Elangash Petroglyphs

The rock art found in the Elangash River valley is a petroglyphic “pearl” located in Altai Mountains. Remote and isolated location of the site always instigated curiosity in researchers and tourists.

Location:  Russia, Altai Republic, Kosh-Agachsky District

The archeological studies began in:  M.A. Breshchinsky, engineer, discovered the petroglyphs in 1881. The archeological study began at the end of the 1960s

Estimated layers age:  Pictures of the Bronze Age to the modern era

The Elangash River begins from the Tepsey-Tash mount glacier. Numerous pictures can be seen on separate stones and residual outcrops along its entire length. The most important complexes where the petroglyphs are concentrated within small areas include the Tamgatash mount and rocks near the confluence of the Tura Stream and the Elangash River. The earliest figures were created in the Bronze Age. Pictures showing wheeled transport grab the viewer’s attention. The Elangash valley features numerous petroglyphs of chariots, pecked in a style typical of the Central Asia. These images depict side-profiled wheels and horses across the rock surface. A unique aspect is the depiction of paired (male and female) figures riding these chariots—a rare feature in such art. The site also uniquely includes hunting scenes of snowcocks.

The next, Scythian age, or Early Iron Age, is represented by numerous figures of deer made as deer stones, which are also well known from those times. Animals are pictured with large horns thrown on their backs and an elongated muzzle. This probably demonstrates the way deer horn during estrus. The Medieval Turkic era is represented by the images of riders during the hunt. Running horses are shown dynamically and expressively.

The time close to the ethnographic modernity is represented by the images of yurts, hunters with guns, groups of horses, sheep, horseback riders, including women wearing national clothing, and others.

Study history

The petroglyphs from the Elangash River valley were discovered by engineer M.A. Breshchinsky during the survey carried out for the construction of the Chuya Highway. From the end of the 1960s to mid-1980s, under the general guidance of Academician of AN USSR A.P. Okladnikov, specialists from the Institute of History, Philology, and Philosophy (later, IAET SO RAN) conducted many surveys there. Over 30,000 images were recorded and copied along a multi-kilometer stretch on both sides of Elangash. Then, E.A. Okladnikova, V.D. Zaporozhskaya, E.A. Skorynina, V.D. Kubarev, G.V. Kubarev, and others were engaged in further studies. Until now, the remoteness of the site, harsh conditions of the Altai highlands and enormous number of petroglyphs leave plenty of room for future research.

Most well-known finds

Images of ancient chariots, Early Scythian petroglyphs made as deer stones, ancient Turkic images of mounted hunters.

• Petroglyphs from the Elangash River Valley (South of Altai Mountains). 1979. (In Russ.).

• Rock Art from the South Chuya Ridge (Altai Mountains). 2009. (In Russ.).

• Study of Petroglyphic Sites in the Elangash and Chagan Rivers Valley in the Southeast of the Russian Altai. International Science Conference devoted to the 110th anniversary of birth of the well-known Russian archeologist Mikhail P. Gryaznov. 2012. (In Russ.).

• Ancient Turkic Petroglyphs (Southeastern Altai). Problems of Archeology, Ethnography, and Anthropology of Siberia and Adjacent Territories. 2016. (In Russ.).

• Rock Birds (Birds Pictured in Petroglyphs, Revisited). Problems of Archeology, Ethnography, and Anthropology of Siberia and Adjacent Territories. 2022. (In Russ.).