While petroglyphs are found on every continent, the mountainous area of Central Asia and Western Mongolia is home to especially rich sites. Within this vast expanse of petroglyphs, the site of Saimaluu Tash in Kyrgyzstan is one of the largest and highest: its petroglyphs date mainly from the Bronze Age (c.2400-900 BC) and the Iron Age (900 BC-AD 450), with a few belonging to the period when peoples speaking Turkic languages enter the region (c.AD 450-800). Saimaluu Tash lies in the eastern part of the Fergana Mountain Range, about 115km north-east of the city of Osh. Due to its altitude – which ranges from 2,860m to 3,350m – the site is covered by snow for ten to eleven months of the year, leaving it accessible only in peak summer. Since the snow protects the stones from rapid temperature fluctuations, they are exceptionally well preserved. The difficult access, involving a strenuous ascent and crossing a small glacier, further protects the petroglyphs from vandalism. It is precisely this remoteness that motivated the author to lead a team to Saimaluu Tash in the summer of 2017.
The expedition consisted of three petroglyph experts and two GIS specialists from Switzerland and Belgium, a Kyrgyz archaeologist, and a local support team. The objective of the expedition was to survey, photograph, and map the site, with a view to producing interactive maps. Making use of satellite imagery with 50cm resolution, the team also wanted to search for traces of any ancient settlements or previously unrecorded burials. Since the plan called for the team to stay on site for a week, all equipment – including tents and food – had to be brought in. Accordingly, a powerful Mi-8 helicopter, equipped with two turbines, was rented from the army. It dropped us at an altitude of 3,245m above sea level.
Stones with drawings
The site was officially rediscovered by the military topographer Nikolai G Kludov in 1902, although its name provides a strong clue about its nature, as ‘Saimaluu Tash’ means ‘stones with drawings’ in Kyrgyz. Even so, it was more than 40 years before B M Zima and A N Bernstam conducted extensive explorations, in 1946 and 1950 respectively. Further fieldwork has been conducted up to the present day, and the site is included on UNESCO’s Tentative List of cultural monuments. Despite its importance, there is no interactive map of the rock art, and various research questions remain unanswered.
Saving landmarks and ancient traditions