Found: Dragon and Griffin Megaliths Dating Back 12,000 Years to End of Ice Age, or Earlier
By The Siberian Times reporter
Unknown ancient people left the newly discovered fantastical creatures hewn of granite in Altai Mountains. This dragon drawn on a rock weighing a staggering 120 tons is believed to be exceptionally old, a megalith designed by a mysterious ancient population about whom we know nothing.
The unique megaliths were located at Mokhnataya mountain in Altai region, some 20 kilometres from the resort town of Belokurikha.
Archeological researchers who found the granite monuments believe they date back deep into ancient history, and were put into position by prehistoric people, yet how they did so, and why, currently defies understanding.
The heavyweight dragon seems to be the oldest known image of this mythical creature in Russia.
It does not appear to be related to the Chinese style of portraying the mythical creature, but a unique Siberian depiction.
The Hermitage museum in St Petersburg has been informed of the discovery. Pictures: Ruslan Posyolkov
The dragon 'has bold and smooth features similar to those of crocodiles and dinosaurs, impossible to form if granite cracks naturally,' said researcher Ruslan Peresyolkov, who has closely studied ancient Altai monuments with his colleague Alexander.
'If we accept the fact that the dragon is an artificial object, then the stones composing it were brought, processed and installed in a certain position,' he said. 'The rock weighs over 120 tons.
'A close look shows the megalith is made of six parts in all, their sizes varying from 1.3 to 2.1 metres (in length).'
At first sight, the hulking griffin depiction resembles eagle-headed mythical creatures of this kind in Siberia's Scythian culture which held sway between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago.
Yet the Scythians did not create such monumental sculptures, and these megaliths appear substantially older, on a par with the oldest examples known to man, Ruslan said.
'It resembles a reptile's head with distinctive jaws and eye,' he said. 'The stone bird is 5.9 metres in length and over 2.5 metres in height.
'The griffin has a distinguished skull, a bold and heavy beak, an eye shaped like a cavity and a long notched crest. Its neck can be clearly seen, and the rest is, perhaps, hidden underground.
'The sculpture is facing east, and is surrounded by other anthropological objects including holes of, supposedly, cult or religious purposes.'
At first sight, the hulking griffin depiction resembles eagle-headed mythical creatures of this kind in Siberia's Scythian culture which held sway between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago. Pictures: Ruslan Posyolkov
'In my opinion, this is a unique discovery,' Ruslan Peresyolkov said.
'The most similar finds to this griffin is a zoomorphic monument in Ocharovatelnaya ('charming') mountain in Altai that was described in 1993, and sculptures of the Ak-Baur and stone sphinx in Seleutas mountain close to Ust-Kamenogorsk.
'In all of these cases it could not been established exactly when the megalithic monuments were made.
'It is also not clear who created them.'
The Mokhnataya mountains in the Altai Mountains. Picture: Ruslan Posyolkov
The researcher said: 'The dragon and griffin are unique in terms of their sizes; the griffin is also unique in terms of its preservation.
'No other dragon megalith has been found in Siberia, although we believe such discoveries are possible in future.
'The megalith complex in Mokhnataya mountain may date back as far as the end of the last Ice age - or earlier.'
This would mean a minimum of between 11,000 and 12,000 years ago, although the researchers believe they maybe significantly older even than this.
However, he made clear detailed research was required to give a more precise dating to the finds.
'It is impossible to date the griffin and dragon megaliths until the culture that created them is identified, in relation to creators of renown megaliths such as Stonehenge.'
The iconic stones at this site in England were erected around 2,500 years ago.
Ruslan said: 'In my opinion, dragon has no analogues but can be compared to the Scythian animal style. Perhaps, the Scythians inherited a more ancient system of symbols.
'The serrated crest of the griffin strongly resembles Scythian symbols from burials of the Pazyryk culture in Altai.
'In our opinion dragon in Mokhnataya mountain is not related to Chinese dragon images.'
The megaliths at Mokhnatya mountain was discovered in 2013 but are only now disclosed.
The Hermitage museum in St Petersburg has been informed of the discovery.
The researchers believe that the images may be related in some way to the forced migration caused by the Ice Age.
Top image: The megaliths at Mokhnatya mountain was discovered in 2013 but are only now disclosed. Pictures: Ruslan Posyolkov
The article ‘Found: Dragon and Griffin Megaliths Dating Back 12,000 Years to End of Ice Age, or Earlier’ was originally published on The Siberian Times and has been republished with permission.
Comments
The Griffin megalith appears to be a pretty good rendition of a bird of prey, and requires very little imagination to see the similarities. The dragon, on the other hand, may be an equally good example, but it is impossible to tell by looking at the attached images. The photo shows the Dragon facing to the right of the screen, while the line drawing (sketch) is done facing to the left. The photo is also blocked in an important area by a flowering bush of some sort which obscures most, if not all of the frontal portion of the artifact.
The dates of of 11,000 to 12,000 years may indeed be correct, but if so, then they could not have been produced by the Sythian Culture which existed in the area only 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. These megaliths may, however, have influenced the Sythian culture, and been responsible for some of their symbology.
Russia, and the Siberian area in particular are vast areas of land which, due to their harsh conditions, and inaccessability have had little archaeological notice until now. I believe that as more explorations are conducted in these little known areas, there will be many more discoveries which will help us to connect to our history.
If, after thorough scientific testing, these megaliths are dated accurately to the end of the last ice age, then we may be forced to rethink what is currently accepted as fact within the scientific community.
R. Lee Bowers
Hi PERR,
As much as I would like to see something real in the photos, I simply cannot. Pareidolia, nothing more and nothing less. I have a great imagination, but not so overactive that I would even consider falling for what you are correct in calling “total BS”.
Without any evidence, of any kind to put a date, or even a general period in history on the objects, I simply will not buy any of this fabrication. There are many real artifacts which lay undiscovered on our beautiful planet, and frankly, neither you nor I have time to waste on obviously fraudulent claims such as this one.
It seems that we are very much in agreement in this case.
R. Lee Bowers
So you agree it's a simple case of Pareidolia?
Because it's nothing more than that.
12k years old? Based on what? There is no way the stone could have been dated, as we currently have no technology to do so.
According to the article the researchers still have to find any other form of artifact to actually be a form evidence to prove the 12k claim.
AND a lot of hoax finds come from that large area (Russia, Ukraine, etc) and my guess is that this is such a 'find'.
"Look! Some weird looking rocks! Let's call them an Eagle and a Dragon and say they are man-made!"
Just for 5min of fame. Sorry.. 'fame'.
And if you look closely, and imagine a bit, you can see that these pics are altered, and you're just looking at a re-colored picture of clouds in funny shapes.
Found in 2013 and 4 (!!) years later they decide to bring the info?
Right.
I call total BS.
Why is it far fetched to believe that these megaliths were purposely created? In your opinion,they don’t resemble a Dragon or Griffen, but your eyes see the same as all other humans. The difference lies in how your brain interprets what the eyes see. In my case, with the quality and angle of the photo, I don’t see the Dragon either, but I do see the head of what appears to be a bird of prey.
Lets, for a moment, follow your train of thought on the Griffen and it’s lack of a body. For example; if you went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and saw a bust of Caesar Augustus, would you then say that it can’t be him simply because the sculpture is lacking the body? I think not.
That is what critical thinking, plus a good (not over active) imagination does. It helps the mind fill in the missing pieces in a logical manner, and it is also one of the “Prime Movers” in human advancement.
In short, we all see the same things, but some make the obvious connections, and some don’t.
R. Lee Bowers
I think it's just far fetched to think they were put there on purpose. They don't look that much like a dragon and Griffin. Sure the Griffin has a resemblance to a bird of prey's head, but where's the rest of the body to call it that? Especially the dragon one. You folks have great imaginations. Uncover the area and show me the rest of the body.