I post it here as it seems to be coherent with Zhiguli mountains weird phenomena...
Here imo is a superb riddle for Penelope :D
Something fishy-spooky, hidden and possibly revealing in this idol from Zhiguli mountains in Ural!
During 1880-th on Shigirski lake coast in Middle Ural Mountains gold miners have casually found out an collection of ancient artifacts, among them unusual subjects from horns, bones, wood, stone, clay: a wooden spoon with the handle in the form of a head of a duck, a horn sculptured as an elk's head, a tiny wooden head of a bear, horn top of a staff, representing a predator, harpoon and arrow tips, daggers with edges from thin siliceous slices, oars, scoop with magnificent engraved ornament, etc. According to radiocarbon dating collection dates back to neolith, 9,5 thousand years ago. The most valuable artifact recovered in Shigirski lake zone is Shigirski Idol, a five-meter wooden figure (5, 30 m) from an integral log of a larchwood. The idol is considered the oldest of ever found out ancient wooden sculptures.
Last reconstruction has been executed by V.Tolmachev in 1914. According to his reconstruction idol represented a 5,3 m figure with a volumetric head and long protruding body. The small size of a cone testifies that idol was not wedged in the soil as the majority of other idols, but rather fastened to a tree or a column. Subsequently during WWII
for unknown reasons lower part of idol's body 195 cm long has been irrevocably lost . Remaining part of idol includes upper half of his body, topped by a volumetric head, and the bottom fragment, hewed to a cone. We can analyze lost part of the idol only on basis of Tolmachev's reconstruction. Idol's body from all four sides is covered by carved geometrical ornaments. Besides ornaments on wide sides there are images of anthropomorphic masks. In V.Tolmachev's reconstruction there are five face-masks: three on a face sheet and two on reverse if we include images of the lost fragment too. On remaining part of body there are two face-masks, both located on reverse.
During installation of Shigirski exposition in August, 2003 S. Savchenko paid attention to discrepancy of some details of a portrayal of Shigirski idol made by V. Tolmachev and remaining parts of the original. In particular, a deep pair of cuts on the cheeks of idol, evident in original, are absent in Tolmachev's reconstruction and details of idol's lower part are vaguely shown and extremely sketchy. But the most interesting was that one more face-mask which is absent on the published reconstruction of V. Tolmachev was detected.
Detected mask is located on a reverse side of a body of the idol approximately on the middle of the survived fragment, and divides lines of a double zigzag. Unlike other masks, for modeling of nose of this mask a twig was used therefore the nose is shorter than in other masks, but more protruding. It is remarkable, that this fact is absolutely not reflected in V. Tolmachyev's reconstruction though the twig forming a nose of a mask is traced in that place where it actually exists. At the same time strongly pronounced deep eye-sockets in Tolmachev's reconstruction are absent. Technical-morphological analysis of all remaining face-masks has shown their certain stylistic unity. It is necessary to note that noses of face-masks of a frontal side of remaining body fragment actually are much less protruding than it is shown on Tolmachev's reconstruction, and are not a continuation of a forehead as V.Tolmachev stated. On a mask of a head and on the lower well kept face-mask the line of the forehead, distinctly cut out nose bridge and protruding nose are well evident. The top face-mask of a frontal side is fragmentary. Profile of a new face-mask on the back side differs slightly. It has well visible protruding forehead which has been partially chopped off subsequently, nose bridge is modeled less precise because of sharply protruding truncated nose of almost conical form with flattened rounded end that is caused by particular form of a twig.
Such nose gives to this mask a certain similarity to a muzzle of an animal.
On the bottom mask of a forward side under right overbrow arch is available short under-triangle incision, and under left overbrow arch - a small dent of irregular oval shape, absent in V.Tolmachev's reconstruction. Symmetrical incisions make an impression that a face-mask has eyes.
At a level of the end of a nose on both cheeks across the face-mask of an idol a pair of narrow lines are cut which were not noted in V.Tolmachev reconstruction. The backlash between lines is 5 - 7 mm. 10 mm below on a left edge of the face-mask one more pair of the same, but shorter lines is well visible. Traces of one such line are still visible on edge of the right badly damaged side. These lines on the face-mask of an idol remind scars which, according to ethnographic studies, were quite often carved during passage of initiation ceremonies. Hence, together with masks of lost body part, on a frontal side of an idol are three masks, the same on the back, and together with a mask of idol's head total mask count is seven. If consider a structural composition of idol as a whole, it is visible that masks together with ornaments create separate figures. There are three such figures both on frontal and on reverse sides of idol. They are located one above other, and the top seventh figure with a volumetric head which is ornamented on both sides of the upper body crowns all composition.
Sloping shoulders are shown on the upper figure with a volumetric head. Direct traverse lines which, probably, represent ribs are located on a frontal side of a figure up to its middle. On a reverse side a likewise traverse line runs all over body, then shoulder-blades are shown by two angles, and then ribs - in the form of "pine-like" figures. Lines of two lower rib pairs are bent and form a rhomb. Below instead of the image of legs, both on frontal and reverse sides of a figure two vertical zigzags are carved. Interestingly that on a frontal side zigzags go in parallel, and on reverse form a number of not closed rhombs.
The second image of a face-mask side is located directly under a figure with a volumetric head. This creature has sharpened to a bottom anthropomorphic mask and a body composed of three overlapping (connected head to tail) rhombs. Both a mask, and a body are delimitated by lines of double zigzag. Represented creature reminds a snake or a lizard. Under this figure four direct horizontal lines separating it from the next image of an frontal side of an idol are located.
Anthropomorphic mask of the third figure remains, but its body was on the lost fragment of idol. In the top part of a face-mask two groups of inclined direct lines, four lines in each, going from the middle of a forehead to its edges, are situated. Probably, these lines designate ears or eyebrows of this creature. Below a face-mask horizontal lines (ribs?) are placed . On a V.Tolmachev's reconstruction there are seven of them, but it is possible that several lines have been lost as idol in this place has been broken in half. Further, on the right half of figure the vertical zigzag with a horizontal line from middle of it to the to opposite edge is shown. "Pine-like" figure composed of three lines which can designate paws or legs of a creature completes the image. Five horizontal demarcating lines delineating the last figure of frontal idol's side are situated below.
On the reverse side of idol again there is an ornament described above connected with the top image, which has a volumetric head. Between the second image of a reverse side and the top figure as well as on a frontal side, dividing lines are absent.
The second figure of a reverse side is a figure with newly discovered mask, absent on Tolmachev's reconstruction. As was stated above, the face-mask of this image differs from others. Because of sharply protruding truncated nose-twig it reminds a muzzle of an animal [predator?]. Only profound eye-sockets and a nose are shown on a mask. Directly under a face-mask two zigzags which after one bend form not closed rhombs, are transformed in three pairs of symmetrically located inclined lines (ribs begin?), zigzags proceed further and after four bends end with segment directed under ungle upwards (feet or paws?). On the right side at the end of the third bend of a zigzag very short cross-section segment not clearly [sketchy] shown in Tolmachev's reconstruction as a dark spot is located. Then the ornament interrupts and then reappears in form of two inclined parallel lines. Preserved part of idol's body ends here, and we can speculate what was carved on lost part of idol only based on Tolmachev's reconstruction. According to Tolmachev on the lost part ornament proceeds as two zigzags. But onset of zigzags, as shown in Tolmachev reconstruction, does not coincide directly with lines on a previous fragment that implies a loss of a fragment on crack line. Below zigzags, one of which is longer than other, a cross-section stretched as V-shaped line, merging with long zigzag on one end is located. The vertical line from which two inclined segments stretch out, departs from the center of this line forming "pine-like" figures downwards. The first figure has four segments on the right side and five - on the left side. The second figure located on the end of a vertical line, consists of three pairs of segments. The bottom line of this figure frames top of the next image. Not clearly, whether ornament after interruption has an independent value, or it is connected with the previous or subsequent images. Last supposition is favored by fact that the element forming crown of the bottom figure head, is connected directly to it, and is separated from the top figure.
The third image of a reverse side is anthropomorphic. It as has been allocated by S. Koksharov on V. Tolmachev's reconstruction. The head of a figure has sharpened crown underlined by threefold lines. The profound eye-sockets and a protruding nose are shown. The chin is not marked, but mouth is designated by a straight line. The vertebral column which is crossed by three straight lines designating possibly ribs is shown by a vertical line. On the left side of a figure a broken line designates or the hand bent in an elbow with the arm directed outside, or either a contour of a body, or a breast if we consider that there is a basis to consider this image feminile. Between a backbone and a broken line there are two short segments - "spots". Presence of spots inside of the figures executed in "skeletal" style is characteristic for ancient Ural images. These spots could designate internal organs of creatures, or their soul. In this case, heart is probably shown as "spots" are located at the left. Figure has the left leg bent in a knee but only hip of the right leg is designated. Between legs of a creature the vertical chain of seven "spots" is placed. Drawing an analogy with Paleolithic figure from Ignatiev caves, where three lines of spots are shown between legs of a figure of a woman, S.F.Koksharov interprets the image as female. This creature stays on horizontal support which separates one more anthropomorphic image located underneath. Narrow lateral facets of idol are covered by ornaments. Ornament on lateral facets consists of simple elements. These are vertical wavy lines and zigzags, inclined cross-sections and straight lines. On V.Tolmachev's reconstruction a number of discrepancies with original idol are evident. So, on the right lateral facet the ornament begins with a short wavy line, and in V.Tolmachev's figure - with two V-shaped figures.
On the left side the beginning of the upper zigzag has smoother bends, and the segments forming a zigzag, not always are connected as shown in Tolmachev's reconstruction. It is obvious, that elements of a geometrical ornament of an idol had a certain sense. Difficulty of their interpretation consists in diversity of symbolism of these elements. According to ethnographic studies, a straight line could designate a soil or a horizon - border between ground and the sky, water and the sky, border between the worlds. The wavy line or a zigzag symbolized water elements, the snake, the lizard, defined a certain borderline. Besides that zigzag signaled about danger, designated a pike. A cross, rhomb, a square or a circle represented a fire or the sun, etc. Among images of Shigirsk idol seven separate characters are located: the top bilateral image with a volumetric head and six figures, located underneath on frontal and reverse sides of the body.
Accommodation of face-masks on frontal and reverse sides of Shigirsk idol, probably, specifies their belonging to the different worlds. Ornamental composition of idol, obviously, represent ciphered mythologems. Direct analogies to Shigirsk Idol are not known.
Shigirsk Idol, case
Shigirsk Idol
Tolmachev's reconstruction, 1914
