Ancient Shigir Idol is 1500 years older than previously thought

Testing reveals the Shigir Idol is much older than previously thought.

The Shigir Idol was uncovered from a peat bog in the Ural Mountains in 1890. The piece of larch wood was perfectly preserved and is the oldest known timber in the world, more than twice as old as Egypt’s pyramids. It’s also covered in a mysterious code that has not yet been deciphered.

“The results exceeded our expectations. The age of the Shigir idol is 11,000 years,” said Thomas Terberger, a professor at the Department of Cultural Heritage of Lower Saxony who is part of the team involved in dating the idol.

“This is an extremely important data for the international scientific community. It is important for understanding the development of civilisation and the art of Eurasia and humanity as a whole.

“We can say that in those times, 11,000 years ago, the hunters, fishermen and gatherers of the Urals were no less developed than the farmers of the Middle East,” he told The Siberian Times.

It originally stood more than five metres high.Source:Supplied

The unique sculpture originally stood more than five metres tall but is now 2.8 metres high.

It was originally thought to have been 9500 years old and to have seven faces on it. However recent testing revealed it actually has eight faces and shows that Siberia was as advanced as the Middle East at that point in history.

Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Archeology researcher Professor Mikhail Zhilin said while they still don’t understand the messages on it, the idol invokes a “feeling of awe” for those studying it.

“It is a unique sculpture, there is nothing else in the world like this. It is very alive, and very complicated at the same time. The ornament is covered with nothing but encrypted information. People were passing on knowledge with the help of the Idol.”

The code covers all surfaces.Source:Supplied

It’s covered in eight faces.Source:Supplied

Scientists have described it as awe-inspiring.Source:Supplied