The Northernmost Petroglyphs in Russia were Discovered on Vaygach Island in the Arctic

The academic journal «Scandinavian Philology» (published by St. Petersburg State University in English, reviewed in the Web of Science and RSCI databases) has published a large scientific publication on petroglyphs discovered on the island of Vaygach. The discovery belongs to Russian-Moldovan researcher Igor Bondar and was made earlier during a comprehensive scientific expedition of the Arctic Floating University and the Russian Geographical Society.

We are talking about two stone canvases in the south of the island. Several drawings are depicted on one of the rock surfaces, presumably symbolically describing a deer hunting scene. Abstract signs can be read on another fragment.

The discovered petroglyphs are the northernmost in Russia. Until now, rock carvings in the lower reaches of the Pegtymel River in Chukotka, discovered in the mid-1960s, were considered such.

Yuri Svosky, head of the RSSDA Laboratory (Remote Sensing and Spatial Data Analysis), head of the Digital Archaeology Laboratory at the HSE Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, and a participant in large-scale expeditions, including the study of the Pegtymel petroglyphs and the discovery of lost cities in the Amazon, considers the discovery a reason for further research in the region.

«The petroglyphs discovered on Vaygach Island are an isolate with possible interesting connections, ” he said. "This is potentially a new area for the distribution of rock art monuments. On Vaygach Island (as well as on the coast of the mainland), it is necessary to begin a systematic search for traces of such visual activity with the involvement of specialized specialists and using digital documentation methods to ensure external verification."

Igor Bondar is a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, a member of the Russian Geographical Society, lives and works in Moscow. In 2023, he took part in a comprehensive scientific expedition of the Arctic Floating University and the RGS on the research vessel «Professor Molchanov» with its own scientific program. It included a targeted search for new objects of historical and cultural heritage in the Arctic, followed by a study of the historical and ecological context of the areas of discovery. The research program was approved by the Russian Geographical Society.

Igor Bondar’s article «The First Discoveries of Petroglyphs on the Island of Vaygach and the Supposed Connection with the Ancient Cultures of Fennoscandia» can be read on the website of the «Scandinavian Philology» magazine. Details can be found in Igor Bondar’s exclusive interview for the RGS website.