Deer stones are
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
n ancient
megalithA megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the...
s carved with symbols. The name comes from their carved depictions of flying deer. Their purpose and creators are unknown. Archaeologists have found around 500 deer stones around Mongolia. However, Cimmerian ruins also show deer stones and they were known to have expanded into the Mongolian area and other areas. The
CimmeriansThe Cimmerians or Kimmerians were ancient equestrian nomads of Indo-European origin.According to Herodotus, they originally inhabited the region north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, in what is now Ukraine and Russia, in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Although Herodotus's view was widely...
of the early 1st millennium BC left a small number (about ten are known) of distinctive stone stelae-
Kurgan stelaeKurgan stelae or Balbals are anthropomorphic stone stelae, images cut from stone, installed atop or around kurgans , in kurgan cemeteries, or in a double line extending from a kurgan...
.
Deer stones are
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
n ancient
megalithA megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the...
s carved with symbols. The name comes from their carved depictions of flying deer. Their purpose and creators are unknown. Archaeologists have found around 500 deer stones around Mongolia. However, Cimmerian ruins also show deer stones and they were known to have expanded into the Mongolian area and other areas. The
CimmeriansThe Cimmerians or Kimmerians were ancient equestrian nomads of Indo-European origin.According to Herodotus, they originally inhabited the region north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, in what is now Ukraine and Russia, in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Although Herodotus's view was widely...
of the early 1st millennium BC left a small number (about ten are known) of distinctive stone stelae-
Kurgan stelaeKurgan stelae or Balbals are anthropomorphic stone stelae, images cut from stone, installed atop or around kurgans , in kurgan cemeteries, or in a double line extending from a kurgan...
. Another four or five "deer stelae" dating to the same time are known from the northern Caucasus.
Deer stones were probably originally erected by
Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age of a culture is the period when the most advanced metalworking in that culture utilised bronze. This could either have been based on the local smelting of copper and tin from ores, or trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere...
nomads around 1000 BC though further research into the Cimmerian stone stelae-
Kurgan stelaeKurgan stelae or Balbals are anthropomorphic stone stelae, images cut from stone, installed atop or around kurgans , in kurgan cemeteries, or in a double line extending from a kurgan...
should be taken into much consideration. Later cultures have often reused the stones in their own burial mounds (known as
kheregsüürs) and for other purposes. Modern vandals have also defaced and even looted the stones.
In additions to images of flying deer, the stones also include a circle at the top and stylised dagger and belt at the bottom, which has made some scholars speculate that the stones were supposed to represent notable people. Some rare stones do have a human face carved at the top. The tallest of the stones is 15 feet tall.
Modern studies
In 2006 The
Deer Stone Project of the
Smithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazines...
and
Mongolian Academy of SciencesThe Mongolian Academy of Sciences is Mongolia's first centre of modern sciences. It was founded in 1921, when the government established an Institute of Literature and Script, which was later upgraded to Institute of Science. Later, in 1961, it was reconstituted as the Mongolian Academy of Sciences...
begun to record the stones digitally with
3-D laser scanningA 3D scanner is a device that analyzes a real-world object or environment to collect data on its shape and possibly its appearance . The collected data can then be used to construct digital, three dimensional models useful for a wide variety of applications. These devices are used extensively by...
.