Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

the rise of the pontic steppe scythians
5.9 (Opposite) The fortified manufacturing and trading centres of Kamenskoe and Trakhtemirov, both on
the River Dnieper.
The rampart enclosing the acropolis was topped by a wall built of sun-dried mud
bricks, similar to Greek construction, while the buildings within were based on stone
foundations. An abundance of imported Greek Red-Figured pottery, wine amphorae,
and an unusually high percentage of bones of game animals, reflecting the hunt,
suggest that the acropolis may have been a royal stronghold. The clustering of a number
of rich burials in the vicinity of Kamenskoe adds support to this view. Within the
main outer enclosure some 900 hectares were given over to metal production on an
industrial scale. Iron smelting and forging predominated, the iron ore being brought
to the site from the rich deposits of Krivoi Rog 60 km away. All the processes were
carried out here from the initial smelting to the forging of finished items, notably
weapons, armour, and horse trappings. Other metals—copper, lead, and zinc—were
also smelted and gold and silversmiths were at work. Such a massive industrial operation
would have consumed huge quantities of timber, a commodity in ample supply
along the nearby river valleys. Indeed, it may well have been the availability of timber
that first encouraged metal works to the site.
Although the excavations at Kamenskoe were of limited extent and have not been
published in detail, sufficient is known of this remarkable site to provide an insight
into Scythian social organization on the steppe at the end of the fifth century. Here,
at a dominant location on the river corridor, a Scythian ruler presided over a massive
industrial enterprise. Some of the products manufactured would have been used by
the elite themselves or would have been given to dependants as a reward for their loyalty.
But some, perhaps ingots of iron and other metals, would have been transported
downriver to Olbia and there traded for the fine pottery and the wine consumed in
the princely acropolis. It was a lifestyle very different from that of the pioneers who
had arrived on the steppe two centuries before.
The princely residences overseeing production and distribution at Kamenskoe,
Elizavetovskaya, and Nadlimanskoe were all sited on route nodes commanding
major river corridors, their locations being determined by commercial imperatives.
Rather different were the fortified settlements of Crimea like that of Kermenchik,
now modern Simferopol. It is comparatively small, occupying the edge of a plateau
and dates from the end of the fourth century. In building style and decoration the settlement
owes much to the Greek world, which is hardly surprising since it is less than
60 km from the Greek coastal cities of Chersonesos and Kerkinitis. The settlement
is probably to be identified as Scythian Neapolis mentioned by Strabo as being the
residence of Scythian kings. From the third century bc the number of fortified settle-
131