Late Scythian fortification

In Central Scythia during the III century BC life ceases in the Kamensky settlement and other settlements, and the Crimea becomes the center of Late Scythia. At the turn of III and II centuries BC in the Crimea, the city of Naples arises, which has become the new capital of Scythia. In addition to it, four more large cities are known in Crimea: Ust-Alma, Bulganak, Zalesye and Krasnoye (Kermen-Kyr). Another center of Late (Little) Scythia remains the lower Dnieper region, although it is considered its periphery, and is regarded by researchers as a local variant of Late Scythian culture. The Scythian settlements of the lower Dnieper region are much more modest in size compared to the settlements of the early period. During the centuries-old confrontation with the Bosporus kingdom, by the end of the 2nd century the Scythians are defeated, but intensive life both in the capital of Scythian Naples and in many cities continues until the middle of the 3rd century, when Crimean Scythia was subjected to a crushing Gothic invasion, after which part of the Scythians retreated to the hard-to-reach mountainou regions of southwestern Crimea. The last blow for the late Scythians was the Hun invasion of the 4th century, after which the Scythians cease to exist as an ethnic group. The article analyzes the Late Scythian fortification and polyorcetics on the basis of datа from archaeologicаl аnd written sources. The most significant fortifications of ancient Scythiа аre investigаted, the most characteristic architecturаl forms аnd building techniques аre noted.