Archaeology Scythian art

bronze ordos culture plaque, 4th century bc; horse attacked tiger

kurgans large mounds obvious in landscape , high proportion have been plundered @ various times; many may never have had permanent population nearby guard them. counter this, treasures deposited in secret chambers below floor , elsewhere, have avoided detection until arrival of modern archaeologists, , many of outstanding finds come such chambers in kurgans had been partly robbed.

elsewhere desertification of steppe has brought once-buried small objects lie on surface of eroded land, , many ordos bronzes seem have been found in way.

russian explorers first brought scythian artworks recovered scythian burial mounds peter great in 18th century. these works formed basis of collection held hermitage museum in saint petersburg. catherine great impressed material recovered kurgans or burial mounds ordered systematic study made of works. however, before development of modern archaeological techniques.

nikolai veselovsky (1848-1918) russian archaeologist specializing in central asia led many of important excavations of kurgans in day. 1 of first sites discovered modern archaeologists kurgans pazyryk, ulagan district of altay republic, south of novosibirsk. name pazyryk culture attached finds, 5 large burial mounds , several smaller ones between 1925 , 1949 opened in 1947 russian archeologist, sergei rudenko; pazyryk in altay mountains of southern siberia. kurgans contained items use in afterlife. famous pazyryk carpet discovered oldest surviving wool pile oriental rug.

golden crown. treasure of tillia tepe, afghanistan.

the enormous hoard of bactrian gold discovered @ tillya tepe in northern afghanistan in 1978 comes fringes of nomadic world, , objects reflect influence of many cultures south of steppes steppes art. 6 burials come 1st century ad (a coin of tiberius among finds) , though cultural context unfamiliar, may relate indo-scythians had created empire in north india.

recent digs in belsk, ukraine uncovered vast city believed scythian capital gelonus described herodotus. numerous craft workshops , works of pottery have been found. kurgan or burial mound near village of ryzhanovka in ukraine, 75 mi (121 km) south of kiev, found in 1990s has revealed 1 of few unlooted tombs of scythian chieftain, ruling in forest-steppe area of western fringe of scythian lands. there @ late date in scythian culture (c. 250 - 225 bc), nomadic aristocratic class gradually adopting agricultural life-style of subjects. many items of jewellery found in kurgan.

a discovery made russian , german archaeologists in 2001 near kyzyl, capital of russian republic of tuva in siberia earliest of kind , predates influence of greek civilisation. archaeologists discovered 5,000 decorative gold pieces including earrings, pendants , beads. pieces contain representations of many local animals period including panthers, lions, bears , deer.

earlier rich kurgan burials include male, or without female consort, 4th , 3rd centuries there number of important burials female.