Novoromanovskaya Rock Art Site (Pisanitsa)

Novoromanovskaya Pisanitsa is a set consisting of several groups of rock images located near the village of Novoromanovo, at the confluence of the small Dolgaya River into the Tom River. This site forms part of a larger chain of rock art sites along the Lower Tom River area, which is a unique rock art location in southern Siberia.

The images are found along a 150-meter stretch. The majority are concentrated around rocks near the Dolgaya River estuary. Another group of images is located on vertical rock surfaces, at heights ranging from 4–5 to 10–12 meters above the river. Most images depict animals (elks, bears, birds), but anthropomorphic figures and faces are also present. Moreover, Novoromanovskaya Pisanitsa contains the largest number of boat images found along the Tom River.

In almost all cases, boats are depicted in compositions with animal figures, usually elks (and often bears). The elk figure is generally positioned above the boat, or sometimes its head appears to be located at the bow of the boat. Short, vertical lines in the boats represent boaters, sometimes numbering up to 15 people. Some boats feature detailed anthropomorphic figures “riding” in unusual headdresses and postures: with hands raised upwards and legs bent as if they are dancing. Dating the boats from Novoromanovskaya Pisanitsa is challenging, partly because they often form palimpsests, i.e., multi-layered compositions created over long periods. The boat images are likely attributable to the Bronze Age or to the Early Iron Age.

Another archaeological site, the Dolgaya-1 site, is located near Novoromanovskaya Pisanitsa, slightly higher up the rock face. It was initially believed that the site had been destroyed by the construction equipment. However, archaeologists were able to locate an area with an undisturbed cultural layer. Numerous ceramic fragments were found, attributable to a series of local cultures spanning from the Late Neolithic (5th millennium BC) to the Middle Ages. The majority of ceramic vessel fragments were concentrated in a single location. A collection of butchered animal bones, particularly elk legs, was also discovered there. Lithic tools and a mold for casting celts (small axes) were also found.

This, coupled with the uniformity of the finds, suggests that the site can be characterized as a hunting campsite, where hunters stayed for a short period, butchered their prey, and produced tools, ceramics, etc.

Novoromanovskaya Pisanitsa is not a part of any museum and is constantly affected by human activity due to its location on a shoreline accessible by car, which is also convenient for boat berthing. Furthermore, this rock art site is being progressively damaged by flood discharge and ice. For these reasons, detailed documentation of rock art sites is particularly important. Integrating the rock art site into the Tomskaya Pisanitsa State Reserve Museum would be a valuable step.

Location:  Russia, Kuzbass, Yashkinsky Municipal District

The archeological studies began in:  In 1967, this rock art site was described and documented by the expedition of the Kemerovo Pedagogical Institute. Further research was conducted by the expedition of the Tomskaya Pisanitsa Reserve Museum and the Research Center for Coal and Coal Chemistry SB RAS.

Human species:  Bronze Age to (tentatively) Early Iron Age

Study history

A. Korchuganov, a student of the Kemerovo Pedagogical Institute and a resident of the village of Novoromanovo, reported the existence of ancient images directly across from the village. The rock art site was initially studied in 1967 under the leadership of A.I. Martynov by newly graduated specialists from the Kemerovo Pedagogical Institute, V.V. Bobrov, Y.M. Borodkin, and the artist E.I. Bigler. In the early 1990s, expeditions were continued by employees of the Tomskaya Pisanitsa Reserve Museum, who discovered new groups of images at the site.

In the mid-2000s, a joint expedition by the museum and the Federal Research Center for Coal and Coal Chemistry removed lichens from the petroglyphs. This challenging task allowed for more detailed documentation of the rock surfaces containing the images. They were re-cleaned in 2022–2024. The microclimate at the site leads to its rapid colonization by lichens, which obscures the images and gradually destroys the rock surface.

Most well-known images

numerous images of boats with boaters at the Tom River, exclusive snake images at the Tom River, a fish (jackfish) image, a skier figure, an anthropomorphic image wearing the head dress representing diverging sun rays.

A Composition with an Elk Cow and a Jackfish at the Periphery of Novoromanovskaya Pisanitsa. Problems of History, Philology, and Culture, 2021 (In Russ.)

Boats at Novoromanovskaya Pisanitsa. Proceedings of the Tomskaya Pisanitsa Reserve Museum, 2020 (In Russ.)

Mythological Calendar Rituals at the Dolgaya-1 Site near Novoromanovskaya Pisanitsa. Archeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology of Eurasia, 2014 (In Russ.)

A Boat and Fifteen “Passengers.” Theory and Practice of Archeological Research, 2013 (In Russ.)

Research of the Dolgaya-1 Site Located in the South of the Lower Tom River Area (Preliminary Results). Problems of Archeology, Ethnography, Anthropology of Siberia and Adjacent Territories, 2012 (In Russ.)