A Siberian villager finds the statue of a 4000-year-old Pagan god while fishing.
Many people that go fishing expect to find fish but not so for Nikolay Tarasov. Although a diver by trade, the Siberian man was indulging in one of his favorite past times of fishing with a friend, when something got trapped in his net that was not a fish. Pulling it out, he at first thought it was just a stump, but then he suddenly realized that he could see a face looking up at him. Reaching down, he saw that it was a small statue, made of carved horn that has since fossilized, the top of the statue has a fearsome face carved into it.
Intrigued, Nikolay didn’t throw it back into the water like many others may have done, and instead took the find to the local museum of his home town in Tisul, Kemerovo. The curators at that museum realized immediately that what Nikolay had found was incredible and extraordinary, but they did not have the exact expertise to identify exactly what it was. They made the decision to pass it onto the experts in Kemerovo city, where they realized that what Nikolay had taken for a strange statue was actually a pagan god idol that was over 4,000 years old.
The item now rests in the Tisul History Museum, and although the statue is ridiculously important to the historical community, he has asked for absolutely nothing in return. Marina Banschikova, the director of the museum, has stated that the statue is almost definitely meant to be a pagan god, although it is not certain which it is. Two cultures that the statue could potentially have come from include the Okenuv culture or the Samus culture, both of which are known in the archaeological world for carving god-like figures. It is hoped through further study, it may become apparent if either of these civilizations are the creators of this wonderful object.