22 November 2014 | 17:36

Giants inhabited pre-historic Kazakhstan?

Демидов Сергей Программист

©<a href="http://www.nv.kz/" target="_blank">NV.kz</a>

A former resident of Karaganda Viacheslav Plokhov claims he found footprints of pre-historic giants in Kazakhstan.

The news some might call ‘sensational’ have been published by NV.kz last week.

A former resident of Karaganda Viacheslav Plokhov claims he found footprints of pre-historic giants in Kazakhstan.

The news some might call ‘sensational’ have been published by NV.kz last week.

Plokhov says he discovered grooves in the relief of Bektau-ata tract near Lake Balkhash that resemble human footprints but are of much larger in size. He assembled an expedition and explored the lake and the slopes of the mountain massif. The enthusiasts found dozens of footprints, fingerprints and even traces of teeth.

The man is a biologist. For many years he worked as wildlife expert in Karaganda in central Kazakhstan and has good knowledge of the verity of animal prints in the area.

He says he discovered first traces of giants 15 years ago, while on a fishing trip. Plokhov recalls the experience:

"I looked down at my feet ... and was horrified. I saw that I was standing next to a person’s footprint. Or rather, I found a well-preserved giant human footprint. I thought - if this is not some trick of nature, then there should be another footprint nearby. Being a hunter and wildlife expert I first measured the footprint. It was seven times my (size 11) feet. That is about two meters. Being of sound mind and completely sober, I immediately ruled out the possibility of finding a second footprint right ahead. But the researcher that woke up inside me made me go further staring ahead. And almost immediately I saw the outline of the second footprint. It was just as clear, only that one was a footprint of a giant man getting ready for a jump. I threw away all doubts and went on, being almost sure that I’ll find the third footprint. On the seventh step, my foot stopped at the edge of the third footprint and at the same time at the edge of the shore of Lake Balkhash. As if this giant running jumped into the lake.

Back then, 15 years ago, he told about the find only to his family and friends. He then left for Moscow and hasn’t spoken a word about the giants for many years. But the footprints stayed in his mind. Now, he decided to return and make it official.

However, the spot where he first found the footprints was flooded when he returned. Yet he thought that if those were giants, they would have left footprints in many other places. And indeed, the biologist did find similar prints ranging in length between 150 and 300 cm.

“Now I need to register the finding with official authorities, report the coordinates of the finds on the shore of Lake Balkhash and Bektau-ata,” Vyacheslav said. “I think I will get some help in this from the local authorities. I know the attitude of the President of Kazakhstan to history.”

Plokhov plastered some of the footprints so that the head of state could conveniently see them from a helicopter.

“Why? Nursultan Nazarbayev will go ahead and say to Putin: "Here, Volodya, you don’t have such a thing!"

Another confirmation of his hypothesis the researcher found in the local onomatology. The word "bek" from the name "Bektau-ata" translates from the Kazakh language not only as "prince", but also as "big" or "giant". In Kazakh “tau” means “mountain” and “ata” means “grandfather”. It turns out, he concludes, that Bektau-ata is nothing but the "mountain of giant grandfather."

But not all are so easily convinced. Especially, the official science. Geologist Maksim Klochkov says that the “footprints” are just a result of natural erosion caused by wind and tectonic movement.

"You can walk there all you want, but no traces will be left in granite. As for the bizarre configuration – it is a result of erosion processes. Weaker minerals are destroyed, washed out. Under the influence of water, air, atmospheric effect, changes of temperature there appear cracks, voids, niches or even balls," Klochkov said.

The other points of Plokhov’s theory hardly need any criticism. He confirms his theory with mentions of giants in the Bible and Koran and leaves it up to people to decide for themselves whether to believe what is written in those books or not.

As for the question of where those giants disappeared to, the biologist said they transformed into whales. Just pause for a second. Yes, they transformed into whales. Apparently, the Balkhash hominids walked into the ocean, most probably the Arctic Ocean, since they were so big and eventually evolved into what we now call whales. Maybe read this entry on Wikipedia.

By Dinara Urazova