Scythians: Warriors of Ancient Siberia; What they Wore, Who They Traded With and What They Ate and Drank

Gold Plaque of Mounted Scythian

At the British Museum this autumn, an exhibit of an ancient culture that was buried in the Siberian permafrost for thousands of years. The BP exhibition Scythians: Warriors of Ancient Siberia will reveal the history of these powerful nomadic tribes who thrived in a vast landscape stretching from southern Russia to China and the northern Black Sea.

Gold plaque of a mounted Scythian. Black Sea region, c. 400–350 BC. © The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2017. Photo: V Terebenin

The Scythians were exceptional horsemen and warriors, and feared adversaries and neighbors of the ancient Greeks, Assyrians and Persians between 900 and 200 BC. This exhibition will tell their story through archaeological discoveries and perfectly preserved objects frozen in time.

This will be the first major exhibition to explore the Scythians in the UK in 40 years. Many of the objects on display date back over 2,500 years. They are exceptionally well preserved as they come from burial mounds in the high Altai mountains of southern Siberia, where the frozen ground prevented them from deteriorating.

Over 200 objects will reveal all aspects of Scythian life, including a major loan in collaboration with the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, and other generous loans from the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ashmolean Museum and the Royal Collection. Some are star pieces which are displayed in the permanent galleries and Treasury of the State Hermitage Museum and others have never been loaned to the UK before.

Objects preserved by the permafrost include multi-colored textiles, fur-lined garments and accessories, unique horse headgear and tattooed human remains. Tattooing was common among the Scythians and incredible examples were preserved in the frozen tombs. This art shows natural and mythical animals with heavily contorted bodies, often in close combat, and we have examples of exceptionally well-preserved early tattooed remains on loan from the State Hermitage Museum.

Pages: 1 · 2

Culture and Arts, Art and Museums, Festivals and Culture, History, Culture Watch, Learning

Scythians: Warriors of Ancient Siberia; What they Wore, Who They Traded With and What They Ate and Drank

More Articles