Let's find out what a grotto is. The natural grotto is a fantasy of nature

There is something romantic in the word "grotto", isn't there? The crystal streams of a waterfall, bushes of flowering roses, a mysterious twilight and a beauty in a lace dress, waiting for her lover, appear in the imagination. In fact, "grotto" in French and Italian means "cave". And there is nothing romantic in the formation of such caves, although it could not have done without “crystal jets”.

Imagine a drop of water that falls on the same stone with enviable constancy. And this process does not last a day, not a year, but many centuries. What will happen? Quite right - a hole is formed in the stone. And if this restless drop is not alone? If there are millions of stubborn drops? For example, the waves of the ocean surf, which for centuries have been falling on coastal cliffs? Right! The hole will be very large, and it can be safely called a grotto.

Temperature drops come to the aid of restless drops. As you know, the water that winter found inside a rocky crack freezes, destroying this very crack, gradually turning the stone into sand, which is carried away by water flows. The dimensions of the cave-grotto will depend not only on the time of exposure and the strength of the wave, but also on the composition of the rocks. Most often, water, always containing some acid, dissolves the limestone, and the wind forms bizarre caves in the sandstone. The grotto differs from the cave in its wider entrance and shallower depth.

Speleologists who professionally study caves call underground halls grottoes, which can be reached along a narrow winding path. And glaciologists who professionally study glaciers use the term "grotto" to refer to a niche at the end of a glacial tongue.

An ordinary grain of sand carried by the wind can also become an active participant in the creation of grottoes. This tireless traveler with her companions is able to create bizarre sandstone formations of a completely futuristic appearance. Ufologists can seriously believe that the caves created by the wind are the work of alien tentacles.

I don't want to disappoint romantic readers. In the 18-19 centuries, artificial grottoes were created in the palace parks. Here there were vaulted ceilings, man-made ponds, picturesque stone bridges, various flower arrangements. It was in such grottoes that gentle dates of beauties with court cavaliers took place. Masterpieces of landscape and park design can still be admired in the Kuskovo estate, the Mon Repos Park Museum and many other famous architectural structures peace. By the way, in our time there are many companies that can be ordered to create a luxurious grotto in their own park.

Those readers who prefer maritime romance will not be disappointed either. If at the word "grotto" you imagined a beautiful brigantine dissecting azure waves ocean or a pirate flag over the deck of a frigate, they were not at all mistaken. In the rigging of these and other ships, the prefix “mainsail” denotes all accessories of the mainmast armament: mainmast, mainsail, mainsail, mainsail and others.

Favorable wind and pleasant dates in natural and man-made grottoes!

At the beginning of the century before last, with the light hand of N.M. Karamzin, the “Varangian” theory settled in Russian historiography, explaining the development of domestic lands by external influence. It can be suspected that it was under its influence that scientists, having learned about the remains of the most ancient primitive people found in Europe, decided that this could not be on the land of the empire, and Russia was once inhabited by newcomers from the Old World. The wolf grotto in the Crimea refuted this assumption.

Where is the Wolf's Grotto on the map of Crimea?

As the map shows, Baryu-Teshik (this is its second name) is located northeast of, next to the small village of Mazanka. Beshterek river flows near it. From others settlements located nearby, one can note the Don (to the north), Zuya (to the east) and Trudovoe (to the west).

Origin and discovery of the cave

The grotto itself does not represent anything special - it is an ordinary karst cavity in the rock above the bed of the Beshterek river. These are found in the Crimea in abundance, but this one is small. The mouth, similar in shape to an eye, is about 6 m long and 3 m high, and the depth is about 15 m. There are no beautiful stalactites or streaks here either. But it is not the deepening itself that is interesting, but the cultural layer discovered in it. Historians have established that it is at least 50 thousand years old, therefore, it is necessary to revise the "Varangian" theory of the settlement of Russian lands.

Brother of the writer and his colleagues

At the end of the 19th century, the young science of paleontology had already declared itself. In Russia, she had admirers, among them was the St. Petersburg natural student Konstantin Merezhkovsky. He was the brother of the writer D.S. Merezhkovsky, but he was going to live by his own rules. In 1879, a 24-year-old man, who became interested in paleontological work and ancient archeology, came to the Crimea for field research.

His work spanned whole year and sources do not agree on when exactly he examined the Wolf's Grotto - in 1879 or 1880. But this is not essential. It is important that he discovered there accumulations of bones of ancient animals, numerous flint tools of primitive manufacture. They unequivocally showed: that primitive people in the territory Russian Empire lived. But everything became even more interesting when the eminent French historian G. Martillet referred to the work of Merezhkovsky in his monograph and published an image of one of the guns from here. The master dates the finds to the Middle Paleolithic era, that is, they are about 100 thousand years old. Now it is clear that this is the first Neanderthal site discovered in Russia.

In Soviet times, the cave was explored by G.A. Bonch-Osmolovsky, N.E. Ernst, O.N. Bader. They identified seven cultural layers, the main one, of course, belonged to the Middle Paleolithic. Paleozoologists also received their “piece of the pie” - there were many remains of animals of the past in the cavity. In 1972, the Wolf's Grotto in the Crimea was declared a natural monument. Luckily he is not popular. tourist attraction and "black archaeologists" are not interested in Paleolithic monuments. Therefore, the death of the remaining unexplored materials is not threatened.

Visiting Baryu-Teshik and its features

The wolf grotto is usually observed by tourists heading by car from Simferopol to Belogorsk, Old Crimea, Feodosia, or vice versa. It is clearly visible from the road. The entrance is relatively small, but in the depths the depression expands. The ceilings in places reach 15 m, and the depth is 15 m, so the Neanderthals did not have to complain about crowding.

Studies have shown that in the grotto and near it there were several permanent fires (thick layers of bone and charcoal). A lot of flint things and just fragments of flint were also found. Scientists have suggested that the site was a place where tools were made, a kind of workshop for processing stone-flint - such corners are known for many monuments of the Stone Age.

But archaeologists believe that the cave was not a permanent settlement. Its mouth is turned to the northwest, it is strongly blown by the wind and it is not very comfortable in it. Those wishing to visit the attraction should take this feature into account and even in summer have warm clothes. However, most archaeologists say that Neanderthals had only more or less regular ones on the hunting route. The grotto could be.
Actually, a significant part of the finds was made not in it, but near it, closer to the water. People in ancient times valued the availability of a source for drinking. In the cave walls, they could take refuge in case of rain or snow.

The guests of the cave were quite lucky and, moreover, omnivorous hunters. Among its artifacts, fragments of bones of a deer, saiga, roe deer, cave bear, small animals and even a mammoth were found. Scientists believe that they were also engaged in gathering, that is, they led a lifestyle typical of Neanderthals.

It will be difficult for an unprepared visitor to guess that he is on the territory of an archaeological site. The Paleolithic site is not Pompeii, almost nothing is visible on the surface of the earth, and an inexperienced person cannot distinguish processed flint from an ordinary fragment. All Crimean dwellings of antiquity are distinguished by such properties, for example,. It is for the better - more science will remain.

How to get (drive) from Simferopol?

On public transport it’s really possible to get directly to the required memo from Bus station-4 “Vostochnaya”, which is on Samokhvalova street, 4. Choose any bus to Donskoy or Klenovka. You need to get out before repeating to the first - ask the driver to stop. Well, then follow southbound— the object should already be surveyed.

By car, you can get to the sights on your own as follows:

Note to the tourist

• Address: Komsomolskaya street, Mazanka village, Simferopol district, Crimea, Russia.
• GPS coordinates: 45.015896, 34.237590.

Far from one site of primitive man has been found in the Crimea. The wolf grotto is just the first of the open ones. Later, more informative objects were found, in particular with her burials. But the first ones attract with their leadership, they stir up curiosity and stimulate further scientific research.

Grotto as an independent cave

It can have both karst and erosional origin. Erosion grottoes arise due to the eroding activity of surface waters. They are found on the banks of rivers or seas, and their formation is facilitated by coastal surf. In this case, the main factor in rock destruction is mechanical.

In desert areas, in hard exits rocks shallow caves can also occur on the surface as a result of wind erosion, and these are also traditionally called grottoes.

Karst grottoes are most often relic caves, small fragments of once large cave systems, destroyed along with the main part of the massif in which they were located. Such grottoes can often be found in limestone cliffs, on the sides of river valleys, often high above the modern base of erosion. Another type of karst grottoes is the entrance to cave system, the main part of which is cut off from the grotto by gravitational (blockage, clay plug) or sinter deposits that blocked the passage, and the deposits can occupy an extended area or even fill the entire system. Another common type of karst grottoes is the source cave. The grotto is the entrance to the karst system, but the passage is closed by a siphon that feeds the outflowing stream.

Also often called grottoes are small artificial horizontal workings in the rock.

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See what "Grotto" is in other dictionaries:

grotto- grotto, and ... Russian spelling dictionary

Dictionary Dalia

Husband. cave, nativity scene, exit, basement, dungeon, dug and decorated or natural. Grotto entrance. II. GROT male., marine. on sailing ships, a large straight sail, on the lower yard of the middle mast; oblique or storm grotto, a triangular sail at the bottom of the same ... ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

- (Dutch groot, from German gross big). A large straight sail tied to the lower yard of the main mast. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. GROT (Italian grotta). Cave. Dictionary of foreign words, ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (1. Main sail. 2. Main) 1. Straight sail, the lowest on the second mast from the bow (main mast). Tied to the mainsail. 2. A word added to the names of the yards, sails and rigging located above the mainmast of the main mast. Samoilov K. I. Marine ... ... Marine Dictionary

1. GROT, a; m. [ital. grotta] A shallow cave with a wide entrance; a park structure in the form of such a cave. Natural city Artificial city 2. GROT, a; m Mor. Lower straight sail on the main mast. * * * grotto (French grotte), 1) a shallow cave with ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

- (from Dutch groot, lit. large) (mor.). The first part of the complex maritime terms denoting the accessories of the main mast, for example. mainsail topsail (second from the bottom sail on the middle mast), mainsail staysail (sail stretched between the mainsail and foremasts). ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Nikolai Yakovlevich (born April 16, 1852, St. Petersburg - died May 23, 1899) Russian. philosopher, professor (since 1886), chairman of the Moscow Psychological Society (since 1888). In every philosophical movement, he sought to highlight the grain of truth contained in it, ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

grotto- a, m. grotte f. it. grotta goal. grotto Cave. Sl. 18. Grotta, in other words, a cave. RGL 40. In the grotto of this forest sat an interpreter of future human cases. Note. Vedas. 1738 149. Not a source, but a noisy river pours out of this native grotto. IN … Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

- [from goll. groot big] The first part of compound words. Mor. Indicates the accessories of the main mast. Mainsail topsail (second from the bottom sail on the middle mast); mainsail (a sail stretched between the mainsail and foremast) ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

• J. K. Grot. Some data for his biography and characterization. With the attachment of some documents related to the anniversaries of Yakov Karlovich in 1882 and 1892. and a bibliographic list of his works, trans., Grot Ya.K. (about him).. The book is a reprint edition of 1895. Although serious work has been done to restore the original quality of the edition, some pages may…