Thursday, January 22, 2026

Golden Scabbards of the Steppes


The famous Scythian "Boars Head Sword and Scabbard", from a burial mount (kurgan) near the village of Velika Bilozerka, Ukaine. It dates to about 330 BC.

Another.



Details. The top one shows you the degree of Greek influence; most of these were probably made in Greek cities around the Black Sea.

And a Cimmerian dagger found in Bulgaria.

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1 comment:

Katya said...

I think one of the coolest things about the scythian gold work is that a bunch of it was very obviously made with maquettes/molds that had thin sheets of gold hammered into shape over carved or molded forms. This is easiest to see on the metal tags that decorated horse’s reins and harness straps. Our ingenious ancestors figured our efficient ways to repeat their work and output. These scabbards look to me like they made use of that technology. Just incredible work, how they built the tools with which they created these exquisite objects!

January 22, 2026 at 5:34 PM

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