Scythians are somehow endlessly fascinating. The grave might have “hardened” over time, but the contemporary appearance suggests it had to be chiseled into the ground. I wonder: A) whether the number 17 had significance other than what worked structurally; and B) how common oak trees were in the region at the time of the burial — I don’t think of oaks on the steppe, but that’s likely my ignorance. Determining which deity is represented on the silver bar requires some darned impressive expertise. Thanks for posting this.
Using oak may have been a sign of power and/or wealth — not many around, let’s use 19 of ‘em for my tomb. :^) Or, maybe construction and keeping warm and cooking with fire is what happened to all of them, and kept the Scythians nomadic.
OTOH, Herodotus’ description of the Persian invasion of Scythia suggests it was mostly open plains even then.