Sarmysh Petroglyphs
Sarmysh Petroglyphs
Central Asia and Uzbekistan are home to numerous petroglyph sites, where ancient people left markings that likely represent prayers for a successful hunt, a prosperous marriage, or simply reflections of their daily lives. The Sarmysh petroglyphs (also known as Sarmyshsay) stand out as one of the most famous sites due to the sheer abundance and richness of the rock drawings found there.
The destination is located in the Samish Gorge, nearby the Karatau Mountain Range about 35 km northeast of Navoi. There are actually two petroglyph sites that date back as far as the Stone Age with a total of 10 000 ancient rock carvings. According to UNESCO, it is the largest and most important rock art monument in Uzbekistan and therefore it is in the list of tentative Unesco world heritage sites.
According to the archaeologists of the Archaeological Institute under the Academy of Science of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the petroglyphs could be from the Paleolithic (old stone age), stone age or bronze age eras (300-15 000 years BC). In the Neolithic period (6th – 5th centuries BC) tribes of hunters and fishers of Keltaminar culture settled here and formed tribes in the area of Sarmyshsay. Apart from the usual figures of the hunters, horses and deer, there are also dancers, creepy camels with three humps and men with two heads. The number of petroglyphs and their variety are truly remarkable.
Sights near Sarmysh Petroglyphs
Page updated 3.12.2024
