Schoolchildren from Adygea, together with their teacher of geography, discovered more than 20 stones with ancient petroglyphs - signs corresponding to ancient writing on the territory of the Caucasian reserve. The people who used these signs for communication lived on the territory of Adygea about 5 thousand years ago.
A scientific school expedition to study petroglyphs completed its work in the Caucasian State Natural Biosphere Reserve, as a result of which about 20 stones with ancient signs were discovered.
The organizer of the event was the teacher of geography of the local school Nina Kostarnova, and the scientific leader of the expedition was the leading researcher of the archeology department of the Adyghe Republican Institute for Humanitarian Research (ARIGI), candidate of historical sciences Nurbiy Lovpache. Stones with petroglyphs in Adygea were discovered back in 1960. On the territory of the Caucasian State Natural Biosphere Reserve, this was done by Soviet archaeologists Vladimir Markovin (Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow) and Pshimaf Autlev (Adyghe Research Institute).
-In 1965, an archaeological expedition of the Academy of Sciences headed by Alexander Formozov worked in our republic. A year later, scientists delivered a report "The stones-writings of Urushten" at a scientific conference in Moscow. Theses were published in the same year. Then more than 60 stones with petroglyphs were discovered, but research materials were not published. In the 70s, several expeditions were also organized. Then somehow this information was forgotten. And only recently, at the beginning of the new millennium, Viktor Sadovnikov, a researcher at the Caucasian Reserve, began to study the Urushten writings. Actually, he pushed us to the idea of organizing a new expedition.
Nina Kostarnova, teacher of geography, secondary school No. 16, item Tula, Maikop district, Republic of Adygea
Permission was obtained from the administration of the Caucasian State Natural Biosphere Reserve, and the students together with their teachers made this expedition. A detachment of 15 people covered a distance of about 70 km, passing along the route Chernorechye cordon - Third Rota cordon - Umpyrsky cordon - Alous pass - Mastakan pass - Truu pass - Snegovalka ridge - Chernorechye cordon.
Promotional video:
- We were in those places where access to tourists is prohibited. Thanks to the grant, which we received in the amount of 150 thousand rubles, we purchased camping equipment and a modern GPRS device - today it is simply impossible to go on an expedition without it. We took tents, food for a week. We got to the cordon by minibus and then went on foot with the guys. The purpose of our expedition is to trace the distribution area of stones with petroglyphs. We identified two huge clusters and wanted to understand on what basis they were located. And we succeeded. We coped with the task.
Nina Kostarnova
Stones were found in various sizes - from 1.5 m and more. The most average of them are up to 6 m long and up to 3 m high. Local archeologist Igor Volkodav believes that a glacier brought them here 10-12 thousand years ago. The glacier from the distant ridges in the process of melting polished stones and boulders, giving them bizarre shapes. Thus, the blocks were thousands of kilometers from the places where they formed. Today it is known for sure that these boulders are mainly composed of calcified serpentinite, which is quite common for mountainous heights. But it differs from limestone rocks in hardness, resistance to destruction. Actually, these characteristics of stones contribute to the preservation of signs in time.
-Huge boulders covered with moss are scattered throughout the forest. The stones are predominantly flat. Here below, petroglyphs were also found on limestone stones, but they are very poorly preserved, because limestone is a very soft rock. We also noticed that the stones we found are zoomorphic, that is, they resemble animals in shape. Perhaps this choice of boulders for drawing signs is explained by totemism, one of the earliest religious cults in primitive society. Many stones look like bulls, fish, and rams.
During the expedition, we gave names to our blocks. I can say that the petroglyphs themselves are different in technique. The notches are very rough, but on the contrary, they are very graceful. By the way, we also found here stone tools, which, presumably, were used to make some of the petroglyphs. Viktor Sadovnikov previously also found silicon tools in the forest. Therefore, there is reason to say that the petroglyphs we found are of different times.
Nina Kostarnova
For millennia, the Caucasus was located between the civilizations of the West and the East, at the intersection of trade and military routes. Considering that many centuries ago the climate here was more continental, it is natural that these stones were located in a more open area. It can be assumed that these signs served as landmarks on the way and gave hunters, traders or travelers some specific information.
- On many stones there are also many solar signs, symbols of the sun. This once again testifies in favor of the theory of communication with space, and also speaks of the worship of ancient peoples to the forces of nature. On several stones among the petroglyphs there are Adyghe tamga-like signs. On this basis, they can be considered the latest. Signs, of course, we came across the most diverse. There are a lot of crosses. And this confirms the theory that there was an ancient path that connected New Athos and our St. Michael Athos Trans-Kuban Hermitage.
Through the sea, communication was already carried out further, with other civilizations. Perhaps these stones belong to the era when Christianity came to the Caucasus. This is approximately the 6th-8th century. After all, recently, during archaeological exploration, the foundation of an ancient Byzantine temple was discovered in the fortress of the city, and the remains of five Christian churches by the famous archaeologist of Adygea Nurbiy Lovpache were found. And about the same ancient temples are located in Arkhyz. We reached the very pass, and presumably we can say that these stones seem to show the way for caravans and travelers.
Nina Kostarnova
And of course, there is one more hypothesis that says that the stones are located in places of worship. On many boulders there are sacrificial holes, round such. Such stones with round holes are widespread throughout the world, they are found in Europe and Asia, there are many of them in the Caucasus. Usually they are associated with the cult of fertility. But the holes with such traced signs have not been recorded anywhere else in the world, there are still no descriptions in other regions, which makes this group of stones simply unique.
- Holes and feathers are the most ancient petroglyphs. They date from the Mesolithic era, the period between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic, X-VI thousand years BC. e. They figuratively resemble comets with tails, meteorites or shooting stars. Holes located in groups and connected to each other can be regarded as constellations in the night sky. Maybe they reflect some kind of astrological and religious knowledge and beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of these places. The distribution of holes, feathers and comets with tails goes along the lines, and the very combination of holes with different numbers of notches suggests a writing system that resembles cuneiform.
Nina Kostarnova
Russian scientist Nurbiy Lovpache says that on some stones the signs are located in one line, as if in a line. And maybe in time it will be possible to decipher them. But these are still signs, not letters.
Expert opinion Nurbiy Lovpache, leading employee of the archeology department of ARIGI, candidate of historical sciences
- This is the fourth expedition. The symbolism on the stones, one might say, is worldwide, from the Mesolithic era to the Middle Ages of our era. If you study them thoroughly, you can compile a chronicle of knowledge that has accumulated over centuries and millennia. You can determine their time chronologically, because they are all very different. The prospect of studying stones is quite wide, and gradually our knowledge will be replenished. Now a whole collection of 20 new stones from the last expedition has been added.
I think that these boulder stones are an original monument, I compare them with the Alpine monuments of Europe, with Azerbaijani monuments of different eras, with Tuvan ones. Many of them are located on the pass paths of the Main Caucasian ridge - traders, cattle breeders, travelers passed here. There are a lot of stones. Only about 50 stones have already been explored during the entire expedition, but in fact there are many more. We have photographed the stones, sketched and are now studying. Symbolic signs, various. Therefore, we have something to work on and something to be proud of.
Expert opinion. Igor Ogay, Chairman of the Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society, Republic of Adygea
- The signs on the stones most likely performed many functions: astrological, cult, guiding, written, heraldic, economic, calendar and aesthetic-cult. It seems to me that it is still too early to draw any serious scientific conclusions, because these stones with petroglyphs have been studied too little. We have to organize a more serious scientific expedition to study these boulders between the Malaya Laba and Urushten rivers.
This place in our Caucasian reserve is also interesting because there are also other archaeological sites nearby: burial grounds, sites of ancient people. All this must be studied in context, and then it will be possible to understand the mysteries of the most ancient eras. I believe that the stones with petroglyphs, this unique monument of history and culture, must be registered and put under state protection soon.