Saimaluu Tash

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Petroglyphs in Saimaluu Tash

Saimaluu Tash ( Place of Patterned Stones ) is an archaeological site with petroglyphs in Kyrgyzstan . The site was of Kyrgyzstan on its 2001 list of suggestions for the UNESCO World Heritage set.

location

The site is located in the Ferghana Mountains, a mountain range of the Tian Shan , in the Jalalabat area about 80 km northeast of the capital Jalalabad and about 30 km southwest of Kazarman , the administrative seat of the Toguz-Toro Rajon , at an altitude of about 3000 to 3500 meters. The site is spread over two neighboring high valleys, which are separated from each other by a low mountain range.

description

The petroglyphs in Saimaluu Tash are not incisions in rock walls, but rather loose stones with incised images that have been collected here. It is the largest collection of individual stones with petroglyphs in the world. About 10,000 stones with pictures have been identified. The oldest stones date from the third to early second millennium BC. Chr., D. H. from the Copper Age and the Bronze Age .

The stones most likely represent votive offerings that were brought to this holy place from the valleys. Among the images there are images of wild and domestic animals, birds and people, geometric symbols and signs, images of faces of deities, as well as a number of figures that cannot be explained.

tourism

Because of the high altitude of the area, the stones are mostly under snow and can only be visited in July / August. Guided trekking tours lasting several days are offered from Kasarman , which after arriving by car are partly on horseback and partly on foot.

World Heritage candidate

Kyrgyzstan acceded to the World Heritage Convention in 1995. In 2001, the first six sites were entered on the Kyrgyzstan tentative list, one of which was the Saimaluu-Tash petroglyphs .

To justify the outstanding universal significance, the following is given:

“Saimaluu Tash is remarkable in that it was used by the people of Tian-Shan and Pre-Ferghana from the third millennium BC. It was used as a holy place until the Middle Ages and even today. It is thus a rich source of knowledge about the everyday life, mentality, history and culture of the ancient tribes of hunters, ranchers and first farmers in Central Asia, about the development of their spiritual culture, their religious beliefs and their worship of mountains, nature, Totems and solar-cosmic images. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Saimaly-Tash Petroglyphs. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed February 9, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Bradt Guides: Saimaluu-Tash Petroglyphs. In: Bradt Guides. Accessed June 7, 2020 (English).
  3. ↑ Saimaluu-Tash Petroglyphs. In: Travel Guide to Kyrgyzstan. (English).
  4. ^ Tentative list of Kyrgyzstan. In: whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Center, archived from the original on February 26, 2007 ; accessed on February 9, 2019 .

Coordinates: 41 ° 10 ′ 48 ″  N , 73 ° 48 ′ 50 ″  E