Arkaim. Covered in myths. Complex structure of the reserve. How to get there, where to stay
A virtual tour of the historical and cultural reserve "Arkaim" is presented to your attention. You will see the excavations themselves, visit the Mountain of Love and Shamanka, visit the historical reconstructions of the dwelling of the copper-stone age, and the Temir mound, see the museum of ancient industries and take a walk in the historical park.
And most importantly, you will see Arkaim from a height of 100 meters. Watch here: https://gorod3d.info/katalog/arkaim.html
Arkaim is a fortified settlement of the Bronze Age. The age of the settlement is 4 thousand years, the settlement was created according to a well-thought-out plan, with a clear urban planning idea, complex architecture and fortification.
More than twenty years have passed since the discovery of the Arkaim settlement in the steppe Trans-Urals. During this time, a reserve was created to protect Arkaim, many other ancient monuments and historical natural landscapes. A powerful research, educational, cultural and educational complex has been created near its borders; the work of the regional state budgetary institution of culture - the Historical and Cultural Reserve "Arkaim" was launched. His research is based on an integrated approach to the study of antiquity in the relationship between natural systems and human societies. Active museum and educational work is carried out in the context of the dialogue of cultures of the past and the present.
Historical reference:
In 1987, in the south of the Chelyabinsk region, during the construction of a reservoir, a unique monument of excellent preservation dating back to the Bronze Age was discovered - a fortified settlement of the early city type. Arkaim got his name from a nearby mountain. During the study, it turned out that the monument was a village created according to a pre-thought-out plan, with a clear urban planning idea, complex architecture and fortification. Over the next few years, 20 more such settlements were discovered, which made it possible to talk about the discovery of an interesting ancient culture, which received the conditional name "Country of Cities". In science, this archaeological culture is called Arkaim-Sintashta. The significance of the discovery of Arkaim and other fortified settlements of this type is indisputable, as it gave completely new data on the migration routes of the Indo-Europeans and made it possible to prove that a fairly highly developed culture existed in the South Ural steppes 4 thousand years ago. Arkaim people were engaged in metallurgy and metalworking, weaving, and pottery. The basis of their economy was cattle breeding.
The fortified settlements of the Arkaim-Sintashta culture date back to the turn of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. They are five or six centuries older than Homeric Troy, contemporaries of the first dynasty of Babylon, the pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and the Cretan-Mycenaean culture of the Mediterranean. The time of their existence corresponds to the last centuries of the famous civilization of India - Mahenjo-Daro and Harappa.
In 1991, by decision of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, the territory of the Arkaim valley, as well as another 15 sites, with archaeological monuments of the Arkaim-Sintashta culture identified on them, were declared protected areas. It was on their basis that the Arkaim Historical and Cultural Reserve was created, which is a structural subdivision of the Ministry of Culture of the Chelyabinsk Region.
The main activities of the reserve are museum, security, scientific, tourist and educational.
The museum complex "Arkaim" is an original and harmonious architectural and landscape system in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals. The museum complex "Arkaim" fits into the modern museum world, observing all the norms of the museum legislation of the Russian Federation. In the course of 20 years of activity of scientists and museum workers, the richest collections on the ancient history of the Southern Trans-Urals have been collected. "Arkaim" represents a number of museum objects concentrated in one territory, where the traditions of various historical eras and various ethnic groups are combined into a single cultural space, dynamically interacting with the natural landscape environment.
The staff of the reserve implement dozens of educational and educational programs for various segments of the population: on the ancient history and traditional culture of the peoples of the Urals, the history of religion, geology, soil science, botany, ornithology. The main advantage of the programs is their concreteness, accessibility and scientific reliability.
Arkaim is a well-known scientific center, its staff and invited experts conduct comprehensive research that combines the natural sciences and the humanities.
In 1992, the scientific program “Man and Nature of the Southern Urals in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene” was developed, according to which the territory of the Arkaim Reserve is considered as a testing ground for studying the interaction between man and nature on present stage, in retrospect and in perspective.
The strategic mission of the Arkaim Reserve corresponds to the main goals of scientific and educational activities:
Popularization of one of the largest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century - the ancient homeland of the Indo-Europeans - Arkaim and the "Country of Cities";
Forming an understanding among visitors of the important role of the territory modern Russia and the peoples who inhabited it, in the largest civilizational processes, a new look at the possible ways of development of human civilization and the common roots of the origin of the peoples of Russia;
Formation of conditions for the "dialogue" of cultures of the past and present in search of ways to ensure the sustainable development of mankind, low-conflict interaction between man and nature.
From October to April inclusive, the reserve operates in winter mode. The summer tourist season of the Arkaim reserve lasts from May 1 to September 30.
Arkaim is one of the most iconic places in the Urals, surrounded by numerous legends and an aura of mystery. Not only tourists aspire here, but also psychics, esotericists, occultists and others. It is located in the steppes in the south of the Chelyabinsk region.
Arkaim is ancient settlement, discovered by archaeologists in 1987 in the steppes in the south of the Chelyabinsk region. This place was supposed to go under water as a result of the construction of the Bolshekaragan reservoir. With great efforts, scientists led by Gennady Zdanovich managed to defend the found archaeological site from imminent flooding. In 1991, this territory was declared a protected area, formally formalized as a branch of the Ilmensky mineralogical reserve.
Since then, in addition to Arkaim, a couple of dozen more interesting settlements have been discovered in those parts. The whole complex of settlements was nicknamed the "Land of Cities".
There are a lot of sights on the territory of the Arkaim Museum-Reserve. Here are just a few of them:
Arkaim
Arkaim is a fortified Bronze Age settlement. The archaeological site is dated to the third or second millennium BC. Don't expect much from a legendary settlement. In fact, only small tubercles remained of it, clearly visible only from the air.
The settlement has a ring shape. Diameter - 145 meters. In place of the walls of the settlement, only small ramparts remained. They represent two circles - external and internal. There were several dozen dwellings on the territory of the settlement. Once, for some unknown reason, local residents for some reason left their homes, burned the settlement and left the Southern Urals forever.
Finds on Arkaim were not rich. They did not find anything interesting and valuable here, in addition to clay shards, tools and coals. Nevertheless, what is not attributed to Arkaim. Scientists quite seriously talk about the origin of the Aryan race here, about the ancient observatory located here. Yes, and the first horse was allegedly domesticated here, a two-wheeled cart was invented here and a metallurgical furnace was invented. But the bold point of view of Chelyabinsk archaeologists, of course, is not shared by the entire scientific world.
historical park
It is located on the high terrace of the Bolshaya Karaganka River, away from the noise of the tourist camp. This is a real open-air museum, in which the funerary theme prevails. Here you will see ancient grave stone monuments, as well as stone boxes surrounded by fences - family cemeteries. There are also mysterious menhirs, the purpose of which is still not entirely clear. Also in the historical park is the medieval Turkic complex Aksai.
Museum-reconstruction of the barrow "Temir"
Scientists have recreated here an exact copy of the family tomb of the steppe nomads. The basis was the results of excavations of the Sarmatian mound in the Chesmensky district of the Chelyabinsk region, which was dated to the 4th century BC. With perfect accuracy, scientists reproduced both the external and internal structure of the burial structure. It was customary to bury only the most noble representatives of the tribe and their relatives in mounds.
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Copper-Stone Age settlement
A life-size re-creation of an old settlement based on the results of excavations at the Botai settlement in northern Kazakhstan. Dwellings are a round semi-dugout. Such a rounded shape made it possible to withstand the most difficult climatic conditions. In the reconstructed settlement of the Copper-Stone Age, you can see how our distant ancestors lived.
Ethnographic Museum "Cossack Estate"
All the exhibits and buildings of this museum were collected in the Southern Urals and brought here by the staff of the reserve. The museum is based on the restored house of the turn of XIX - XX Orenburg Cossacks Dolgopolov from the village of Varlamovo. In the house - household utensils from the beginning of the 20th century.
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Much more interesting object "tent" windmill. She is standing next to the house. The mill was built in 1929 in the village of Paris, but soon it was moved to the Warsaw village. Until the 1960s, the mill worked properly. In 1999, employees of Arkaim became interested in her and transported a unique structure to the territory of the reserve.
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Museum "Nature and Man"
The expositions of the museum are divided into several eras. The Age of Stone will introduce the history of human settlement of the steppes of the Southern Urals. Here are stone tools - scrapers, axes, knives.
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The section of the exposition of the early metal era introduces the Arkaim settlement and other archaeological sites. In the showcases you will see ancient jewelry, bronze items, crockery shards.
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Finally, the section devoted to the era of the early Iron Age will tell about the history of the nomadic peoples of the steppes. In addition to weapons, horse harness and armor, pay attention to items related to the famous "animal" style.
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Camp of the steppe nomad
More recently (in 2010), a new tourist site appeared on the territory of the Arkaim Museum - the camp of a sedate nomad. The camp consists of four yurts - Mongolian and Kazakh. And here you can not only get acquainted with the life of nomads, but also stay in one of the yurts.
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Museum of ancient industries
Located directly on the territory of the tourist camp. Tourists will see here reconstructed different types of furnaces - for firing ceramics, heating, smelting metal products. They are recreated in full size on the basis of research on the territory of the Arkaim reserve. Moreover, all furnaces are operational.
Mount Shamanka
Mount Shamanka (or Shamanikha) is an ancient paleovolcano. On this mountain, tourists like to watch sunsets and sunrises. At the top of the mountain there is a stone spiral of 13 circles, symbolizing the passage of the chain of incarnations. It is believed that if you walk barefoot in a spiral, you can reunite with a kind of tree and get rid of sins.
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Mount of Repentance
Mount Repentance is located near the tourist camp, next to Mount Shamanka. There is also a stone spiral at the top.
Mountain of Love
This mountain is located on the territory of the upper camp beyond the Karaganka River. Mount of Love is the highest and steepest of the Arkaim mountains. On the slope of the mountain - a stone spiral. Opens from the mountain beautiful panorama to the tourist camp and Mount Shamanka.
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In "Arkaim" there are other mountains - Arkaim, Reason, Happiness, Visions. They are less remarkable, but, nevertheless, each mountain has its own legends.
"Arkaim" - most popular place. Many thousands of people come here from all over Russia and abroad. There are especially many tourists and pilgrims on the day of the summer solstice.
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Boundless blue sky, misty morning haze over the river, a pearl scattering of stars, mesmerizing sunsets and the wind swaying the feather grass fields. Natalia Nazarova, an archaeologist from Chelyabinsk, talks about the Arkaim nature reserve, the most beautiful place in the south of the Chelyabinsk region.
Someone loves the mountains, someone loves the sea, and my friends and I are big fans of the steppes. The feeling when the horizon is visible for kilometers ahead, there is a huge blue sky above you, and your gaze glides over the endless grassy sea is priceless.
In the south of the Chelyabinsk region there is a wonderful place where thousands of people come every year. Some dream of touching the secrets of history and archeology, others - to catch the energy flows supposedly passing here, and others - to see the wild beauty of the steppe Ural expanses. This place is the historical and natural reserve Arkaim.
I have been going on archaeological expeditions for many years and at one time worked as a guide on Arkaim. Therefore, I can talk endlessly about the beauty of the Ural steppes and the archaeological treasures hidden underground. In this article I will talk about Arkaim: what kind of place it is and why you need to go there.
How to get there, where to stay
Arkaim is located 500 km from Chelyabinsk and 700 from Yekaterinburg. If you live far from the Urals, then it makes sense to buy a plane ticket and fly to one of these cities. From Chelyabinsk to Arkaim can be reached by regular bus(bus is seasonal, runs from May to September), from Yekaterinburg - you need to buy a ticket in advance in one of travel companies traveling in the region. Many get to Arkaim in their cars: also a good option, the roads here are relatively normal.
Local tourism is well developed on Arkaim. Eat small hotel, wooden houses and trailers. Extreme lovers spend the night in tents. There is no special luxury in these tourist houses, but you don’t count on a five-star European service in the very center of Russia, right? You can have a bite to eat in the dining room, plus there are many shops with homemade food and several shops. You won't get too far, but you won't get lost either.
A bit of history
In the late 80s, as part of the state program for the creation of reservoirs in the Southern Urals, large areas of land were flooded. And then one day an archaeological team, exploring the area for future flooding, discovered some strange circles on the ground. Scientists began to fight to ensure that the area did not go under water, and this struggle was crowned with success. After several years of research, it turned out that scientists have found an ancient city that has no analogues in the world. The found object was given the name Arkaim - after the name of a nearby mountain. And today, 30 years later, around this ancient settlement there is a reserve of the same name.
Why is it worth visiting Arkaim?
1. It's very beautiful here. Seriously! I am not a particularly sentimental person, but steppe sunsets and dawns, thunderclouds pouring rain on the horizon, fields of steppe feather grass waving in the wind - all this rarely leaves anyone indifferent. The peculiarity of the steppe is that there are huge open spaces around you, and there is nothing for the eye to catch on - and this makes it so light in the head, easy to think, easy to breathe, easy to live.
2. There is something to see here. First, these are historical objects. The ancient settlement of Arkaim itself, the historical museum, the museum of ancient industries, the old mill, the reconstruction of the Cossack house, the reconstruction of the dwellings of an ancient man, the reconstruction of an ancient burial site belonging to one of the local nomadic tribes. In the summer, archaeologists work here - you can come in, get acquainted and peep the work of scientists in the field. You can go to all historical sites accompanied by a guide - and if you are lucky and the guide is not a bore, you can find out a lot of interesting information. Secondly, a bonus for mountain lovers. Arkaim is located in the steppe zone, but historically there are small mountains here. It is difficult to call them full-fledged mountains, but, nevertheless, in order to climb their peaks, some efforts will be required from you. There are several mountains on the territory of the reserve, the closest and highest are Shamanka and Grachinaya. The second is also called the Mountain of Love, and midnight tourists watching the beautiful starry sky often stumble about couples in love who decide to spend the night in the open air with maximum romance.
3. Here you can take a break from the city. Telephone networks catch badly, with the Internet it also does not always add up, there are few people. A paradise for those who want to put things aside and be alone with themselves and nature.
Arkaim is also known as an esoteric center. They say that energy flows supposedly pass here, which have a beneficial effect on the body and bring people all sorts of benefits: happiness, good luck, health, and so on. Believe it or not - it's up to you, but I would not recommend buying excursions from dubious personalities offering to take you to the Wishing Stone, for example, and bury money there for future financial flows in your pocket. Better spend them on a geological master class!
A few tips:
1.
Be sure to take a sun hat and warm clothes with you on your trip. The weather in the steppe is an unpredictable thing; in one day, heat at 40 degrees can happen, and hail, and downpour, and anything you like. Seriously, once in July in the morning there was frost on the tents.
2.
take sunscreens and cream for chapped skin. The wind here is constant: weak or strong, it is always there, so it’s better to put on smears right away, otherwise irritations and a burnt red nose cannot be avoided.
3. Near Arkaim there is a small village. For a small fee, you can ask for local residents visit and plunge into the world of a simple Russian village: pigs, cows, chickens, a tractor in the yard, a vegetable garden. The contrast with city life is striking!
4. Stock up on mosquito repellant.
5. The cost of housing is from 200 rubles for a place under a tent to 2,000 rubles for a hotel room. The cost of excursions is from 50 to 250 rubles. You can visit master classes in pottery, geology, and the creation of traditional cloth dolls.
Russia has a huge number of interesting places to visit, and Arkaim is one of them! Get out of the house, discover the beauty of the Ural steppes!
Until now, it remains a mystery what kind of unknown architects erected Arkaim - an ancient city, whose age is estimated at about four thousand years. Most researchers believe that Arkaim was not a place permanent residence, but was used by people at a certain time. Perhaps it had some kind of religious, sacred meaning and was associated with the cult of the sun, like the famous Stonehenge - the oldest observatory in Britain, located at the same latitude with Arkaim. Or maybe the city was used as a reserve settlement during the war.
city plan
Labyrinths were arranged in front of the entrances to Arkaim. These could be fortification traps that made it difficult to get into the city, or perhaps they had a sacred meaning. The ancient city was well fortified and surrounded by two rows of stone walls, between which a road was laid.
INTERESTING FACT
Arkaim is the world's only example of such an ancient sewage system, which indicates a fairly high level of urbanization.
Most likely, the city was created according to a premeditated plan. This is evidenced by the places discovered during the excavations, left by unknown architects for future dwellings, and the thoughtfulness of all urban structures.
At the same time, each dwelling is individual, there are even attempts to expand it, capturing the area from the common street. This indicates that each family (or clan) was engaged in construction on their own, there was no collective, communal construction.
The ancient settlement was equipped not only with planned passages, the so-called streets, but also with a system of drains and drainage basins, among which the inner moat was the main one.
The settlement was built according to a radial scheme - in the form of a circle. The diameter of the outer circle is about 160 meters. A moat about two meters deep stretches along the outer wall, which used to be filled with water. The outer wall of Arkaim is monumental: almost five meters wide and more than five meters high.
There are only four passages in it, the widest is facing southwest, the other three are also oriented to the cardinal points. A ditch about two meters wide was dug behind the wall, connected to the outer ditch. Through it, excess water was removed from the city and fell into the ditch, which was an additional defensive structure. The ditch was covered with wooden flooring: thus, a street between the walls turned out. 35 dwellings adjoined the outer wall, and each had access to the main street of the settlement. The inner wall with only one entrance was even higher than the outer one, seven meters wide and three meters wide. Inside were 25 dwellings, hidden and well protected from the outside world.
INTERESTING FACT
The researchers came to the conclusion that the unit of length in Arkaim was equal to modern 80 centimeters.
Every house in Arkaim had a well. Two earthen pipes led from it to the house: one was brought into the furnace, and the second into a small storage in the form of a dome. The first one served as a bellows: the cold air from the well created a draft of such force that the furnace heated up to the temperature necessary for smelting metal. The second one transmitted cold air to a kind of ancient "refrigerator" in which food was stored.
On the roofs of houses in Arkaim there was another street, and it was so wide that it was quite possible to ride a wooden chariot along it.
The researchers of Arkaim discovered both residential buildings and household buildings - pottery and metallurgical furnaces, cattle pens. Based on the preserved animal bones, a conclusion was made about the composition of the herd. These are mainly horses, as well as large and small cattle.
Modern fields that are located in the Arkaim region could be cultivated by its inhabitants. By the way, about five or six kilometers from ancient city several other small settlements of the same period have been discovered. Some archaeologists believe that this is just the agricultural land of those times.
religious cult
In Arkaim, many sacrificial animal bones were found, which indicates a developed religious cult. Around Arkaim, the remains of ceramics with patterns in the form of a swastika were found - ancient symbol sun.
“In a number of houses in Arkaim, at the bottom of wells, hooves, shoulder blades and lower jaws of horses and cows were found that had been on fire. Moreover, the bones of the animals are deliberately placed in the wells: the jaws are arranged in a circle along the walls of the well and are fixed with birch pegs driven into the ground. Near the wells, at the bottom of which sacrifices were recorded, there were metallurgical furnaces. At the same time, the blower of the furnaces was connected to the well with the help of a special blower channel arranged in the ground. An experiment carried out here, in the field, showed that a furnace combined with a well is capable of producing the temperature necessary not only for melting bronze, but also for smelting copper from ore. Perhaps there was a connection of this altar with fire and water, which may indicate the myth of the birth of the god of fire from water and finds a connection with the Zoroastrian god Agni.
Researcher D. Zdanovich
Country of cities
After the discovery of Arkaim, with the help of aerospace research, more than two dozen similar settlements were discovered in this region. All of them are located in a very compact area with a diameter of about 350 kilometers and belong to the same era. Some of them, like Arkaim, are round in plan, others are oval, some have a rectangular shape. Prehistoric settlements stand about 60-70 kilometers apart, at a distance of one or two days of travel. This is convenient and logical both for trade, and for joint economic activities, and for defense and warfare. This unique phenomenon of the South Ural settlements was called the "Country of Cities". A similar system of ancient cities has not been found anywhere else.
