Millions of years ago, they reigned supreme on the planet and, according to scientists, died out long before the appearance of man. Now dinosaurs can only be seen in museums and Hollywood blockbusters. But what if people did find the last of them?
Bas-relief from the Alanian mausoleum
The Stavropol Museum of Local Lore contains an extraordinary exhibit - an Alanian stone tomb of the 11th century. n. e. There are no analogues to it anywhere in the world. This medieval imitation of the Caucasian dolmens was built three thousand years later, and not from solid slabs, but from smaller composite blocks. The Alans are a warlike people who ruled in the Ciscaucasia for more than ten centuries. They left behind many other "dolmen-like crypts", but this one is unique for its size and richness of decoration. Historians almost unanimously call it the mausoleum of the most famous of the kings of Caucasian Alania - Durgulel the Great. In 1957, the "dolmen" was transported to Stavropol from the ancient settlement on the Kyafar River in Karachay-Cherkessia.
The mythological and everyday scenes decorating the mausoleum are fraught with mysteries. The southern wall of the "dolmen" depicts a monster carefully described by archaeologist Vladimir Kuznetsov as "a monster with clawed paws and a long wriggling tail. Small sharp teeth are visible in the open mouth, a horn and three rounded ears on the nose. "Of course," the scientist emphasizes, "there are no such animals in the Caucasus fauna, and it is fantastic." However, upon closer examination, one can guess at it, albeit a schematic, but quite recognizable appearance of a herbivorous dinosaur.
Low-set, large skull with a short nose horn. The characteristic “collar” above the neck, which really can be mistaken for “three rounded ears”. Powerful three-toed limbs, arched back, turning into a massive tail. In short, the mysterious creature on the Kafar Tomb bears a detailed resemblance to the Triceratops! The dinosaur is surrounded by warriors, as if the extinct giants lived here at the same time as humans. How did the medieval Alans, who had already converted to Christianity, know what Triceratops looked like?
From cave paintings to churches
Promotional video:
Images of dinosaurs next to people have been found before. They are found on the "Ica stones" from Peru and on other South American artifacts. Their authenticity, however, is questioned, which cannot be said about the Kafar mausoleum. The paleolizard imprinted on it could be attributed to an accidental resemblance if it were the only one.
Meanwhile, throughout the Caucasus, ancient works of art and legends are found, testifying to the acquaintance of the inhabitants of these places with dinosaurs. Take, for example, the primitive cave painting of the Tyzyl Gorge in Kabardino-Balkaria. Historian Ismail Miziev records: “On the ceiling of a small canopy, barely more than a meter high, some strange animals are drawn in a line.” The researcher also calls them “fantastic”. And how could it be otherwise, if there are bent creatures on powerful legs with short front legs flaunting there. Nothing of the kind is found in the Caucasus today, but this is exactly what some prehistoric monsters looked like. For example, tyrannosaurs, which walked on their hind legs and had disproportionately short forelimbs. Before us is another ancient image of "fantastic animals" similar to dinosaurs.
The Georgian Church of the Holy Trinity in Gergeti, built in the XIV century at the foot of Mount Kazbek, also keeps a hint of the same extinct creatures. Two lizards with long tails are carved above one of the windows of the temple, apparently moving on their hind legs. They are very similar to all the same Tirexes. At least by looking at them, no other interpretations simply arise.
Excursion to paleontology
But dinosaurs once really lived on the territory of Georgia. In 2010, in the gorge of the Abasha River, a paleontological expedition found well-preserved traces of two of them that lived a hundred million years ago. One imprint was left by a large herbivorous lizard, and the other - by its smaller predatory cousin. In the fossilized layer of clay, along with traces, the shells of sea urchins were found, which allowed scientists to accurately date the find.
By geological standards, the Caucasus Mountains are very young. They rose from under the water as the age of the dinosaurs drew to a close. Therefore, there are not as many of their remains as, say, in Mongolia. But they are still there. In 2001, in Azerbaijan, residents of the city of Mingachevir stumbled upon the bones of prehistoric reptiles in its vicinity. The remains of more than a hundred species of paleolaser were excavated there, which gave the whole area a new name: "Dinosaur wadisi" - "Valley of the Dinosaurs". On the other side of the Caucasus Range, in the resort town of Kislovodsk, in May 1990, paleontologists also discovered three tracks of an ancient iguanodon lizard of excellent preservation. The hardened paw prints of this dinosaur are 40 cm long. Another "dinosaur footprint" in the Stavropol Territory is shown on Mount Terrible near the village of Naydenovsky. But so far this is only a folk legend,which requires additional verification by paleontologists.
So there were definitely dinosaurs in the Caucasus, but only in the distant past. And what about in the historical era, when people have already appeared on Earth? Life development science denies the very possibility of our neighborhood. According to her, we missed the dinosaurs for some 65 million years! Nevertheless, enthusiasts periodically find their fossil footprints around the world next to the prints of human feet, which makes the conclusions of paleontologists not so convincing.
Roman Nutrikhin