Petroglyphs of Canozera

The petroglyphs of Kanozera are considered to be one of the most ancient traces of man on the Kola land. On July 5, 1997, they were discovered by the staff of the Revda Museum of Local Lore during a rafting trip on the Umba River. 1200 rock paintings are located on three islands ("Stone", "Spruce" and "Burnt") and on the coastal rock ("Lonely"). Most of the images are located on the island of Kamenny.

The Kanozero petroglyphs are truly unique — there are few places in the world where rock carvings are so densely arranged and so diverse.

The drawings depict people (anthropomorphs), animals (elk, deer, cetaceans, fish, snakes, beavers, bears, otters, birds), and other objects: boats, crosses, wheels, axes-wands, footprints, animal tracks, and even skis. Also depicted were scenes from family life — love, family, love triangle, pregnant woman, man with a spear, cult symbols-cross, wheel, hunting scenes.

In 2014, a transparent protective dome made of monolithic polycarbonate with a diameter of 20 meters and a height of 10 meters was erected over the main group of images of the complex "Petroglyphs of Kanozera" in the Tersk district. It covers more than 600 images, which will further protect them from the destructive effects of nature and man.

The construction of a protective structure allows for further scientific research of rock paintings, the development and testing of methods for combating lichens and other organisms to prevent the destruction of ancient rock paintings).