At the exhibition in Tauride Chersonese — artifacts of the Stone Tomb

The museum-reserve has opened a capsule exhibition “The House of Fish” on the sacred mountain Kamennaya Mogila.” Experts note that it gives visitors to Tauride Chersonesos a rare opportunity to get acquainted with artifacts from the Zaporozhye region tens of thousands of years old.

During the study of the Stone Tomb, many grottoes and caves were found in which rock paintings, sculptures and churingas — the creations of primitive artists — were preserved. They often recreate images of animals and birds associated with totemistic and magical ideas of the population of the Northern Azov region. Churingas played an important role in the life of ancient people. They believed that a person’s soul leaves him during sleep and death and moves to the churinga, which every tribesman had. For this reason, they tried to hide these items in inaccessible places — storage facilities under the supervision of elders and warriors, — note the press service of the Chersonese Tauride Museum-Reserve.

A significant part of the churing depicts snake fish, which are part of the models of the Universe: the lower level (sea) – fish, middle level (ground) – animal, upper level (sky) – bird. According to scientists, the stone fish corresponds to the stylistic views of ancient people and symbolizes the change of day and night. This is evidenced by the sculpture of a two-headed fish-snake, found in one of the grottoes of Kamennaya Mogila.

The presence of many churinga with images of fish and a high relief of a large fish, made on a stone floor and dotted with petroglyphs in the form of linear geometric designs, in cave No. 56 indicate the existence of a unique “House of the Fish”, built according to all the canons of the ancient Eastern religion.

The special value of the sacred churing objects found on the territory of the Stone Tomb is that they represent a kind of window into an unknown, lost, but extremely interesting historical and cultural world. It consisted of many tribes that occupied vast expanses of Eurasia during the Paleolithic — Bronze Age.

You can get acquainted with unique artifacts tens of thousands of years old until October 8 in the hall of the small hall of the Byzantine exposition of Chersonese Tauride. The exhibition “House of Fish” on the sacred mountain Kamennaya Mogila” is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00 to 17:00. Free admission!

source: press service of the Chersonese Tauride Museum-Reserve