The Scythians

[Alexias]

There is an exhibition next month at the British Museum about the Scythians who flourished from the 9th to 2nd century BC and whom Alexander encountered at the river Jaxartes. There is a podcast here http://blog.britishmuseum.org/the-scyth ... roduction/. A Scythian warrior could fire up to 150 arrows in 15 minutes. A couple of pictures:

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Woman’s shoe. Leather, textile, tin, pyrite crystals, gold foil, glass beads. Burial mound 2, Pazyryk, Altai mountains, southern Siberia, late 4th–early 3rd century BC. © The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2017. Photo: V Terebenin.

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Scythians with horses under a tree. Gold belt plaque. Siberia, 4th–3rd century BC. © The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2017. Photo: V Terebenin.

These horses appear to have some form of saddle.

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[system1988]

Thank you very much for the pictures...the woman s shoe is something extraordinary rare .Must be an amazing exhibition , shame i am not in London to see it

[Alexias]

They are beautiful, and with a decorated sole, not designed for traipsing about in the mud. Perhaps they would have been seen when she was riding.

[sikander]

Grretings,

Thank you for posting the photos- exquisite!

Regards,
Sikander

[delos13]

It looks like a great exhibition.

By the way, the secoration of the sole of the shoe also has a practical purpose as "antisliding" measure and also to delay wear-and-tear.