Scythian Neapolis was a settlement that existed from the end of the 3rd century BC until the second half of the 3rd century AD. The archeological ruins sit on the outskirts of the present-day
Simferopol. This city was the center of the Crimean
Scythian tribes, led by Skilurus and
Palacus (who were probably buried at the local mausoleum). The town ruled over a small kingdom, covering the lands between the lower
Dnieper river and
Crimea. In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, it was a city "with a mixed Scythian-Greek population, strong defensive walls and large public buildings constructed using the orders of Greek architecture". Neapolis was destroyed halfway through the 3rd century AD by the
Goths.