Description of the attraction
Onega petroglyphs are located in the Pudozh region, located on the eastern coast of Lake Onega. It is believed that they appeared in the 4th - 2nd millennium BC. The petroglyphs are located in scattered groups on the mountains and rocks of the Besov Nos Peninsula, Guriy Island, Capes Peri Nos, Gagazhiy and Kladovets, as well as on the Kochkovnavolok Peninsula and on the Karelian Nos. The Onega petrographers were discovered in 1848 by a geologist from the city of St. Petersburg, K. Greving.
It is believed that the creators of the Onega petrographers were the ancestors of the living Baltic-Finnish peoples. But on the White Sea, the process of creating images took longer and their number was twice as large as on Onego. On Lake Onega, there are more hieroglyphs on fantastic themes. The rock sanctuary covers a part of the lake shore 20.5 km long, which includes about 1200 images, which are most often combined into compositions.
Most of the drawings stand out on the reddish rock, and some of them have microlichen-like coatings, for this reason it is not easy to find them. The sizes of the figures are in the range from 2 cm to 4 meters. Mostly images of birds, most often swans, forest animals, boats and people, prevail.
Onega petroglyphs are represented by both mysterious, fantastic and original motives. The most famous drawing is the "triad" located on the extremity of the cape called the Besov Nose. "Bes" is a human figure of more than 2 meters in height with outstretched toes and disproportionate small legs. Lunar and solar (semicircles and circles with rays-lines), drawings of otters, lizards and catfish are presented.
Peri Nos is located in the northern part of Besov Nos, where rock paintings from seven scattered groups are also preserved. A cluster of about 120 figures has been discovered on the Karelian Cape: here the petroglyphs run almost along the entire southern slope. Petroglyphs on the Kochkonavoloksky peninsula are of particular interest. They were discovered between the 1970s and 1990s and are found in the number of two hundred knockouts, which include a three-meter swan and a variety of mythological scenes associated with birds, people and boats.
A lot of work was spent on finding the now widely known Onega petrographers. The famous explorer of petroglyphs Bryusov A. Ya. monitored the surface of the rocks at different times during the summer day. The scientist managed to see a number of implicitly visible images that were only viewed at certain specific hours.
Until now, researchers and scientists are finding more and more new drawings, as well as little-known details of previously found images. One of the reasons for such discoveries is the poor preservation of the largest number of rock paintings and figures. Time did not take pity on them, because the embossed part of them darkened especially and often simply merge in texture and color with the surrounding surface of the rocks. And to the greatest extent, the drawings that are located near the water due to the constant washing of the nearby lake by the waters have been erased.
Icebreakers worsen the appearance of rock carvings the most. The ice hummocks reach a height of 5-6 meters. It happens that hummocks almost completely tear off large pieces from the rocks and put them in a position in which the rocks can collapse. It is not uncommon for rock pieces to simply collide into the water. In those places where the waves do not reach, the drawings are eaten away by mosses and lichens. Fissures and cracks in the rocks, a large number of scars and potholes speak to the constant and unceasing destructive force of the elements, which destroys dozens of images. But most of the drawings are still completely preserved or can be photographed without tinting. The clarity of the rock carvings depends to the greatest extent on the illumination. The best time for viewing images is an early sunny morning or evening, because oblique rays can make the image more embossed and clearly visible. The sun's rays also create the illusion of movement, which suggests that the ancient inhabitants of Onega discovered a system of "live pictures" reminiscent of modern cinema.
