The Dashka Stone

A stone tablet was found by a physics and mathematics professor of Bashkir State University, Alexandr Chuvyrov.
The Dashka Stone
2/18/2009
Updated:
11/28/2009
An Oopart (Out Of Place ARTifact) is a term applied to dozens of prehistoric objects found in various places around the world that, given their level of technology, are completely at odds with their determined age based on physical, chemical, and/or geological evidence. Ooparts often are frustrating to conventional scientists and a delight to adventurous investigators and individuals interested in alternative scientific theories.

In the Ural Mountains of Siberia, a stone tablet was found by a physics and mathematics professor of Bashkir State University, Alexandr Chuvyrov. Weighing in at nearly a ton, the three-layer tablet bears a striking topographical resemblance to the unique geography of a specific area of the Ural Mountains.

Its most superficial layer consists of a thin coating of porcelain calcium, which acts as a protective cover against wear for the structural layers below.

The base of the map is made of a 5.5–inch-thick dolomite layer and an inner layer, which represents the actual map, consisting of diopside—with a mineral hardness of 6 on the Mohs scale. Based on radiographic examinations, researchers believe that the diopside layer, originally thought to be around 3,000 years old, would have been impossible to sculpt without the aid modern carving techniques.

Perhaps the most amazing feature of this mysterious relief map is that examinations used to date the ancient stone place it at about 120 million years old. Several geologists agree that the map represents the Ural region known as Bashkiria, which has not changed significantly for several million years.

The specific geographical area identified on the tablet was represented primarily by the region’s great fault of Ufa. Likewise, the mysterious map describes the richness of the hydrography of the area, including the Sutolka and Ufimka rivers.

While the tablet reveals a great similarity to the area it supposedly portrays, it does have striking differences. For analysts, astonishing features of the Dashka Stone are its immense engineered irrigation systems, which include two-channel systems and 12 dams that if made to scale would measure nearly 2 miles deep. According to this tablet, the area’s Belaya River seems to be a work of system engineering rather than a natural feature.

A group of researchers, including Professor Chuvyrov, believe that the map could be the fragment of a larger map showing more mountains. Some even think that this slab is only the tip of the iceberg of an entire map of the Earth done to scale.

Another striking feature on the tablet is the cryptic engravings that appear on one side of the stone. Originally believed to be a form of ancient Chinese, the hieroglyphic alphabet still has not been decoded.

According to the Russian newspaper Pravda, the hunt for the Dashka Stone began with a reference from archeologists in the 18th century, who reported finding nearly 200 stone slabs in the area. Professor Chuvyrov and his colleagues were looking for what they thought would be evidence of Chinese immigrants arriving in the Urals.

When ex-chairman of the local agricultural council Vladimir Krainov heard of Chuvyrov’s search, he told him of a strange slab that he had seen buried under his porch. Chuvyrov had to recruit several locals to help him unearth the massive stone.

According to the Center of Historical Maps in Wisconsin, the Dashka Stone (named in honor of the discoverer’s granddaughter) could have only been created with the aid of an aerial view. Comparative research to verify the authenticity of the stone map is still being conducted through the aid of satellite images, estimated for completion by 2010.

So who created such an accurate relief map over 100 million years ago? And what other information is contained in the strange characters found carved in its side? While the Dashka stone presents puzzling enigmas still waiting to be answered, it nevertheless endures as a faithful reproduction of an area in the mountains of Siberia.