Scientists were struck by stylistic similarity of images in Bashkir and French caves

UFA, 10 June 2019. /Bashinform News Agency, Leila Aralbaeva/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

The work of the 5th International Symposium “Museification of Rock Art Monuments: Theory and Practice”, dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the drawings in Shulgan-Tash cave, was completed in Bashkortostan. Scientists from different regions of Russia and France came to the symposium in Burzyan district. The researchers, who visited the cave for the first time, were amazed by the striking stylistic similarity of the rock art in the caves of Bashkiria and France.

One of the participants of the scientific forum was a regional archeology keeper of the Directorate of Cultural Affairs of Bordeaux of the French Ministry of Culture, Natalie Furman. She told in detail about the methods of preserving cave art using the example of the French Cussac cave, in which there were 135 images of animals.

“The images in the caves of Bashkiria and France have a very close stylistic similarity. The distances between them are quite large, but the general culture, the general ideas are clearly visible. These are ideas of universality, the proximity of cultures,” emphasized Natalie Furman.

For the first time, a researcher of the Human Museum, a specialist in prehistoric images Stephan Petroniani (Paris, France) arrived in Russia. At the symposium, he delivered a detailed report on the theme “The archeology of the European Upper Paleolithic rock painting areas: Bernou, Mammut and Lamut caves of the south-west of France”. Stephan proposed to include Shulgan-Tash in the list of Paleolithic caves.

The international expert in the field of restoration of the rock art Eudald Guillamet (Andorra la Vella, Principality of Andorra), who succeeded in the accurate clearing the cave from modern graffiti, again visited Bashkortostan.

Within the framework of the symposium, scientists read 23 reports; a round table “Towards nominating to the UNESCO World Heritage List: problems and prospects” was held. The participants of the event made an excursion to the Shulgan-Tash cave, and also visited the museum complexes of the Shulgan-Tash Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve. At the symposium, it was suggested that the Shulgan-Tash cave could have another entrance buried as a result of the natural fissure.

In 1959, a zoologist of the reserve Alexander Ryumin discovered in the Shulgan-Tash cave (Kapova) cave paintings of the Paleolithic era. Since then, numerous expeditions have been carried out to explore the unique karst cave. Today the Shulgan-Tash is an attractive tourist sight, which is visited by more than 40 thousand people a year, mainly in summer. The work is underway to include the Shulgan-Tash cave in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Construction of a museum with a developed infrastructure began near the cave.