Russian archaeologists have discovered ancient cave paintings dating back to 3000 BC in a gorge in southern Russia. "A few days ago we found five drawings, fairly large fragments, on the territory of the Khasaut gorge," archaeologist Andrei Belinsky was quoted as saying. "This is a great discovery because no one has ever seen them before," said
     Belinsky, who heads the Stavropolsky region's Heritage cultural museum. Belinsky added that the paintings, which were discovered near the Caucasian town of Kislovodsk, were made using ochre paint and had been dated back to the Bronze Age.
     One of the paintings discovered in the gorge features a hunting scene as well as figures that appear to be from another world - leading scholars to conclude the paintings may have been used in ancient rituals.

Edited from The Moscow Times (14 October 2014)