Dr. Owen Rees

And, you know, such as an ornate hairdresser, bronze mirrors, jewelry, and all these sort of things that you can associate. There's even a sacrifice goat in there. So clearly there's rituals going on in the burial, things like that. But for us, the most interesting thing at this point is the... decorative beads that had been found, which you wouldn't necessarily focus on when you're looking at it.

And, you know, such as an ornate hairdresser, bronze mirrors, jewelry, and all these sort of things that you can associate. There's even a sacrifice goat in there. So clearly there's rituals going on in the burial, things like that. But for us, the most interesting thing at this point is the... decorative beads that had been found, which you wouldn't necessarily focus on when you're looking at it.

And, you know, such as an ornate hairdresser, bronze mirrors, jewelry, and all these sort of things that you can associate. There's even a sacrifice goat in there. So clearly there's rituals going on in the burial, things like that. But for us, the most interesting thing at this point is the... decorative beads that had been found, which you wouldn't necessarily focus on when you're looking at it.

It was part of a necklace made from faience, which is an item usually associated with Egypt. We also have an amulet in the shape of a scarab, an item and a design you'd associate with Egypt. The scarab, we don't have the blue glaze on it now, but you can still see the remnants of it. And on the bottom of it, it's inscribed with two hieroglyphs, Again, the written language of Egypt.

It was part of a necklace made from faience, which is an item usually associated with Egypt. We also have an amulet in the shape of a scarab, an item and a design you'd associate with Egypt. The scarab, we don't have the blue glaze on it now, but you can still see the remnants of it. And on the bottom of it, it's inscribed with two hieroglyphs, Again, the written language of Egypt.

It was part of a necklace made from faience, which is an item usually associated with Egypt. We also have an amulet in the shape of a scarab, an item and a design you'd associate with Egypt. The scarab, we don't have the blue glaze on it now, but you can still see the remnants of it. And on the bottom of it, it's inscribed with two hieroglyphs, Again, the written language of Egypt.

And the two images are a cobra and a scorpion, two creatures that at this point were not indigenous to the region at all.

And the two images are a cobra and a scorpion, two creatures that at this point were not indigenous to the region at all.

And the two images are a cobra and a scorpion, two creatures that at this point were not indigenous to the region at all.

2,000 kilometers away from Egypt itself.

2,000 kilometers away from Egypt itself.

2,000 kilometers away from Egypt itself.

That's how interconnected the ancient world can be. It doesn't mean anyone in Bilsk is really aware of Egypt. It doesn't mean anyone in Egypt is particularly aware of Bilsk. What we've got is an interconnected marketplace and trade network that spans thousands and thousands of kilometers that allows Egypt to appear in Northern Ukraine. We don't even know how it got there. We don't know.

That's how interconnected the ancient world can be. It doesn't mean anyone in Bilsk is really aware of Egypt. It doesn't mean anyone in Egypt is particularly aware of Bilsk. What we've got is an interconnected marketplace and trade network that spans thousands and thousands of kilometers that allows Egypt to appear in Northern Ukraine. We don't even know how it got there. We don't know.

That's how interconnected the ancient world can be. It doesn't mean anyone in Bilsk is really aware of Egypt. It doesn't mean anyone in Egypt is particularly aware of Bilsk. What we've got is an interconnected marketplace and trade network that spans thousands and thousands of kilometers that allows Egypt to appear in Northern Ukraine. We don't even know how it got there. We don't know.

It may have come via Greece. It may have come via Persia and their trade networks. It might come through another trade network we don't know anything about. What is just fascinating is one, an Egyptian set of items appears there. And two, that someone who is not Greek, living in Bilsk, presumably Scythian, wants this and wants that artifact, those items from Egypt.

It may have come via Greece. It may have come via Persia and their trade networks. It might come through another trade network we don't know anything about. What is just fascinating is one, an Egyptian set of items appears there. And two, that someone who is not Greek, living in Bilsk, presumably Scythian, wants this and wants that artifact, those items from Egypt.

It may have come via Greece. It may have come via Persia and their trade networks. It might come through another trade network we don't know anything about. What is just fascinating is one, an Egyptian set of items appears there. And two, that someone who is not Greek, living in Bilsk, presumably Scythian, wants this and wants that artifact, those items from Egypt.

So they clearly hold some sort of prestige to it, probably because of how expensive they would have been.

So they clearly hold some sort of prestige to it, probably because of how expensive they would have been.