This is a Carnyx, a Gaulish War-Horn, modelled upon the beautiful example found at Tintignac in the Occitan region of France (well, Corrèze - but linguistically…) . Specifically, the 'Dragon Headed' find - there were several other at least partial examples of the instrument at the same site featuring Boar or Serpent crafted bells; buried … Continue reading The Carnyx – A Celtic War-Horn
Archaeolgy
Ganesh Gets In Everywhere – The Ganesha Of Endere In The Taklamakan For Ganesh Chaturthi
Tonight marks the first night of Ganesh Chaturthi - and so therefore, some rather amazing art one and a half millennia ancient from the Khotanese Saka ( Scythian ) settlement of Endere, in the Taklamakan Desert of Western China. Why? Well, partially it is because this piece has been on my mind recently and I … Continue reading Ganesh Gets In Everywhere – The Ganesha Of Endere In The Taklamakan For Ganesh Chaturthi
On the Imperial Hittite Double Eagle And Its Indo-European Symbolism
[Author's Note: This piece was written in July 2018; we had omitted to post it here at that time.] Whether through the exploits of a certain fictional "Imperium", or simply due to an acquaintance with the flags and ensign of the Byzantines, Holy Roman Empire, modern Russia … or Albania … many of us have … Continue reading On the Imperial Hittite Double Eagle And Its Indo-European Symbolism
On The Sky Disc, On The Solstice, On The Eclipse – A Bronze Age Commemorative Cartograph For The Sea Of Stars [Arte-Facts #6]
Sunday (aptly enough) marked the Solstice - Winter if you're down here in Patala-loka, Summer if you're in the Northern Hemisphere. With that in mind, it seemed an ideal time to produce an article on one of the most intriguing artefacts of the Indo-European Bronze Age - the Nebra Sky Disk, of the Unetice Culture in … Continue reading On The Sky Disc, On The Solstice, On The Eclipse – A Bronze Age Commemorative Cartograph For The Sea Of Stars [Arte-Facts #6]
Votive Plate of Cybele, Great Goddess, Mountain Mother – Arte-Facts #5
This Is #GangSteppe - and also, fine Devi-otional (A)Art(I) for Friday ! Depicted is Goddess Cybele on an offering-plate, from 3rd century B.C. Ai-Khanoum, amidst the ruins of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Now, I find this artefact fascinating for quite a number of reasons. Not simply because of the various iconographic features upon it which come … Continue reading Votive Plate of Cybele, Great Goddess, Mountain Mother – Arte-Facts #5
“HERE BE INDO-ARYANS?” On the Vedic Gods of the Mitanni
I've had this document on my mind for quite awhile now. Not just because of what it is (which we'll get on to in just a moment), but also because of what it *represents*. See, this is one of the world's oldest surviving international peace-treaties. Dating from the mid-14th century B.C., it seeks to solemnize … Continue reading “HERE BE INDO-ARYANS?” On the Vedic Gods of the Mitanni
THE GUARDIANSHIP OF THE GOLD – The Heroic Tale of the Hiranya-Hoard of Tillya Tepe
Earlier this week, I posted a fine piece of jewelry, likely Scythian in origin, and featuring two dragons being clasped about the forelegs by a male figure garbed as an Indo-European #GangSteppe figure. It came from the so-called "Bactrian Gold" discovered at a set of tombs in northern Afghanistan by a team of Soviet archaeologists in 1978. … Continue reading THE GUARDIANSHIP OF THE GOLD – The Heroic Tale of the Hiranya-Hoard of Tillya Tepe
This Is #GangSteppe – Serpentine Steppe Treasure
This Is #GangSteppe - one of a pair of pendants found in a female's tomb in Northern Afghanistan. The treasure in question is part of what's often called the "Bactrian Gold", yet that is a bit of a misnomer. Dating from the 1st century A.D. [or possibly a century or so earlier], it actually appears … Continue reading This Is #GangSteppe – Serpentine Steppe Treasure
Warrior-Women of the Steppe?
'Scythian' female horse archer; broadly representative of a perhaps surprisingly viable typology of the Indo-European folk of the Steppe. In my previous piece on Naga Panchami, I briefly mentioned the flawed speculative etymology of Sauromatai, the Sarmatians - noting that some had sought to suggest it derived from scale-like armour and serpentine standards of this … Continue reading Warrior-Women of the Steppe?
arya-akasha 