Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

bodies clothed in skins
weatherproof. If the tombs can be seen as houses for the dead copying the houses
of the living, then they give some idea of the comforts of the domestic house. Floors
were covered by thick layers of felt and walls were hung with embroidered fabrics or
carpets. One of the patterned wall hangings found in tomb 5 at Pazyryk measured 4.5
by 6.5 m. Fittings of this kind could easily be taken down and packed on those occasions
when the community needed to move on.
The Pazyryk burials also give a detailed insight into the equipment of the nomad
household. The principal item of furniture was the four-legged table, which could be
taken apart for packing. The tabletop, hollow and with a rim around the edge, was
really a large plate on which the communal food could be heaped. Nearby was a large
pottery jug for koumiss—fermented mares’ milk. There were no chairs. People either
sat on the ground or on blocks of wood, waisted in the
middle and sometimes covered with elaborately decorated
leatherwork. Cast bronze cauldrons were used for
cooking and vessels of wood or earthenware served as
plates. For lighting, oil lamps were carved from sandstone.
The other essential item of nomad life was the
ubiquitous bag made of leather or fur, which could vary
in size and shape from pouches and purses to large saddle
bags. A mobile community needed the means of
packing up all its smaller possessions from time to time.
8.11 Table (right), or more correctly, large tray with legs, from kurgan
2 at Pazyryk. The turned legs are detachable. Below: table leg in the
form of a predator also from kurgan 2.
213