PETROGLYPHS
Account of a trip to the Sarmysh Gorge known for carvings in the rock Andrei Kudryashov (Tashkent), Ferghana.Ru news agency Account of a trip to the Sarmysh Gorge known for carvings in the rock Galleries of 4,000 Rock Carvings dated the Stone and Bronze ages decorate the slopes of the Sarmysh Gorge that splits the enigmatic mountain range Bukantau in the southeast part of the Kyzylkum Desert in Uzbekistan. The oddly looking mountains slicing into the sands on the way to the Kara-Karga Pass between Navoi and Nurata draw seasoned traveller's attention from afar, promising close encounters with something fascinating.
Cones of the ancient volcanoes, their pinnacles sparkling in the sun, are ringed with stone terraces with the overhanging ledges that certainly leave the impression of being artificial. Closer, traveller beholds a somber jumble of rocks, arcs, and grottoes with thorny bush and low tree along the creek snaking down below. The air is primordially clear. The icy waters are fed by the numerous springs existing since the time immemorial, since the first seeds of civilization appeared in this oasis.
Scientists claim that the Sarmysh phenomenon originated somewhere between the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age. Abundance of water and game (goats, deer, oxen coming to the watering place from the desert) and caves to be used in winters - all of that probably made life more or less easy for our ancestors and set up conditions for abandoning the nomadic way of life and settling down to develop agriculture and start working metals. That was probably the period when the ancient cults began their transformation into religion.
PETROGLYPHS (from the Greek petros that stands for rock and glyphe that stands for carving) are ancient carvings on the walls and ceiling of the caves and outside.
The Sarmysh Petroglyphs differ in subjects, styles, and even technique. Some of them were painted (ochre mixed with animal fat), others carved into the rock with presumably metal tools. The oldest of them (dated approximately the 9th millennium B.C.) depict the world of primeval hunters, potential game, and savage beasts.
Carvings of rituals and scenes of everyday life, and even carvings of domestic animals including dogs, sheep, and camels (some of them with three humps) appear later.
There are even the carvings of abstract figures that have defied all explanations so far. They may be cult or religious symbols.
These Petroglyphs are followed chronologically by the carvings of armed warriors and rulers. Finally, there are the carvings in the Arabic characters of the 12th - 18th centuries A.D., the period when Sufi dervishes found shelter in the gorge. Scientists claim that no two Petroglyphs found in the Sarmysh Gorge are alike.
Usually taken to the gorge by Uzbekistan For You travel agency, tourists are particularly attracted to the carvings of what they perceive as aliens: humanoid figures in what may be taken for spacesuits, some of them with two heads. When all of the post-Soviet zone was "into" UFOs and suchlike things in the early 1990's, tabloids were full of "eyewitness" reports of UFOs spotted above the Kyzylkum Desert and particularly in the vicinity of the mountain range. It goes without saying that UFOlogists inevitably ascribed all of that to the Petroglyphs they viewed as proof of visits from outer space to the area in prehistoric times.
As a matter of fact, the carvings may have a more prosaic explanation. For example, the "alien with two heads wearing a spacesuit" had clearly exaggerated genitals. In ancient and primeval cultures exaggerated genitals are a traditional trait of tribal leaders or high priests. In other words, a huge phallus is a symbol of power. The leader has a lot of women and children; he is literally the father of his people. The "spacesuit with two heads" may in fact be a crown depicted to the best of the ancient artist's ability.
Looking at the "alien", this correspondent noticed a carving of quite a humanoid woman nearby (see photo). It stands to reason to assume therefore that the carving depict the tribal leader with his woman.
On the other hand, UFOlogists and others like them have a right to believe what they will - particularly since anomalies are not exactly infrequent in the area rich in ore and underground lakes and known for its extremely difficult terrain and unique microclimate.
The area teems with mysteries. Amazingly, it looks and feels nowadays just the way it looked and felt at the dawn of civilization.
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