Refuse Mound

layers of ashes (often in the form of a mound) containing animal bones and remains of objects of material culture. The mounds are found in settlements of the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age, chiefly in the forest steppe belt of the northern Prichernomor’e (Black Sea area) and to some extent in the northern Caucasus. They formed as a result of the repeated dumping at one place of ashes from fire hearths, remains of sacrifices and food, domestic refuse, and broken vessels. They are associated with the cult of the domestic hearth and agriculture.