Terra sebv s acta mvsei sabesiensi s

V. N. Aliyassova, K. K. Akhmetov, I. R. Aspanova 

 

 

500

One option for the protection of cultural and natural heritage is 

conservation. This option would involve the complete closure of the site in 

order to protect the integrity of the palaeontological materials stored in the 

layers of earth and permit further scientific study. All the material contained 

in the Gussinyi Perelet site would be excavated and studied. The banks of 

the Irtysh River would have to be strengthened with concrete. An 

information block would be set alongside the site. This option may not 

solve the problem of preserving the heritage site for some decades, but it 

has great prospects as an option in the process of turning the site into a 

museum. 

Nowadays, in addition to the detailed study of any heritage site, it is 

necessary to consider its protection. Palaeontological sites simply cannot be 

protected without solid systems in place. Museification, and its associated 

systems, is one way to preserve heritage. To adequately protect the site, not 

only the two hectares of territory which constitutes Gussinyi Perelet, but the 

land nearby would be required. Thus far, conservation efforts around the 

site have been restricted to once-off actions, such as cleaning the area of 

household waste. Such activities are not only insufficient, they fail to change 

the precarious situation the site faces. 

There is a clear need for a national program to implement measures 

to preserve the site, which is of national significance and great scientific 

value. In particular, several issues must be addressed relating to the problem 

of creating an open-air museum: defining the responsibilities of 

management; legislative implementation of the inventory; research, 

conservation, preservation, reconstruction and organisation of information; 

creating facilities for visitors; and training specialists involved in the 

protection of natural monuments.

13

  

These measures will require large investment, but protection of this 

palaeontological site is very complex from a number of perspectives. Firstly, 

Gussinyi Perelet is located in a city - a rarity for such a site. Secondly, is the 

proposed development would be the first such facility in the country, and 

will provide a unique attraction not only for the city of Pavlodar, but also 

for Kazakhstan as a whole, embodying the idea of a science museum in the 

open air where visitors can experience a science-based recreation of the 

unique palaeolandscape of the era of the Hipparion fauna. Thirdly, through 

exposure to materials excavated from the site and sculptures of Neogene 

period animals in the park, new opportunities will be opened up in the field 

of tourism and leisure, relevant even at the international level.  

                                                 

13

 Patrusheva 2004, p. 121. 

www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html   /   www.cimec.ro

---

Preservation for the Musefication of the Natural Heritage Site “Gussinyi Perelet”

 

 

501

There are many examples of the preservation of monuments through 

museification, such as Tomsk Pisanytsa, where Siberia’s earliest examples of 

rock art are located;

14

 the Archaeological Museum of Tunlyuyshanya, a 

museum on the site of a disused copper mine and smeltery in China

15

 (1700 

m

2

 in size and visited by thousands of tourists every day); Ashfall Fossil 

Beds State Historical Park in North America (where excavations attract 

thousands of tourists); and many other equally famous museum-reserves. 

Palaeomaterial from Gussinyi Perelet can be seen in the collections of 

various institutions and museums not only in Pavlodar but Moscow, 

Almaty, Georgia and in private collections. The range of species found in 

the palaeofauna of Gussinyi Perelet is well known, but the scientific 

evidence presented thus far only gives a generalised description: the opening 

of new parts of the site to modern research may yet lead to the discovery of 

new species in this location. The historical and scientific significance of this 

site is still profound and a new approach is required to the problem of its 

study and conservation. It is essential to integrate and coordinate the efforts 

of scientists, palaeontologists and the public in conserving this unique 

palaeontological heritage site. 

Museums of this type contribute greatly to the preservation and 

evaluation of local natural and cultural heritage, and also involve local 

residents and visitors in the conservation of heritage, contributing to a 

clearer awareness of their relationship with nature. The creation of this kind 

of natural heritage site opens up discussion about the development of a new 

system - the ecological museum - in the form of a specially protected area. 

In the modern era of globalisation, economic crisis and social change 

occurring in the world at the beginning of the 21

st 

century, it is necessary to 

change society’s attitude towards heritage. Cultural heritage should be seen 

as a national asset, and be guaranteed sustainable development. In today’s 

world, heritage is a fundamental concept in determining the viability of 

many aspects of modern society. 

 

 

Preservation and Prospects for the Museification of the Natural Heritage Site 

“Gussinyi Perelet” 

  

(Abstract) 

 

In this article, the authors propose a strategy for the conservation of cultural heritage using 

the example of a palaeontological site of national importance, Gussinyi Perelet (the “Goose 

                                                 

14

 Martynova 2003, p. 11. 

15

 Khu 1986, p. 55. 

www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html   /   www.cimec.ro

---