Sketch of a kurgan from Ukrainian steppe

Kurgan is a large earthen mound that used to be piled over a burial site. Such kurgans are typical for the steppe tribes that existed on the territory of Ukraine. Most of the burials in Ukrainian steppes date back to the Cimmerian period (3-2 thousand BC).

Now, all the Kurgans have been researched, and, in the best-case scenario, all the relics and burials are stored in museums in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the artificially created hills have become a part of the biosphere of the Ukrainian steppe long ago.

So isn’t it a perfect land art?

The word kurgan is borrowed from the Cumans language, which means a stronghold, a rampart, a fortress, a high grave. The word is related to the Persian word gurxane, which in turn comes from gur — grave and xane — house.

Although the kurgan (as a khan’s tomb) no longer functions as a relic preservation of chiefs, due to its relief and difficulty in treatment, it has acquired the function of preserving steppe plants that can continue to exist in the midst of active farming.

Sketch of a Kurgan from Ukrainian steppe is an artificially created circle with fertile soil that will gradually become part of the environment, becoming home to plants that are typical for the Ukrainian steppe. It preserves them and highlights them against the backdrop of the overall landscape.