ALL THAT GLITTERS GOLDEN TREASURES BRING NEW-FOUND UNDERSTANDING OF ANCIENT NOMADS.

Byline: John Farrell Correspondent

If you have heard of the Scythians, that's remarkable.

They left no written records of their civilization, and it vanished from the Ukrainian steppes some 2,200 years ago, one group of nomads among many who moved through Europe during that time.

If you heard at all about the Scythians, it is thanks to Greek and Roman writers, notably the historian Herodotus, who visited Greek cities on the Black Sea where the Greeks traded peacefully with the ferocious Scythians, and where the two cultures exchanged ideas of art and religion.

No written records explain the Scythians to us, but these ancient people did leave something behind that can help us understand the beauty and complexity of their culture: gold. The Scythians buried their most prominent dead in huge, intricately designed burial mounds, many as big as buildings, big enough and deep enough to discourage tomb-robbers. There are literally thousands of Scythian graves, called kurhans, scattered throughout the Ukraine, notably along the Dnieper River.

Many were robbed, but many remain untouched. Some have been explored by archeologists in the past 150 years and found to contain riches of great beauty and elegance, exquisite objects of gold and silver, and vessels and pottery from the Scythian culture and the Greeks with whom they traded.

More than 170 lavish gold and silver works, displayed with elegance and clarity, and other rare objects from the Ukraine, are now on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's LACMA West facility in an exhibit called ``Gold of the Nomads: Scythian Treasures From Ancient Ukraine,'' which continues on display through Sept. 24. This is the first time in 25 years that these treasures have traveled to the United States.

More is known now about the Scythians than ever before, but, with perhaps 40,000 kurhans still unexcavated in the Ukraine, there is still very much more to learn.

Even if all that remained of the Scythian culture were these exquisite, extraordinary items, some as small as coins, some large and extravagant, it would still be clear that these were a people of great artistic sensibility. Only a rich culture could afford this kind of elegance, and the Scythians, who traded wheat to the hungry Greeks as well as slaves and horses, were a wealthy and successful people.

Though some of the items on display in ``Nomads'' are well-known pieces that have been seen before, many others have only recently been discovered and restored. Many show the typical animal decorations associated with the nomadic tribes of the steppes, but others show Near Eastern and Greek influence. There is a gold helmet of great beauty showing scenes of Scythian life, gold sword scabbards and swords, cups and jewelry, including rings and headdresses.

Many of the ornaments have been installed on re-creations of the clothing they were worn on, so you can get an idea of the richness of the display they made. There are also examples of Greek pottery, found in the graves along with the gold and silver, and examples of Scythian armor and arms.

These amazing people may have left no written records, but the record of their art is only beginning to be read.

The facts

--What: ``Gold of the Nomads: Scythian Treasures From Ancient Ukraine.''

--Where: The LACMA West facility of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Wilshire Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles.

--When: Noon to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; noon to 9 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Through Sept. 24.

--How much: $7 for adults, $5 for students with ID and seniors 62 and older, $1 for children and younger students, free for children 5 and under; free to all the second Tuesday of each month.

--Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) The gold Scythian helmet with combat scenes, above, dates from the fourth century B.C., while the cup with horses, right, also Scythian and made from gold, amber and glass, was made in the fifth century B.C.

(3 -- 4 -- color) A Scythian boar statue, left, from the fourth century B.C., is constructed of both gold and silver. The decorative finial piece, right, circa the fifth century B.C., is made solely of gold.

(5 -- 6 -- color) Pieces of jewelry in the exhibit include a fourth-century B.C. Scythian earring with gold and enamel inlays, left, representing the image of a sphinx, and a Sarmatian torque, or decorative bracelet, above, made of gold and glass, dating from the late first/early second centuries A.D.