A find of Bashkir scientists contraries to traditional notions of human history: stone slab which is 120 million years covered with the relief map of Ural Region.

This seems to be impossible. Scientists of Bashkir State University have found indisputable proofs of an ancient highly developed civilization-s existence. The question is about a great plate found in 1999, with picture of the region done according to an unknown technology.

This is a real relief map. Today military has almost similar maps. The map contains civil engineering works: a system of channels with a length of about 12,000 km, weirs, powerful dams. Not far from the channels, diamond-shaped grounds are shown, whose destination is unknown.

The map also contains some inscriptions. Even numerous inscriptions. At first, the scientists thought that was Old Chinese language. Though, it turned out that the subscriptions were done in a hieroglyphic-syllabic language of unknown origin. The scientists never managed to read it.

"The more I learn the more I understand that I know nothing" the doctor of physical and mathematical science, professor of Bashkir State University, Alexander Chuvyrov admits. Namely Chuvyrov made that sensational find. Already in 1995, the professor and his post-graduate student from China Huan Hun decided to study the hypothesis of possible migration of Old Chinese population to the territory of Siberia and Ural. In an expedition to Bashkiria, they found several rock carvings done in Old Chinese language. These finds confirmed the hypothesis of Chinese migrants. The subscriptions were read. They mostly contained information about trade bargains, marriage and death registration.

Though, during the searches, notes dated the 18th century were found in archives of Ufa governor-general. They reported about 200 unusual stone slabs which were situated not far from the Chandar village, Nurimanov Region. Chuvyrov and his colleague at once decided that slabs could be connected with Chinese migrants. Archive notes also reported that in 17th-18th centuries, expeditions of Russian scientists who investigated Ural Region had studied 200 white slabs with signs and patterns, while in early 20th century, archaeologist A.Schmidt also had seen some white slabs in Bashkiria.

This made the scientist start the search. In 1998, after having formed a team of his students, Chuvyrov launched the work. He hired a helicopter, and the first expedition carried a flying around of the places where the slabs were supposed to be. Though, despite all efforts, the ancient slabs were not found. Chuvyrov was very upset and even thought the slabs were just a beautiful legend.

The luck was unexpected. During one of Chuvyrov´s trips to the village, ex-chairman of the local agricultural council, Vladimir Krainov, came to him (apropos, in the house of Krainov´s father, archaeologist Schmidt once staid) and said: "Are you searching for some stone slabs?.  I have a strange slab in my yard". At first, I did not took that report seriously, - Chuvyrov told.  Though, I decided to go to that yard to see it.

I remember this day exactly: July 21, 1999. Under the porch of the house, the slab with some dents lied. The stab was so heavy that we together could not take it out. So I went to the city of Ufa, to ask for help.

In a week, work was launched in Chandar. After having dug out the slab, the searchers were stroke with its size: it was 148 cm high, 106 cm wide and 16 cm thick. While it weighed at least one ton. The master of the house made special wooden rollers, so the slab was rolled out from the hole. The find was called "Dashka´s stone" (in honor of Alexander Chuvyrov´s granddaughter born the day before it) and transported to the university for investigation. After the slab was cleaned of earth, the scientists could not entrust to their eyes... At first sight, - Chuvyrov says, - I understood that was not a simple stone piece, but a real map, and not a simple map, but a three-dimensional. You can see it yourself.

How did we manage to identify the place? At first, we could not imagine the map was so ancient. Happily, relief of today´s Bashkiria has not changed so much within millions of years. We could identify Ufa Height, while Ufa Canyon is the main point of our proofs, because we carried out geological studies and found its track where it must be according to the ancient map. Displacement of the canyon happened because of tectonic stabs which moved from East.

The group of Russian and Chinese specialists in the field of cartography, physics, mathematics, geology, chemistry, and Old Chinese language managed to precisely find out that the slab contains the map of Ural region, with rivers Belya, Ufimka, Sutolka, Alexander Chuvyrov said while showing the lines on the stone to the journalists. You can see Ufa Canyon  the break of the earth's crust, stretched out from the city of Ufa to the city of Sterlitimak. At the moment, Urshak River runs over the former canyon. The map is done on a scale 1 : 1.1 km.

Alexander Chuvyrov, being physicist, has got into the habit of entrusting only to results of investigation. While today there are such facts.

Geological structure of the slab was determined: it consists of three levels. The base is 14 cm chick, made of the firmest dolomite. The second level is probably the most interesting, "made" of diopside glass. The technology of its treatment is not known to modern science. Actually, the picture is marked on this level. While the third level is 2 mm thick and made of calcium porcelain protecting the map from external impact.

It should be noticed, - the professor said, - that the relief has not been manually made by an ancient stonecutter. It is simply impossible. It is obvious that the stone was machined. X-ray photographs confirmed that the slab was of artificial origin and has been made with some precision tools.

At first, the scientists supposed that the ancient map could have been made by the ancient Chinese, because of vertical inscriptions on the map. As well known, vertical literature was used in Old Chinese language before 3rd century. To check his supposition, professor Chuvyrov visited Chinese empire library. Within 40 minutes he could spend in the library according to the permission he looked through several rare books, though no one of them contained literature similar to that one on the slab.

After the meeting with his colleagues from Hunan university, he completely gave up the version about "Chinese track". The scientist concluded that porcelain covering the slab had never been used in China. Although all the efforts to decipher the inscriptions were fruitless, it was found out that the literature had hieroglyphic-syllabic character. Chuvyrov, however, states he has deciphered one sign on the map: it signifies latitude of today's city of Ufa.

The longer the slab was studied, the more mysteries appeared. On the map, a giant irrigative system could be seen: in addition to the rivers, there are two 500 meter wide channel systems, 12 dams, 300-500 meters wide, approximately 10 km long and 3 km deep each. The dams most likely helped in turning water in either side, while to create them over 1 quadrillion cubic meters of earth was shifted. In comparison with that irrigative system, Volga-Don Channel looks like a scratch on the today's relief. As a physicist, Alexander Chuvyrov supposes that now mankind can build only a small part of what is pictured on the map. According to the map, initially, Belaya River had an artificial river-bed.

It was difficult to determine even an approximate age of the slab. At first, radiocarbonic analysis was carried out, afterwards levels of stab were scanned with uranium chronometer, though the investigations showed different results and the age of the slab remained unclear. While examining the stone, two shells were found on its surface. The age of one of them  Navicopsina munitus of Gyrodeidae family - is about 500 million years old, while of the second one  Ecculiomphalus princeps of Ecculiomphalinae subfamily - is about 120 million years old. Namely that age was accepted as a "working version".

The map was probably created at the time when the Earth magnetic pole situated in the today's area of Franz Josef Land, while this was exactly 120 million years ago, - professor Chuvyrov says. The map we have is beyond of traditional perception of mankind and we need a long time to get used to it. We have got used to our miracle. At first we thought that the stone was about 3,000 years. Though, that age was gradually growing, till we identified the shells ingrained in the stone to sign some objects. Though, who could guarantee that the shell was alive while being ingrained in the map? The map's creator probably used a petrified find.

What could be the destination of the map? That is probably the most interesting thing. Materials of the Bashkir find were already investigated in Centre of Historical Cartography in Wisconsin, USA. The Americans were amazed. According to them, such three-dimensional map could have only one destination, a navigational one, while it could be worked out only through aerospace survey. Moreover, namely now in the US, work is being carried out at creation of world three-dimensional map like that. Though, the Americans intend to complete the work only to 2010. The question is that while compiling such three-dimensional map, it is necessary to work over too many figures.

"Try to map at least a mountain!" Chuvyrov says. "The technology of compiling such maps demands super-power computers and aerospace survey from the Shuttle".

So, who then did created this map? Chuvyrov, while speaking about the unknown cartographers, is wary: I do not like talks about some UFO and extraterrestrial. Let us call the author of the map simply "the creator".

It looks like that who lived and built at that time used only air transport means: there is no ways on the map. Or they, probably, used water ways. There is also an opinion, that the authors of the ancient map did not live there at all, but only prepared that place for settlement through draining the land. This seems to be the most probable version, though nothing could be stated for the time being. Why not to assume that the authors belonged to a civilization which existed earlier?

Latest investigations of the map bring one sensation after another. Now, the scientists are sure of the map being only a fragment of a big map of the Earth. According to some hypothesis, there were totally 348 fragments like that. The other fragments could be probably somewhere near there. In outskirts of Chandar, the scientists took over 400 samples of soil and found out that the whole map had been most likely situated in the gorge of Sokolinaya Mountain (Falcon Mountain). Though, during the glacial epoch it was tore to pieces.

But if the scientists manage to gather the "mosaic", the map should have an approximate seize of 340 x 340 m. After having studied the archive materials, Chuvyrov ascertained approximate place where four pieces could be situated: one could lie under one house in Chandar, the other  under the house of merchant Khasanov, the third  under one of the village baths, the fourth  under the bridge's pier of the local narrow-gauge railway.

In the meanwhile, Bashkir scientists send out information about their find to different scientific centers of the world; in several international congresses, they have already given reports on the subject: The Civil Engineering Works Map of an Unknown Civilization of South Ural.

The find of Bashkir scientists has no analogues. With only one exclusion. When the research was at its height, a small stone  chalcedony - got to professor Chuvyrov´s table, containing a similar relief. Probably somebody, who saw the stab wanted to copy the relief. Though, who and why?