In the photo: This is what an ancient mountain mine from Uzbekistan looks like
During the 2011 field season, archaeologists of Altai State University conducted the first excavations of a unique and mysterious ancient copper mine on Mount Vladimirovka, located in the Charyshsky region on the border of Altai Territory and the Altai Republic
As the head of the expedition, candidate of historical sciences Sergei Grushin said at a press conference held on November 18 in Barnaul, experts consider this complex to be the oldest mine in Siberia - it dates back to 4-3 millennium BC.
The first finds have already happened - tools of ancient miners have been discovered. The complex is located in a remote place, the height of the mountain above sea level is 2200 meters, people visit this place very rarely. In fact, after geologists in the middle of the 20th century, no one climbed this mountain, no economic activity was carried out. At this height, permafrost is already under the surface.
The current conditions allow, according to the scientist, to hope for the excellent preservation of the historical monument and give a chance to find there even well-preserved artifacts from organic matter. However, while the research of the complex is just beginning, and there is simply no answer to many questions.
In particular, scientists are not able to solve the main riddle of the complex and understand why the ancient people needed to organize the extraction of ore at such a height and with such difficulties. This question is especially significant also because the ore mined in this place is sulfide - that is, copper cannot be extracted from it by simple smelting, as was usually done by ancient metallurgists.