GW2RU
GW2RU

Rock paintings in Russia land on the UNESCO World Heritage List (PHOTOS)

The Shulgan-Tash Cave is a unique place in the Ural Mountains in southern Russia, where late Palaeolithic rock art was discovered back in Soviet times. 

A 34th site from Russia was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris.

The Shulgan-Tash Cave is located in the Burzyansky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan. It is the largest multi-storey karst cave in the Southern Urals.

Researchers studied it 3 km deep and found more than 200 rock paintings from the Late Paleolithic period (which is about 18,000 years old!) in it. Mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, bison, horses and a Bactrian camel are depicted, as well as human figures, abstract signs and geometric shapes. 

Thanks to the drawings, scientists were able to learn more about the household of prehistoric people. And, in 2022, a historical museum complex with a large-scale exposition was opened there, dedicated to the history of the cave's exploration by archaeologists, paleontologists and speleologists.

You can find the full list of UNESCO sites located in Russia here.