Russia’s Wealth of Archaeological Wonders

The treasures and ancient mysteries of Russia provide evidence of vital stages in not only human evolution, but the very origins of life on planet earth. Although archaeology was practiced in the Russian Empire in the 1850s, it formally became 'Soviet archaeology’ in the early 20th century with the journal Sovetskaya Arkheologiia having been published since 1957.

The Shigir wooden sculpture dates to 11,000 years ago ( CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Shigir Idol

One of Russia’s greatest ancient treasures is called the Shigir Idol; carved in the Mesolithic period around 11,000 years ago, it is the world’s oldest wooden sculpture. Discovered in 1890 in the mid Ural region, about 100 kilometers (62.13 miles) from Yekaterinburg, it was pulled from a four meter (13.12 feet) deep peat bog and this unique Siberian larch idol is estimated to have stood over 17 feet (5 meters) high. It is today displayed at the Sverdlovsk Regional Lore Museum in Yekaterinburg and while one pictures this dominant artifact in situ, overlooking a hunter’s camp, one is reminded of author Rob Waugh’s 2015 Yahoo News article in which he reminds that this: “Mysterious Russian statue is twice as old as the pyramids in Egypt”.