Death & Funerary Rites
Spread across the former territory of the Scythians are numerous burial mounds called Kurgans, where the Scythians would bury their dead. Similarly to the ancient Egyptians, the Scythians mummified their dead and would provide all of the supplies they believed would be needed for them to ride forever in the afterlife, including by sacrificing their horse or horses and burying them with the person (3).
The Scythians took great care to preserve their dead and their appearance. Because of this, they practiced a complicated mummification process. They first would cut holes into the skull to remove the brain matter, then would slice out as much soft tissue from underneath the skin as possible, then fill it with dry grass before sewing the skin back together (3). This helped to prevent rotting of the body as they did not bury their dead until spring, when the permafrost of the ground began to thaw and the bands of Scythians could come together and would construct their Kurgans (1).
In Spring the burial process began by digging a large hole for the Kurgan and laying a wooden base for the floor, and for people of greater importance the inside of the Kurgan would be similar to a log cabin with a felt over the floor and a layered wooden roof (3). The body would then be mummified and placed into a log trunk-like coffin alongside prized possessions and various objects from that persons life (3). Sacrificed horses were placed just outside the central tomb chamber, facing east towards the rising sun (3). Some later Kurgans would be made of stone rather than wood, though those were largely exclusive to royals (5).
These traditions would have been orally passed down for generations and death was clearly seen as an important aspect of their culture (4). Death was seen as another stage of life and the rites of passage associated with burial and death were important parts of Scythian folklore (5 & 4). According to Herodotus, when one died they would be mummified and their closest kin would cart their body to all of the persons friends in succession (5). Each person would entertain them with a feast at the end of which the person was served a portion of the meal (5). This would continue for 40 days and then the body would be buried (5). This was considered important as the Scythians believed that the until the body was buried the spirit would linger next to the body and be able to see and hear everything that went on around them (5). This was a time for loved ones to take part in a folkloric rite of passage and celebrate the life of their loved ones who have passed on, giving them one last chance to say goodbye (5).
Mayor, Adrienne. The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016.
Parzinger, Hermann. “Burial Mounds of Scythian Elites in the Eurasian Steppe: New Discoveries.” Journal of the British Academy 5 (2017). https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/005.331.
British Museum. “Introducing the Scythians - British Museum Blog.” British Museum Blog - Explore stories from the Museum, February 22, 2022. https://blog.britishmuseum.org/introducing-the-scythians/#:~:text=The%20Scythians%20(pronounced%20'SIH-,to%20the%20northern%20Black%20Sea.
Sims, Martha C., and Martine Stephens. “Ritual.” Essay. In Living Folklore: An Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions, 2nd ed., 98-104. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2011.
Barry, Cunliffe. Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe. Oxford, UK: OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2021.