The republican authorities supported the proposal of the Adyghe branch of the Russian Geographical Society to create on the northern outskirts of the village. Kamennomostsky open-air museum.
Preserve the legacy
The curator of the museum will be the chairman of the republican branch of the Russian Geographical Society Igor Ogay. According to him, more than 3 thousand of various archaeological sites are located on the territory of Adygea. Therefore, the new open-air complex, for which sites are now being selected, will consist of two museums - a museum of dolmen culture and a museum of megalithic culture, which will include both dolmens and menhirs located in the territory of Adygea.
“In addition, we plan to build a fragment of Stonehenge at one of the sites, as an example of a megalithic culture. Stonehenge is known all over the world, but few people know that it was rebuilt in the 50s. In some parts of it you can still see concrete. Unlike Stonehenge, the dolmens of Adygea, which are 5 thousand years old, have been preserved in their original form, says Igor Ogay.
According to him, another reason for the creation of the museum is the salvation of ancient buildings from modern developers. A simple example: recently, a barbecue was almost built near the Khadzhokh 10 dolmen.
- We talked with the owner of the site, he agreed with our arguments and curtailed the construction. But this is not always the case. Houses are being built next to the dolmens, and electric poles are erected on the mounds. The creation of the museum will protect the ancient monuments from destruction, says I. Ogay.
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Explore megaliths
The idea of creating a museum of megaliths in Adygea was supported by prominent scientists of the country: President of the Russian Geographical Society, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, zoologist and TV presenter Nikolai Drozdov, Vice-President of the Russian Geographical Society Artur Chilingarov, Nobel Prize winner Vladimir Kotlyakov, curator of the Caucasus collections of the State Hermitage Yuri Piotrovsky, as well as local scientists - Nafiset Kushu, Nurbiy Lovpache and Aslan Tov.
Bulgarian scientists who recently visited Adygea became interested in the opportunity to study ancient megaliths. According to them, even the dolmens of Sardinia that they studied cannot be compared with the megaliths of Adygea, one of the most beautiful in the world. They would like to bring physicists and archaeologists of Bulgaria to the republic for international research of ancient monuments.
Also, the new museum will attract even more tourists to Adygea.
“This year alone, tourists from China, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, America and Canada have visited the routes to the ancient dolmens. And the British admired our dolmens,”said Igor Ogay.
The head of Adygea, Murat Kumpilov, also speaks about the need to protect dolmens. It was he who initiated the creation in Adygea of the volunteer movement "Let's Preserve the Roots", which will deal with the preservation of natural, historical and cultural heritage.