The structure is believed to have been built sometime in the 8th century CE based upon the dating of several objects found in the ruin. According to Istvan Fodor of the National Museum in Hungary, identification of the structure's purpose is obscured because of the scant amount of evidence of daily human activity at the site. The theories include a fortress, a palace, a monastery, and an astronomical observatory. It is possible, according to Dmitriy Subetto, from the Department of Physical Geography RGPU, that the structure was abandoned prior to completion due to the builders' lack of familiarity with permafrost.Here it is on Google Maps. I found two articles about it at Tuva Online. The images above come from a group of 25 in a photoessay at English Russia.
Fascinating.
"in the eighth century CE"? Just what is wrong with "AD" anno domini- the numerical counting supposedly starts with the year of Christ's birth. Just who is so offended. Like many people, I find this politically correct rubbish offencive. Having said that- everything else about this blog is so wonderful, that I feel guilty objecting -but believe me I do!
ReplyDeleteHope my spelling errors haven't offended anyone in the message above....At least I didn't say CE!
ReplyDeleteFor better or worse, CE (or 'Common Era', also called 'Current Era', or if you prefer, 'Christian Era') is on the rise to replace AD, as is BCE replacing BC.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am a Christian, I understand there are 19 major world religions, or which only a few would recognize Yeshua as 'Lord' or 'Christ' (Messiah) Forcing the others to use a term which acknowledges Jesus as Lord would be akin to forcing me to use a term stating Mohammad as the prophet of God over all others.
So, I'll use 'AD' in my own writing, but respect that the academic and scientific world will need to use the more neutral 'CE' for a larger audience.