Scythian and Pazyryk culture women (Western Pontic Scythains and Eastern Saka Scythians) 2
Illustration of Scythian and Pazyryk culture women (Western Pontic Scythains and Eastern Saka Scythians) by Rowyn flowerdew / pigeonduckthing
On June 21, 1971, archaeologist Borys Mozolevsky unearthed a stunning gold pectoral from a burial mound near Ordzhonikidze, Ukraine. Weighing over a kilogram, this artifact was adorned with intricate depictions of herdsmen, animals, and mythical creatures. It was one of the most significant discoveries in the study of the Scythians, a confederation of nomadic horsemen who ruled the Pontic-Caspian steppe from the 7th to the 3rd century BC. The Scythians left no written records, so what we know about them comes from the writings of Herodotus and the archaeological evidence found in the kurgans—large burial mounds—scattered across Ukraine, southern Russia, and the Siberian Altai. See our article on the Gold of the Dead: Inside the Royal Kurgans of the Scythians.
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