Sarmishsay petroglyphs

10,000 ancient drawings on rocks

In the Sarmishsay gorge more than 10,000 pictures are carved into the rocks — ancient people pecked them out with stones! They show bulls, ibex, deer, lions, even camels and hunters. The oldest are 8,000 years old. It is an ancient 'art gallery' that shows which animals lived in Uzbekistan back then. Some pictures show the aurochs, a wild bull that died out long ago.

Sarmishsay is a 20 km gorge in the Karatau range, 40 km north of Navoi; one of Central Asia's largest petroglyph complexes: over 10,000 images from the Mesolithic (7th millennium BC) to the Middle Ages. Technique: pecking with a stone through the dark 'desert varnish' to leave a pale image. Subjects: aurochs (extinct wild cattle), Bukhara deer, ibex, tiger, lion, cheetah, camel, hunting scenes, ritual dances, solar signs; chariots in the Bronze Age. The pictures record a wetter climate in the Zarafshan basin at the time. On UNESCO's tentative list since 2008; the Sarmish Reserve protects it. Threats: vandalism and natural erosion.

Fun facts

• Sarmishsay has over 10,000 drawings; the oldest is 8,000 years old.
• The drawings include tigers and lions — they once lived in Uzbekistan.
• The pictures were pecked into dark rock with stones — no paint.