Scythians of Southern Siberia in the State. The Hermitage

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The State Hermitage Museum houses the world's largest collection of Scythian objects; this collection is known primarily for artifacts preserved in permafrost, which preserves organic matter well. Unfortunately, and for many undoubtedly fortunately, permafrost in the south of Russia is present only in Siberia, there would be permafrost in Krasnodar (or in Ukraine), there would be more ancient organic objects (wood, leather, fabric, etc.)), but the inhabitants of these places were lucky, therefore the rich material culture of the Scythians is better represented in the burials of the forest-steppes of Siberia - in Altai, Tuva and Khakassia.

A female burial plaster mask applied to the skull. Oglakhtinsky burial ground. Tashtyk culture, 1st - 7th centuries Khakassia

To get into the halls of Ancient Siberia Gos. Hermitage Museum, you need to go along the long Kutuzov corridor.

art

And in the vestibule of the Saltykovsky entrance one can find already the first and, I must say, very significant artifacts. These are wooden sarcophagi of the Scythian leaders, hollowed out from solid tree trunks.

Sarcophagus-deck from a tree trunk. Cedar. Burial ground Tuekta kurgan 1. Pazyryk culture, VI century. BC. Altai

A sarcophagus-deck, hollowed out from one tree trunk. Pazyryk culture. VI century BC. Second Bashadar Kurgan, Altai.

Carved image of tigers on the sarcophagus. Bashadar, mound 2.

Tashtyk plaster burial masks from the Oglakhty burial ground, 1st - 7th centuries. In the foreground is a man's mask, a hairstyle in the form of a clump of hair at the crown of the head is visible on the skull.

Burial masks of the Tashtyk culture from Khakassia belonged to the mixed Caucasian-Mongoloid population of the Minusinsk Basin. These people had funeral rites in complexity that were not inferior to the Egyptian ones. They subjected the dead to mummification - they removed the internal organs, the brain and filled the bodies with grass and clay. A portrait mask made of plaster was applied to the face, there is an assumption that in this way women and adolescents, men, Tashtyk residents were buried, cremated, and then the remaining ashes were poured into specially made dolls. The dolls were not inferior in size to a living person, they were made of leather, grass and clay, the faces were made very carefully from plaster, achieving a portrait resemblance. In general, the doll was supposed to be a complete analogue of a deceased person; for greater resemblance, a similar doll was dressed in the clothes of the deceased.

A female mask from the Oglakhty burial ground. Tashtyk culture, 1st - 7th centuries

Burial doll bust. Tashtyk culture, 1st - 7th centuries Khakassia.

Larch frame of the burial chamber of the fifth Pazyryk mound. Pazyryk culture. IV century BC. Altai

The wooden frameworks of the burial chambers of the Pazyryk kurgans resemble similar chambers of the Phrygian kurgans in Asia Minor, for example, in the kurgan of “King Midas”. There are serious reasons to think that there is some kind of connection between the Altai and Phrygian barrows, since in the 7th century. BC. the Scythians controlled almost the entire territory of Asia Minor.

A three-meter sarcophagus-deck in the burial chamber.

Mummy of a man from the fifth Pazyryk mound. Pazyryk culture. IV century BC. Altai

The body of a 55-year-old man underwent a special treatment, all the viscera were removed from the abdominal cavity, the skull was trepanned, and the brain was removed. Even Herodotus wrote that the Scythians preserve the body of the deceased king for a long time, carry it around the territory under their control and only then bury it in a mound.

Tattoos on the body of the mummy of a man from the fifth Pazyryk mound. They can only be seen in infrared light.

Human skin with tattoos. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 2, V-IV centuries. BC.

Below, a mummified head. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 2, V-IV centuries. BC.

The head of this Scythian warrior has obvious Mongoloid features and he was clearly unlucky in life - the skull is scalped and has several holes on top, perhaps a belt was inserted into these holes, with the help of which the severed head was suspended from the saddle. Herodotus wrote about this custom:

“The Scythian warrior brings the heads of all those killed in battle to the king. After all, only the one who brought the head of the enemy receives his share of the spoil, otherwise he will not. The skin from the head is ripped off as follows: an incision is made on the head in a circle near the ears, then they grab the hair and shake the head out of the skin. Then the skin is cleaned of meat with a bovine rib and crumpled with your hands. The Scythian warrior uses the made leather as a towel for his hands, ties his horse to the bridle and proudly flaunts it. Whoever has the most of these leather towels is considered the most valiant husband."

Anthropomorphic head. Bridle plate. Tree. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 1, V-IV centuries. BC.

Reconstruction of the clothes of people from the Arzhan-2 mound, 7th century BC. Tuva.

Wooden chariot. Fifth Pazyryk mound, IV century. BC.

Felt carpet and tourists. Fifth Pazyryk mound, IV century. BC.

Here is depicted a seated goddess who meets a warrior on a horse, in one hand she holds the tree of life. The warrior is pure Armenian in appearance, with a large nose and a dashingly curled mustache) The goddess is apparently completely bald, although the upper part of her head is hidden by an intricate headdress. Images of such female deities sitting on a throne are characteristic of Asia Minor, as a rule, they all personify Cybele.

Felt carpet, fragment. Fifth Pazyryk mound, IV century. BC.

Two images of the goddess Kubaba (Cybele) in a characteristic headdress, 850-900 BC from the New Hittite town of Karkemish. Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.

Horse saddlecloth, felt. Fifth Pazyryk mound, IV century. BC.

Felt carpet. Fifth Pazyryk mound, IV century. BC.

Figures of swans made of felt. Fifth Pazyryk mound, IV century. BC.

Here is a "soft toy" of the 4th century. BC. Fifth Pazyryk mound

Bridle. Leather and wood. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 1, V-IV centuries. BC.

Fragments of the famous Pazyryk carpet, V-IV centuries BC The possible origin of the carpet is Western Asia, most likely Mussel. Fifth Pazyryk mound, IV century. BC.

Carpet - knotted woolen sheared, perhaps the oldest known today.

Saddle. Fifth Pazyryk mound, IV century. BC.

Harp. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 2, V-IV centuries. BC.

Horse mask. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 1, V-IV centuries. BC.

Horse mask. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 1, V-IV centuries. BC. The Pazyryk people really wanted to see their horses as deer, so when they were buried together with the owner, they attached special horns to them. The deer and its torment is the main plot of all Scythian art, while the cult of the deer also existed in Asia Minor, deer are most often found on Phrygian ceramics, it is quite possible that the deer cult was borrowed by the Scythians there.

Horse mask. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 1, V-IV centuries. BC.

Eagle saddle pads. Wood, gold. Burial ground Bashadar, mound 2.

Eagles are quite heraldic, the bird of prey is an important totem among the nomads.

Badge with the image of a moose. Wood of the 5th-4th centuries BC.

Wooden pommel in the form of a griffin's head holding a deer head in its mouth. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 2, V-IV centuries. BC.

Fragment of a saddle tire. Image of a reclining eagle-headed griffin. Felt. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 2, V-IV centuries. BC.

Saddle tire. Felt, leather, fur. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 1, V-IV centuries. BC.

Saddle with a tire. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 1, V-IV centuries. BC. As you can see, Scythian things are very bright, with patterns, appliqués, braid, one must think that in their appearance the Scythians were somewhat reminiscent of the North American Indians.

Wooden pommel in the shape of a griffin's head. Wood, leather. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 2, V-IV centuries. BC.

Fragment of the bridle. Wood, leather, gold. Burial ground Pazyryk, mound 1, V-IV centuries. BC.

Cauldron, Semirechye, accidental find, V-III centuries. BC