A powerful Scythian Kingdom existed in Northern Crimea/Taurica in the 2nd century BC. Its capital was Scythian Neapolis, near the modern city of Simferopol.
Archaeological excavations of it were conducted by archaeologist P. N. Schultz in 1946. At the foundation of a city wall with a fortress tower, archaeologists discovered a mausoleum. In the center of the mausoleum was a sarcophagus made of massive limestone slabs, in which a noble Scythian warrior, possibly a Scythian king, was buried. About a thousand gold ornaments, royal weapons, a bronze helmet with silver inlay, swords with richly decorated gold and silver hilts, and spears were found in the mausoleum.
When anthropologist Gerasimov received a skull found during archaeological excavations in the Neapolis Mausoleum to reconstruct the face, he had no historical evidence of the man buried in the mound. He did not know who the man was or for what purpose his appearance needed reconstruction. He only established that the unknown man was a strong, healthy man with massive cheekbones.
Having carried out the necessary measurements and calculations, Gerasimov was able to reconstruct the man’s face, which turned out to be handsome, with regular features, thin lips, and a round chin. There were no traces of wounds or other marks left on the skull. The head was elongated, the nose, judging by the nasal pinch, was thin and pointed. The head was characteristically positioned with a forward tilt. The most prominent features of the face became a high forehead and an aquiline nose.
When Gerasimov was told that it was a Scythian whose face he had reconstructed, he added a beard, since many Scythians wore beards; their bearded faces can be seen on Scythian coins, Greek bas-reliefs, and on the embossed reliefs of Scythian vases.
When archaeologists came to examine the sculpture of the bearded Scythian, upon seeing the sculptured head, Schultz exclaimed: “This is him!”
Gerasimov was puzzled by how Schultz could have known the Scythian. A minute later, he knew the answer – the image of the Scythian reconstructed by him was being compared with a piece of bas-relief depicting Scilurus and his son Palak that was discovered above the Mausoleum in Scythian Neapolis.
The appearance of the Scythian king Scilurus from Scythian Neapolis, reconstructed by Gerasimov, matched the image: the same face with an aquiline nose, heavy eyelids, protruding cheekbones, the same elongated head with a characteristic forward tilt. The archaeologists learnt who was buried in the mausoleum of the royal tomb of Scythian Neapolis.
Per Wikipedia, Skilurus was a renowned Scythian king reigning during the 2nd century BC. His realm included the lower reaches of the Borysthenes and Hypanis, as well as the northern part of Crimea, where his capital, Scythian Neapolis, was situated.
Skilurus ruled over the Tauri and controlled the ancient trade emporium of Pontic Olbia, where he minted coins. In order to gain advantage against Chersonesos, he allied himself with the Sarmatian tribe of Rhoxolani. In response, Chersonesos forged an alliance with Mithridates VI of Pontus. Skilurus died during a war against Mithridates.
The ‘Cradle of Civilizations‘ book has details of some of the battles of that war.
‘Royal Scythia, Greece, Kyiv Rus‘ takes a new perspective on the origin of the Scythians and their relation to Kyiv Rus.
M. Gerasimov’s reconstruction of a ‘Ukrainian’ Scythian >
