Sometimes you are very surprised how many different materials from the study of the territory of the USSR were lost (destroyed or settled forever in the archives) during its collapse. From our geology, geography, archeology and similar sciences, in fact, a 10-year work was thrown out, in which there were many discoveries that were truly unique on a planetary scale.
In Central Asia, on the territory of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, between the Mangyshlak Peninsula in the west, the remains of the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya delta in the east, there is a giant table plateau Ustyurt. In some places, it breaks off to the surrounding plain by steep cliffs - chinks, up to 350 m high. You have to drive for many kilometers along the foot of this wall until you find a place to climb up. The surface of the plateau is occupied by a saline desert.
Due to its climatic conditions, a complete lack of water and remoteness from modern routes, Ustyurt is even now much less studied than the famous Karakum. But the main mystery of Ustyurt is not geology or geography. She is in his story.
In the 70s, a topographic map of the plateau was surveyed. This was done using modern methods - based on photogrammetry materials, for which aerial photography of the entire plateau was ordered. And so, while studying one of the regions of Ustyurt, cartographers discovered some strange lines in the images, apparently of artificial origin. The lines folded into arrow-shaped signs of enormous length (800-900 m), directed with their “points” to the north. The tips of these "arrows" have round pits at the corners of the lines, and the arrow itself is formed by stone ramparts dilapidated from time to time. The height of the shafts is now a little less than a meter, but judging by the debris around, it was much higher before. Most of all, the scheme of "arrow-shaped layouts of Ustyurt" resembles a gigantic military map, on which the direction of the troops' strikes is indicated with bold arrows.
The cyclopean system of "arrows" was traced for more than 100 km. It surpasses the much more famous system of lines and drawings in the Peruvian Nazca desert - the only archaeological phenomenon comparable in scale. Just like in Nazca, “arrows” cannot be seen from the height of human growth. There are no significant elevations on the flat surface of the plateau.
In the area of arrows (even before they were discovered), a whole complex of archaeological monuments was found - barrows, burials, religious buildings. The most recent are from the X-XV centuries, but the majority are undoubtedly much older.
As in Peru, archaeologists have not come to an unambiguous conclusion about the purpose of the “arrows” of Ustyurt. It is believed that these could have been structures for giant driven hunts for herds of kulans and saigas (but why so many “arrows” then?). It could be water collection facilities, or something else. But looking at the photographs of these "arrows", you still cannot get rid of the thought that their secret can be almost inseparable from the mystery of the drawings of the Nazca desert …