From 1995 to 1998 excavations were conducted in the Great Ryzhanovka Kurgan in the village of Ryzhanovka in Ukraine (150 km south of Kiev). Among many things, the excavations yielded a sensational discovery of the unlooted tomb of the Scythian Chieftain ("the Prince"), which attracted worldwide interest among several scientific circles and the media. Great interest was portrayed by the New York Times, the New York “Archaeology” and National Geographic magazine as numerous reports and press articles were published commenting on the details of the discovery. The excavations in Ryzhanovka were conducted by the "Polish-Ukrainian Archaeological Expedition" headed by Jan Chochorowski and Sergei Skoryi. The expedition was organized by the power of an agreement signed between the Jagiellonian University’s Institute of Archaeology and the National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in 1995. This program is currently carried out and shall be concluded in the year 2000 with a publication of a monograph containing the summary of the results of the studies. An exhibition on the discoveries recently opened in the Archaeological Museum of Kraków under the title "Tutankhamen of the Ukrainian Steppe", indeed a result of the effective cooperation between the archaeologists from Kraków and Kiev. 

Significant interest in the venture was quite evident as the authorities of Kraków, Malopolska Province and the Ministry of Culture all participated in the opening of the exhibition. Delegations from the leading archaeological institutions of Ukraine and Russia such as the National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Ermitage Museum of St. Petersburg and Archaeological Museum in Odessa, headed by Piotr Toloczka, Vice President of the National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and Member of the Ukrainian Parliament were also among the major participants. 

The co-operation between the Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology with its Ukrainian partners has not been limited to the research in Ryzhanovka. The overall cooperation already resulted in a great archaeological exhibition "The Nomad of Ukrainian", an exhibition held from 1996 to 1997 in the Silesian Museum in Katowice and co-organized by the Silesian Museum and its partners from Kiev. The exhibition won the great prize in the national contest for the most important event of the year in Poland.

In 1998, the Jagiellonian Institute of Archaeology in cooperation with the Museum of Archaeology in Odessa and the Conservator's Office for the Odessa Oblast launched excavations in a complex of ancient sites (from the fifth to the second century BC) which included the ruins of a settlement site and a big necropolis in Koshary near Odessa on the Black Sea.

The Great Ryzhanovka Kurgan became known mankind as early as the end of the 19th century, owing to the discoveries made by Polish researchers. In 1884, Julian Talko-Hryncewicz, a young medical doctor and anthropologist, and later Jagiellonian University professor initiated excavations in that site. In 1887 after an accidental discovery of an underground tomb in the N-W side of the kurgan, Godfryd Ossowski, an archaeologist and geologist conducted studies. The catacomb grave, thus far notoriously looted by the local peasants, was uncovered yielding a lavishly equipped grave of a young woman, a Scythian princess. The discovery was a representative of the nomadic peoples of the Scythians occupying the Black Sea areas from the seventh century BC to the third century BC. The valuable finds are represented by a collection of almost 500 gold and silver artifacts. Among them are gold ornaments of the princess' ceremonial dress and jewelry. In addition, a set of silver, bronze, and clay Greek vessels were discovered. The most interesting artifacts found are a pair of gold, Greek-style earrings and a silver mug bearing an image of racing animals, all masterpieces made by Greek artists. The findings also included two rings made of gold coins issued by the Greek colony of Pantikapaion (today Kerch on the Crimean peninsula) dating back to the years 330-315 BC.

 In 1995 studies on the great Ryzhanovka Kurgan were launched by the Polish-Ukrainian archaeological expedition headed by Jan Chochorowski of the Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology and Sergei Skoryi of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in Kiev (*). As a result, the female's grave located on the side was uncovered again in 1995. 19^th century studies were verified and in 1996 the main male's burial place (discovered the year before) located under the central portion of the kurgan was investigated. Moreover, from 1997 to 1998 the architecture of the Great Kurgan and three other smaller graves in the Ryzhanovka cemetery were studied. 

The most important realization among the finds was the research conducted on the main burial place of the Scythian Prince. Her body was placed in the niche grave with an entry shaft to it and a spacious grave chamber (i.e., the burial for which a huge mound was raised in the ancient times). It turned out that the grave had been left intact by the looters. This was the first instance since 1830 when the Kul-Oba Kurgan near Kech was discovered by planned investigation of the central grave in the kurgan of Scythian aristocracy, which had not been previously devastated or looted either by ancient or contemporary "treasure hunters". It dates back to mid third century BC and evidences the final stage of the history of the Scythians who at that time (starting in mid fourth century BC) were being pushed away from the Black Sea Steppes by another wave of Iranian nomads, the Sarmatians.

(*) The works were financed by Jagiellonian University, Foundation for Polish Science, Committee for Scientific Research (KBN), Archaeological Museum of Kraków, and Polish Academy of Arts and Letters.

The central tomb of the Great Ryzhanovka Kurgan is the first investigated assemblage of that rank since the discovery of the Kul-Oba Kurgan on the Crimean peninsula in 1830, which survived unlooted. Together with the grave on the side of the Kurgan uncovered at the end of the 19th century, it is an exceptional burial place. Its features of grave architecture, monumental mound and richness of assemblage has been ranked among the elitist groups of kurgans of Scythian aristocracy, commonly referred to as "princely" or "royal". The fact that the two grave chambers remained intact gave the archeologists virtually first opportunity to investigate complete burial customs of that rank. This has a great importance for the understanding of the content and sense of religious behavior of the Scythians, the peoples who played a great historic role and developed a wonderful culture. Unfortunately, not a single written record has been left behind. Silent archaeological finds can "speak" for them in a fuller voice only when such global and comprehensive evaluations of different cult expressions are available. The Great Ryzhanovka Kurgan may become the point of reference for the evaluation of many other grave assemblages of Scythian aristocracy, that were not lucky enough to remain intact and serve as a site for complex studies.

The Great Ryzhanovka Kurgan enveloped Scythian burials which were undoubtedly connected with the nomadic environment of the steppe zone and are part of the civilization occurrences in the Great Steppe. However, the Great Ryzhanovka Kurgan is located outside the steppe (it is the north-easternmost burial site of this rank) in the forest-steppe area inhabited in ancient times by settled farming communities. The nomadic element and the aristocracy politically dominated local peoples but, at the same time, their cultural effects influenced them. We are able, therefore, to follow the fascinating phenomena of changes occurring at a point where two different worlds, the nomadic and settled, represent entirely different civilization models, overlap.

The exceptional significance of the finds in the Great Ryzhanovka Kurgan is also highlighted by their sequence. Thus far, the assemblages of this type (including the grave on the side of the Kurgan discovered by Ossowski) were dated to the second half of the fourth century BC. The study on the chronology of the central grave indicates that it dates back to the second quarter of the third century BC Probably, because of these new datings, many other late Scythian sites need to be also re-dated or reevaluated. It this way, the seeming gap in archaeological finds on the steppe areas of Eastern Europe and its outskirts between late Scythian and early Sarmathian assemblages will be bridged. It seems that despite the defeat of Ateas and the onrush of the Sarmathians and other unfavorable factors, the Scythians continued to exist for still a long time in various regions. The so called "Scythia Minor" in Dobrudza were important participants in the ethnic and cultural situation as well. During the Sarmathian domination, many "small Scythias" existed on the steppe fringes. Among them, hitherto unknown, was "Scythia Minor" operating under the reign of the prince from the Great Ryzhanovka Kurgan.