All news

UNESCO to include Bashkiria’s unique cave with Paleolithic drawings in world heritage list

The Kapova cave of the natural and cultural complex "The Bashkir Urals" is one of the most valuable cultural and archaeological sites

UFA, December 2. /TASS/. The copy of the famous Kapova cave, one of the largest coves in the South Urals with more than 150 Paleolithic cave drawings not less than 14-17 thousands years old, will be created in the Republic of Bashkortostan, local Deputy Ecology Minister told TASS on Wednesday.

"The creation of the copy is one of the conditions to include it in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites," Ildus Yakhin said. "The UNESCO says that people will be unable to enter the real cave, so to let visitors have a deep look into the history we need to make a copy."

The republican authorities should finance the creation of the precise copy of the famous cave, which "costs lots of money." The minister has not announced exact sum.

The Kapova cave of the natural and cultural complex "The Bashkir Urals" is one of the most valuable cultural and archaeological sites. A research team found a dwelling site of Paleolithic people with plenty of bonfires, charcoal and different objects in the vegetable soils in the cave during the recent years. As much as 193 objects were found including pendants made of bones or, possibly, mammoth tusks. Discovery of a clay lamp fragment was unique, since earthenware is very rarely found in the cultural Paleolithic soils.

This week two more cave drawings were found, but that "will not accelerate the process of including the cave in the UNESCO list," the minister said.

The copy will be placed some 1.5 kilometers from the original cave.

"Massive tourist flow threatens the entity of the cave’s masterpieces," an expert said. "But we must not isolate people from enjoying such unique pieces of arts. Today there are specialists able to reconstruct a precise copy.".