Ancient mine and cave Kan-i-Gut - "Read a prayer before entering"

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Oriental legends always arouse keen interest, since most of them are about mysterious events, miracles, extraordinary things and beautiful places. One of the legends tells of the existence - and since ancient times - in the East of a certain city of silver, where the streets were lined with silver bricks, and the walls of houses were made of gold, where birds of amazing beauty sang and unusual plants grew.

In the 19th century, a teacher from an ordinary school in Bishkek decided to find this beautiful city described in legends. The search took two years. The result stunned the researcher. The wonderful city turned out to be hell on earth, an earthly curse that killed many human lives. It turns out that a fabulous place from the legend was a mine where silver ore and lead were mined. And its name was quite appropriate - the Mine of Perdition or Kan-i-Gut. This mine is associated with the name of Khan Khudoyar, who used as miners sentenced to death people and leaders of protest groups disliked by the Khan. All of them had to disappear without a trace in the labyrinths of dungeons, where they mined the treasures that kept the depths of the mine. The sentenced were lowered into underground tunnels, and the khan was indifferent to the fate and life of these people. If the unfortunates managed to get out of the dungeons without silver, they were faced with severe punishment. It is possible that in order to avoid death, the unfortunate ones invented incredible stories that have come down to us in the form of legends about a wonderful camel, which has precious stones instead of eyes; about an unusual underground plant; about fences deep underground and built of silver bricks; about the terrible maidens guarding the treasures. Over time, the stories gradually acquired new incredible details.

In the 9th-10th centuries, the craft of processing ore and precious stones flourished near the mine. In the mountains adjacent to the mine, not only silver and lead were mined, but also iron, copper, gold, turquoise, lapis lazuli and rubies. The Fergana Valley was especially famous for its ancient and rich mines, where, in addition to the above-mentioned minerals, oil, coal, mercury, copper, tin and ammonia were found. The famous Arab geographer Istakhri, who lived in the 10th century, wrote about the deposits of this region as follows: "There is a mountain of black stones that burn like charcoal." In the 10th century, the warriors of the East learned to use oil in military affairs. For this, a throwing weapon called "naphtandoz" was built. It was used in the capture of fortresses and the siege of cities. The principle of operation was quite simple: small pear-shaped containers with wicks were filled with oil and thrown by a throwing structure into the besieged city. The mines used the labor of not only convicts and slaves, local residents from nearby villages also worked there. The work of a medieval miner was difficult and dangerous. When examining underground passages, not only hammers, axes, cauldrons, lamps, but also shackles and even the remains of miners were found. The mined silver provided not only the needs of the eastern state, but was also exported to Eastern Europe, which at that time was the main consumer of silver from the mines of Central Asia.

The very first detailed description of the Kan-i-Gut mine was made by the famous Arab physician and philosopher Avicenna. He advised those who dare to enter the Mine of Perdition to read a prayer before entering. Ibn Sina left the following record about the mysterious deposit: “The sages hid all the gold and jewelry of the world in different places, and it is not easy to get hold of it. … There is a city lying among the mountains named Isfara. In his area there is a place called Gut. The wise men left the treasures in that place and cast a spell on them. There are endless descriptions and stories about this”. Avicenna was very interested in the cave, he described the path to the mine as the road to the Muslim paradise, and the one walking through the cave tunnels had to overcome numerous obstacles in the esoteric cave.

A thorough study of the mine began in the 19th century, and at the same time it turned out that several entrances led to the cave, and the elevation differences were about 60 meters, the length of all the passages of the underground deposit is still unknown, but it is assumed that it can be up to several hundred kilometers. The process of studying this interesting mine is complicated by the fact that it is located in a zone of seismic activity. One of the secrets of the Kan-i-Gut mine is that it contains minerals that are considered not only very rare, but also striking in their magnificence and uniqueness. Another wonderful feature of this dungeon is that it contains extraordinary helectites ("green plants" of ancient caves).

The history of the Kan-i-Gut cave is closely connected with Central Asia. The mine reached its greatest prosperity during the X-XI centuries. Gradually being developed, the deposit lost its importance, and people left it. Only a gloomy and frightening dungeon remained, to which the name of the Mine of Perdition has now forever been attached. According to the shepherds, who know all the paths around the mysterious mine, incredible treasures are hidden in the underground labyrinths, but they are jealously guarded by a magical power that destroys anyone who dares to go in search. In vain attempts to find fabulous wealth, daredevils got lost in numerous labyrinths, died under blocks of stones crumbling due to the impact of frequent earthquakes. In 1920, Basmach gangs took refuge in the caves of the mine. Nevertheless, at the same time, the Kanigut expedition was organized, which began a large-scale study of the mine. The group included specialists in zoology, geology, meteorology, botany, archeology. For twenty days, the expedition members prepared a plan of the underground system, assigning names to numerous passages, halls and slopes: “The bottom of the second abyss”, “The pool of red water”, “The Bridge of Sighs”, “Grotto with a camel”, “Dragon's Labyrinth”, “Hall of Skeletons …

Later, archaeologists were able to prove that Kan-i-Gut is a unique deposit in terms of the scope and duration of natural resource extraction throughout Central Asia. Today it is known that most of the labyrinths, halls, plumb lines, abysses have not yet been examined, since there are still not enough technical means and physically trained specialists capable of performing this work. But, most likely, Kan-i-Gut is the key to unraveling the mysteries of archeology and history, which have puzzled scientists of all times. The following fact is interesting. In the ancient text of the will of Ramses III, kept in the British Museum, it is said that the pharaohs used the reserves of minerals inherited from the ancient kings for a long time. In this regard, a version is being considered that all ancient mines are the work of aliens. Perhaps the aliens, finding themselves far from their home planet, felt the need to create technological equipment for the extraction and processing of rare metals. They went the surest way - they created slave miners. With the help of primitive tools, the slaves extracted the minerals necessary for the aliens. Centuries passed, people began to use the old mines for their own needs. The Kan-i-Gut mine was no exception, which most likely has a more mysterious history and whose chronicle began long before Avicenna and Khan Khudoyar.