Preservation of Historic-Cultural Heritage Along the Route of the Altai Trunk Gas Pipeline Being Planned on the Territory of the Altai Republic

One of modern large scale projects on revelation of archaeological heritage objects in Southern Siberia in 2011-2012 became the research of the Altai trunk gas pipeline route being planned on the territory of the Altai Republic within the Russian Federation. In the course of the work the archaeological sites unknown before were discovered and mapped, giving an opportunity to plan preservation measures. Another result is the data about different density of various archaeological sites distribution on the territory of Russian Altai to the border with China (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region). The highest density is characteristic for Central Altai (Ongudai district) where there are several wide valleys of the rivers Ursul, Katun, Chuya and intermontane basins. Comparing a number of archaeological sites revealed along the Altai gas pipeline route on the territory of different divisions of the Russian Federation, one can see their density is tend to be increased towards Sayano-Altai mountainous land as one of the key regions of Eurasia. As a whole, in the course of investigation of the Altai trunk gas pipeline route being planned, 320 dif erent archaeological sites from the Stone Age to ethnographic time were discovered on the territory of the Altai Republic.

Keywords: historic-cultural heritage, archaeological sites, ethnographic objects, Moun­tainous Altai, the Altai trunk gas pipeline, archaeological investigation.

Preservation of Historic-Cultural Heritage Along the Route of the Altai Trunk Gas Pipeline Being Planned on the Territory of the Altay Republic