The remote and rugged region in the North Caucasus, in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic of the Russian Federation, is a place of towering mountains and untamed wilderness. Yet, in 2011, Arthur Zhemukhov, who is a Russian speleologist, which is the scientific study and exploration of caves, made an astonishing discovery at the Khara-Hora mountain peak. There, he found a deep, narrow, vertical shaft, seemingly swallowed by the Earth itself. It was made of parallel stone slabs that seemed perfectly geometrical as if they were artificially made. The walls were straight and polished, extending 40 meters or 130 feet deep into the mountain, before opening into a wide underground hall. The straight walls of this shaft were constructed from large megalithic blocks that fitted together at right angles with minimal gaps. There were even large stones that looked like columns.