As the USA stole the Altai stone image 40 years ago

On August 8, 1973 the Gorno-Altaysk regional newspapers “Star of Altai” and “Altaydyn Cholmony” reported: “New “stone image” is found recently in a river basin of Bar-Burgazy by employees of Buguzun geophysical party. According to the conclusion of specialists of Institute of History, Philology and Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, it is a monument of a Turkic era of the VI-VII centuries A.D. There is still no so realistic sculpture of ancient Altai masters in one of museums of Siberia …”.

That remarkable year was remembered to me and my colleagues by two remarkable events: we looked for the girl who was lost in mountains. And here we didn't look for the amazing woman at all, but found, having literally dug out her from under the earth.

This unusual, truly unique sculpture didn't get in one Russian museum. It simply “was lost”…

And this almost detective story began long ago, two and a half thousand years ago. Then, in the VI century B.C, in extensive territories of Eurasia from Ancient Greece to Transbaikalia, the time of new technologies and brilliant art blossoming of arts came.

That time left to us numerous gold products of unsurpassed beauty and graces. For these subjects of an era of so-called Scythian gold are famous also Ancient Greece, both Northern Black Sea Coast and boundless steppes of Southern Siberia.

Today various gold jewelry, ware and weapon, whole unique treasures draw attention of visitors of the Hermitage, Louvre and many other museums of Russia and world. They were found among the ruins of the disappeared cities, in ancient burials, in the big and small barrows towering among steppes on plains and in intermountain valleys.

And near barrows, and even directly at their tops the narrow stone towered the steles called by olenny stones, balbely, “stone images”. Later on smooth flat stones began to beat out some kind of stylized image of human faces. Very seldom the volume figures having meet even, probably, any portrait similarity to originals.

Two such stones stood in a head river of Bar-Burgazy falling into river Yustyd (right-bank of Katun River), among the wide valley which is stretching to the south, to the pass through Chikhachov Range. And behind the flat pass there is already Mongolia and near China. They
were known to local historians and regional specialists long ago.

The close acquaintance with this natural boundary occurred thanks to the extraordinary accident: Masha was lost, the student probationer from Tomsk University. There is nothing improbable that someone from geologists can get lost in a route. It happens sometimes and in a dense taiga, and in the boundless steppe, and, at last, in the tundra. As a rule, in bad weather.

But here, in the high mountains stuffed with reference points, in light time of day moreover in
good weather, it was simply impossible to lose the way. We found the student, but it is another story.

Here we found two copper-smeltery of antique time, the people smelt the metal here twenty or even thirty five centuries ago! There were much burned ceramics, remained from fragments of ancient furnaces. Then, in the VII-VI centuries B.C. — that is at the time of Ancient Greek historian Herodotus, the handicraftsmen and cattle-farmers lived here long time, the remained remains of small, one and a half by one and a half meter rectangular fences testified to it. Probably, here not only addressed to gods, but also made a sacrifice lambs or wild animals and inside the fence, at a depth of thirty-forty centimetres, dug the gold subjects intended to gods. In a word, they made the same as the inhabitants of Ancient Greece, Transcaucasia or South America.

However, some gold products belong already to later time: judging by style, they were left herу not by Scythians, but the representatives of the Turkic tribes who have come instead of them. Then, in the VI-VII centuries of Common Era, the steles or stone images were established inside the fences. We, the former residents of Tomsk, recognized these primitive sculptures at once, well-known to many Siberians. We already saw almost same sculptures before an entrance in Tomsk State University, in other museums and in distant mountain natural boundaries of Altai and Khakassia.

But here the unusual stone which was seen in one of the fences. It stuck out of the earth on only ten-fifteen centimetres and was distinguished from all around rocks by the unusual colouring. From far away the stone looked bright white and it reminded very much the kaolin breeds which are usually widespread in bark of aeration of ore body. Naturally we couldn't pass by such unusual object. Approached to it, looked narrowly …

One blow of the geological hammer was sufficient to define: stone is “ringing”, not the local. Unfortunately, it wasn’t resembled to kaolin and, therefore, ore… But there was something absolutely another and such unusual of which we couldn't think!

Several minutes were enough to be convinced: this block is an artefact and that is it appeared here precisely by means of the person from those breeds which are no around valley mountains. Besides, the fragment had obviously rectangular form in section, therefore, was accurately squared by someone. It caused respect for a find at once and induced desire to rummage here longer. When the block was completely taken from under the earth by means of shovels and scrap, we gasped: there was an amazing sculpture before us — a stone image!

Accurately squared from all sides, only almost flat back was a little touched by a hand of stonemason. It seemed that everything here was traditional and known long ago: face form with the moustaches twirled up, a type-setting belt, position of the right hand holding a cup vessel …

But something was unusual. We quickly thought what is the matter: the surface of a sculpture wasn't touched by aeration and there were no damages made by the people. Everything was fresh as if work on a sculpture was finished quite recently, several years ago.

Only white spots from a bird's dung, covering small area and the lower part of a sculpture with a thin layer, specified that it simply served as convenient perch for mountain eagles. At first this statue stood as it is necessary, that is up the head and then long time hardly towered over the earth by the head over heels. While we, curious prospectors, didn't come across it. Safety of a sculpture was promoted also by that the natural boundary of Bar-Burgazy is away from the main caravan tracks and also "silk" and "tea" ways of this remote area.

Researchers called at once a find as the wonderful woman, a remarkable, unique sculpture. Unusual appeared the gold jewelry taken by archaeologists from under it.

According to the decision of the Government of the USSR and Academy of Sciences Presidium in 1974 the Siberia Scientific exhibition was sent to the USA in order to tell to the Americans about big achievements of the Siberian science. As Leonid Brezhnev wrote in the cover letter to this exhibition, it was urged “to promote further strengthening and expansion of cultural and scientific ties of the Soviet and American people”. Among other outstanding exhibits there was also our woman from Bar-Burgazy. This sculpture from Mountain Altai especially attracted the visitors thanks to unusual realistic iconography (feature of a portrait) and unique safety.

The sculpture travelled nearly a year across the USA, having visited Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington and New York. The exposition had the big success. And here from there, from world famous showroom of Madison Square Garden, the sculpture didn't return. No, it wasn’t sold and stolen. For us it as though disappeared, evaporated, was irrevocably and hopelessly lost.

In the short official notice of exhibition committee the following was reported: “These exhibits (…) to the greatest regret were damaged in transit and therefore their return isn't possible”.

Attempts to receive at least the remains of a sculpture back were unsuccessful. Certainly, the insurance was immediately paid to Academy of Sciences — totally one and a half thousand dollars!

Here so stone “fragments” of the unique statue, weighing about four hundred kilograms, disappeared. And for history, for all Siberian archaeology there was only a short preliminary description of this sculpture — the coeval of antique statues...