Tracking the Scythians

Soviet archaeologists have long been tantalized by the huge mounds of earth outside the town of Ordzhonikidze in the southern Ukraine. But it was only when Soviet planners also began eying the region for its manganese deposits that the archaeologists acted to satisfy their curiosity about one particular site standing in the possible path of the bulldozers. What the archaeologists found there exceeded their most extravagant expectations. For the first time in more than half a century, diggers uncovered an unlooted royal tomb of the fabled Scythian tribesmen who roamed and ruled great areas of the Russian heartland more than 2,000 years ago.

The Scythians left behind no written record when they finally vanished from the steppes in the 2nd century B.C., victims of intermarriage and conquest. But there was no end of legends about their ferocity in battle and their great troves of gold. The Greek historian Herodotus devoted more than half a volume to them. Still, it was not until the 19th century, when archaeologists began serious studies of the puzzling remains found scattered from the borders of China to the banks of the Dniester, that scholars would admit there might be more than a shard of truth to the old Scythian tales.

Now, the discovery of the royal tomb, which contains the skeletons of a prince, a princess and an infant--as well as other recent digs in the U.S.S.R.--gives the old stories the ring of historical fact. Herodotus tells, for instance, how the Scythians beheaded their fallen enemies and brought the skulls back to camp to use as wine goblets. Archaeologist Renate Rolle, a young West German woman and the first Western scientist allowed to participate in a Soviet dig since 1920, reports that there is new evidence of Scythian ferociousness. Lances and bows and arrows found in graves along with female skeletons and ornaments suggest that the Scythian women fought beside their men. Thus Herodotus may well have been correct when he said that bloodthirsty Scythian Amazons had to kill a man in battle before they were allowed to marry.

Stitch Job. The Scythians were not always preoccupied with war. Besides tippling, they apparently liked tripping. Ancient bronze vessels found in Scythian graves in the Altai mountains, near China and Mongolia, still contain remnants of the nomads' favorite hemp seeds. They were also highly successful herdsmen and farmers who traded their grain to indulge their taste for expensive jewelry, such as a magnificent gold pectoral ornament recovered from the new-found grave in the Ukraine. Crafted by Greek goldsmiths, who probably lived among the Scythians along the Black Sea, the chestpiece contains no fewer than 44 exquisitely carved animals. Among them: such fantasy creatures as the griffin, which has the head, wings and forelegs of an eagle and the body of a lion.

Like the Egyptian pharaohs, Scythian rulers believed in taking their worldly goods with them. Their graves contain not only necklaces, rings and the small golden plaques that they fastened onto their garments, but also household implements, horses and even the remains of faithful servants. In one case, the fingers of a less richly adorned skeleton actually seemed to be clawing the ground. The telltale fingers lend credence to Herodotus' statement that servants were strangled in the grave, thus giving them the honor of serving their masters in the next world. Archaeologists also found scalped remains of Scythian enemies in frigid Altai graves, but those trophies were apparently not buried in any vengeful spirit. To spare their victims the indignity of a scalpless afterlife, the Scythians had painstakingly stitched hair back on.

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