Persian-Sassanid art patterns

A "griffin fighting an elk" motif from the Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós, found in 1799 in what is today Romania, bears similarities with another griffin & elk motif discovered in the tombs of Hsiung-nu[2] (early Huns, also Xiongnu) during Colonel Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov[3][4] expedition (1907–09) near Urga (Outer Mongolia).

[5][6][7] A gold symbolization of "animals-in-fight" has been also found in the vicinity of the city of Turpan,[8] the principal crossroad of the northern Silk Road.

[9] Their power was not in the empires they built, but rather the turmoil they created among ancient civilizations such as China or Persia, impacting their historical development substantially.

[citation needed] In summer, during the tribe's seasonal migration, a fleece would be weighted on a riverbed to collect particles of alluvial gold.

[citation needed] Using gold was a spiritual practice, as emblems of priestly office, prizes for physical prowess in ritual sport, or as adornment of the sacral ceremony of marriage.