 Outline of the Russian geoglyph | |
  Shown within Russia | |
| Location | slopes of theZyuratkul Mountains,Chelyabinsk region |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 54°56′33″N59°11′32″E / 54.9425°N 59.1922°E /54.9425; 59.1922 |
| Type | Geoglyph |
| History | |
| Material | Stone |
| Periods | Neolithic,Eneolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 2011-2012 |
| Archaeologists | Stanislav Grigoriev |
| Public access | Yes |
TheRussian geoglyph refers to ageoglyph on slopes of theZyuratkul Mountains in theChelyabinsk region inRussia.[1]
The geoglyph depicts accurate contours of an animal similar to anelk ormoose, with four legs, twoantlers and a longsnout. It may also have had atail, though this has now been obscured. It was first detected in 2011 byAlexander Shestakov usingsatellite imagery.[citation needed] He notified researchers who surveyed the outline using aparaglider andseaplane. Research has continued into the site underStanislav Grigoriev from theRussian Academy of Sciences Institute of History and Archaeology. Grigoriev published an article withNikolai Menshenin from the State Centre for Monument Protection about the discovery in theAntiquity journal in spring 2011.[2]
Excavations have unearthed stones laying 4.5 metres (15 ft) wide, precisely under the contour at a depth of 30 centimetres (12 in) to 40 centimetres (16 in). The borders consist of large stones with a center filled with smaller ones. Builders of the object cut off a soil layer down to virgin clay and placed stones into this trench.[1]
The stones are now covered by a layer of patina with a dark shade. Earlier they were lighter and were perfectly visible from the ridge because the huge size of the drawing. It has a width of 195 metres (640 ft), length of 218 metres (715 ft), and a diagonal of 275 metres (902 ft). Excavations in the summer of 2012 have revealed small walls and remains of what are thought to be passageways on the areas around thehoof andsnout of the animal. Grigoriev remarked that"the hoof is made of small crushed stones and clay. It seems to me there were very low walls and narrow passages among them. The same situation in the area of a muzzle: crushed stones and clay, four small broad walls and three passages." The geolyph is thought to have been created by a"megalithic culture" operating in the area during the past and connected with otherMegaliths in the Urals and on Vera Island. In the period of its creation the soil layer was only 10 centimetres (3.9 in), and today it is 40 centimetres (16 in) to 50 centimetres (20 in).[1]
Grigoriev has found over forty stone tools resemblingpickaxes during recent excavations that Grigoriev suggests show a style ofLithic reduction dating to theNeolithic orChalcolithic periods between 4000 and 2000 BCE. Further accuracy regarding the dating of the geoglyph is hoped to be obtained from an ongoing study usingpollen core analysis.[1] This suggested dating would place the construction of the 900 feet (270 m) geoglyph many centuries before that of theNazca lines inPeru, theBlythe geoglyphs inCalifornia and several inEngland, making it one of the oldest examples ofland art in the world.[1][3]