Saimaluu Tash

Saimaluu Tash
Moraine at Saimaluu Tash
Highest point
Elevation	3200
Coordinates	41°10.840′N 73°48.840′E / 41.180667°N 73.814000°E / 41.180667; 73.814000
Geography
Location	Kyrgyzstan
Parent range	Ferghana range of Tien Shan

Saimaluu Tash (meaning 'embroidered' or 'patterned stones' in Kyrgyz) is a petroglyph site in Jalal-Abad Province, Kyrgyzstan, south of Kazarman. Over 10,000 carved pictures—and perhaps as many as 11,000—which are black-and-white rock paintings, have so far been identified, making the site a globally important collection of rock art. They are a sacred display of offerings of the ancient people of the lower valley.

The site was proposed for listing under the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites by the Kyrgyz National Commission for UNESCO on 29 January 2001. It is listed under the UNESCO's Tentative List as "Saimaly-Tash Petroglyphs" for inscription under Cultural Category under Criteria: (iii), (iv) and (vi).

The petroglyph site is located on the Ferghana Range at about 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) in two high valleys, separated by a low mountain ridge. The site is 30 kilometres (19 mi) away to the south of Kazarman. From Kazarman village for a short distance there is a road on which only jeeps can ply but the rest of the way to the site can be reached in about a day on foot or horseback, but only around the month of August. It is a strenuous climb. At other times, snow conditions make it impractical to reach. The trek involves three days by jeep and seven days by horse.

The meaning of 'Saimaluu-Tash' in Kyrgyz language is "place of patterned or embroidered stone".

The petroglyphs created in large galleries are thought to date from the early 2000 BC to 3000 BC of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, and up into the Middle Ages (8th century AD). Bronze Age settlers had a sacred tradition of inscribing petroglyph. This continued during the Iron Age from 800 BC, and variants persevered for several hundred years to the medieval period, when Scythian and Turkic people did it.