History buffs have probably heard of Lascaux Cave in France and Altamira in Spain. It was in them during the Paleolithic era that people painted many beautiful drawings. They often portrayed animals. However, few people have heard of the Stone Tomb (Zaporozhye region) in Ukraine. This is not even a large cave, but only an isolated sandstone with stones in the open air. They are covered with petroglyphs (small drawings) that were created from the 24th millennium BC.
In written sources, the Stone Tomb was first mentioned at the end of the 18th century. Presumably, it was a famous site for many generations living in the area. In 1837, the historian Peter Keppen first described sandstone. It is small in size. Only 240 by 160 m. Above, a pile of stones that form small grottoes and voids. It is in them that drawings are valuable for scientists.
In 1889 the archaeologist N. I. Veselovsky carried out excavations here. He thought there was a treasure hidden here. However, nothing was found. Full-fledged research of the Stone Tomb began under Soviet rule. It turned out that they painted here even during the Middle Ages. However, it is clear that the petroglyphs were not applied one by one. This made it possible to preserve the earliest drawings, which are of great interest to researchers. It depicts bulls, fallow deer, mammoths and of course people.
Scientists have long argued about whether it is a bull or a mammoth.
Oddly enough, there were no settlements or permanent places of residence near the Stone Tomb during the Stone Age. That is, people did not live in this area, as in the caves of Lasko or Altamira. During the excavations of the nearest settlements, it was not possible to find any connection with the Stone Tomb. This leads scientists to the idea that the sandstone had ritual significance. People came here to draw petroglyphs and, probably, to perform ritual ceremonies.
Throughout the study of the grottoes, different dates have been put forward. It was about the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic (they all belong to the Stone Age). Interestingly, everyone could be right. If here and during the Middle Ages they painted, then why didn't they do it for millennia, starting from the XXIV century. BC e.? The only surprise is why the drawings were not applied one on one. Perhaps the "artists" respected each other, although they never met in person?
What do these petroglyphs mean?
Interesting interpretation of petroglyphs. For example, the orientalist A. G. Kifishin believed that they represent proto-Sumerian inscriptions. He even published a monograph on this topic. In scientific circles, this theory has not received a response. After all, the Sumerians lived in the last millennia BC. e., and not in the Paleolithic. And writing began to emerge in the Neolithic and Eneolithic (Copper-Stone Age). Of course, we can assume that the petroglyphs of the Stone Tomb are signs similar to runes, but why then are they concentrated in only one place? If people of the Paleolithic era had invented their own proto-writing (no matter how wild for modern science it may sound), then why did they not use it in other grottoes or caves? Archaeologists would find petroglyphs in different places. Alas, today we can only talk about one sandstone.
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