Elite Scythian gold

A gold necklace placed in an elite Scythian burial more than 2,300 years ago carries a miniature world that archaeologists may have misunderstood for decades. The necklace comes from the North Tomb of the Oguz burial mound, a major Scythian funerary monument of the fourth century BCE. Best assessments have proposed dates around 350–320 BCE. A new study argues that the winged figures hanging from the necklace are women with the bodies of bees. At the center of the sits another unexpected figure: a tiny female head wearing a Phrygian cap, a detail that may identify her as an Amazon.

The craftsmanship matches the social/royal status of the grave. The necklace contains 84 beads made by soldering together two halves.