The most mysterious moose. Books. encyclopedias. photo albums How are you funding your excavations

Additional Information:
lake Zyuratkul, settlement Zyuratkul, along the ridge

Description:

The largest geoglyph of Eurasia has the shape of an elk, located on the Zyuratkul ridge, on the territory of the Zyuratkul National Natural Park. The geoglyph is so huge that it can only be seen from a bird's eye view or using satellite maps, and even then, in our time it is so covered with a cultural layer that it has become difficult to distinguish. The origin of the geoglyph is a mystery, there are many versions of its purpose and dating. The geoglyph is a curved line more than two kilometers long and about five meters wide. It folds into the largest pattern, resembling the figure of an elk. The geoglyph was laid out with stones and boulders of various sizes, taken from all around Mount Zyuratkul. The figure of an elk is enclosed in an approximate square of 250 by 250 meters.

Such huge and expensive (in terms of labor and intellectual costs) structures always and everywhere have relation to cosmology. The Zyuratkul geoglyph is no exception. This moose represents the constellation Elk.. There is no such constellation on modern maps of the starry sky - it has long been lost by southern civilizations. But in the northern sky you can find the figure of an elk. And the Zyuratkul geoglyph will help in this hopeless case. In the sky you need to find a twin of the earthly figure. It turns out that the problem has a unique solution. The Ancient Elk is now represented by six constellations at once: Perseus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Triangle, Aries and Pisces. The Lost Elk is a huge constellation. Now it is perfectly visible in the southern part of the winter sky. It can be seen this winter, it will be seen next winter and many more winters in a row - precession is a slow business - 1 ° in 72 years.

Ancient astronomy knew in this part of the sky several similar large constellations, which much later, already in the Greek sky, broke up into small fragments and characters. Such was the Bull (the modern constellations Taurus, Charioteer and part of Orion), depicted in the French cave of Lyaska (the famous fresco with the dead, 17 thousand years old). Such was the Great Mother (constellations Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Triangulum, Aries, Pisces). This constellation is depicted in many on painted ceramics and in small sculpture of the Middle East, Anatolia and the Balkans, in the cultures of the ceramic Neolithic and Eneolithic. Some historians refer to these cultures as the "Great Mother Civilization". There are other constellations included in mythological subjects and in the art of ancient people. None of the humanitarian historians sees celestial constellations in these images. Because they can't see. What is true is what is true. But this does not change the essence of the matter.

Why is the figure of a heavenly beast depicted in a clearing between the Zyuratkul ridge and Zyuratkul lake? To answer this question, you need to make some simple measurements in the same Google Earth geoserver. Then you can find out that: The highest point of Zyuratkul has coordinates 54 ° 57′ 25 "N. 59° 10′ 48" E From the top of the Zyuratkul ridge to the geoglyph from 1700 to 1900 m, azimuth from 151° to 158° The middle of the figure is 1800 m away, azimuth 154.5° - south-southeast

Of particular importance is the azimuth and bearing south-southeast. It is necessary to understand when and under what circumstances the newly acquired constellation Elk rose above this part of the horizon for an observer standing on the highest point of the Zyuratkul ridge. It is necessary that the heavenly Elk stand exactly above the earthly Elk, and both Elks must be visible at the same time. In this case, it is necessary to calculate an astronomical or calendar event that occurs at the same moment. Winter and spring are excluded - the geoglyph is not visible under the snow. And autumn in the era of glaciation is not very suitable. The summer solstice remains. Now it's time to realize that for the observer, the summer solstice was the New Year. That's all. It's time to solve a problem from celestial mechanics.

Now only rare wise men and unique talents deny the very fact of the existence of a geoglyph, its observatory appointment, and approximate dating - not less than 8~10 millennium BC

The giant ground drawing "Zyuratkul's Elk" has finally been dated. It turned out to be the same age as the megaliths on the island of Vera (Turgoyak). That is, "Moose" is already five and a half thousand years old.

Archaeologists are summing up the results of two field seasons, during which excavations and research were carried out on a geoglyph found on one of the sites on the Zyuratkul ridge. The South Urals ancient megalithic monument has already gained worldwide fame.

Our interlocutor was an archaeologist, candidate of historical sciences, senior researcher of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, head of the excavations at Zyuratkul Stanislav GRIGORIEV.

- First of all, Stanislav Arkadyevich, how did you manage to determine the age of the geoglyph?

Two radiocarbon dates were obtained from the object. Specialists from the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences from Yekaterinburg took soil samples from under the stones. Under laboratory conditions, organic matter is selected from humus - spores, pollen, elements of macroflora - and a study is carried out. As a result, with a probability of over 95.4%, a date was obtained - 38 - 35th century BC, and with a probability of 68% - 37 - 36th century. I take a larger tolerance, because it is possible that in ancient times, when one layer of soil was removed, an earlier one was exposed. In addition, there are failures ... We wanted to use the thermoluminescent dating method. After the stones are burned in a fire, the isotopes accumulated in microcracks come out, and the accumulation of new ones begins. This way you can determine when the stone hit the fire. Along the edges of the geoglyph line, two ancient bonfires were discovered. They were read in the form of clusters of red-pink calcined pieces of quartzite, which were split from the impact of fire. They wanted to conduct an examination in Germany, but it turned out that just quartzite is not suitable for the thermoluminescent method. Quartz is needed, but it is not on the geoglyph.

- That is, so far we have stopped at the date of the 38th - 35th centuries BC. e.?

Further research is needed, but it is clear that the geoglyph is more than five and a half thousand years old. And this is the beginning of the Eneolithic, the Copper-Stone Age. This is a special period in the history of the Urals, when large stratified communities arose, similar to those on the island of Vera, and left megalithic structures. Both the geoglyph and what we found on the island of Vera are monuments of the same time ... I made calculations for the island of Vera, taking into account labor costs during the construction of buildings, taking into account the fact that food was then obtained only by hunting, fishing and gathering. The resource of Turgoyak is clearly not enough to feed so many workers. The people who built the megaliths on the island inhabited the territory within a radius of 100 - 200 kilometers. The same thing happened at Zyuratkul.

- How was the geoglyph laid out?

The width of the lines with which the drawing is made is four to five meters. To this was added about two and a half meters on each side. Then the sod was removed from the entire strip and stones, large and small, were thrown onto the contour of the geoglyph. There was also some clay in there. By the way, the soil layer on the geoglyph is 20-30 centimeters, and beyond it 50, because of this, the pattern is visible from space. The stones with which the geoglyph is laid out are of different breeds. Mostly, these are quartzites, but tuff is also found. In 2012, 44 stone tools were found, in 2013 - 80. Among the finds, there are many stone hoes, a backing knife, a hammer ... The only find of flint was a large chip from an amorphous core without processing. Among the tools for digging, there are both large forms weighing up to three kilograms, and small ones, up to five centimeters in size. So, the work was carried out not only by men, but also by women and even children. They built the whole world from young to old, and this was done not so much to speed up construction, but for ritual purposes, to strengthen social ties. The experience of researching drawings on the Nazca plateau shows that the lines have changed, corrected. The original lines without geophysics can now not be determined. Initially, of course, there was a “general project”, they knew what they were building, but for them, first of all, it was a cult. At the end, apparently, a ritual ceremony was performed: we found two bonfires along the edges of the contour, maybe there were others ... The study of stone tools was carried out by Vyacheslav Kotov, senior researcher Institute of History, language and literature of Ufa scientific center RAN. The children of the archaeological circle of the Chelyabinsk Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren named after Krupskaya were of great help in collecting the finds. The circle is headed by Sergey Markov. Last year, Channel One journalists filmed a documentary about Zyuratkul, the film will be shown soon.

Last year, there was a fuss in the media about the discovery of a certain Eneolithic “mega-village” on the banks of the Zyuratkul, in which the builders of the geoglyph allegedly lived, and there were 10,000 of them. Did you do research on site?

There really was a buzz about this. First, Oleg Mustafin, an employee of the Zyuratkul Eco-Park, found strange straight masonry not far from the Whale Quay. Everything around is littered with ancient stone tools. Across the bay, satellite images also show a rectangular structure. And local historian Alexander Shestakov suggested that this is one building and most of it is located under the bay ... And so the information about 10 thousand people appeared. But the second structure is not masonry, but ditches to remove water. There is a powerful peat bog in that place, and it was drained in the 20th century, it is of no interest to us ... And the structure discovered by Mustafin is actually a megalithic object. Not a dwelling, because not a single fragment of ceramics was found there. And what it is, I don't know. Nobody dug anything like that. But it is indisputable that this structure is the same age as the geoglyph.

- There is a theory that the name of the lake is also associated with this megalithic object...

According to one version, a direct translation from Bashkir language The toponym Zyuratkul would mean "Big Horse Lake" or "Lake of the Big Horse". "Zur" - "big", "at" - "horse", "kul" - "lake". Such an interpretation is given by a well-known specialist in the field of the Ural dialect vocabulary and toponymy A.K. Matveev. And this is quite appropriate in light of the importance for the Bashkirs of horse grazing places. But in toponyms, in addition to consonance, there must be an etymological link. IN this case it was not there: there are no pastures on Zyuratkul. But it can be assumed that a thousand years ago the ancestors of the Bashkirs could see this geoglyph from the ridge much better than it is visible now, and interpret it as an image of a horse.

- What steps should be taken now to preserve the monument?

It is necessary to develop tourism, and this requires understanding from the Satka administration and the leadership of the National Park, on whose territory the geoglyph is located. And it is, but we need to come to an agreement ... In addition to the tourism infrastructure itself, which at the very least develops in Zyuratkul, this resort needs spectacles that people will go to. We need branding... For example, you can, of course, attract people to Chebarkul Lake with the help of a meteorite, but, firstly, this requires some kind of museum complexes, something to look at. Secondly, such things should have development. Archaeological excavations stopped at Turgoyak, and the flow of tourists fell by half. The same thing happened at Zyuratkul when Kitov's pier was dismantled.

- What exactly needs to be done on a geoglyph to save it?

It is necessary to create a museum object. Termination of excavations in their current form - they are detrimental to the monument. The geoglyph stood for five thousand years, and will stand for another 100 - until better times. It is necessary to excavate a larger area to show the size of the object. Then everything, except for the contour of the geoglyph, needs to be turfed. In addition, it is important to build a drainage system at the site, because during rains, water washes away the entire top layer there ... At the moment, the geoglyph is visible only in late spring and early autumn. We need to figure out how to make it open for review for a long time. How to do it, I don't know. Maybe install a special tower or equip platforms on the tops of the ridge. Someone suggests laying trails so that tourists pass and strengthen the contours of the geoglyph. It is proposed to strengthen the soil. But so far there are no projects. And without the creation of a museum and a museumification project for the object, we will annually worsen the view of the object from above. It is necessary to understand in an elementary way what to do with the excavated soil and the excavated area.

- How are things going with the financing of your excavations?

In 2012, funding went. By December, we even received money, half of which went to pay for the work of specialists, for examinations. At that time, the National Park helped us with housing, it would have been difficult for us to live in tents on the mountain ... In 2013, we did not receive a penny for the excavations, we worked at our own expense. In February last year, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation allocated one million 310 thousand rubles under the federal target program "Culture of Russia". But due to incorrect paperwork in local departments, the money was not received. In the next field season, maybe, if there are funds, we will take samples for radiocarbon analysis, we will conduct other studies, but there will be no excavations as such. In the spring we are also going to go with specialists and Oleg Mustafin to the facility that he opened. The low water level will last for several days. Should be on time.

- You feel a bit tired. Disappointment…

After working on the island of Vera, I became a realist. One person can raise a fuss, create an illusion that will be replicated in the media, but will not really do anything. I don't want to do this. I repeat, things will move from the dead center on Zyuratkul when an agreement is reached at the local level. And now it is necessary to break through not the financing of excavations, but the museumification of the geoglyph ... In order to insure that someone will master the money on the excavations of this object, when I submit a report to the field committee, at the same time I will write a paper: categorically refuse to provide an open sheet to this site to anyone, including me. Until there is a museumification project. I do not want a repeat of the story with the island of Vera!

In 2011, in the Southern Urals, on the slope of the Zyuratkul ridge at an altitude of 860 meters above sea level, not far from the amazingly beautiful lake of the same name, local historian Alexander Shestakov 1 discovered a huge ground drawing, reminiscent of an animal in its outlines.

Alexander Shestakov: “In 1989, my friend and I were on a campaign on Zyuratkul. At the foot of the mountain in a clearing, I saw that the grass in some places grows unevenly, creating paths up and down. A few years ago I found myself there again, walked along the paths for a long time, trying to understand who made this labyrinth. And then, thanks to the Google Earth program, I solved the riddle. It was a drawing on a mountainside in the form of an elk.

The satellite photo shows the white outlines of the pattern of the animal, oriented with its feet towards the top of the ridge, and with its back and horns towards the lake. The pattern is a light curved line with a total length of more than 2 km and a width of 4–4.5 m. The satellite image shows the head of an elk, four legs and a horn. For thousands of years, the drawing has been covered with a cultural layer; it is quite difficult to notice it at present. The stone strip is covered with earth on which grass grows. It is best to observe the image in the off-season, when the snow is just melting, or in autumn, when the grass on the stones turns yellow and dries out earlier than the surrounding one.

Such huge images located on the earth's surface are called geoglyphs. They are created either by removing the top layer of soil along the perimeter of the image, or vice versa, by pouring stones along pre-prepared gutters, where the drawing line should pass. Typically, such images can only be viewed from a great height.

The most famous geoglyphs were found in the south of Peru in the desert located on the Nazca plateau. Among the paintings are triangles, spirals, a bird, a monkey, a spider, flowers. The drawings were first noticed by the American archaeologist Paul Kosok in 1939, when he happened to fly over the plateau in an airplane. The period of creation of Naskin images presumably refers to 400-650 years. AD There is a giant drawing in England, in the county of Oxfordshire (a stylized light figure - the Uffington white horse). This chalk geoglyph was created in the 10th century. AD The ancient origin of the mentioned artifacts does not raise doubts among the researchers.

There are several versions of the origin of ancient geoglyphs. They were built as ritual, religious, cult objects, which should be visible only to the deities from the sky, that is, a kind of beacons to attract the attention of the gods. People usually cannot observe them, the information of geoglyphs is directed outward of the Earth. Giant drawings are also considered as messages to space, which were created in the hope of future communication with intelligent beings. There is a version that geoglyphs are ground landmarks for landing alien ships.

As the archaeologists who arrived at the discovery site determined, the geoglyph was lined with stones 20-30 cm in diameter interspersed with clay. The stones are placed in pre-prepared grooves. At the corners and turning points of the picture lie large boulders, much larger than the rest of the stones. From each of these stones, a significant part of the drawing is visible.

Chief Specialist of the State Research and Production Center for Security cultural heritage Chelyabinsk region Nikolai Menshenin: “We cleared a small fragment of the elk's leg. Approximately 0.05% of the entire image. They made a section of a part of the masonry and received information on the technology for creating an image. The width of the line in its current state reaches 5 m, originally it was 3.5 m. The space between them was filled with emissions from the excavated trench and lighter stones.

The image of an elk is placed in a square with a side of 250 m. The dimensions of the geoglyph are impressive: 218 m in length, 278 m diagonally. It turns out that our elk is the largest known geoglyph in the world. The geoglyph of the lizard on the Nazca plateau in Peru reaches 188 m in length, and the Uffington horse in England extends for 110 m.

Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Institute of History and Archeology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Stanislav Grigoriev: “I am 100% sure that this monument is man-made. The lines of the drawing are 4–4.5 m wide. Most likely, they were made as follows: first, the top layer of soil was removed, small white quartzites were poured in its place - that is why the drawing is so clearly distinguishable on the ground. Large boulders are exposed along the edges - original borders of the image.

Archaeologist, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Yurin: “Undoubtedly, this is an artificial object and a real geoglyph. The opening of such a monument is a real sensation! At certain times of the year, it is well "read" from the top of the Zyuratkul ridge. Thanks to Alexey Shestakov for opening the eyes of me and many specialists from the Urals, Russia and even the planet to this phenomenon. I am sure that in the near future there will be a number of similar discoveries throughout the country, primarily in mountainous regions.”

Or maybe our moose is really not alone, like the numerous images in the Nazca desert? Do geoglyphs still exist in the Urals? There is a bright prospect for the pioneers!

Age, according to experts, can reach 8000 years. Stanislav Grigoriev: “When this geoglyph was created, the humus layer was 10 cm, but now the deposits are about 30–40 cm. 10 millennium BC”. This age makes the drawing of the Zyuratkul elk the oldest in the world.

Even if a more detailed examination shows that the find is younger than expected, the facts of the presence in the Urals of the largest geoglyph in the world and the only one in mainland Eurasia remain indisputable. These circumstances allow us to take a fresh look at the life of our distant ancestors.

And why did ancient people need such an image? There are many different versions of this. Perhaps, for the creators, the elk was a deified animal, a kind of totem. It is possible that by creating a geoglyph, one tribe demonstrated its superiority over others.

There is a version that such a huge structure must be related to cosmology. Does the Earthly Elk depict the heavenly, that is, the constellation of a certain Elk? But, excuse me, it is not on the maps of the starry sky, but it can be found by combining 6 known constellations: Perseus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Triangulum, Aries and Pisces. During the summer solstice, the heavenly Elk is located exactly above the earthly one, and both of them are visible at the same time. If you want the angular dimensions of both Elks to coincide, amounting to about 30 °, you need to find a point on the slope of the ridge lying above the earthly Elk at a distance of 360 m. Most likely, this point is a place of power.

Word to the skeptics. Some local historians tend to consider the image as ordinary hunting or animal trails.

Alexander Perevoznyuk: “When viewing the geoglyph, I switched from the 2010 images in Google Earth to the 2007 images and found clearer lines, the figure turned out to be 2 times larger, not closed and does not look like an elk, more like a fence where hunters drove prey.”

A geoglyph is part of an ancient megalithic culture that existed in the Southern Urals at the beginning of the Iron Age. This unique monument deserves to be a brand, a symbol and, if you like, a trademark of our region. Its convenient location near other natural pearls should contribute to the development of tourism in the Southern Urals.

Please note that over the past 20-30 years, world-class archeological monuments have been discovered in the Chelyabinsk region: Arkaim, megaliths of Vera Island, Zyuratkul Los. An important task is to preserve these most valuable objects. Who will take care of our Los and protect it? Let's take an example from the English, for whom their Uffington horse is a matter of pride, worship and universal care. The islanders regularly hold horse festivals that include grooming. The administrative district of Oxfordshire bears her name - Vale of White Horse!

There is an amusing proposal from archaeologists: along with the continuation of excavations, lay an excursion trail along the perimeter of the geoglyph. Tourists will not only move from one excavation site to another, but also trample the outline of an elk. This will not harm the geoglyph, but it will be better visible both directly from above and from the top of the Zyuratkul ridge.

1 Aleksandr Shestakov (born 1974), lives in Perm. Interested in speleology. He took part in more than 50 expeditions in the Caucasus, the Urals, the Tien Shan, Siberia and the Crimea. He made a great contribution to the study of the Shumikha cave - the deepest in the Chelyabinsk region. Since 2003, he has been engaged in ancient technologies for the production of hewn stone, studied more than 20 stone quarries in the Urals. On the basis of his finds in the territory of the Zyuratkul National Park, a museum of ancient millstones was created. In 2005, he became interested in the most ancient cultural monuments of the Urals, discovered and described 12 seids (unique natural places - rocks, stone structures, lakes, etc. - sacred objects of the Northern European peoples) and 2 dolmens (religious buildings, megaliths). Currently, he is studying bones - multi-ton accumulations of ancient bones of cult origin in the Perm region.

Komsomolskaya Pravda has already written about an unusual discovery on the Zyuratkul ridge in the Chelyabinsk region. Local historian Alexander Shestakov, looking at Google maps, suggested that a geoglyph is depicted on the slope - a drawing of an elk made of large stones.

Last weekend, Chelyabinsk archaeologists were able to go to the site and conduct initial reconnaissance, which gave quite encouraging results. And, above all, they came to the conclusion that the structure was created not by nature, but by human hands!

This image was formed in that historical period when the soil was about 4-5 cm, - adds the chief specialist of the state center for the protection of the cultural heritage of the Chelyabinsk region, Nikolai Mikhailovich Menshenin. - This corresponds to the Eneolithic - the new stone age, that is, from about the 7th to the 3rd millennium BC.

There are several facts in favor of man-made: a clear image of the animal and it is confirmed by the presence of masonry. The very structure of the layers is very different from the natural embankment. The masonry is of various sizes, along the edges there are large slabs up to 500 kilograms, and in the middle there is a smaller stone. The total width of the line is 3.5 meters, and the total length is almost two kilometers. But archaeologists have unearthed only about a meter so far.

In the era of primitive antiquity, the mountain-forest part of the Chelyabinsk region was inhabited by the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric tribes. And for them, the elk is a sacred animal, from generation to generation they told the myth of the heavenly hunt for an elk or deer. These animals were painted on stones, in caves and on rocks, depicted on ceramics. This theory is also supported by the proximity of Lake Zyuratkul, on its shores the sites of an ancient man were found.

The area occupied by the image is almost 60 thousand square meters. This is even more than ground drawings in the Nazca desert. Only in Peru they were made differently - they removed the top layer of stones, but here, on the contrary, they were put on top.

However, the scientific world has not yet come to a consensus.

It is too early to draw conclusions that we have a geoglyph in front of us, - says Sergey Botalov, Doctor of Science. - Much more thorough research and irrefutable evidence are needed, but there are none yet. The Ural Mountains are quite old, and sometimes natural design can take very bizarre forms. In addition, it is not clear why this clearing has not been overgrown with forest for so many millennia. After all, around - lush and sometimes impenetrable taiga thickets.

Official science calls into question a lot in this case. For example, a layer of 4-5 cm will not necessarily indicate a historical era. After all, we are talking about the slope of the mountain, the soil could be washed from steeper surfaces. And if we accept the version of a man-made structure, then why is this a geoglyph? After all, this could be the basis for the fence of a watchtower, the borders of some kind of castle, and the like. In general, academicians are in no hurry to admire and want to wait until the end of full-fledged excavations.

MAP

Geoglyph of the elk on the interactive map of the slope of Mount Zyuratkul

BY THE WAY

Here is what the encyclopedia says about the famous drawings in the Nazca desert:

The Nazca lines pose many questions to historians - who created them, when, why and how. In fact, it is impossible to see geoglyphs from the ground, so it remains to be assumed that with the help of such patterns, the ancient inhabitants of the valley communicated with the deity. In addition to the ritual, the astronomical significance of these lines is not excluded. Regarding the time of creation of the lines, scientists agree - until the XII century, when the Incas appeared in the valley. Most studies attribute them to the creation of the Nazca civilization, which inhabited the plateau until the 2nd century BC. n. e.

Leading researcher of geoglyphs, Maria Reiche, argues that the creators of the drawings first made small sketches, and then reproduced them in the required large sizes. As evidence, Maria Reiche shows small sketches she discovered in the area. It was she, who devoted almost half a century to the study of the Nazca lines, who suggested that the lines could be the world's largest astronomical calendar. In addition, at their ends, forming patterns, were found wooden piles driven into the soil, which played a role coordinate points when drawing a picture. It is established that the piles belong to the VI-I centuries. BC e. The remains of the settlements of the Nazca culture, discovered not far from the mysterious drawings, belong to the same period.

In the fall of 2011, another historical sensation was born: the largest and oldest geoglyph in the world was found in the Southern Urals. The Urals is rich in historical masterpieces: first "Arkaim", then "Island of Faith", and now here's "Zyuratkul's Elk". “Porridge was brewed” by local historian Alexander Shestakov. Then the well-known South Ural archaeologist S.A. Grigoriev. Archaeologist Grigoriev is known to the general public precisely by the “Island of Vera” on Lake Turgoyak. However, Stanislav Arkadyevich also dug "Arkaim". Together with an experienced archaeologist Nikolai Mikhailovich Menshenin, he managed to dig pits on the monument before the snow.

For reference: a geoglyph is a geometric or figured pattern applied to the ground, usually over 4 meters long. Many geoglyphs are so large that they can only be seen from the air. There are several ways to create geoglyphs: by removing the top layer of soil along the perimeter of the pattern, by pouring rubble where the pattern line should pass, by planting trees that form the necessary pattern. The use of geoglyphs for artistic purposes is still resorted to today.

The result of the first study greatly pleased the enthusiasts, but upset the skeptics. Firstly, there is undoubtedly a monument! A stone laying of artificial origin was discovered, that is, the laying was made by people intentionally. Secondly, there is no cultural layer on the monument. There are no artifacts, but there is buried soil, comparing which with modern soil, by its growth, one can approximately date the time of excavation - from 8 to 4 thousand years ago. Thirdly, in connection with the positive result of the pitting, a decision was made on a full-scale archaeological study. Excavations are planned for summer 2013. Now all interested parties can and should put aside hasty assessments and wait for the results of the study.

Archaeologists have already called the monument a cult object. The contour of the elk is supposedly created in order to demonstrate it to the Sky. But scientists can't add anything to this impressive statement. Another version is simpler: the geoglyph is a dedication to a game animal elk. Hunted, worshiped, that's what they did. Such an opinion is not at all good, because it raises a natural question: they hunted elk always and everywhere, so why was the geoglyph created only on Zyuratkul? They hunted a bear, a roe deer, a wild boar, a hare and other trifles - and did they also make geoglyphs?

It can be seen with the naked eye that a humanitarian approach to the study of another sensational monument will not bring rich fruits. This has already happened on Arkaim, the same thing happened on Vera Island, and it will also happen on Zyuratkul.

And now the natural science solution of the problem

Such huge and expensive (in terms of labor and intellectual costs) structures are always and everywhere related to cosmology. The Zyuratkul geoglyph is no exception. This elk represents the constellation Elk. There is no such constellation on modern maps of the starry sky - it has long been lost by southern civilizations. But in the northern sky you can find the figure of an elk. And the Zyuratkul geoglyph will help in this hopeless case. In the sky you need to find a twin of the earthly figure. It turns out that the problem has a unique solution. The Ancient Elk is now represented by six constellations at once: Perseus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Triangulum, Aries and Pisces. The Lost Elk is a huge constellation. Now it is perfectly visible in the southern part of the winter sky. It can be seen this winter, it will be seen next winter and many more winters in a row - precession is a slow business - 1 ° in 72 years.

The only problem is that to solve this simple cosmological problem, you cannot use computer astronomical programs - in ancient times they shamelessly lie. These programs work fine only for a short historical interval. They are not intended for excursions into the Paleolithic sky.

It remains to find the celestial analogue of the Elk, which in modern conditions and in the modern sky will play the same role that the Elk played in the Paleolithic. It turns out that there is only one constellation in the sky that can fully satisfy the refined taste of cosmologists. This constellation is now called Ophiuchus. First, the modern Ophiuchus on starry sky symmetrical to the ancient Elk. Secondly, - now he lies on the celestial equator exactly the same as Elk lay on the same celestial equator 11 thousand years ago. Consequently, the conditions and circumstances of the rise of Ophiuchus at the present time over Lake Zyuratkul for an observer on the top of the Zyuratkul ridge are identical to those for the end of the Paleolithic 11 thousand years ago. So much for celestial mechanics. Now the situation can be easily simulated in the astronomical program and observed on the Zyuratkul ridge.

Modeling shows that Ophiuchus rises and moves to the desired position on June 22, that is, on the day of the summer solstice, 40 minutes or even an hour after sunset. And the Sun on the shortest day of the year sets local time at 22 hours 43 minutes. The same was observed in antiquity. At first, the stars of the Elk figure lit up against the background of the evening dawn (heliacal sunrise), and both Elks were clearly visible at the same time. Then the sky darkened and the already bright starry Elk shifted to the south and stood exactly above the earthly figure of the Elk - a geoglyph.

There is one oddity in such a reconstruction: the angular dimensions of the geoglyph for an observer on the Zyuratkul ridge are 7 °, and the angular dimensions of the constellation are about 30 °. In order for the sizes of the figures to match, you need to go down from the ridge and get closer to the feet of the earthly Elk at a distance of 365 meters. At the same time, the gap between the figures will also decrease - the entire water area of \u200b\u200bLake Zyuratkul will no longer be visible between them.

By the way, this water area also resembles the figure of an elk. Its angular dimensions are about 60°. The head of this water elk with large horns is directed towards the viewer on the Zyuratkul ridge, and its legs are extended to the north. It "goes" from the southeast to the northwest. From the Elk of heaven to the Elk of the earth. But there was one more elk - a reflection of a stellar beast on the smooth surface of the evening lake. So there were four Elks on Zyuratkul, not two. However, this amazing picture can be seen accurately and in detail only with direct observation on the ground.

The spectator, who got to the right place at the right time and was initiated into the subtleties of cosmology, will experience strong aesthetic and spiritual experiences. Now one can even think that the name of the lake Zyuratkul and the Zyuratkul ridge is somehow connected with the name of the celestial beast Elk and its earthly reflection - the geoglyph. It remains only to find out what language the inhabitants of these places spoke at the end of the Paleolithic. The name of the wonderful Aryan beast (undoubtedly an elk) Sharabha with eight legs comes from the Ural-Altaic "*sarta", in the Mari and Mansi languages \u200b\u200bit has an analogue - the taboo name of the elk - "Sharp (Shord)". The horse of the German Odin with eight legs, the son of Loki named Sleipnir (“Sliding”), is an image of a completely different constellation, namely Pegasus Square.