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The tombs of their kings are in the land of the Gerrhi, who dwell at
the point where the Borysthenes is first navigable. Here, when the
king dies, they dig a grave, which is square in shape, and of great
size. When it is ready, they take the king's corpse, and, having
opened the belly, and cleaned out the inside, fill the cavity with a
preparation of chopped cypress, frankincense, parsley-seed, and
anise-seed, after which they sew up the opening, enclose the body in
wax, and, placing it on a waggon, carry it about through all the
different tribes. On this procession each tribe, when it receives the
corpse, imitates the example which is first set by the Royal
Scythians; every man chops off a piece of his ear, crops his hair
close, and makes a cut all round his arm, lacerates his forehead and
his nose, and thrusts an arrow through his left hand. Then they who
have the care of the corpse carry it with them to another of the tribes
which are under the Scythian rule, followed by those whom they first
visited. On completing the circuit of all the tribes under their
sway, they find themselves in the country of the Gerrhi, who are the
most remote of all, and so they come to the tombs of the kings. There
the body of the dead king is laid in the grave prepared for it,
stretched upon a mattress; spears are fixed in the ground on either
side of the corpse, and beams stretched across above it to form a
roof, which is covered with a thatching of osier twigs. In the open
space around the body of the king they bury one of his concubines,
first killing her by strangling, and also his cup-bearer, his cook,
his groom, his lacquey, his messenger, some of his horses,
firstlings of all his other possessions, and some golden cups; for
they use neither silver nor brass. After this they set to work, and
raise a vast mound above the grave, all of them vying with each other
and seeking to make it as tall as possible.
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