REPEATED STUDIES OF THE SURUKTAH-KHAYA SANCTUARY (YAKUTIA): FIRST RESULTS AND PROSPECTS* After the expeditions of A. A. Savvin in 1939 and A. P. Okladnikov in 1941, the Suruktah-Khaya sanctuary on the Markhe River (Yakutia) was not re-examined for a long time. Quite satisfactory preservation of its murals (in contrast to most of the writings of the middle Lena) made it possible to effectively conduct an additional study of this outstanding monument in August 2011, mainly by photographing it using digital photography equipment. Keywords: Yakutia, sanctuary, rock art, photo fixation, preservation of the monument, factors of destruction of scribbles, reliability of graphic copies. Introduction In August 2011, employees of the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography of the North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) conducted field studies of the Suruktah-Khaya sanctuary (translated from Yakut as " written rock "or"rock with writing"). on the Markha River, a left tributary of the Lena River. During the expedition, we have accumulated extensive material (photos, descriptions, measurements, control graphic copies). on this unique monument of rock art in Yakutia. The beginning of scientific study of the sanctuary was laid in August 1939 by the Yakut ethnographer A. A. Savvin. During his reconnaissance of the Lena scribbles, which he carried out "carefully and with great energy" [Okladnikov, Zaporizhskaya, 1972, p.7], the researcher described the sacred rock, numerous drawings, sacrificial sites, recorded folklore materials and interrogative information about the rock and the corresponding beliefs [Savvin, 1940, p. 29]. Unfortunately, the report of A. A. Savvin remained only in the manuscript; extensive citations from it were published in the monograph of A. P. Okladnikov and V. D. Zaporozhskaya [1972, pp. 8-9, 78-79]. In the summer of 1941, the Lena historical and archaeological expedition consisting of A. P. Okladnikov, V. D. Zaporozhskaya, and I. I. Barashkov worked on Surukty- ... Read more