitation in caves were discovered, including burials, pottery, and agricultural implements. Current researchers of the Trypillian culture continue excavations in the Ternopil region, hoping to literally and figuratively get to the bottom of the reasons that led to the disappearance of the ancient and mysterious people.
