Babenko L.I.

Key words: Melgunov hoard, Litoy mound, Scythians, Hermitage, Kharkov Historical Museum, Parity Commission.
In 1763 A.P. Melgunov gave orders to excavate the Litoy mound, which event marks the emergence of Scythology. The finds were transported to the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg, and later became part of the collection of the Imperial Hermitage. In 1932 the Parity Commission ruled that part of the Melgunov hoard be transported from the Hermitage to the Kharkov Historical Museum in the Ukraine. For many years the Kharkov part of the Melgunov hoard was considered lost in the Great Patriotic War. However, several objects from the assemblage have been discovered in the vaults of the Kharkov Historical Museum. The objects comprise a leg of a throne stool and fragments of three silver tubes, and help clarify the location where the hoard was stored.