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Pentagram in Kazakhstan explained

By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com
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No, the Gates of Hell haven't been discovered in Central Asia.

A mysterious pentagram that popped up on Google Maps is something much more innocuous: the remains of an unfinished summer camp about 12 miles west of Lisakovsk, Kazakhstan.

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The Soviet-era camp formed the outline of a five-pointed star, on the southern shore of Verkhnechonskoye Lake, about 1,200 feet in diameter.

"It is the outline of a park made in the form of a star," a symbol often used throughout the Soviet Union, said archaeologist Emma Usmanova.

While pentagrams are popularly linked to satanism, it is an ancient symbol of many cultures and religions -- including Christianity -- and military iconography, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest medal awarded in the American military.


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