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D.M. Pavlov, E.S. Levanova, Yu.M. Svoyskiy (Moscow) – Petroglyphs of the Pegtymel Cave: the History of the Study and the Results of Recent Research

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Abstract

2025 marks the 60th anniversary of the discovery of petroglyphs on the Pegtymel River (northwestern Chukotka), first explored by Soviet archaeologist N.N. Dikov in 1967–1968. Since 2021, the team of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IA RAS) has been working on digital mapping and documenting the petroglyphs of Pegtymel River to create an accurate and complete digital image of it. One of the focal points of this rock art site, which is most important for understanding the history of its formation and internal organization, is the so-called cave, located in the zone of the densest concentration of petroglyphs. In this cave in 1968, N.N. Dikov carried out excavation works, during which he discovered a number of artifacts that allowed him to substantiate the dating of the petroglyphs. In 2024, photographs, petroglyph drawings, photographic prints and sketches were found in the scientist’s archive at the North-Eastern Interdisciplinary Research Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which, in comparison with the data from digital mapping and 2021 documentation, allow us to return to the question of interpreting the data obtained during the excavations of 1967–1968. The article also presents unpublished surface drawings based on the results of the expedition of the IA RAS in 2008. Based on the results of the analysis of 3D-modeling materials performed in 2021–2022, preliminary results of the analysis of superimpositions (palimpsests) on two cave surfaces are shown. It allows to determine the sequence of applying individual groups of images, identify the main variants of embossing and engraving, describing their exact morphometric characteristics.

Keywords

Chukotka, N.N. Dikov, Pegtymel petroglyphs, rock art, petroglyphs, monitoring.

Dmitriy M. Pavlov, Institute of Archaeology Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; Laboratory of Remote Sensingand Spatial Data Analysis, Moscow, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Elena S. Levanova, Institute of Archaeology Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Yuriy M. Svoyskiy, Laboratory of Remote Sensingand Spatial Data Analysis, Moscow, Russia; Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia, Moscow, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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