Burials of Scythian Kings: Herodotus and Archaeology — Lecture by Askold Ivantchik at the Innsbruck University (Austria)

On December 4, 2019, at the invitation of Dr. Walter Kuntner, Askold Ivantchik, head of the Centre of Classical and Oriental Archaeology, IOCS HSE, gave a lecture “Burials of Scythian Kings: Herodotus and Archaeology” at the University of Innsbruck (Austria).

In the lecture, Prof. Ivantchik compared Herodotus’ report on the burials of Scythian kings (IV, 71–72) with the data of archaeology and made a conclusion about high reliability of that report.

Some details of Herodotus’ description are to be explained within the framework of the ancient Iranian notions about the royal power. All this testifies that Herodotus had reliable sources going back to the Scythians themselves, and that he conveyed them quite accurately.

Askold Ivantchik: Bestattungen der skythischen Könige

Classical and Oriental Archaeology