The most ancient mysterious city of Arkaim, which is located on the territory of the Bredinsky district of the Chelyabinsk region, was discovered in 1987. If you look at this temple city from above, you can see a spiral curl. Today "Arkaim" is a reserve of the Chelyabinsk region, a kind of museum under the sky, which attracts pilgrims.
"Arkaim" is a tourist place, a whole archaeological complex, which consists of a fortified urban center, a utility site, a burial ground and several unfortified settlements. Its geographical position is impressive - the foothills of the Ural Mountains (eastern side) and the Utyaganka River - the left tributary of the Bolshaya Karaganka.
The Arkaim Nature Reserve is a real treasure for scientists, because populations of rare animals and plants are preserved on its territory.
A brief history of the nature reserve
For the first time, military topographers saw Arkaim in 1957, but they did not show much to the mysterious circleinterest. Conventional topographers in an aerial survey of the area in 1969 discovered a circular structure that was considered a secret military base. And only in 1987, the participants of the Ural-Kazakhstan archaeological expedition quite by accident discovered Arkaim to mankind. Defensive ramparts, ditches, the street have already been discovered during excavations. Thus, one of the settlements of the "Country of Cities" called Arkaim appeared.
The creation of a branch of the Ilmensky reserve of state significance, that is, the Experimental Museum, was initiated in 1991 by G. B. Zdanovich. In early 1994, the museum became a historical and archaeological center, and in 2007 it was reorganized into the historical and cultural reserve "Arkaim" of regional subordination with many sights.
Complex structure of the reserve
Many argue that "Arkaim" - the nature reserve of the Chelyabinsk region - is an amazing area where you can concentrate your energy. Therefore, this place is always open not only for historians and archaeologists, but also for many pilgrims, clairvoyants, everyone who believes in the healing and purification of the soul. Arkaim also has a special tradition - to watch the sunrise from the top of the hill.
There are a lot of sights near the Arkaim reserve. These are various museums and archaeological sites that are open for viewing.
Fortified territory-settlement
This Bronze Age archaeological site is dated3rd-2nd millennium BC e. From the town there were only small hillocks, visible from the air. However, in the past, Arkaim was a settlement with a fairly developed infrastructure for that period of time. Its territory (diameter - only 150 m) was inhabited by approximately 2-3 thousand people. There were several dozen houses in the settlement, but for some reason the natives burned their houses and left the city forever.
Historical Park
This object of the archaeological complex is located near the Bolshaya Karaganka River, away from the hustle and bustle. In fact, this open-air museum is dominated by the theme of burial. There are many ancient tombstones made of stone and boxes with fences, testifying to the existence of family cemeteries. There are also mysterious menhirs, the purpose of which has not been established. The Aksai Turkic complex of the Middle Ages is located on the territory of the historical park.
"Temir" - a reconstructed barrow
The Ostyak of the museum, which displays the ancient barrow, was the results of archaeological research of the Sarmatian barrow, which was located in the Chesmensky district of the Chelyabinsk region. It is dated to the 4th century BC. e. Scientists managed to accurately reproduce a copy of the burial structure of the ancient nomadic tribes. They conveyed in detail both the appearance and the interior arrangement of the ancestral tomb. Only noble representatives of the tribe and their relatives were buried in mounds.
Ancient village
The way our ancestors lived can be seen in the village recreated by archaeologists during the Copper-Stone Age (Eneolithic). This ancient village is shown in naturalsizes. The subsoil of its occurrence was the results of archaeological excavations in the village of Botai in northern Kazakhstan.
Here you can see housing in the form of rounded semi-dugouts, because this form of housing was due to difficult climatic conditions.
Ethnography Museum
All museum exhibits were collected in the Urals. The workers brought them to the reserve of the Chelyabinsk region and created the "Cossack estate" here. The prototype of this ethnographic museum is the house of the Dolgopolovs - Cossacks from the village of Varlamovo (late 19th - early 20th centuries). The museum has many household items from that period. Knowledgeable guides talk about the traditions and customs of the ancestors. A very interesting building of the museum is a "Dutch" windmill (tent type), standing near the house. It was built in Paris in 1929, after which it was transported to the Warsaw village, where it functioned successfully until the 60s of the twentieth century. In 1999, the mill was moved to a protected area.
They hold master classes in this museum for those who want to do needlework. Here craftswomen can make a souvenir product with their own hands.
Camp of nomadic tribes
Relatively recently, that is, in 2010, a new building was recreated on the territory of Arkaim - a nomad camp. It consists of four yurts, where you can not only see with your own eyes how the nomads lived, but also stay.
Museum of Ancient Crafts
This is uniquethe building is equipped in a camp for tourists. Many admire the functioning stoves of impressive size. They were reconstructed in order to show what the kilns for firing ceramic products, heating, as well as furnaces for smelting metal products looked like. All things in the museum can be touched, which is especially liked by the kids.
Shamanicha
Watch the sunrise and sunset, many people like from the slopes of Mount Shamanka, which is simply called Shamanikha. At the top of this ancient paleovolcano you can see a spiral of stone. It has 13 turns, which symbolizes the chain of incarnations for passage to paradise. There is a belief that those who go through the spiral with bare feet become one with their family tree, their sins are forgiven.
Mountain of Love
After the river Karaganka, in the upper tourist camp, rises the highest mountain "Arkaima" - the mountain of Love. On one of its slopes you can see a spiral of stones. The Mountain of Love offers a magnificent panorama of the camp and a view of Shamanikha.
Other protected areas of the region
Reserves, national parks of the Chelyabinsk region - these are the places where everyone feels like a piece of mother nature. There are 3 reserves and 2 nature parks in the region. I must say that the reserves of the Chelyabinsk region, the list of which is not so long, have great historical, cultural and scientific value.
So, the Ilmensky Reserve is famous for such crystalline compounds as minerals (sapphire, garnet, topaz, etc.). This is the most famous nature reserve of the Chelyabinsk region. In fact, in itthere are almost all varieties of minerals of natural origin. They are presented at the exhibition of exhibits of the Natural Science Museum.
All reserves of the Chelyabinsk region are significant. The list of their names is replenished by the South Ural Reserve and the so-called radiation (East Ural). Their main task is to protect the natural fund.
The reserves of the Chelyabinsk region, whose names are chosen very well, enjoy great love among tourists and the local population. So, for example, the national park "Taganai" from the Bashkir means "mountain of the rising moon." This is a truly amazing place, from where beautiful mountain landscapes and unique stone compositions open up to the human eye. But one of the mountains of Taganay is named for its characteristic rounded shape - Kruglitsa. Zyuratkul Natural Park of national importance is also very popular among guests and residents of the region. A picturesque ecological path leads to its ridge.
Ural nature is charming. National parks, the Ilmensky Reserve, botanical reserves, archaeological and historical centers, the Arkaim Reserve will tell about its secrets. The Chelyabinsk region allocated about 200,000 hectares of land for natural monuments.
