Arkaim has opened and will be one after another
Cities of mysterious tribes have been discovered,
So that hearts flare up over their magic circle
Connecting the fabric of cosmic times.

Arkaim in the context of the all-Russian national idea

From the very beginning of the discovery of the proto-urban civilization in the Southern Urals, Arkaim began to attract numerous political parties and national movements. Textbooks and academic works have been published, where Arkaim is considered as a monument of the early Kazakhs (Alma-Ata) or proto-Bashkirs (Ufa). The encyclopedia of Bashkortostan (1996) notes that Arkaim is located on the "historical territory of Bashkortostan".

Meanwhile, Arkaim is one of the most important starting points for the formation of a nationwide (interethnic) idea of ​​Russia.

It is well known that every nation, every state is looking for its ideological core in the deep layers of culture.

1. Territorial (Eurasian) and ethno-cultural components. Arkaim represents one of the ancient ancestral homes of the Indo-Europeans, located in the center of the Eurasian continent. The descendants of the Arkaim population - the tribes of the Alakul and Srubnaya cultures - later occupied vast expanses of steppes - forest-steppes from Ukraine to northwestern China. This powerful and very ancient Indo-European (Indo-Iranian) layer played a great role in the formation of modern Slavic, Turkic and Ugric peoples. This is the unifying principle, which, with its antiquity and indisputability, unites almost the entire population of modern Russia.

2. Spiritual (religious) component Arkaim era - Zoroastrianism in its early form. This is a bright unifying link for all faiths. Zoroastrianism is rightfully recognized as the main source of modern world religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism.

3. Social component. Arkaim reflects the most ancient form of statehood in Russia. This form lays claim to alternative paths to civilization and will probably force us to intensify the search for alternative ways of the modern state structure and world order (at the Arkaim level, the economy is of a “society-building” nature, which denies the aggressive economy of individual enrichment).

4. Environmental component. Arkaim as an ethno-cultural formation has developed in an extremely unfavorable (dry) climate. The existence of people required active intervention in the natural environment: laying canals, creating irrigation systems, water pipes, digging wells, etc. On the other hand, climatic conditions dictated the utmost attention to nature: “Before you wash a dirty thing in water, think about the purity of the water…” (Avesta, Gaty). The geography of the "Country of Cities", the internal communications of fortified centers, storm sewers, sewage treatment plants, the architecture itself - reflects the high degree of correct interaction of the Arkaim man with the natural environment. "Rigveda" and "Avesta", the oldest layers of which were created in the Southern Trans-Urals in the Arkaim time, are considered by experts to be the oldest monuments of environmental literature.

5. Geopolitical component. Arkaim and the "Country of Cities", as bright archaeological monuments of the ancient ancestral home of the Indo-European civilization, will always cause recognition and respect for the peoples of Russia and the peoples of other regions of the world, just as the pyramids are associated with Egypt, Stonehenge - with England, Mahenjo-Daro - with India .

The Southern Trans-Urals is the direct ancestral home of the modern peoples of India, Iran, Tajikistan, and a number of peoples of the Caucasus. It is obvious that the geopolitical component will promote (and is already promoting) Russia's scientific, cultural, and economic ties with the countries of Europe, Asia, and America.

Arkaim - a brief description

Arkaim, an archaeological complex, including a fortified settlement and adjacent economic sites, a burial ground, a number of unfortified settlements. The name "Arkaim" is given by the name of the hill and the tract. The complex is located in the Chelyabinsk region, on the river. B. Karaganka, and her lion. tributary of the river. Utyaganka, in the foothill valley near the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains. The monument dates back to the 2nd quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. (17-16 centuries BC). Radiocarbon dates are 3600-3900 years ago. The complex has been studied since 1987 by an archaeological expedition of the Chelyabinsk University led by G.B. Zdanovich.

Fortified settlement of Arkaim . Total sq. 20000 m2. The area of ​​archaeological excavations (as of 1993) is 8055 m2. Geophysical studies were carried out on the square. 7600 m2. The settlement is fixed in the form of two, inscribed into each other, rings of earthen ramparts with 4 passages of the outer moat, two circles of housing depressions and a central square (Fig. 1). The ramparts are the remains of defensive walls made of earth, mud blocks and wood. The diameter of the inner walls (the walls of the citadel) is 85 m, the outer ones are 143-145 m, the thickness of the walls at the base is from 3 to 5 m, the height of the soil part in ancient times was at least 3-3.5 m. Fortifications include radial walls , which divided the outer ring of dwellings into 5 or 7 sectors. Dwellings are trapezoidal in plan, above ground, 110-180 m 2 each, built of log frames and soil blocks. Adjacent dwellings had common long walls. About 1/3 sq. dwellings were allocated for common use. There is a well, a cellar, a hearth combined with a metallurgical furnace. The dwellings of the citadel face the exits to the central square. The area had a rectangular shape (25x27 m) and was apparently intended for ritual activities. The dwellings of the outer ring face the exits to the circular street, which connected all the entrances to the settlement and all the dwellings with the central square. Under the flooring of the circular street, a storm sewer ditch with sewage wells was found. At the settlement, 29 dwellings were investigated by archaeological excavations: 17 in the outer and 12 in the inner circle. Geophysical methods established that in total there were 35 dwellings in the outer circle, 25 in the inner circle (19 large and 6 small ones built between the main dwellings in the process of population growth). Collected 9 thousand fragments of ceramics, bone and stone items, metal tools (knives with interception, plow sickles, awls, jewelry), many items related to metallurgy and metalworking: casting molds, slag, nozzles, hammers and anvils. The saturation of the cultural layer with material remains is low. The economy of the population of Arkaim was based on pastoral cattle breeding with elements of agriculture. 96% of paleozoological finds are bones of domestic animals: 60-65% - cattle, 20-25% - small cattle, 15% - horses. On the territory of the Arkaim valley, within a radius of 5-6 km from the fortified center, at least 5 multilayer settlements of the Bronze Age with the remains of layers of the 17th-16th centuries were recorded. BC. These were probably small settlements without fortifications. It is possible that more distant unfortified settlements were also connected with the fortified center.

The burial ground of Arkaim is located on the left bank of the river. B. Karaganka, 1-1.5 km to the north-east. from the Arkaim settlement. 5 burial mounds have been explored. The dominant position in the burial ground is occupied by large, 17-19 m in diameter, grave fields, uniting 12-20 pits. The peculiarity of the burial architecture is determined by deep - up to 3.5 m - grave pits with extensive hollow burial chambers, ledges, and several wooden ceilings. From above, the pits were covered with individual earth bulk structures, or falsely vaulted domes made of adobe blocks. Burials in pits are single, pair, group; corpse position on its side, in a slightly or moderately crouched position. The anthropological type of the buried is proto-European. The burials are accompanied by a rich inventory, especially in the central pits: bronze leaf-shaped knives, adze-axes, chisels, awls, a harpoon, a spearhead, other bronze items, arrowheads made of stone and bone, a stone mace, horse harness accessories, jewelry, etc. .d. The ceramic complexes are dominated by sharp-ribbed pots decorated with geometric ornaments. There are numerous remains of sacrificial animals (horse, cr. and small cattle, dog). Grave fields were also investigated, uniting 7-8 grave pits with relatively poor grave goods.

The Arkaim cultural complex is part of the group of fortified settlements in the Southern Urals, called the "Country of Cities". It is located to the south of the Uy river, it occupies mainly the watershed of the Ural and Tobol rivers. The "Country of Cities" unites 17 points with 21 fortified settlements, as well as numerous villages and burial grounds. and 120-150 km - W.-E. The distance between simultaneously existing fortified settlements was 40-70 km. The radius of the developed territory corresponded to 25-35 km (area about 2000 km 2), which corresponds to the distance of one day's march. Within these limits, in the vicinity of the "city", there were seasonal camps of pastoralists and fishermen, small unfortified settlements of people were built, which were closely connected in economic, military and religious terms with the "city-fortress", with the "city-temple". (Sintashta) (see Sintashta) type with their hierarchy of settlements and burial grounds, it is advisable to consider them as territorial formations with elements of early statehood, close to the "chiefdom" or "chifdom".

Arkaim is an ancient city. Part 2

Arkaim - Superobservatory of the Ancient Aryans?

At its core, Arkaim is, according to K. Bystrushkin and some other researchers, a very accurate near-horizon observatory. According to its structure, Arkaim is an exact object from a geometric point of view. You can even say that for those times ultra-precise. (Arkaim’s age is estimated by archaeologists at 3800-3600 years. Konstantin Bystrushkin, relying on his methodology, increases it by another thousand years, that is, 4800 years. And during the exhibition on Arkaim, which was held several years ago at the Opera and Ballet Theater, G B. Zdanovich has already given the figure of 5500 years.It is rather difficult to determine the exact age, since radiocarbon analysis at such dates has a very high error.Apparently, the age of Arkaim exceeds 5000 years, since 3800-3600 years are attributed to Arkaim more for political reasons, since the "authorities" among historians, they believe that there could not have been more ancient buildings in the Southern Urals, since otherwise it is necessary to revise them, “authorities”, historical theories).

At the same time, on Arkaim one can observe 18 astronomical events(!), including those that do not have a utilitarian meaning (such as marking the beginning or end of natural cycles). At the same time, only 8 main ones can be observed in the same Stonehenge.
Evidence has been found of the awareness of the people of South Urals about the phenomenon of the precession of the earth's axis, expressed in the ratios of the inner ring. The period of this phenomenon is huge - 25786 years, but the Arkaimites displayed the parameters corresponding to it quite correctly and very accurately. The researchers note that in order to create this kind of observatory, it was necessary to know that the Earth has the shape of a ball and, together with the rest of the planets, moves around the Sun ...

Arkaim was opened in the summer of 1987, already in 1991 the territory of the monument was declared a reserve (in the status of a branch of the Ilmensky Reserve). No matter how you look - yesterday's sensation; however, interest in him does not weaken. Moreover, it is certainly expanding: following archaeologists, historians, ethnographers, psychics, prophets, pilgrims, members of various religious sects, people thirsting for healing and enlightenment, in a word, everyone who wants to personally see this Place, reached Arkaim ...

A sudden breakthrough through the unimaginable thickness of centuries into an unknown and unexpectedly complex world encourages journalists to sensationalism, but makes serious researchers be careful in their judgments. Meanwhile, public opinion is already inflamed: after all, in fact, we all have become witnesses of the rarest miracle! And not in some exotic Micronesia, not among the biblical stones of the Middle East, not in the full of mysteries of the South American selva, but right at home, close by, in the Chelyabinsk region, the "Land of Cities" was opened - the remnant of one of the oldest civilizations of mankind: original, buildings that are not like anything familiar, powerful walls, complex defensive structures, smelting furnaces, craft workshops, a clear communication system… Now it is already recognized: here is the ancestral home of the ancient Aryans, which scientists have been looking for for so long in a vast territory from the Danubian steppes to the Irtysh region; here happened on the verge of the III - II millennium BC. Long ago “calculated” by linguists, the division of the Aryans into two branches - Indo-Iranian and Iranian ... And some of the scientists so restrained in their assumptions are even ready to declare these places the birthplace of Zoroaster, the creator of the sacred hymns of the Avesta, as legendary as Buddha or Mohammed. Wow sounds: Zarathushtra - Urals, our fellow countryman?!.

But if you hold back your imagination and slow down your emotions, then even then the South Ural find of archaeologists borders on a miracle. After all, this is one of those discoveries that force scientists to re-examine for decades - if not centuries - the built-up system of views on a vast and philosophically important area of ​​​​research. The appearance of Arkaim forced historians to change their ideas about the Bronze Age on the territory of the Ural-Kazakhstan steppes. Now it turned out that they were not the backyards of the world entering the era of civilization: the high level of development of metallurgy provided this region with a very prominent place in the cultural space stretching from the Mediterranean to present-day Kazakhstan and Central Asia. And some of the same type of metal objects of wonderful workmanship, found either somewhere on the coast of the Aegean Sea, or in the Southern Urals and testifying to the extent of cultural ties, it turns out, roamed by caravan routes not “from there to here”, as it was always believed, but “from here to there” ... Obviously, it is superfluous to argue that a correct understanding of the direction of such flows is important not only for satisfying local patriotic ambitions. Discoveries of this level are really rare - maybe once a century.

It is worth assuming that such discoveries are not accidental, that time itself works for them - as if the expectation accumulates in people by the due date. Otherwise, how to explain the very fact of the appearance and salvation of Arkaim? After all, it is perfectly visible on aerial photographs taken much earlier than the year of discovery. Then it was suggested that the views of specialists were somehow diverted by the very excellent preservation of the ancient monument: it seemed that such clear geometric shapes should have a purely modern origin. Which? In our top-secret country, it was somehow not customary to ask such delicate questions.

The salvation of Arkaim also seems a miracle - an incident of this kind is hardly noted anywhere else in the entire Soviet history. After all, the monument was doomed - that's what the media said about it. He was in the flood zone of the reservoir under construction. Not only that, by the time it was discovered by archaeologists, the relevant drawings and orders had already been signed in the highest offices, construction work was already in full swing, a lot of money had already been spent. A retaining dam had already been erected; all that remained was to fill up a short jumper - and the spring waters would not have left a trace of Arkaim. The bill went on for months, if not for weeks, and it seemed that there was no force in the world capable of slowing down the heavy flywheel of the "planned economy" ...

The miracle, however, was man-made. Many still remember how scientists, journalists, and the creative intelligentsia rose up in defense of the "Ural Troy" (a comparison, as it turned out, rather flattering for Troy). The struggle to save Arkaim coincided with the crusade of the public against the bureaucratic and bureaucratic arbitrariness of the Soviet system, the system was breathing its last - and this helped. Here are the letters then received by the editorial office of the Nauka Urala newspaper - at that time it was the Sverdlovsk headquarters of the campaign to save the monument: »; “How long will officials decide what the people need and what not. The Ministry of Water Resources does not need Arkaim. We need him"; "If Arkaim is not saved, the idea of ​​socialism will fall completely for me." The idea fell, but Arkaim remained ...

Let us still be fair: in the aforementioned collection “Arkaim. Research. Search. Discoveries” contains quite rich information - both about the monument itself, how it was discovered by archaeologists who raised centuries-old layers of soil, and about the objects of material culture collected during excavations, and about the surrounding ancient settlements (there are many of them in the Arkaim valley - the proto-Iranian “Country of Cities”) , and about the physical and geographical conditions of the protected area, and about the originality of the vegetation there (also, by the way, a subject worthy of surprise), and even about the history and life of the Cossacks who lived in the district. However, the more carefully you read the texts of the articles collected here, the more you feel as if the breath of mysteries that have not yet been revealed, the more you understand that not only the scarcity of information that has leaked through the thickness of millennia explains a certain halo of mysticism that surrounds the ancient settlement in the South Ural steppe.

Here is what, for example, Doctor of Geographical Sciences Ivanov I.V. writes about Arkaim: observations. The latter requires even more solid evidence and justification.

As for the observatory, this is not a speculative assumption. During two field seasons (1990 and 1991), astroarchaeologist Konstantin Konstantinovich Bystrushkin conducted research on Arkaim. In part, they fit into the general plan of archaeological work - they made it possible to clarify some details in the field documents of the excavations, and in part they corresponded to the direction of the researcher's own scientific interests.

The preliminary results of observations and measurements were summarized by him and brought to the attention of specialists: at an astronomical seminar at the Pulkovo Observatory, at the Leningrad branch of the Institute of the History of Natural Science and Technology, at the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, at the Astronomical and Geodetic Society, and also at the Sternberg Institute P.K. . in Moscow and at the Sverdlovsk Observatory. In all cases, the results of KK Bystrushkin's work were accepted by astronomers with great interest and were evaluated very positively.

And what are the main results? Before saying this, I will quote the words of the scientist who rightfully owns the honor of discovering the monument, archaeologist Gennady Borisovich Zdanovich: It is both a fortress, and a temple, and a craft center, and a residential village.” So, Bystrushkin K.K. does not dispute this certification, but adds another important touch to it: Arkaim, in his opinion, among other things, is also a near-horizon observatory of the highest accuracy class, the most complex of all currently known to mankind. In this respect, it is comparable to Stonehenge - the famous megalithic structure on the Salisbury Plain in southern England, in which the oldest observatory was guessed in the middle of the 18th century; however, this conjecture received quite convincing argumentation and wide recognition only two hundred years later. But only Arkaim turned out to be more complicated than Stonehenge... And one more detail: archaeologists estimate the age of Arkaim at 3800-3600 years; Bystrushkin K.K., relying on his methodology, increases it for another thousand years.

A monument of the highest culture, which is 4800 years old. Four thousand eight hundred years...

Constructions of Arkaim

No jewels, masterpieces of ancient art, unknown script, nuclear reactor or spaceship were found in the excavations of Arkaim. Only shards of broken pottery, bones of domestic and wild animals, rare stone tools and very rare bronze tools. But even these ordinary things are very few on Arkaim. The collection of "artifacts" is so poor and inexpressive that it is not possible to make a museum exhibition worthy of the occasion out of it.

It is quite clear that the main value of the disturbed ruins was and, apparently, will remain DESIGN structures.

A study of the design plan revealed a complex and precise geometry in it.

The so-called relief of the mainland, which can be considered the foundation of the entire structure, was subjected to measurements at Arkaim. However, the foundation - in the strict sense of the word - is not there at all: the structure rested on poles and log cabins. However, this construction technology also involves a “zero cycle”, that is, excavation of a foundation pit for premises and the formation of brows as the basis for future walls. It was these wall edges that were measured: after all, it is they that create the entire drawing of the building plan and are the most noticeable and striking result of excavations in nature. Wall foundations, as a rule, are associated with rows of supporting pillars - in the excavation they are represented by post pits. In order to imagine the excavation as a whole, to these brows and pits one should add pits and wells in the middle part of the premises that once existed here and ditches along the bypass of large parts of the structure. That, in fact, is all. Other elements of the huge structure were almost completely destroyed, first by fire, then by water, winds, time itself ...

Of course, the relief of the mainland gives only a distant idea of ​​the structure as a whole. The structure developed in height, had solid walls and a ceiling, galleries, pavements, superstructures of the second floor and high wooden towers. The reconstruction of the details of the volume has already begun, and, one must think, its results will be interesting and impressive ...

Actually, archaeologists already today have a fairly complete idea of ​​what the settlement in the Arkaim valley was like at the time of its heyday, and the results are really impressive. First of all, it must be emphasized that this large structure was not a conglomerate of disparate objects, but an integral structure. Its total area is about 20 thousand square meters, and the plan of the settlement looks like this: two rings of powerful defensive walls inscribed one into the other (the outer one is surrounded by a moat 1.5-2.5 meters deep), two ring streets of dwellings crouched from the inside to these walls , and in the geometric center of the rings - a platform in the form of a slightly flattened circle with a diameter of 25-27 meters, carefully leveled, compacted and, perhaps, even reinforced with some kind of cementing mortar. The diameter of the outer wall is about 150 meters with a base thickness of 4-5 meters. It was erected from log cages clogged with soil with the addition of lime, and on the outside it was lined with raw blocks, starting from the bottom of the moat and up to the upper cut - a total of 5-6 meters. Apparently, the citadel was surrounded by an inner wall - about 85 meters in diameter. The thickness of this wall was less - 3-4 meters, and the height, most likely, more than that of the outer one. It was strictly vertical and outside - along the log lining - was plastered with clay.

The rings of dwellings were divided into sectors by radial walls - they are similar in plan to the spokes of a wheel. These walls were common to every two adjacent rooms. Near the outer wall, as established by geophysical research, there were 35 dwellings, near the inner 25, but so far 29 of them have been excavated: 17 in the outer ring and 12 in the inner one.

Add to all this a rather complex and well-thought-out internal layout of dwellings and ring streets, an ingenious trap for destroying uninvited guests at the connector of the outer defensive wall and other fortifications, a rational storm sewer system; even the colors of the facing materials used by the ancient Arkaimians were functionally and aesthetically significant.

Now - even on the basis of such a stingy verbal sketch - you can judge for yourself how orderly, reasonably organized life of a large community of people once flowed within these walls.

However, the obvious complexity of the social organization of people who built for themselves such a miracle of engineering and construction art thousands of years ago is far from all that the eye of a specialist who contemplates today the contours of the ancient proto-city reveals: the very geometry of the building is fraught with riddles. Why is it a circle? Is this connected with the symbolic nature of the thinking of the ancients? If a yes, then what does this symbolism say, to whom and why is the message contained in it addressed? In particular, here are the associations that Arkaim’s plan evoked among its pioneers G.B. Zdanovich and I.M. Batanina (I quote from the Chelyabinsk collection): “Such a layout is close to the principle of Mandala, one of the main sacred symbols of Buddhist philosophy. The word "mandala" itself is translated as "circle", "disk", "circular". In the Rigveda, where it first occurs, the word has many meanings: "wheel", "ring", "country", "space", "society", "assembly" ...

The interpretation of the Mandala as a model of the Universe, a "map of the cosmos" is universal, while the Universe is modeled and depicted in plan using a circle, a square, or a combination of them. Arkaim and its dwellings, where the wall of one house is the wall of another, probably reflect the "circle of time", in which each unit is determined by the previous one and determines the next one.

And then a broader generalization is formulated, which the reader has the right to perceive as a methodological principle, as a key to the most important riddle of Arkaim: “In the “Country of Cities” it is not the wealth of material culture that strikes, but its amazing spirituality. This is a special world where everything is saturated with spirituality - from settlement and funeral architecture to sculptural images made of stone "...

It is in this vein that the study of Konstantin Bystrushkin unfolds. (in the third part of our cycle ARKAIM. The legacy of ancestors we will introduce you to the wonderful book by Bystrushkin K.K. “The Phenomenon of Arkaim. Cosmological architecture and historical geodesy).

... But it is the relief of the mainland that reveals a bright, precise and complex geometry. There is no doubt that here we are dealing with the results of preliminary design, which was carried out by the builders in nature. There can be no question that Arkaim was built in several stages, as needed, when new quarters are added to the already finished part. No, it was built all at once, and it is clear that the design work was preceded by careful design studies in terms of engineering hydrogeology and soil properties. Undoubtedly, the volumes of earthworks and timber needed for construction (thousands of trunks of coniferous and deciduous trees!) were calculated in detail in advance.

Arkaim is not just a complex structure, but even subtly complex. Meanwhile, its purpose and functions are not at all obvious. And only when a clear geometry is found in his plan, there is a hope to literally calculate the plan of the builders. The direction of the search is prompted by an unexpectedly exact match of some important elements of the geometry and dimensions of Arkaim with the corresponding parameters of Stonehenge. In all archaeological publications about Arkaim, the diameter of the ring wall of the citadel of Arkaim is 85 meters. But this is somewhat rounded. If it is measured with the accuracy that is necessary for astronomical observations, then a not perfectly correct ring is obtained, having radii of 40 and 43.2 meters. Meanwhile, the radius of the ring "Aubrey Holes" in Stonehenge is also 43.2 meters. Both sites are located almost at the same geographical latitude, both are in the middle of a bowl-shaped valley with a relief horizon. And that's not all: the more detailed you compare both monuments, the more exactly matching details are found in them.

The comparison between Stonehenge and Arkaim may seem unexpected to you: after all, they are separated by the length of the whole of Europe, 4 thousand kilometers - a distance not close even for the current means of communication. And a considerable time interval: if we agree with traditional ideas, then there is a whole millennium between them.

There's nothing to be done about geography, but chronology is another matter. In the end, its accuracy largely depends on the method of research.

Age of Arkaim

In the famous book by J. Hawkins and J. White "Solving the mystery of Stonehenge" (London, 1966; Moscow, 1973 and 1984), the age of the "first stage" of the monument - Stonehenge-I, as the researchers say - is defined as 4 thousand years (more precisely , its creation is attributed to the 19th century BC plus or minus 100 years). But this is not the only opinion.

When using classical methods of archeology - based on analogies - Stonehenge turns out to be somewhat younger, as the authors of the named book themselves say: “On some of the sarsen stones, Atkinson found a total of thirty-odd images of bronze axes and one image, apparently, of a dagger in a scabbard of the type that was used in Mycenae precisely in the era established by a preliminary assessment - in 1600-1500 BC. It turns out that its age today is somewhere around 3500-3600 years?

Let us explain for the most meticulous reader that Richard Atkinson is the main expert on Stonehenge among English archaeologists; he long and stubbornly resisted attempts to apply the methods of astronomy to explain the mysteries of the monument, but in the end he became an ardent enthusiast of astroarchaeology. Well, sarsen stones are megaliths framing the central structures of Stonehenge with a ring "palisade".

By the way, the age of Sintashta was also determined by the same method - “according to the findings of disk-shaped cheek-pieces of the Mycenaean type, copper spearheads with an open sleeve, stone petiolate arrowheads, paste warty beads and other things,” as the authors of the monograph on Sintashta, who themselves this work, report. and done (V.F. Genning, G.B. Zdanovich and V.V. Genning). By the same method - and with the same result: XVII - XV centuries BC. And the age of Arkaim by this traditional method is estimated at 37-38 centuries.

And again, a necessary explanation: Sintashta is the name of a monument located on the banks of the river of the same name in relative proximity to Arkaim. It was discovered a decade and a half earlier and was thoroughly studied in two steps - immediately and a decade later. However, firstly, it has survived much worse than Arkaim; secondly, it quite noticeably stood out from the system of archaeological sites of the Southern Urals known at that time, and its significance was unclear. The discovery of Arkaim served as a kind of impetus for the unification of many disparate and even mysterious facts into a certain convincing chain, the concept of the Sintashta-Arkaim culture came into scientific use. Archaeological finds made in Sintashta are now used as standards for highlighting this culture, and the "Country of Cities" is recognized as its center.

The use of radioactive analysis methods "aged" Stonehenge by a thousand years. Now the “Aubrey Holes” related to the “Stonehenge-I” stage (the ones with a ring radius of 43.2 meters) date back to the 28th century BC.

At Arkaim and related sites, radiocarbon analysis was done at least three times, using dozens of samples. In most cases, it turns out that Arkaim is the same age as Stonehenge or even older than him.

Finally, there is another method named after its inventor, the English astronomer Joseph Norman Lockyer, but it can only be applied if it is a matter of the age of the ancient observatory.

Lockyer's idea was, in essence, simple. Based on the study of the design of the observatory, the direction laid down in its plan to the main astronomical event that was once observed here is determined. Due to the cyclical movement of the planets and luminaries in the Universe, this direction has shifted over the past centuries, but now it is easy to determine with the help of modern observation devices. Having measured the angle between the former (fixed in the eternal material) and the current directions, the specialist will already effortlessly calculate the time interval separating them. That, in fact, is all. The difficulty was only in believing: we really have an observatory in front of us (and not some kind of defensive structure or temple). But it was hard to believe just that: firstly, refined astronomical knowledge did not fit in with the image of “primitive” primitiveness; secondly, it was not clear (in truth, it is not clear even now) why ancient people needed such perfect knowledge about the movement of heavenly bodies. And they did not believe Lockyer: already in 1966, the reputable magazine Antiquity published an article “Lunar fantasies on the theme of Stonehenge”, directed against astroarchaeological interpretations of the monument and sustained, as can be seen even from the title, in a condescendingly ironic tone. But as the facts accumulated, it became more and more difficult not to reckon with them ...

At the turn of the last and present centuries, Lockyer, for the first time in astroarchaeology, used his method to date a number of monuments, including Stonehenge. Its result confirmed the opinion of archaeologists who used traditional methods: they say that the monument was created about 3600 years ago. However, later it turned out that he was mistaken in determining the azimuth of the main direction of Stonehenge by 20 minutes, and this immediately “aged” the monument by more than a thousand years.

Having also assumed an ancient observatory in Arkaim and applying the Lockyer method, we found that the South Ural monument is equal in age to Stonehenge.

The synchronicity of these two monuments means a lot. Including the fact that the Mycenaean analogies have a completely different focus than is commonly believed: civilized household items did not migrate from “cultural” Greece to “wild” Siberia, but quite the opposite. It also means that in the design of both structures one should look for a single basis, and not brush aside coincidences, assuming them to be accidental.

Here, of course, there is one difficulty: the stone monoliths of Stonehenge passed through the millennia practically without loss (although one of the zealous "restorers", guided by considerations of taste, "trimmed" a chain of stones in some places, barbarously distorting their astronomically rigorously verified geometry) , and the wooden structural elements of the South Ural proto-city are almost completely lost. They did not even decay - they died in a fire that raged here almost five thousand years ago.

The fire that put an end to the "living" history of Arkaim is one of the most intriguing mysteries of this monument. There would be nothing special in it if it were one of those natural disasters that are not so rare even today, even in our days, entire settlements are destroyed overnight, catching, like any misfortune, the inhabitants by surprise, burying the belongings accumulated over decades under smoking firebrands, pets and even the owners themselves, unable to escape from the captivity of fire. The peculiarity of the Arkaim fire is that, apparently, it did not come as a surprise to the inhabitants of the settlement; it is likely that they themselves burned it. For only this can explain the fact that in the ancient ashes there are no things suitable for everyday use: so - fragments, shards. And there is no question of human remains - everyone left alive, they took everything of value with them. Why? One of the plausible versions is expressed by Professor I.V. Ivanov in the Chelyabinsk collection: they say, 3500 years ago there was a giant explosion of the Santorin volcano (on the territory of present-day Greece), which caused an ecological catastrophe. Over a significant part of the planet's territory, weather similar to that predicted during the onset of "nuclear winter" has set in. Apparently, this was accompanied by some natural anomalies, which were perceived by the inhabitants of Arkaim as a sign and forced them to leave the city, setting it on fire. Well, this version is good - for lack of better ones. However, in order to recognize it as convincing enough, it is necessary, firstly, to establish precisely that Arkaim still existed 3.5 thousand years ago (the archaeoastronomical studies of K.K. Bystrushkin give reason to doubt that); secondly, to know something more or less reliable about the beliefs of the ancient Arkaimites. Nevertheless, the fact remains: built at once, according to a single plan, the proto-city of Arkaim immediately ceased to exist, abandoned by all the inhabitants and, probably, burned by them.

... But neither the fire nor time could destroy the “mainland relief” on Arkaim, the horizon line also remained unchanged, remote from the monument at a distance of one and a half kilometers in the west to five in the east. And on the horizon line, we found at least 38 objects, which, according to traditional archaeological classification, are often certified as “anthropogenic object of unclear purpose”, and for a specialist in astroarchaeology and archeogeodesy it is quite obvious that we are dealing here with sights used by ancient observers of the luminaries.

Summarizing all these facts, we can make an unmistakable conclusion: we have before us an ancient near-horizon observatory. However, this concept is hardly known to a wide range of readers and requires clarification.

Arkaim - near-horizon observatory

The word "observatory", of course, is known to everyone: this is the name of a scientific institution located in a building of a special design and equipped with special instruments for systematic observations - astronomical, meteorological, magnetic and seismic.

The ancient world knew observatories of a special kind - they are not being built now. They are called daytime astronomical, or near-horizon, observatories of the Sun and the full Moon. They were not equipped with sophisticated instruments, which simply did not exist then, but nevertheless very accurate observations were made on them; high accuracy was a hallmark of such structures.

How were they organized? I will try to briefly explain the "physics of the process."

The horizon is the only place in the sky where the Sun can be observed with the naked eye. Moreover, you can also look at the Sun near the horizon through the theodolite lens without a filter. During the years of the active Sun, spots on the Sun are clearly visible near the horizon, they can be counted, their movement across the disk can be observed and the angle of inclination of the axis of the rotating star can be seen. And all this can be observed even with the naked eye.

The horizon is a special place in a person's field of vision: the gaze turned towards it undergoes a distortion of linear perspective. Our perception, as it were, increases all objects close to the horizon and located on the horizon; The Moon and the Sun look larger near the horizon than at higher points of the firmament, and the reason for this is not at all optical effects due to the state of the atmosphere (these effects exist, but they manifest themselves in a completely different way - for example, flattening and trembling of the lower edge of the star), but psycho-physiological reasons. Simply put, a special device of the human brain. Even Aristotle knew about it. And this truth is perfectly confirmed by instrumental measurements. The drawing of the horizon from nature will be very different from the photograph: the drawing is more embossed, and it has more details. This property of human perception dictates special conditions for archaeoastronomical observations: you need to work not with a photograph or, say, a video recording, but without fail "in nature" - in the same place and in the same way as ancient colleagues worked.

The procedure for the rising (and setting) of the daytime luminary lasts in our latitudes about 4.5 minutes and takes about one degree of its arc on a calm, even horizon. Important moments of observation are the appearance of the first ray, that is, the highest point of the solar disk, and the separation of the fully ascended disk from the horizon. It is not easy to decide which of these two points was preferred by the ancient astronomers. Theoretically, not just, but practically, the preference for the lower edge for someone who has tried to do this is beyond doubt. (The more obvious is the preference of this point when it comes to observations of the lunar disk.)

If strictly from the same place we observe sunrises and sunsets, marking along the lower edge of the disk (let's call the very moment of the disk breaking off from the horizon or touching it an "event"), then it is easily found that every morning and every evening the event takes place at different points. horizon. During the year, the event point moves along the horizon, first in one direction, then in the opposite direction, but within the same sector. Starting observations in the spring, in March, we will see that the Sun rises almost exactly in the east, but day by day the point of the event moves more and more to the left, that is, to the north, and rather quickly: every morning almost by the diameter of the disk. To verify this, you need to put on the horizon markers marking the place of the event.

The movement of the event point to the north will take place throughout the spring, but the diurnal variation will gradually decrease and by the beginning of the calendar summer, in June, it will reach a barely noticeable value of one minute of arc. In the period close to June 22, the daily course of the event will be reduced to half a minute of the arc, after which the movement of the event point will go in the opposite direction. This moment is called the summer solstice; this word is still in use, but meanwhile it came into everyday language from the practice of near-horizon astronomy.

The movement of the event point to the south lasts all summer, and its diurnal variation increases again by September to the size of a disk. And after the moment of the autumnal equinox passes (September 21; at this time the point of the event is exactly in the east), the course slows down again until it stops altogether at the beginning of winter, on December 21: the winter solstice will come. From here, the movement will again go to the north and by spring it will reach the point of the east ... So it was and so it will always be.

The strict repeatability of this process was noticed by ancient astronomers and adopted, as they say, into service. The points of the summer (in the northeast) and winter (in the southeast) solstice, in view of their strict fixation, were of particular great practical importance. First of all - for precise orientation in space. In the language of the ancient Greeks there were even geographical terms that meant directions to the summer sunrise and to the winter sunrise.

The importance of the extreme points of the event is also determined by the need for an accurate calendar. The fact is that observations of events on the horizon are the only real and accessible way for ancient astronomers to determine the length of the year. Even in order to maintain a calendar with daily accuracy, they needed near-horizon observatories that would make it possible to fix astronomically significant events with the utmost accuracy for the naked eye.

The number of clearly recorded astronomically significant events associated with the observation of the Sun is quite small - there are only four of them: two extreme points of sunrise in the year and two - sunset. Only four points for the entire flow of time lasting a whole year. There were some other significant milestones in the rhythm of life itself. For example, the equinoxes: in practical life, they were probably even more noticeable than the solstices, because they fixed the beginning and end of the biologically productive season in northern Eurasia.

Therefore, the attention of ancient astronomers naturally attracted another celestial body.

The moon moves across the sky (from the point of view of an earthly observer) twelve times faster than the sun. But movement is more difficult. "Hunting for the Moon" is perhaps the most interesting and exciting activity in the history of astronomy. It is very difficult to comprehend the order and natural beauty in its daily sunrises and sunsets - its movement, in an unenlightened look, is impetuous and unpredictable. Nevertheless, in near-horizon observatories, from time immemorial, they were able to solve the hare loops of the mistress of the night.

The first step to be taken in this regard is to recognize that the phase of the full moon is most convenient for observing lunar events. Second: among all the full moons, you need to choose only those that follow immediately after the significant events of the Sun - this is necessary to correlate two calendars - lunar and solar - in a single stream of real time. The most difficult problem of observing the Moon is that the onset of the full moon rarely coincides with the time of the appearance of the luminary above the horizon: this usually happens when it either has not yet risen, or is already quite high in the sky. Fixing the moonrise point directly on the horizon line by direct observation is usually impossible; various indirect methods are being developed to find it. Suppose, however, that we have already learned how to do this. Then long-term observation (one event per month, and significant ones - four times a year) will make it possible to discover the laws of movement of lunar events on the horizon line. And these are the laws.

First, full moons approaching the time of the summer solstice are observed near the winter solstice and vice versa. This "on the contrary" can be considered as the basic rule in the relationship between the Sun and the Moon in our firmament.

The second law: Moon events migrate from year to year near the corresponding (“opposite”) points of the Sun in a narrow sector. The migration cycle is about 19 years. When an event occurs at the northernmost point of the sector, then astronomers speak of a "high" Moon; when it moves to the extreme southern point, they speak of a "low" Moon. The time interval from low to high Moon is over 9 years.

When the boundaries and rules for the movement of the points of the Moon are established, observers can begin to "aerobatics" in the technology of near-horizon astronomy. Truly virtuoso technique and jeweler's precision, combined with pedantic diligence, require observation of precession.

Dictionaries define precession (as an astronomical concept) as the slow movement of the earth's axis along a circular cone. (Similar movements are made by the axis of a gyroscope or - the most obvious example for the uninitiated - the axis of a launched children's top. Therefore, the term "precession" is used not only in astronomy.) The axis of this cone is perpendicular to the plane of the earth's orbit, and the angle between the axis and the generatrix of the cone is 23 degrees 27 minutes. Due to precession, the vernal equinox moves along the ecliptic towards the apparent annual movement of the Sun, passing 50.27 seconds per year; while the celestial pole moves between the stars and the equatorial coordinates of the stars are continuously changing. Theoretically, the shift should be 1.21 degrees in five thousand years, that is, less than one and a half minutes in 100 years. This means that in forty years of continuous and scrupulous observations (is it possible for a longer period of observations within the framework of one human life?), an astronomer devoted to his vocation can detect a precession of only half a minute! At the same time, the inviolability of the points and sectors of the equinoxes will be revealed.

To the reader, far from astronomical concerns, these degrees, minutes, seconds, expressed, especially in figures with decimal fractions, will probably say little. They will hardly ever be useful to him in organizing his practical affairs, and the author will no longer need them here to substantiate any conclusions. But, I think, they should still be brought here at least to show how much refined observation, ingenuity, skill, diligence, ability for spatial imagination and large-scale generalizations ancient astronomers needed to have in order to successfully use the capabilities of a near-horizon observatory.

I will add, without resorting to additional argumentation, that during the year such an astronomer was given (by the very mechanics of celestial bodies) 18 astronomically and calendar significant events (you can say differently: strictly fixed reference points to which he could tie his other observations) - nine sunrises and nine sunsets. In each nine, three events are related to the Sun and six to the Moon (three for "high" and three for "low"). Here is such a "periodic table" or, better, an astronomical "alphabet", in which, by the way, each such event has its own symbolic designation. But we don't need to go that far here.

Astroarcheology has accumulated a lot of evidence that throughout ancient history, starting from the Paleolithic, different peoples of the Earth built near-horizon observatories to observe the sunrises and sunsets of the stars. Only usually they were extremely simple: the observatory tuned in to just one (out of eighteen!) Significant event. Until now, we have known only one case of using several events on one observational “instrument”. This event is called Stonehenge.

Arkaim's class is much higher!

Arkaim as an astronomical instrument

In order for a near-horizon observatory to be able in principle to serve as an instrument for astronomical observations, for which it was created, it needs to have three components: the observer's workplace (RMN), the near viewfinder (BV) and the far viewfinder (DV).

Without a long-range sight on the horizon, the required accuracy cannot be achieved. Any natural or artificial detail of the landscape can serve as such a sight, clearly fixing the point of the event and not allowing it to be confused with any other point on the horizon. It can be the top of a mountain or hill, a detached rock, a large stone. You can also put up a large pillar, arrange an artificial stone hill, cut a clearing in the forest, or, on the contrary, plant a tree on a treeless horizon; you can build a mound - then archaeologists will take it for a burial ground and begin to dig it out, vainly looking for a burial chamber ... Much is possible. But, by the way, no objects were found on the horizon of Stonehenge that could unambiguously be identified as distant sights, nevertheless, this circumstance did not prevent many from recognizing a near-horizon observatory in the monument.

It is easier with the near sight: it is installed only tens of meters from the observer and, if made "by the mind", it is easily distinguishable. They can serve "part-time" some other design detail. But something else is important here: from the point of view of the observer, the working (upper) edge of the reticle should be aligned with the horizon line on which the far reticle is located.

As for the observer's workplace, the requirement for it is the simplest: it must be able to reliably fix the position of the observer - especially his head, even, perhaps, his eyes - at the moment of observation. And more - no tricks.

The situation as a whole is exactly like aiming from a gun: a sight with a butt is the observer's workplace (RMN), the front sight is the near sight (BV), the target is the far sight (DV).

Field archaeoastronomy usually solves two problems: astronomical - calculation of the azimuth and corrections (at least seven) to it - and archaeological: detection and verification of parts of the "instrument" - sights and RMN.

The example of Stonehenge sets a precedent: in its example, we see that ancient astronomers could set up observatories to observe several events from one place. It also turns out that the “instrument”, which is understood in the main, is equipped with a number of other details, the purpose of which has remained unknown to us until now. Now we get the opportunity to look for clues in Arkaim.

Stonehenge - Arkaim: two embodiments of one principle

The most noticeable part of the construction of Stonehenge is the cromlech - a kind of "palisade" of gigantic stone monoliths set in a circle. Monument researcher Gerald Hawkins managed to "collect" 15 significant events (out of 18 possible) on Stonehenge's cromlech. In this case, however, none of them can be represented with an accuracy of one minute of arc. At best, we can talk about tens of minutes, because there are no long-range sights.

There are 10 jobs in the Hawkins layout, 12 close sights (in some cases, opposing jobs are also used as sights). A total of 22 elements allowing 15 events to be observed. This is a very rational and economical solution. After all, usually near-horizon observatories were arranged to observe one event and needed for that - each - three elements.

The design of Arkaim is such that observations of the horizon here can only be made from the walls of the inner circle, both RMN and BV must be placed on them: after all, the walls of the outer circle from the upper level of the citadel will look much lower than the horizon. Here, we identified four RMNs and eight BVs, as well as 18 DVs, but the layout was decided so rationally that these elements were enough to observe all 18 significant events!

Observation of 9 sunrises was carried out from two places located in the western part of the annular wall of the inner circle. One of them was strictly on the latitudinal line of the geometric center of this circle. And on the same line there was one of two places to watch the sunsets. Lunar events were evenly distributed among the observation towers - three for each.

In addition to four RMNs, seven more fixed points on the wall of the inner circle and one on the wall of the outer circle were used as BV (after all, according to archaeologists, there was a high gate tower). All twelve close sights are calibrated in the design to within a minute of arc and can be represented as points, the physical dimensions of which do not exceed the thickness of a peg with a diameter of less than 5 centimeters. At the same time, distant sights are located on the prominent parts of the line of the visible horizon - as a rule, on the tops of hills and mountains, which, moreover, were additionally equipped with artificial signs - embankments or stone calculations. More than half of these signs are well preserved.

All the details of the Arkaim observatory complex are at the same time fixed points of the complex - already in many respects, although not yet fully understood - its geometric structure. It is reasonable to assume that the role of an instrument for astronomical observations was not the only or even the main function of the structure. This conclusion follows from the fact that not all of the identified structural elements of the "city" and signs on the horizon around it are identified as parts of an astronomical "instrument". From this we can conclude that the performance of astronomical observations was only one necessary facet of the complex, complex function that the settlement of the ancient Aryans performed in the middle of a spacious valley in the depths of the great Ural-Kazakhstan steppe. What was this function? In order to convincingly answer this question, it is necessary to study the design of Arkaim itself in more detail, and more fully compare everything that becomes known about this monument with analogue objects that are found in different parts of the world.

However, let us leave purely archaeological, historical riddles for the relevant specialists; Let us summarize at least what we know for certain about Arkaim as an archaeoastronomical monument.

First of all, the structure, as it turned out, is strictly geodesically oriented to the cardinal points. Accurate to a minute of arc, signs are placed on the horizon marking the latitudinal (West-East) and meridional (North-South) lines passing through the geometric centers of the structure. (The geometric centers of the outer and inner circles lie on the same latitude line and are 4 meters 20 centimeters apart, and the outer circle is shifted relative to the inner circle to the east.)

In terms of accuracy of orientation, only some pyramids of Egypt can compete with Arkaim in the entire ancient world, but they are two hundred years younger.

The meridian and latitude line of the geometric center of the inner circle are used as a natural rectangular coordinate system in which the horizontal projection of the entire structure is built. When constructing the construction plan in this coordinate system, the same values ​​of the azimuths of the radial foundations were repeatedly used, on which the walls of the foundations of the inner circle rooms were erected. Moreover, in the same coordinate system, the marking of the annular parts with the given values ​​of the radii was carried out. From all this geometry, Arkaim's measure of length is established by complex calculations.

The editor reasoned that the reader does not need the method of these calculations, besides, it would take us far beyond the topic. As for the very concept of "Arkaimov's measure of length", then, firstly, it should be noted that the measure of length in any measurement system is non-random: arshin, cubit, verst, mile, inch, meter - all these are modules of some vital dimensions. Sometimes, as can be seen even from the names themselves - "elbow", "foot" (from the English foot - foot) - they are tied to the parameters of the human body: rather unsteady, admittedly, a starting point. It is much more reliable if they are based on astronomical measurements: such is the "meter" - originally it was measured from the earth's meridian; in this series it is necessary to consider the Arkaim measure. But, as it turned out as the facts accumulated, each of the major astroarchaeological monuments was based on its own measure of length: experts talk about the Stonehenge measure, about the measure of the Egyptian pyramids ...

Arkaim measure of length - 80.0 centimeters.

The recalculation of the dimensions obtained during the measurement of the construction plan opens up unexpected possibilities. It turns out that the outer circle is constructed with the active use of a circle with a radius of 90 Arkaim measures. This result provides a basis for comparing the basement plan with the ecliptic coordinate system used to represent the sky. "Reading" Arkaim in this system gives amazing results. In particular, it is found that the distance between the centers of the circles is 5.25 of the Arkaim measure. This value is remarkably close to the inclination of the lunar orbit (5 degrees 9 plus or minus 10 minutes). Bringing these quantities together, we get a reason to interpret the relationship between the centers of the circles (and the circles themselves) as a geometric expression of the relationship between the Moon and the Sun. Strictly speaking, the relationship between the Moon and the Earth is fixed here, but for an earthly observer, the Sun moves around the Earth, and the observatory was created, after all, to observe the movement of the Sun; therefore, what today's astronomer perceives as the orbit of the Earth, for the Arkaim observer was the orbit of the Sun. Hence the conclusion: the inner circle is dedicated to the Sun, and the outer one to the Moon.

Another result is even more impressive: the area of ​​the inner circle is outlined by a ring having a radius from 22.5 to 26 Arkaim measures; if this value is averaged, it turns out somewhere around 24 measures. And then a circle with such a radius can depict in the ecliptic coordinate system the trajectory of the celestial pole, described by it around the ecliptic pole for a period of 25920 years. This is the precession described above. The precession parameters are reproduced in Arkaim's design, firstly, correctly, and secondly, exactly. If we agree with this interpretation of his design, then we should radically change the usual idea of ​​the qualifications of ancient astronomers and make a significant amendment to the history of astronomy, where it is generally accepted that the Greeks of the classical period discovered the precession, and its parameters were calculated only in the last century. Undoubtedly, the knowledge of precession is a sign of a high level of civilization.

By the way, by applying the ecliptic coordinate system to the structure of Stonehenge, we came to the conclusion that the main, if not the only function of this structure was to store information about the precession.

Continuing the analysis of Arkaim's design, we find other astronomical symbols in its geometry. So, in the radius of the inner wall of the structure, calculated in the Arkaim measure, a number is guessed expressing the height of the pole of the world above Arkaim; it also means the geographical latitude of the location of the monument. It is interesting (and hardly coincidental) that both Stonehenge and the Arzhan mound in Altai are located at approximately the same latitude ...

In the layout of the premises of the inner circle, a complex harmonic basis is guessed for the embodiment in architectural forms of ideas about the creation of the world and man.

The considered methods far from exhaust the astronomical symbolism, constructive wealth and variety of methods used by the great - without exaggeration - architects.

The experience of working on Arkaim leads to the conclusion that we are dealing here with an extremely complex and impeccably executed object. The particular difficulty of studying it is explained by the fact that it rises before us from the depths of centuries at once in all its splendor, and behind it simpler monuments are not visible, as if leading up to it along the ladder of evolution. Hopefully, this difficulty is temporary. Although it is clear that brilliant things do not happen much.

Arkaim is more complicated than us, and our task is to rise to its heights without destroying the incomprehensible and not understood.

The presence of skeptics is obligatory in such a case, their opinion is known ahead of time - it has been repeatedly expressed about, say, the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge: they say, there is always its own measure (in this case, Arkaim), which is convenient to operate; there will always be something and by what to divide and multiply, in order to obtain as a result the desired astronomical quantities expressing the ratios of the Sun, Earth, Moon, etc. And in general, are these mysterious ancient structures really astronomical institutions? Maybe it's just our today's fantasies? ..

The incredibly high level of astronomical knowledge in ancient times removes, if not all, then many of these questions. There were ancient observatories, and there were the results of the finest and longest astronomical observations. It makes sense to recall that in ancient Babylon they could accurately calculate the eclipses of the Sun and the position of the planets relative to each other. In Sumer, the time of the Moon's revolution was known to within 0.4 seconds. The duration of the year, according to their calculations, was 365 days 6 hours and 11 minutes, which differs from today's data by only 3 minutes. Sumerian astronomers knew about Pluto, the most distant planet from us in the solar system, discovered (it turns out, not for the first time) by modern scientists only in 1930. The time of revolution of Pluto around the Sun is, according to today's data, 90727 Earth days; in Sumerian sources the number 90720 appears ...

Mayan astronomers calculated the duration of the lunar month with an accuracy of 0.0004 days (34 seconds). Their time of revolution of the Earth around the Sun was 365.242129 days. With the help of the most accurate modern astronomical instruments, this number was specified: 365.242198 days.

Examples can be multiplied, and they will all be amazing ... Some researchers most seriously believe that the Stonehenge rings exactly model the orbits of the planets of the solar system, that even the weights of stone blocks were not chosen by chance - they recorded the arrangement of elements in the periodic table, the speed of light, the ratio the masses of the proton and electron, the number p... Something similar is said about the pyramids...

It's hard to believe

But nevertheless, there are several structures on our planet that have baffled modern science: Egyptian pyramids, giant drawings of the Nazca desert, Stonehenge in England, Callenish in Scotland, Zorats-Kar in Armenia and, it seems, our Arkaim ...

It is difficult to explain why and how our ancestors built these amazing structures. But they cannot be ignored. American researcher Gerald Hawkins claims that it took at least one and a half million man-days to build Stonehenge, this is a huge, simply incalculable waste of energy. What for? Why Arkaim - the largest and, as K.K. Bystrushkin shows, the most perfect near-horizon observatory - primitive, semi-wild, as was commonly believed, people who lived almost five thousand years ago in the South Ural steppes?

Why are there Stonehenge and Arkaim - we still cannot deal with dolmens: it seems to be the simplest structures, a kind of poor stone birdhouse. Meanwhile, they certainly have astronomically significant orientations and are, in fact, the oldest calendars of mankind.

So, maybe we are not very objective in assessing the ancient past of mankind? Perhaps, in the ecstasy of the consciousness of our own civilization (isn't it imaginary?) And omniscience (isn't it apparent?), We exaggerate the degree of their "primitiveness"? What if our ancestors were not more primitive than us, but simply lived differently, according to laws unknown to us? What if K.K.Bystrushkin is right when he asserts that Arkaim is bigger than us, and if we want to understand it, we must be able to rise to its heights? ..

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According to official science, the ancient city of Arkaim arose in the third millennium BC, but until the end of the twentieth century, any information about it was virtually completely absent.

More than three decades after the discovery of this settlement by archaeologists, they have not been able to get closer to unraveling its meaning.

Many consider this mysterious place to be the cradle of the Indo-European civilization. It is described in detail in the Hindu holy book Rig Veda and is revered among the adherents of the very first religion in the world, Zoroastrianism, which laid the foundation for all modern teachings based on belief in one God.

If you try to find its brief definition and look on the Internet, then Wikipedia says about Arkaim that it is a fortress city, “... a fortified settlement of the Middle Bronze Age at the turn of the XX/XVIII-XVIII/XVI centuries. BC, referring to the so-called "Country of Cities". But this is brief ... But you want to have complete information about this mysterious place and find out its most important mystery - where did the population of this once prosperous, and then suddenly deserted city go?

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Geographic location, how to find on the map

It is located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, in the Kizilsky district of the Chelyabinsk region on a hill, at the confluence of the Utyaganka and Bolshaya Karaganka rivers.

Looking at the map of the Chelyabinsk region, we will see below Magnitogorsk, near the Bolshaya Karaganka River, the desired object.

Nearby are the villages of Aleksandrovsky and Amursky, which belong to the lands of the Southern Urals. In order to get to the nearest railway station, you will have to overcome a distance of 150 km to Magnitogorsk. From Ufa to the natural and historical state Ilmensky Reserve, you will need to travel 500 km, from Chelyabinsk - 450 km.

Discovery history

The archaeological expedition, during which the find was discovered, was organized in 1987 to study the relief and landscape of the steppe region of our country, which was not of particular interest.

In fact, the researchers were helped by chance. In 1987, an expedition was sent out to get acquainted with the place where they soon began to build a reservoir

It consisted of only two prominent scientists (V.S. Mosin and S.G. Botalov) and several schoolchildren from the local society of archeology lovers.

However, two students managed to discover a number of very curious artifacts that managed to attract the attention of many well-known researchers of that time, among whom was also the Director of the Hermitage, Academician Boris Borisovich Piotrovsky. It was he who first appreciated the importance of the discovery and achieved a delay in the flooding of the landscape for several years.

The confrontation between the scientific community and Giprovodkhoz lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union and ended with the victory of the former: the area, with an area of ​​more than 3,000 hectares, was given the status of a protected area.

Do you know that: schoolchildren who made a huge contribution to the development of national culture and history were awarded a rather modest prize in the form of two cans of condensed milk.

Fire

To date, there is no single hypothesis that answers the question of why the inhabitants left their homes. According to the most common version, this happened as a result of a strong fire, which, based on a number of factors, was not a surprise to them.

It is believed that once there was a fire among the inhabitants, as a result of which everything burned out.

Note: as a result of many archaeological excavations carried out, no objects of everyday life, such as pottery or tools, have been found. Human remains are also missing, leading the various scientists trying to solve his mystery to a dead end.

One of the versions says that about three and a half millennia before our days, the Santorin volcano, located in the Greek lands, erupted, which forced the locals to leave their habitat and go in search of a new refuge.

There is also a version that writes off forced migration as the consequences of an environmental catastrophe that turned a hitherto favorable area into an extremely dangerous area.

Note: there is also a more “mundane” theory, according to which local residents abandoned housing due to the fact that the surrounding nature has become more scarce and has ceased to satisfy the increased demand for grain and cereals

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Current state

The construction dates back to the Middle Bronze Age, however, according to a number of hypotheses, this settlement arose several thousand years before its onset. Most researchers agree that the ancient village is the same age as the famous Egyptian pyramids or even surpasses them in age.

Many people believe that this is a unique place of power. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come here - to the Chelyabinsk steppes, to recharge their batteries and say goodbye forever to illnesses

After the excavations of the one-layer round-shaped settlement were completed, archaeologists again covered it with a layer of soil. This was done in order to ensure maximum safety of the remains of the foundation and fortifications, which are destroyed under the influence of various natural factors.

Many defensive fortifications, walls and elements of various structures have survived to this day in relatively good condition, so the indicated place quickly gained popularity among tourists and fans of cultural recreation.

Architecture

The fortification was built according to the radial type, by analogy with which Moscow was designed many thousands of years later. The scheme of the city is a regular circle, inside it is the second one.

It is both a temple and an observatory. Its structure resembles a huge horoscope with a diameter of 160 meters with clearly defined twelve signs of the Zodiac and 28 lunar stations used in lunar astrology.

If you fly by plane or helicopter, then two perfectly even circles with a diameter of about one and a half hundred meters immediately catch your eye. Soviet pilots noticed this interesting feature back in the middle of the twentieth century, but they mistook the outlines of the ancient village for one of the military facilities hidden from prying eyes.

The village performed several functions, including defensive. Therefore, its outer walls were very high (about 5 meters), massive, and surrounded around the perimeter by a deep moat. There were four entrances, the central and largest of which was located in the southwestern part.

Interesting fact: the settlement had only one street 5 meters wide, with a log flooring, and a system of storm sewers, thanks to which all sewage went far beyond the boundaries of the settlement.

Close to the outer wall were dwellings with separate exits to the main street. The inner wall was even more massive than the outer one, and according to archaeologists, its height reached 7 meters. This part of the fortification had only one passage in the southeastern region, and in order to get into the inner ring, it was necessary to bypass the entire central radial street.

Such an architectural feature pursued not only purely practical defensive purposes, but also had a certain hidden meaning: any person entering the city center had to follow the path that the Sun makes every day.

Approximate layout

The central area had a square outline. Based on archaeological finds in the middle of the settlement and the remains of large fires, scientists suggest that this part was used directly for various sacraments and magical rites. If we turn to the ancient cosmogonic myths about the structure and creation of the Universe, then in them the Earth was schematically depicted as a square, and the circle denoted the space surrounding the planet.

Take note: four entrances to the town form a pattern resembling a swastika. This sign, directed along the direction of the solar disk, among the Indo-European peoples was a symbol of creation, happiness and good luck.

Thus the builders of this mysterious city erected it in the likeness of the universal development project, as it was described in the sacred books of that time. One can only wonder at the genius of engineers who lived many thousands of years before our days, since it is incredibly difficult to design such a complex, even with today's knowledge.

There were up to 40 dwellings along the outer wall, and 27 along the inner wall. Again, when viewed from above, these houses resembled the spokes of a wheel.
Both in the outer ring and in its inner ring, the layout of the streets and the location of the houses were similar. There are no signs of sharp social stratification here.

For the construction of the settlement-fortification, mainly specially processed wood and brick were used, for the manufacture of which such ingredients as manure, soil and straw were used. To this day, a similar mixture is quite actively used by a number of peoples for the construction of "adobe" houses of a small number of storeys.

For facing the outer walls, the ancient builders used a special facing brick of various colors, so it is obvious that the view from the outside was truly bewitching.

It is interesting: each dwelling located in the city had its own stove, sewerage, dome-shaped food storage with a cooling pipe, and even a personal well. Another pipe served as an exhaust, and its thrust was quite sufficient for processing copper.

ancient observatory

Numerous researchers have managed to discover a lot of similarities between this ancient city and such a mysterious structure as the famous one. Both monuments are located in the middle of bowl-shaped valleys, have a ring structure and virtually identical dimensions of the inner rampart.

Moreover, some experts agree that these two structures were built around the same period and pursued the goal of observing certain cosmic cycles.

Arkaim is a near-horizon observatory. Because the measurements and observations used the moments of sunrise and sunset of the luminaries (the Sun and the Moon) over the horizon. Moreover, the moment of “separation” (or touching) of the lower edge of the disk was detected, which allows you to most accurately detect the place of this event.

Due to the peculiarities of its design, the ancient find allows tracking the movement of the Moon and the Sun across the sky with high accuracy. Obviously, even then, scientists devoted a lot of time to observing 18 astronomical events of particular importance. Modern researchers have established that on the outer and inner walls of the fortification there were several dozen sighting devices, each of which was designed to observe one or another space object.

Note: the radial construction of the city is built in strict accordance with the 12 divisions of the zodiac circle, the points of sunset and sunrise of the sun and moon, as well as the features of the autumn and spring equinoxes. According to one of the leading researchers of this cult settlement, K. Bystrushkin, the inner circle was dedicated to the main celestial body, and the outer circle, respectively, to the Earth's satellite, the Moon.

What is on the territory

Today's Arkaim is presented in the form of a museum complex, which is spread over a rather vast territory of the landscape reserve. It includes a number of full-fledged reconstructions and several indoor museums, where various artifacts and the most interesting archaeological finds are collected. Also on display for visitors are objects made of stone and bronze, made by archaeologists and enthusiasts according to the methods used by the inhabitants of the settlement.

Inside, the interior of the dwellings was recreated, household items were made and utility structures were built - hearths, cellars, sleeping bunks, etc.

There are more than 75 cultural monuments on the territory, and each of them deserves the closest attention.

Let's talk about some of them:

1. Here is the "Museum of Man and Nature", which contains comprehensive information about the features of the spiritual and material culture of the peoples who inhabited these lands in different periods. The museum presents sections devoted to the Stone Age, expositions on the theme of the initial period of metal processing and the Middle Ages.
2. The historical park contains a large number of reconstructions of religious and burial structures, mysterious cult stones, statues of nomad warriors and family graveyards.
3. The museum, dedicated to ancient production, invites visitors to get acquainted with the technologies of processing ceramics and smelting metal products.
4. "Cossack Estate" is a reconstruction of the house of a real Cossack family from, in which the living conditions of the late nineteenth century are recreated.
5. "Kurgan Temir" is an exact copy of the tomb of the steppe nomadic tribes, in which the most revered tribesmen and their relatives were buried.

Note: among the dwellings of the Stone and Copper Ages, you can see theatrical performances dedicated to real historical events, or take part in a real master class on making tools and implements of the Paleolithic era.

What excursions are offered

The introductory sightseeing tour provides an excellent opportunity to visit all the key hills and ledges, as well as climb the Mount of Desires, from where a stunning view of the surroundings opens.

After a detailed tour, any beginner will be able to get a lot of interesting information, and in the future, independently choose the best route for himself through this mysterious reserve.

The Museum of Ancient Production is also called the Museum of Furnaces. The photo shows a ceramic kiln

The territory of the ancient city is full of so-called sources of power and labyrinths, passing through which you can learn a lot of new things in terms of self-knowledge and put your own thoughts in order.

In addition, among the unusual natural monuments in the reserve there are: the Priestess Ledge, the Mountain of Love, the male and female forest, the Wound of the Earth (a zone of positive healing energy) and the Mountain of Shamans.

Information for tourists

What attracts tourists, how to get to the object and what is the best time to do it? We will consider these and other questions in detail.

Why visit

People say that while walking around the sights you can make a wish that will certainly come true, cleanse yourself of negative energy and enjoy healing sounds that contribute to spiritual enlightenment and adjustment of energy centers.

When you go to the mountain of love, having previously cleansed your thoughts on the Shaman, you need to think only thoughts that are useful for the body and mind: love for yourself and the world contributes to the fulfillment of a desire that can be ordered from the mountain at the top

Good to know: Arkaim is included in a kind of top list of places to visit in Russia. At the moment, the attraction is a kind of Mecca, where seekers of harmony from all over the Universe, fans of archeology, history, and just people who want to unwind from everyday problems flock.

There are many reviews of eyewitnesses who once visited this territory and got rid of chronic diseases, improved their personal lives and managed to overcome the protracted black streak.

Best time to visit

The best time to visit the old town is from late spring to mid-autumn.

Advice for those who want to see with their own eyes the signs of a bygone civilization - you need to ask permission from the Spirit of Arkaim to visit it, give good reasons why you are going. They say they don't let everyone in

Note: those who are going to visit Arkaim should know that this museum complex is closed to the public in autumn and winter.

Tourists can leave vehicles in a parking lot nearby and place tents in a specially designated area for this purpose. However, it is worth knowing that the use of alcoholic beverages in the reserve itself and in its environs is strictly prohibited, as, in fact, the destruction of fauna and flora and the disposal of garbage in the wrong places.

How to get there

You can get to the museum complex by rail from the station of Magnitogorsk, as well as from the capital of the South Urals - Chelyabinsk. From there, a daily shuttle bus runs throughout the summer.

From Moscow, the easiest way is to fly by plane to Chelyabinsk. A bus to Arkaim is organized from Chelyabinsk in the summer season. Or from Chelyabinsk to Magnitogorsk, and from there to the village of Bredy

Where to stay

From the windows of the hotel "Museumnaya", consisting of two cozy wooden houses located next to the Museum of "Nature and Man", a magnificent view of the steppe horizons, the Cossack estate and the mill

A hotel for tourists is open on the territory, there is a dining room, a cafe. Accommodation in a hotel per person is about 700 rubles, in trailers it will be cheaper. The entrance to the territory itself with a guided tour will cost about 600 rubles.

What to take with you on a trip

Take care of drinking water in advance, otherwise you will need a lot of money upon arrival. Water, like other drinks, is quite expensive here. Do not forget the main attributes that help capture interesting views, nature, sights - video and photographic equipment.

Hats, caps, bandanas will help protect yourself from the scorching sun, do not forget hats.

Conclusion

Arkaim is a city permeated with an atmosphere of mystery and magic, visiting which many people get the ability to change their lives for the better and solve a number of major problems.

A special energy comes from the nearest mountains - Love, Shamanka, Reason, Visions, Repentance and others. Tourists love to see off and meet the sun at sunsets and sunrises from the highest local mountain of Love. From here you have a beautiful panoramic view.

Indeed, this area is located in the zone of paleovolcano and increased magnetism, the nature of which has not been fully studied to date.

Watch the video in which the archaeologist talks about what Arkaim is, where it is located, what kind of excursions there are:

Arkaim is an ancient city discovered by Soviet archaeologists in the summer of 1987 at the confluence of the Utyaganka and Karaganka rivers (south of Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk region). This is the most mysterious archaeological site in Russia. The city-fortress of the ancient Aryans was abandoned for an unclear reason by the owners and burned down about 4 thousand years ago. However, this city is well preserved.

This place is fraught with many mysteries. There is a belief that in order to get to this mystical city, one must not only buy a train or bus ticket, more important is something else: whether this place will let you in.

Not only adventurers and seekers of antiquities come here. Here, unusual things happen to people: you can sleep on a cold windy mountain in one thin sleeping bag and not catch a cold. Sores and illnesses, dormant in the body and from time to time made themselves felt, go away and never bother again. People change, acquire a new meaning of life. A person who has visited Arkaim feels as if he started everything from scratch.

With the help of computer graphics, we can roughly imagine what the city looked like in the years of its greatness and model its layout.

The culture of Arkaim dates back to the 18th-16th centuries BC. In terms of the city, there are 2 rings of defensive structures, 2 circles of dwellings leaning against the walls, a central square and a circular street with wooden flooring and storm sewers.

People spent about 200 - 300 years in Arkaim, then, according to some versions, a fire broke out in the city and the city burned out. There are three versions of the fire:

• the city was set on fire by the locals;
• the city was burned by an external enemy;
• there was an accidental fire.

According to another version, the inhabitants of the city left it forever under unclear mystical circumstances.

Without a doubt, Arkaim, oriented to 4 cardinal directions with entrances to the fortress, was built according to a pre-drawn plan with the highest accuracy: all ring lines have one center, where all radial lines converge. Before you is another virtual reconstruction of this mysterious fortress.

1. The monument was first discovered by cartographers in 1957. However, no studies have been undertaken.
2. In 1987, a cultural center was opened, and active research work was carried out.
3. The walls of Arkaim, consisting of two rings, have a total area of ​​20,000 square meters.
4. The central square, which, apparently, served as a place for some ritual actions, measured 25x27 meters.
5. 35 dwellings were found near the outer wall, 25 dwellings near the inner wall.
6. Artistic figurines and ceramic vessels were found in Arkaim.
7. Wells, pantries, kitchens with hearths and bedrooms were found in the houses. In each courtyard there was a small workshop where they were engaged in modeling and sewing clothes, carpentry and preparing weapons. The most common artisans were blacksmiths and casters.

Arkaim on the map

Where is the ancient city of Arkaim located? It can be easily found on Google or Yandex maps by entering the desired query. Or use GPS coordinates: 52.642887, 59.543659.

Photo - Ancient city of Arkaim

Video - Unknown Arkaim

First mention turn of the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC. e. Status archaeological site
Object of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation № 7410020000 № 7410020000 State the last excavation was completed in 1995. The monument was restored to the landscape

Coordinates : 52°38′15.5″ N sh. 59°32′12.8″ E d. /  52.637639° N sh. 59.536889° E d.(G) (O) (I)52.637639 , 59.536889

This is followed by the discovery by civilian cartographers - from the air, during aerial photography, a strange object was discovered. However, at that time, the cartographers decided that a classified military facility was captured on the pictures.

And only after 18 years [ when?] it was discovered by archaeologists, more precisely, schoolchildren from the archaeological circle attached to the expedition of archaeologists. This expedition consisted of two archaeologists, several archeological students and several schoolchildren from the relevant circles. The reason for the beginning of the archaeological survey of the territory was the need to build a reservoir to provide water to the agricultural areas of the region, and at that time there was already a mandatory rule for archaeological surveys in the places of future construction. Experts did not attach importance to research in this area. The archaeological expedition was set off as unpromising work - they had to explore a vast steppe region that was uninteresting in terms of finds. And just a few kilometers from the expedition camp, the schoolchildren discovered characteristic terrain. Information about the most valuable historical monument discovered was not passed on to specialists due to banal interdepartmental incoherence.

Research History

The Arkaim cultural complex was opened in June 1987 in the south of the Chelyabinsk region by a detachment of the Ural-Kazakhstan archaeological expedition led by S. G. Botalov and V. O. Mosin during security excavations in the construction zone of the Bolshe-Karagansky reservoir, which was planned to be built for needs of the Bolshekaraganskaya inter-farm irrigation system. In accordance with the construction plan, all archaeological sites located in the construction zone were supposed to be flooded, but thanks to the active position of the Director of the Hermitage Academician B. B. Piotrovsky, Chairman of the Presidium of the Ural Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences Academician G. A. Mesyats and a number of archaeologists managed to defend monument. In April 1992, the territory (3300 hectares) with the settlement located on it was allocated by the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federation for the organization of an experimental natural landscape and historical and archaeological reserve - a branch of the Ilmensky State Reserve named after V. I. Lenin. Since 1991, large-scale excavations of Arkaim have been carried out under the leadership of G. B. Zdanovich. The study of the monument is carried out using natural scientific methods (paleosoil science, geological and mineralogical, geological and morphological, radiocarbon dating, etc.). During the work, about 8,000 sq. m of the area of ​​the settlement (about half), the second part was investigated using archeomagnetic methods. Thus, the layout of the monument was completely established. Here, for the first time in the Trans-Urals, the method of reconstruction was applied, and L. L. Gurevich made drawings of a possible type of settlement. The monument dates back to the turn of the III-II millennium BC. e., or the beginning of the II millennium BC. e.

General characteristics of the monument

Cities and fortified settlements of the Arkaim type are currently found on a large area covering the south of the Chelyabinsk region, the southeast of Bashkortostan, the east of the Orenburg region and the north of Kazakhstan. Chronologically, they belong to the Middle Bronze Age, that is, their age is approximately 3.8-4 thousand years. These settlements form a complex called the Country of Cities (of the Southern Urals). The excavations of the Sintashta settlement laid the foundation for research. To date, research is being conducted by the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Arkaim Historical and Cultural Reserve, institutes and universities of Bashkiria, Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Orenburg regions, as well as specialists from the USA, Holland, Germany, and Ukraine.

Settlements of the Arkaim type, unlike other settlements of the Bronze Age of the Southern Trans-Urals, have their own specific feature: conjugated walls of dwellings, located in the form of a circle, oval or rectangle, a rather large size of settlement monuments, which, accordingly, could not exist for a long time in a localized territory due to exhaustion natural resources. Therefore, it is traditionally believed that the Sintashta culture arose during the round of Indo-European migration passing through the lands of the Southern Trans-Urals. The bearers of this culture did not live so long in our territories. Soon they left their settlements and went to other steppes. Until now, among scientists there are disputes about the ownership of monuments of this type. There are three main versions of the origin of those:

We do not take into account various exotic options such as "Abashev's cultural reversion" due to the complete lack of evidence. Work on the study of monuments continues, perhaps the research of the current year will open up new facts for us.

According to the skulls found in the burial grounds, the appearance of the inhabitants of Arkaim, who turned out to be Caucasoids, was restored. Anthropological reconstructions of a man and a woman are exhibited in the Chelyabinsk Regional Museum of Local Lore and the Museum of Nature and Man of the Arkaim Reserve. Finds from the excavations of the monument can be seen only in the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography of ChelGU and in the Reserve "Arkaim", as well as in the framework of traveling exhibitions.

finds

• human remains
• Remains of domestic animals, including horses
• Pottery
• harness
• Arrowheads
• Molds for casting metal products
• Anvils
• potters' tools
• Saddlers' tools

Description of the complex

The monument consists of a fortified city, two necropolises and the remains of ancient pastures (pens); The city of the radial scheme is made of two circular walls, one of which is surrounded by the other. Rooms having the shape of a circular sector are attached to both annular walls. The area of ​​the premises located in the inner ring wall is ~100(?) square meters, and inside the outer ring wall is ~ 18(?) square meters. There are premises for personal and public use, residential and workshops. In some rooms, not only pottery workshops, but also metallurgical production were found. There was a square in the center of the city. There was a ring road between the walls, straight streets lead from this road to the central square. The city has a storm sewer with drainage outside the city. Ring walls and walls of dwellings are made of logs clogged with clay and dried (unbaked) clay bricks. In fact, the city was a fortress, consisting of two "apartment" buildings. People lived and worked in this city, and animals grazed outside the city, including in special pens.

The city existed for about 80-300 (?) years, after which there was a fire and the city burned out. There are 3 versions of the fire:

• the city was set on fire by the locals;
• the city was burned by an external enemy;
• there was an accidental fire.

Etymology

The object was named after the mountain dominating the area, which is located 4 km south of the settlement. The toponym "Arkaim" comes from the Turkic "arch" (Bashk. arqa) - "ridge", "back", "base".

Arkaim in pseudoscience

The image of Arkaim is actively exploited in pseudoscientific and esoteric writings, especially those of a nationalistic nature. Arkaim is called the "place of power", the "ancestral home" of the Slavs, "Aryans" or Indo-Europeans, "the cradle of human civilization", the name of the city is associated with the name of Yima, as a result of which the settlement is declared nothing less than the birthplace of Zoroaster. The level of development of the Arkaim "civilization" in such publications usually appears to be significantly overestimated compared to real data. One of the active propagandists of such views is the famous satirist Mikhail Zadornov, who released, in collaboration with the writer Sergei Alekseev and director Alexander Volkov, the pseudo-documentary film Arkaim: standing by the sun. Biochemist Anatoly Klyosov claims that Arkaim was built by the Aryans ("ancestors of the Slavs and Hindus") 3800 years ago. The "Aryan" version is also considered in the literary and television project "The Ridge of Russia".

Notes

Literature

• Archaeological atlas of the Chelyabinsk region. Issue. 1. Steppe-forest-steppe. Kizilsky district / Zdanovich G. B. and others. Chelyabinsk: South Ural book. publishing house, 2003.
• Viktor Shnirelman. Passion for Arkaim: the Aryan idea and nationalism

Links

• Web page of the Arkaim Museum-Reserve on the Kultura.rf portal
• Arkaim // Ural Historical Encyclopedia
• Arkaim // Encyclopedia "Chelyabinsk"
• Zdanovich G. B., A thousand years before Troy, Around the world No. 3, 1989. http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/vs/article/4110/
• Zdanovich G. B."Country of cities" // Motherland. 2001. No. 11.
• Arkaim after Putin // Chelyabinsk worker. August 27, 2005.
• On professional ethics in modern Russian archeology (following the discussion of the problem of Arkaim). May 2007
• Shnirelman V. A."Arkaim: archeology, esoteric tourism and national idea" // Anthropological Forum, 2011, No. 14
• Shnirelman V. A."Arkaim, archeology, nationalism... Anatomy of a sensation"

Categories:

• Objects of cultural heritage of Russia
• Bronze Age Asia
• Monuments of archeology of the Chelyabinsk region
• Settlements of Russia
• open air museums
• Museums of the Chelyabinsk region
• Sights of the Chelyabinsk region

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Updated 02/28/2019 Views 1214 Comments 152

Arkaim is an ancient city that existed many years ago. According to many people, is a place of power. Arkaim is located in the Chelyabinsk region, and the easiest way to get to it is either from Chelyabinsk or from Magnitogorsk, depending on which train / bus you prefer to travel by.

City Arkaim in the Chelyabinsk region was one of the highlights of our trip. In order to get to it, we arrived in Chelyabinsk, where we found out that there are no direct buses to Arkaim, and we will have to walk part of the way.

Arrival in Arkaim

The Chelyabinsk-Breda bus turned out to be small and dilapidated, they literally rode sitting on backpacks. We were dropped off at the turn to Arkaim and we walked 10 km with backpacks on our backs. There were practically no cars. The road was brightened up by games, songs and anticipations...

By the time we got there, it was already evening. On the way, we met charming women who told us that if we wanted to, we could rent a room in a nearby village, or at least go to the bath there or buy fresh milk. We took note of this, but did not use it, because we had very little time.

Arriving at the camp, we found that you have to pay for a place. Our guys immediately paid for the day of our stay and the morning excursion to the city of Arkaim. We stood by the river and only then discovered that, it turns out, it was possible to stay outside the territory and for free, but it was already too late. As it happened, it's better, we thought.

The more it got dark, the colder it became, and we understood that we could not do without a fire. But since this is a steppe area and, in addition, the territory of the reserve, it was forbidden to extract firewood in the existing forest. How we were "pleased" in the camp - they had to be bought. At the same time, we had to look for quite a long time for someone who in this camp was in charge of the secret key to the barn with firewood. Having obtained a couple of logs, pitched tents and had dinner, we expected to sit by the fire, but that was not the case - cold air currents from the water drove us into tents and into sleeping bags. Well, but went to bed early - that's good too.

Excursion to Arkaim

The next morning we had to get up quite early, the guide was waiting for us already at 7 am. As they explained to us, it is impossible to get to the territory of the city of Arkaim without a guide, since this territory is both a historical and archaeological museum and a natural reserve.

While we were walking towards Arkaim, under the deafening cry of the rooks, our guide told us exactly how we found this ancient settlement. A few decades ago, they were going to make a reservoir on this territory. According to the rules, before flooding the area, research work should be carried out, which, in general, they did. Archaeologists and geologists decided to flood the area, but on the last day of the scientists' stay, one of the student trainees for some reason decided to fly over this field by plane. And, lo and behold, from above, he noticed that, for unknown reasons, two circles loomed on the surface, one inside the other. From the ground, it was impossible to notice this because of the tall grass and the not very pronounced expression of the circles. Of course, the flooding project was stopped and began to study this strange phenomenon.

It turned out that the city of Arkaim in the Chelyabinsk region is an ancient settlement of the 18th-16th centuries. BC. Of course, it was called then quite differently. The current name was given to it by scientists in honor of the mountain located nearby. Excavations began, during which half of the settlement was discovered. It turned out that all the main exits from the city were oriented to the key positions of the sun on the days of the equinoxes and solstices. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find out the purpose of the city and who exactly inhabited it. According to some data, this settlement was a large observatory, which means that scientists lived in it, according to others, Arkaim is a city of the most ancient civilization of the Aryans.

As the guide told us, this ancient settlement is unique in that it is a single-layered settlement (that is, there is no layering of cultural layers). This means that no one has lived in this territory either before or after that time. They left this city, most likely due to the fact that the resources necessary for life were depleted in this area, for example, the forest that covered the nearby hills. Before leaving Arkaim, the inhabitants burned it all down. What remains of it is the surviving foundation and black footprints on the ground left by burnt support pillars and furnaces.

After excavations and research, Arkaim was again covered with earth, leaving only two of its segments for viewing, in modern terms - two apartments. In fact, these are just two areas cleared of grass, framed by tubercles-foundation, with black circles left by the stove.

The peculiarity of the location of the ancient settlement Arkaim (surrounded by hills and the crossing of two rivers) was the reason for the uniqueness of the flora and fauna, which is why the territory of the ancient settlement is also a natural landscape reserve.

Standing just on the field to notice the circles is very difficult. The only time they can be seen is when the sun is hidden behind the clouds. Then you can see in some places "stripes" from a plant called feather grass. This is explained by the fact that in places where the foundation of the former city lies, the soil is much poorer and nothing but feather grass can grow on it.

To be honest, when we were there, we hoped to feel something more than just an interest in a cultural and historical monument. But we did not feel any flows of energy and a surge of strength. It was easy and free to breathe there, the mood was upbeat, but no more. The place of power did not appear in any way.

Mountain of Love

What was our surprise when, having left the city of Arkaim and passing through a wonderful birch grove, we climbed Mount Love. No one expected such a sharp change of mood and sensations. We climbed for a long time, and then someone suddenly shouted: “Look around!”. I looked around and even sat down - I could not cope with a surge of strong emotions - such a beautiful view opens from the top! At that place, I wanted to stay longer, sit, think, indulge in my dreams, analyze my life. Everything is known in comparison, as they say ...

Mount Shamanka

Returning to the camp in the late afternoon and having an excellent lunch, we decided to visit another remarkable place - Mount Shamanka. Having dressed warmer, because in the late afternoon, the temperature difference was already very felt, we hit the road. Mount Shamanka met us with a completely different mood. Unexpected gaiety, mischief and an extraordinary surge of energy made us tumble, jump, and run in a spiral of circles, laid out, as we were told, by Hare Krishnas. It is likely that the nearby mountains are a place of power that is written and spoken about. And it may well be that energy was brought here already in our time.

And as the sun went down, people began to gather on the mountain. Gradually, mostly silently, everyone sat down on the western side of the mountain to see the sun off. An amazing feeling of unity with those people whom you do not know at all, with whom you not only do not know, but also did not say a few words! Peace and quiet, as if everyone was immediately covered with a thick large blanket. And a feeling of peace in the soul and peace ...

We did not want to leave Arkaim at all, but the rest of the points of our journey were waiting for us and left us no choice. The guys were able to find out that a minibus to Chelyabinsk was leaving the camp early in the morning, so after sitting by the fire for a while, we went to bed early, and we all slept very well, although none of us had dreams

How to get to Arkaim

You need to take the train to Magnitogorskaya or to Breda station. There take the bus Magnitogorsk-Bredy and go to the stop "Turn to Arkaim".

In summer, buses run directly from the Southern Bus Station of Chelyabinsk to Arkaim. It seems that there is only one flight a day, it starts at 16:00 and arrives at 23:00. Every day except Saturday.

Also in summer there are flights Magnitogorsk-Arkaim-Bredy. From the bus station of Magnitogorsk leaves at 14.30 (on Sundays at 21.00). From the railway station Breda leaves at 7.00 (Sunday 16.40).

On Fridays, a private bus runs from Yekaterinburg (from the circus) at 20.00. Passing through the railway station of Chelyabinsk at 23.30, he still picks up passengers traveling to Arkaim.

Arkaim on the map

It is not yet marked on Yandex and Google maps, so here are the coordinates of Arkaim - 52.642887,59.543659. Well, here he is in person on our built-in map.

Map loading, please wait...

P.S. And no matter what anyone says, there is something special there or not, but it is always great to be in nature after a big noisy city. Especially, spend the night in a tent in the wild. The beauty!

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