Approved by the Board of Guardians Decision #1
on October, 31 2003

General Goals.
General Goals of the program are preservation, research and an efficient use of the cultural and ethnographic potential of the ancient petroglyphs of the Amur region.

Brief characteristics of the subject and revealed problems.
Amur Petroglyphs became well-known thanks to the first traveler’s' reports over 140 years ago and drew an attention of such famous researchers and scientists as R.Maak, V.K. Arseniev, L.Y. Shternberg, A.M. Zolotarev, the japanese R.Toria, the american B.Laufer, A.P.Okladnikov.

The Rock drawings are found along four thousands kilometers from upper reaches of the Shilka and Zeya Rivers down to the Lower Amur, and also along the bank of the Arkhara,Kya and Ussury rivers.

The most famous and close to the local settlements petroglyphs have a status of the archeology monuments of the federal significance and protected by government.

Assessing a general condition of the Amur region petroglyphs on the basis of 2002-2003 expeditions’ results, it is possible to outline the following fundamental problems:

The process of irreversible loss of natural and anthropogenic character is going on. Taking as a starting point the distinct descriptions of academician A.P. Okladnikov, fulfilled in the late sixties it is possible to state that during the last 30-40 years there had been lost not only particular petroglyphs but the whole clusters of the rock drawings, for instance, by the Sycachi-Alyan settlement are almost entirely. The remained drawings loose the fragments and relief. The petroglyphs most proximate to the water level are exposed to flooding up to 5 months annually with seasonal water level shift of the Amur and Ussury rivers.

There's a need in protection of the petroglyphs from the following unfavorable natural exposure: freezing, moisture, sharp temperature change during the day and night, an abrasive exposure of the small particles, transferred by wind or river flow, a vegetation on the stone cracks (moss, mould, waterplants) and rock cracks (ranging from the grass to the trees).

The vast majority of petroglyphs are either hardly accessibly or known only by a small circle of specialists, local hunters, fishermen and the government boarder officers.

Search of the stones and Rock fragments with petroglyphs every time is accompanied by a guide by recall of the former expeditions, as there are not exact coordinates of artifacts. The works of researches and scientists contain approximate manuscript maps and relative orientations.

Neighboring to the local settlements and often visited rock drawings are subject of an intensive anthropogenic exposure, including vandalism.

Thus, a rich cultural and ethnographic potential of the region is presently regressing and not utilized the proper way.

A Geographic span of the program.
The Russian part of the Amur region: Khabarovsk, Amur and Chita regions. The Khabarovsk region has three outstanding archeology sites, encompassing the most of the first part of the program events : petroglyphs of the Sycachi-Alyan settlement, petroglyphs nearby the Kya river, and petroglyphs of the Sheremetyevo settlement.

A status of the program's readiness.

• For efforts' consolidation in designated direction and organization of stable financing of the program there had been established a non-commercial "Amur Region Historical Heritage Fund";
• There had been consultations with interested sides on elements definition and program tasks discussion;
• Five expeditions to petroglyphs had been organized, in the course of those there had been defined the degree of deterioration, photo fixation, videofilming, tested in the field conditions the technology or exact copying the rock drawings, and received the source samples of development of the conservation technology;
• There Had been done the exact copies of four petroglyphs;
• Prepared and offered to Public forum a project (preliminary) proposal on holding a cultural ethnographic exposition "The Masterpieces of Petroglyphics" in the historical center of the Khabarovsk city.

General events (Arrangements), implemented in the course of the program fulfillment

• Preparation of the precise maps with global coordinates indication of every petroglyph in the course (process) of the implementation of unified information base of the preserved remains (revelations) of the ancient cultures in the Amur region;
• Composition of the entire petroglyphs' atlas with colour illustrations in poligraphic and electronic versions;
• Information notes installation and propaganda of the careful attitude toward the historic heritage of local population and excursion participants;
• Development and implementation of the events targeting petroglyphs’ protection against unfavorable nature exposure;
• The organization of expeditions and research, targeting the further discovery and study of remained artifacts of the ancient cultures;
• Holding the expositions and issuing the publications brining a light to the historic heritage of the Amur district.