Stone labyrinth. Stone labyrinths. Stone labyrinths in legends, myths, rites of Pomors

May 16th, 2015

The sign of the labyrinth in Russia is more widely represented in two regions: Dagestan and the White Sea. On this moment in Russia, the most famous are the White Sea labyrinths or, as they are otherwise called, the “northern labyrinths”. Issues « northern labyrinths” is expressed in three questions: who, when and why built them in this area?

"Northern labyrinths" are spiral figures, which are various systems of passages made of small boulder stones. The sizes of the boulders vary in diameter from 3.40 to 24.40 m, their height does not exceed 50 cm.

The most noticeable among the "northern labyrinths" is the Solovetsky cluster of labyrinths. The composition of this cluster includes 35 labyrinths known at the moment, almost a thousand stone mounds, as well as "symbolic" stone calculations, which number in the tens.

Let's take a closer look at them...

Photo 2.

The Solovetsky cluster of labyrinths is scattered over the islands of the archipelago, but the most significant part is concentrated on the island called Bolshoi Zayatsky, which is located in the southwest of the archipelago, its area is only 1.5 square kilometers.

On a small area of ​​the island, called Bolshoy Zayatsky, is located a large number of stone calculations of the Solovetsky archipelago. There are 13 labyrinths here, more than 850 boulder mounds. Labyrinths date back to the 1st-2nd century BC. Similar megalithic structures found in Ireland, Scandinavia, France, as well as in other countries of the world. And perhaps this is evidence that a single civilization lived in these territories for a very long time.

Photo 3.

There are a large number of hypotheses of scientists about the purpose of these structures in the form of stone spirals on the ground. locals called labyrinths "babylon". There is an assumption that the labyrinths are associated with ancient cult dances and round dances of the peoples who have long inhabited these lands. There is a hypothesis that these are ancient burials. During the excavations that were organized in some labyrinths of the Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, the remains of ritual fires were found in the center of several of them, but not in all of them. The next hypothesis states that labyrinths are "fish traps". It has been suggested that during low tide the fish did not keep up with finding a way out of the labyrinths and, to the delight of local fishermen, remained lying on the ground. However, a considerable number of labyrinths are built far from water and are not filled with water at all. There are also hypotheses that the labyrinths, in fact, are "magic fishing nets" that served to carry out magical rituals related to sea fishing. It is assumed that the labyrinth is a magical tool of shamans. Also, some researchers believe that labyrinths are "protective nets", the main purpose of which was to intimidate the souls of dead people so that they could not return to the living.

Photo 4.

Labyrinths have one entrance, which is also an exit. If you enter the labyrinth and do not cross the borders, that is, go strictly along the grooves, then after some time (for some labyrinths this time is 5-10 minutes, for the second - more than half an hour) you will exit in the same place where you entered.

The question of the purpose of the ancient Solovetsky labyrinths has not been finally resolved. A number of scientists consider labyrinths to be places of entertainment and round dances of a cult nature or grounds for military sports games. Some archaeologists attribute to them a practical purpose - models of fishing traps or fishing structures themselves. Most researchers consider labyrinths to be objects of cult and religious purpose.

Photo 5.

N. Vinogradov associated them with the cult of the dead ( Vinogradov N. Solovetsky labyrinths. Their origin and place in a series of homogeneous historical monuments. SOK materials. Issue. 4. Solovki, 1927). Babylon is associated with the rite of initiation and the "lower world" ( Cabo V. Origin and early history aborigines of Australia. M., S. 309–304. 1969), with cult magic ( Gurina N. stone labyrinths White Sea. M., S. 125–142. 1948), with a visit to the Solovetsky Islands by the inhabitants of the White Sea region to perform primitive religious rites of burial of the dead ( Kuratov A. Ancient labyrinths of the Arkhangelsk White Sea. Historical and local history collection. Vologda, S. 63–76. 1973).

These were the rites of “... burial and sacrifice (calcined bones of a person, feast animals, birds and fish), rituals associated with totemism and cult magic (figures of sea animals), worship of the Sun (“solar rosette” and round-spiral labyrinths), initiation and, perhaps, others, not yet understood, but associated with the beliefs of the aborigines of the White Sea region.

Photo 6.

... built, according to the ideas of the ancients, on the border of two worlds - "middle" and "lower" - the labyrinths, most likely, symbolized either the lower - otherworldly - world itself, inhabited by spirits that are dead and hostile to man, or a confusing path to it. One function of the labyrinth was, therefore, to ensure the transfer to the lower world of the souls of the dead and buried according to the rite, which included cremation.

… on the other hand, the labyrinths were, apparently, the instrument with which ritual actions were performed. ( Martynov Alexander. Archaeological past of the Solovetsky archipelago: mainland - sea - islands. Almanac "Solovki Sea". No. 1. 2002)

“Most scientists are inclined to think that labyrinths are associated with religious beliefs. ancient man(maybe with an astral cult), others see them as a ritual, ceremonial purpose (for example, for testing a person) or grave signs over burials ... N. Gurina proposed to consider labyrinths as plans for complex tools fishing, which the ancient inhabitant of these lands first depicted on the ground, for clarity (along the way endowing these images with magical powers), and then transferred “to nature” - to the sea. The question of labyrinths has not yet received a final scientific resolution. However, the presence of these mysterious ancient structures on the Solovetsky Islands points to a close connection between these islands and the surrounding coastal areas in ancient times and to the unity of their ancient historical destinies. ( Boguslavsky Gustav. Solovetsky Islands: Essays. 3rd ed. Arkhangelsk; North-West book. publishing house, 1978. - 173 p.: ill.)

Photo 7.

Scientific researchers suggested that there were also pagan temples in these places.

No less difficult for science was the question of the ethnicity of the peoples who visited the islands of the Solovetsky Archipelago in those old times. Only recently, after the discovery of a flint figurine of a seal on Maly Zayatsky Island, was it possible to confirm that this culture belonged to the Proto-Sami tribes living on the coast of the White Sea. Apparently, at the time when they sailed to the islands, the climatic and geological conditions were different: the climate was much warmer and the sea level was much higher.

In 2003, I was lucky to visit Alexander Martynov, who has been living and working in Solovki since 1978, and this year I bought his book “Ancient paths of the Solovetsky Islands”, published this year and dedicated to the problems of ancient and medieval archaeological sites Solovkov - sites of the eras of the feudal Mesolithic, Neolithic, and early metal, sanctuaries and stone labyrinths, Sami seids and burial grounds. Publishing house "Russian North", 2006. I highly recommend it." (Alexey Budovsky. Report on a trip to Solovki in September 2006. Part 8. "Big Zayatsky Island" Chapter 2. "Labyrinths." "Short historical reference and a story about visiting the island in 1999. As a manuscript. livejournal. New York, USA. 2006)

Photo 8.

“In order to answer the questions, what is the inner meaning of stone labyrinths, are they really connected with the cult of the dead, what do the stone piles in their center and the bands of stone calculations surrounding them mean, it is important to once again turn to both the structure of the labyrinths themselves and to mythology of the peoples of the North. First of all, it is important to analyze the slightest nuances of the masonry of the most common so-called bispiral horseshoe-shaped round labyrinths of the classical type, and then raise the question: what imagery can be behind all this?

Photo 9.

Five main features of the shape of masonry labyrinths

"1. The main element of the labyrinth is a spiral, most often composed of single boulder stones in a long row.
2. Throughout its entire length, the spiral in some areas has an expansion and thickening in the form of a stone heap of a round-oval shape. Thickenings are also noticeable at the ends of the spirals, structurally indicated by heaps of stones or larger stones.
3. A single spiral was laid in the form of a line unwinding from the center.
4. The stacking of two spirals inscribed one into the other looks like an intertwined ball.
5. In the center of the labyrinths there is an accumulation of stones in the form of a hill (the hill in the center of the Great Solovetsky labyrinth was destroyed and is not indicated in the figure in the work of N.N. Vinogradov).

If we leave aside the traditional dry “constructivist” approach and look at labyrinths from an artistic point of view, the first thing we can see in the scheme of the labyrinth is a ball of two coiled snakes. The images of snakes with longitudinally elongated heads and rounded tails are especially clearly and expressively presented in the Great Solovetsky Labyrinth, which we took as an example.

Photo 10.

There is nothing surprising in the fact that a reptile appears frozen in stone, because in the primitive consciousness of a person who deified and spiritualized the world around him, there was no clear boundary between animate and inanimate nature. The stone was perceived by them as component of this world, people and animals could take the stone denunciation. As an example, it is enough to cite the seids, who were an integral part of the Saami culture. According to the mythology of many northern peoples, epic characters, including people and animals, were turned into stone.

Photo 11.

In contrast to the Great Solovetsky labyrinth, in other similar structures, the image of a snake can be expressed more schematically and less plastically. To designate a head, sometimes one large stone or a pile of stones at the end of a stone spiral ribbon is enough. The thickening at the opposite end denoted the snake's tail. There are also quite conditional images of a snake in the form of a ribbon.

A single spiral is a single snake represented in the masonry; the labyrinth, including two spirals, meant a ball of two coiled snakes, whose heads are located in the very center of the labyrinth almost opposite each other. In this case, the coil could have two different forms:

1) a correct horseshoe, when between two lying non-contiguous snakes there was a passage through the entire maze;
2) horseshoes with a cross-shaped intersection of the “torsoes” of snakes, when the path through the labyrinth led to a dead end.

The thickening of a ribbon of stones in one of the sections of the labyrinth now receives a fairly clear interpretation - this is a swallowed victim. It is noteworthy that in the indicated Solovetsky labyrinth, the extension of the snake body is placed directly opposite the entrance. Entering the labyrinth menacingly reminded of the real danger. The artistic expressiveness of the image of snakes in labyrinths, despite the primitiveness of the means used (ordinary boulder stones), is undeniable. We have the right to conclude that the northern stone labyrinths can be attributed not only to archeological monuments, as was thought so far, but also to works of primitive art, since they are a very distant prototype of modern installations - compositions from individual objects. ( Burov Vladimir. On the semantics of the stone labyrinths of the north. Ethnographic Review, No. 1, 2001)

Photo 12.

Similar monuments, in addition to the Solovetsky Islands, are found in Karelia and Murmansk region, in countries Northern Europe Finland, Sweden and Norway. Among scientists there is still no consensus on the purpose of these structures.

Here is what the famous philosopher, scientist, inventor and clergyman Pavel Florensky wrote about the Solovetsky labyrinths in 1935:

“Here, on the islands of the Solovetsky archipelago, there are wonderful structures called labyrinths in archeology, and “Babylons” in the folk language. These are patterned paths made of stones, mostly boulders, the size of a head, sometimes smaller, up to a fist, with an intricate course; in some cases, the gaps between the stone bands go directly to the center, while in other cases they branch out and lead to a dead end. Once in the center, it’s usually not immediately possible to get out of there and after going through some path you come to the old place ... They think that the arrangement of the labyrinths is associated with the cult of the dead and is intended to prevent the soul of the deceased buried in the center from going outside - initially at least ... "

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Ancient structures - stone labyrinths are found only in the North of Europe and are complex spiral figures from five to thirty meters in diameter, made of small natural stones.

They can be found on the shores of the Baltic, Barents and White Seas.
Total number northern labyrinths exceeds 500. Labyrinths are known in Estonia (10 pieces), Sweden (about 300 pieces), Norway (20 pieces), Finland (about 140 pieces), Northern Russia (50 pieces), single ones - in England.
As a rule, labyrinths are located on islands, peninsulas and in estuaries. Sometimes they are scattered singly or, as on the Solovetsky Islands, are combined with heaps of stones, long walls from boulders and other no less mysterious structures.

Three labyrinths were found on the territory of Karelia: one in the Chupinsky Bay and two on the Kuzov archipelago.

Most scientists attribute the construction of labyrinths to the post-Ice Age and date them back to 3-2 thousand years ago. years BC
During the construction of the labyrinth, obviously, a counterclockwise spiral was first drawn, a place was chosen in the outer circle where the entrance to the future labyrinth should be, and then the labyrinth was made in stone. The ends of the lines were reinforced with large boulders.

About who built them and why, archaeologists have been arguing for about one hundred and fifty years.
Undoubtedly, they were created for some very important purposes. Otherwise, how to explain the fact that we find labyrinths on such a large northern territory?
At the same time, there are no analogues to the stone labyrinths of the north in other cultures. Taking into account the fact that their construction requires a more or less centralized society that can work with heavy stones, most scientists believe that the time of their creation coincides with the heyday of the seid culture.
That is, perhaps the seids were more primary, and the labyrinths tied to the coast northern seas, emerged as the next stage in the development of northern megalith construction.

Stone labyrinths in legends, myths, rites of Pomors

• according to the legends of Ireland and England, on the spirals of labyrinths in moonlight fairies danced;
• in mountainous Norway, stone ridges were laid out by ice giants - "jotuns";
• in Sweden, labyrinths marked the entrances to the underground palaces of dwarfs - dwarves who owned precious stones, ores that made magical swords, shields and spears for the heroes of the sagas;
• Saami legends say that the Babylons were built in honor of the Seids - the deities of Lapland and attributed their construction to semi-mythical personalities.
• In the folklore heritage of Scandinavia and Finland. Stone labyrinths often bear the names of cities or fortifications - "Troy", "Babylon", "Nineveh", "Jerusalem". In Finland, in addition, there are the names "The Fence or the Giants' Road", "The Game of St. Peter", "Girl's Dances", etc. Such names are inspired by ancient Greek and biblical motifs, local legends.

However, in the legends we do not find a sufficiently solid basis for constructing hypotheses, if only because of their extreme contradictory nature.

Stone labyrinths - versions of scientists and researchers

• Some researchers argued that labyrinths are nothing more than doors to parallel or some other worlds, it is only important to be able to use them.
• There is an assumption that the labyrinth is a transceiver antenna scheme, with the help of which the ancient inhabitants of these places could communicate with each other over great distances.
• Some scientists see in the labyrinths objects associated with the astral cult, give them a calendar meaning.
  However, the opponents of this version argue that the designs of the labyrinths are different, not connected with the countries of the world, they do not guess any cyclicity or general patterns that could be associated with the movement heavenly bodies. In addition, deep knowledge in astronomy, the compilation of calendars, in ancient times, was characteristic of the southern agricultural peoples (Egypt, Mesopotamia), and to a lesser extent inherent in hunters and fishermen of the taiga and tundra zones.
• Most researchers, however, defend the cult-religious nature of stone labyrinths.
  Labyrinths were used, according to numerous versions, in fishing magic associated with rituals, beliefs, ceremonies, the meaning of which was to ensure the well-being of ancient people in fishing, which could mean not only good catches, but also favorable weather, safety, etc. P.
  The patron of fishing among the ancient Sami was the fish-man Akkruva, with a human head and upper body. Perhaps the stone spirals on the seashore served as altars, on which primitive fishermen made sacrifices to the Master of the Water so that he would drive the fish into the traps set.
  The well-known ethnographer V. R. Kabo, offers an interpretation of the northern labyrinths as structures associated with ideas about the "lower world", where rituals of multiplication of game fish were performed, and with initiation rites - the initiation of young men into men, girls - into women.
  V. Charnolusky, a researcher of Karelia in the first half of the 20th century, described a ritual when the Shaman - Noid stood with one foot on the path and, jumping to the center of the labyrinth, looked at what signs speak for success or against the undertaking.
  Labyrinths served as a place of entertainment and circle dances of a cult nature among other northern peoples: the "dance of the crane", the "dance of young maidens" among the Swedes, the "dance of Adam" among the Germans, etc., as well as the stadium for military sports competitions ("Trojan game ").
• A large group of scientists, mostly archaeologists, associate labyrinths with the cult of the dead.
  Labyrinths could symbolize a difficult and winding passage from life to death, which is confirmed in the ethnography of some peoples of the world.
  The prominent archaeologist A. Ya. Bryusov, who worked for many years in the White Sea region, considered labyrinths to be grave signs over burial places (funeral rite).
  The historian M. N. Vinogradov, a researcher of the Solovetsky labyrinths, expressed the opinion that the passages of the labyrinth served to confuse the souls of the dead in order to prevent their return to the living. Sometimes, next to one labyrinth, another was built with the aim that if the soul of the deceased, if she still managed to get out, would fall into it.
  Researcher B. Olsen also suggests that the labyrinth could play a role in the rituals associated with the transition from life to death with the participation of shamans. At the same time, the shaman entered the labyrinth, and this meant the separation of the individual's death from his life. The presence within the labyrinth marked separation from life on earth. The ceremony ended with the shaman leaving the labyrinth, as if symbolizing the transition of the deceased to a new stage.

  This version is confirmed by the proximity of labyrinths to ancient burial grounds in southern Sweden, northern Norway and the Solovetsky Islands. In southern Sweden, labyrinths coexist with Bronze Age and Viking cemeteries, in northern Norway, in the Finnmark region, with Sami cemeteries of the 12th-17th centuries. On the Big Zayatsky Island, archaeologists A. Ya. Martynov and A. A. Kuratov discovered burnt human bones and stone tools under three stone heaps. A. A. Kuratov suggests that the labyrinths were ancestral sanctuaries, where the ancients buried the dead, performed magical rites of multiplying prey, initiation, etc. labyrinths of the Australian Aborigines. Images of labyrinths on stones, trees. The earth was associated with the Australian Aborigines with ideas about the "lower world". Around them, rites of multiplying prey, initiations and other cult actions were performed.

• However, not everywhere labyrinths are accompanied by burials. For example, on Krasnaya Luda, Tersky coast White Sea and in many other places traces of cemeteries have not been found.
  Known locations of labyrinths are associated not only with the sea in general, but also with certain areas of it, the richest in fish, with fishing boats.
  From this came the point of view that the labyrinths were of a commercial and fishing nature. According to researcher I.M. Mullo, labyrinths are a plan of complex fishing gear (fishing traps), laid out with stones on the ground to facilitate their further construction in fishing areas. Comparison of the design of labyrinths with fishing structures such as "venter" or "hidden", the device of which was practiced by the population of the Murmansk coast, also forced N. N. Gurina to suggest that the labyrinths are associated with magical rites, the purpose of which was to provide marine fishing.
  Archaeologists find ancient asbestos ceramics in the locations of Karelian labyrinths. According to N. N. Gurina, whose point of view is shared by most researchers, the tribes that produced asbestos ceramics should be considered the ancestors of the Saami, that is, the possible builders of labyrinths.
• But the location of the labyrinths does not always coincide with the places of accumulation and migration of fish. It is surprising that there are no labyrinths in fresh water bodies, including such significant ones as Lake Ladoga and Onega, which are in the minds of ancient population could well be associated in size with the seas. The Vepsians, for example, Lake Onega called the sea. The essential difference seas from freshwater reservoirs, in addition to the composition of water, flora and fauna, are tidal fluctuations in the water level, reaching, for example, 6 m in the throat of the White Sea, and 1.5-2 m in the locations of most labyrinths.
  From this, some researchers conclude that labyrinths are associated with these fluctuations in water.
  

  

Solovetsky Islands- an archipelago in the White Sea at the entrance to the Onega Bay. It consists of six major islands and covers an area of ​​347 km2.

Since ancient times, Solovki has been considered a place with the strongest energy. Here are ancient man-made labyrinths, which are spiral mounds of stones and earth. According to one version, these are traps for the souls of the dead so that they do not disturb the world of the living and go where they are destined to be.

Stone labyrinths on the Big Solovetsky Island

The structures were built so long ago that no one knows who built them and for what purpose. It is believed that the center of each labyrinth is an energetically active point. However, you need to get inside it only along one branch of the spiral, without going beyond its borders.

The shores of the islands are strewn with stones of various sizes. Back in the 19th century, the monks built a dam out of them, which still connects the two islands.

In the 15th century, the Monk Savvaty and his disciple Herman chose the cold coast of the White Sea to offer their prayers. They erected a monastery on a lifeless island, which later grew into a large monastery. From 1923 to 1939 there was one of the Gulag prisons on Solovki. Thousands of people found their death here.

However, in the entire history of the existence of the camp, there were about 150 phenomena. Mother of God. For example, in cave temple candles lit by themselves. Sometimes, through the flickering of candles, the face of the Savior appeared, and the air around was filled with fragrance.

Non-existent, phantom candles lit up both over the White Sea and over the swamps. Then the bodies of thousands of the dead became visible, resting in the execution ditch and on seabed. And each of them had a candle burning instead of a heart.

The monks who served in those terrible times on Solovki allegedly died and resurrected several times. Some of them disappeared to no one knows where, and then returned again: some in an hour, and some in a few years.

Stone labyrinths on about. Big Zayatsky

One of the main attractions of the Solovetsky Islands are the ancient labyrinths. According to scientists, they had an important religious and ritual significance. According to the beliefs of local residents, labyrinths were built on the border of two worlds - "lower" and "middle".

Here is what G. Boguslavsky writes in his book “The Solovetsky Islands”:

“Most scientists are inclined to think that labyrinths are associated with the religious beliefs of an ancient person (maybe with an astral cult), others see them as a ritual, ceremonial purpose (for example, for testing a person) or grave signs over burials ...

N. Turina proposed to consider the labyrinths as plans for complex fishing tools, which the ancient inhabitant of these lands first depicted on the ground, for clarity (along with endowing these images with magical powers), and then transferred them “to nature” - to the sea. The question of labyrinths has not yet received a final scientific resolution.

However, the presence of these mysterious ancient structures on the Solovetsky Islands indicates a close connection in ancient times between these islands and the surrounding coastal areas and the unity of their ancient historical destinies.

Stone labyrinths: about. B. Zayatsky (1-2) and Fr. Anzer (3)

Stone labyrinths: about. B. Zayatsky (4-5) and Fr. Oleshin (6)

Wrote about mysterious structures and philosopher P. A. Florensky:

“Here, on the islands of the Solovetsky archipelago, there are wonderful structures called labyrinths in archeology, and “Babylons” in the folk language.

These are patterned paths made of stones, mostly boulders, the size of a head, sometimes smaller, up to a fist, with an intricate course; in some cases, the gaps between the stone bands go directly to the center, in other cases they branch out and lead to a dead end. Once in the center, it is usually not immediately possible to get out of there, and after passing some way you come to the old place.

The shape of the labyrinths is different - round, elliptical, horseshoe-shaped. In the middle of the labyrinth there is a structure made of stones, resembling a small tomb ... Among the various assumptions, it seems most likely that they belong, at least in the main, to the Neolithic and to the times of about the 5th-6th centuries BC; they were built, as they think, by the Germans, driven back by the Celts, and then by the Lapps, who borrowed these buildings from the Germans.

It is thought that the construction of the labyrinths is associated with the cult of the dead and is intended to prevent the soul of the deceased, buried in the center, from coming out - initially, at least. However, these assumptions, although more probable, are a dark matter.

Cromlechs, menhirs, kerks and, finally, the ancient Cretan labyrinth are probably related to each other and to the labyrinths of Solovki and Murman, although they differ in size, starting with the huge palace-labyrinth of Knossos (on Crete) and ending with flower beds or buildings several meters diameter, and then - patterns and embroidery on fabrics. Murmansk labyrinths are measured in several tens of meters. Solovetsky - less.

Locals and tourists sometimes see ghosts in the Solovetsky labyrinths. Usually these are ethereal, whitish shadows, always moving in one direction - to the center of the labyrinth. They do not pose a danger to people, but meetings with them are sometimes accompanied by panic attacks.

The Solovetsky Islands still attract people to this day. It is said that immortality can be found here. Sometimes a person who comes to Solovki for a day stays here for many years.

"Labyrinths are nothing but Saivo, sacred mountains where the souls of the dead live, enjoying bliss. The very appearance of the ridges of the labyrinths already gives an idea of ​​the ridges of the stone mountains.

N.N. Vinogradov, Solovki. Late 1920s

The question of the purpose of the ancient Solovetsky labyrinths has not yet been finally resolved - and how to solve it?

A number of scientists consider labyrinths to be places of entertainment and round dances of a cult nature or grounds for military sports games. Some archaeologists attribute to them a practical purpose - models of fishing traps or fishing structures themselves.

Most researchers consider labyrinths to be objects of cult and religious purpose. N. Vinogradov associated them with the cult of the dead. Babylons - as stone labyrinths are also called - are associated with the rite of initiation and the "lower world", with the visit of the Solovetsky Islands by the inhabitants of the White Sea to perform primitive religious rites of burial of the dead.

These were rituals of burial and sacrifice (calcified bones of a person, feast animals, birds and fish), rituals associated with totemism and cult magic (figurines of sea animals), worship of the Sun (“solar rosette” and round-spiral labyrinths), initiation and, perhaps others, not yet understood, but associated with the beliefs of the aborigines of the White Sea region. Built, according to the ideas of the ancients, on the border of two worlds - "middle" and "lower" - the labyrinths, most likely, symbolized either the lower - otherworldly - world itself, inhabited by spirits that are dead and hostile to man, or a confusing path to it.

Thus, one of the functions of the labyrinth was to ensure the transfer of the souls of the dead and buried to the lower world according to the rite, which included cremation.

On the other hand, labyrinths were, apparently, the instrument with which ritual actions were performed.

A number of progressive scientists are inclined to think that labyrinths are associated with the religious beliefs of an ancient person (maybe with an astral cult), others see them as a ritual, ceremonial purpose (for example, for testing a person) or grave signs over burials ...

Some consider the labyrinths to be plans for complex fishing tools, which the ancient inhabitant of these lands first depicted on the ground, for clarity (along the way endowing these images with magical powers), and then transferred them “to nature” - to the sea. But this is really bullshit

The question of labyrinths has not yet received a final scientific resolution. However, the presence of these mysterious ancient structures on the Solovetsky Islands points to a close connection between these islands and the surrounding coastal areas in ancient times and to the unity of their ancient historical destinies.

To answer the questions of what inner meaning the stone labyrinths conceal in themselves, whether they are really connected with the cult of the dead, what the stone piles in their center and the bands of stone calculations around them mean, it is important to once again turn to both the structure of the labyrinths themselves and to mythology. peoples of the North.

First of all, it is important to analyze the slightest nuances of the masonry of the most common so-called bispiral horseshoe-shaped round labyrinths of the classical type, and then raise the question: what imagery can be behind all this?

Five main features of the ancient northern labyrinths

1. The main element of the labyrinth is a spiral, most often composed of single boulder stones in a long row.
2. Throughout its length, the spiral in some areas has an expansion and thickening in the form of a stone heap of a round-oval shape. Thickenings are also noticeable at the ends of the spirals, structurally indicated by heaps of stones or larger stones.
3. A single spiral was laid in the form of a line unwinding from the center.
4. The stacking of two spirals inscribed one into the other looks like an intertwined ball.
5. In the center of the labyrinths there is a cluster of stones in the form of a slide. If we leave aside the traditional dry “constructivist” approach and look at the labyrinths from an artistic point of view, the first thing we can see in the labyrinth scheme is a ball of two coiled snakes. The images of snakes with longitudinally elongated heads and rounded tails are especially clearly and expressively presented in the Great Solovetsky Labyrinth, which we took as an example.

There is nothing surprising in the fact that a reptile appears frozen in stone, because in the primitive consciousness of a person who deified and spiritualized the world around him, there was no clear boundary between animate and inanimate nature. The stone was perceived by him as an integral part of this world, people and animals could accept the stone denunciation. As an example, it is enough to cite the seids, who were an integral part of the Saami culture. According to the mythology of many northern peoples, epic characters, including people and animals, were turned into stone.

Sources

Vinogradov N. Solovetsky labyrinths. Their origin and place in a number of homogeneous prehistoric monuments. SOK materials. Issue. 4. Solovki, 1927.

In the White Sea, on a small conglomerate of distant islands of Russia, the largest number of labyrinths on earth is concentrated. Despite the abundance of theories of their origin, archaeologists and historians still cannot agree on why and for what purpose they were created.

The labyrinth is one of the most mysterious symbols of the planet earth - why did the idea of ​​the labyrinth simultaneously appear thousands of years ago on all inhabited continents of the world? The word "Labyrinth" goes back to the Greek word "labrys", denoting the famous double-edged ax of the Minoans from the island of Crete, and "intos", which means "place". So initially the labyrinth is the "house of the Double-Edged Axe". So called Knossos palace complex on the island of Crete. In accordance with Greek mythology, the Cretan king Minos instructed the artisan Daedalus to build a labyrinth for the minotaur - half a bull, half a man, whom the wife of Minos Pasiphae gave birth to from a relationship with a bull. For some unknown reason, Daedalus and his son Icarus were also imprisoned in this labyrinth. Having built wings from wax and feathers, they were able to free themselves and flew away from their place of imprisonment. But young Icarus decided to get too close to the sun. The wax in his wings melted, and he himself fell into the Icarian sea and drowned. The legend of the minotaur was long considered a myth until the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans found the remains of the Knossos labyrinth at the beginning of the 20th century. Despite the fact that throughout the history of mankind there are different models labyrinths, such as the labyrinth of seven, eleven and twelve circles, in Greece and throughout the Mediterranean, only the labyrinth of seven circles was associated with these legends. Today, the Cretan labyrinth is called a one-way labyrinth, which is formed in seven concentric bends towards the center. It is surprising that the seven turns of the labyrinth repeat the course of the planet Mercury along starry sky. The question is, could the astronomer of antiquity record the course of the mecurium and create a closed symbol on its basis? It is clear that there is no exact answer to this question. The first known use of the seven-circle labyrinth symbol was found on a clay tablet in the Mycenaean palace of Pylos, Greece. The palace itself was lost in a fire around 1200 BC. e. only a clay tablet remained for study, which was baked in that fire. Although the labyrinth is strongly associated with the history and mythology of Greece, as a fact of culture, it appeared much earlier than the legend of Knossos and the minotaur. 4000. The famous ancient labyrinth among the pyramid complex of Amenemhat III in Hawara (12th dynasty, 1844-1797 BC, the labyrinth connected twelve spacious chambers, which were connected by corridors, colonnades and mines. The central burial chamber of the king's pyramid was securely hidden by crossing passages and stone-sealed false doors.

However, the labyrinths of Greece and Egypt are just the tip of the iceberg. Labyrinths are present in almost all world religious traditions. They have formed an integral part of many cultures and are found on every inhabited continent. Approximately at the same time as the Greek labyrinth, in the traditional Papago Indian culture, the tohono odham labyrinth, which is extremely identical to it, appeared, symbolizing iitoi - "The Man in the Labyrinth". The same pattern has a prehistoric petroglyph on the river bank in Goa, as well as cave drawings of northern India and dolmen petroglyphs in the Nilgiri mountains. About 300 images of various labyrinths have been found at ancient archaeological sites around the world. Questions about how the same pattern could simultaneously appear in apparently unrelated cultures have not yet been answered.

Although the written history of the last 4000 years mentions labyrinths, the earliest of them are much older and date back to the Neolithic, from which time throughout Europe, Scandinavia and Russia remained cave drawings and stone structures.

Today the word "Labyrinth" is used to refer to any intricate structure. However, the labyrinth has an important key characteristic. Unlike, for example, the structure of puzzles or mosaics, in which there is a choice of move and direction (multi-move), the labyrinth has only one uninterrupted move (single-move), which leads to the center. The Solovetsky Islands (or Solovki) are an archipelago in the White Sea at the entrance to Onega Bay, Russia. 35 Neolithic labyrinths have been discovered here. The locals gave them the name "Babylon". The time of their construction is about 3000 BC. e. The most interesting are the stone labyrinths of the Big Zayatsky Island - this is a group of 14 labyrinths located on an area of ​​0.4 km 2. They are very well preserved and have been described in detail, but disputes about their function are still ongoing.

In addition to these labyrinths, 850 stone ramparts were found on the island, many of which were used as burial mounds. Also on the island there are solar symbols made of stones and placed in a closed circuit. It is believed that these ancient stone labyrinths are associated with spiritual practices and ancient beliefs and can symbolize the border between the material world and the world of spirits - the mythical haven of death.

Labyrinths of cobblestones placed on the ground are stacked. It is established that the cobblestones were collected nearby. The smallest labyrinth is about 6 meters in diameter, the largest is up to 25.4 meters. Rows of stones have a spiral shape, in some cases they are folded into two spirals. In this case, the pattern of the labyrinth is described as an interlacing of two snakes striving towards the center. The entrances to the labyrinths are mainly located with south side, and although there are five variants of labyrinths, they all have only one entry / exit point. The labyrinths of the large hare island are located on the western side, while eastern part the islands are occupied exclusively by stone ramparts. Although the labyrinths are overgrown with tough island vegetation, their shapes stand out clearly on the ground. Why were labyrinths built on the big hare island?

To explain the violent activity of the inhabitants solovetsky islands, who built stone labyrinths back in the Neolithic era, put forward many hypotheses.

In the 1970s, N. Gurina's assumption that the labyrinths served as traps for fish was considered the main hypothesis. This is supported by the fact that all the labyrinths of this area were built near the coast, and the water level 5000 years ago (and this is their approximate dating) was much higher. The fish swam into the labyrinth, and the fisherman simply collected it from the trap. However, this hypothesis may be refuted by the fact that in the world there are many labyrinths located at a distance from water bodies.

Researcher L. Ershov put forward another theory. Ershov believed that the lines of the labyrinths repeat the orbits of the sun and moon, so they were used as calendars. However, this is a moot point, as labyrinths vary in entrance location and orientation.

Today, in particular - in esoteric circles, the theory is popular that the labyrinth is ancient symbol integrity. It combines the shape of a circle and a spiral into a tangled path. It symbolizes the journey to the center of our spirit and the subsequent return to the real world. The passage through the labyrinth can be seen as an initiation for the awakening of knowledge. It is believed that the passage through the labyrinth contributes to the achievement of an altered state of consciousness and a change in the perception of time and space. Indeed, Vlad Abramov, who explored the labyrinths of the large hare island, described the surreal experiences he experienced while passing through the intricate passages of the labyrinth.

"Having stepped into the labyrinth and walked several times in a circle to the center, you exit through its entrance. After several passes, you forget exactly how many times they were made and how many times you have left to go through. Subjective time stops, but the clock shows that you are walking along the maze is 15 minutes in. It's getting hard to think coherently, the path is narrow and you have to keep your eyes on your feet all the time. little trip finished".

In addition to these theories, there are many others. Now the theory of Karl Schuster and Edmund Carpenter stands out in particular. Its essence is that the construction of labyrinths is associated with religious beliefs. Prehistoric labyrinths most likely functioned as traps for evil spirits, set the pattern for ritual dances, and/or marked the boundary between this and the other world. The issue of using these labyrinths in the rituals of the passage of the souls of dead people to the afterlife is discussed. Archaeologist a. L. Nikitin suggests that the labyrinths, as mentioned in the legends, indicate "entrances" and "exits" to the underworld, and they could only be opened by those who were given the "magic key" from their doors.

This assumption is caused by the widespread belief in the "three Worlds" in prehistoric cultures, according to which our ancestors believed that the universe was divided into the lower world, where the souls of the dead fall, middle world, which includes physical plane existence, and the upper world of the stars, heavens and gods.

So far removed northern islands Russia is attracted by travelers and scientists who want to solve their riddle and learn the meaning of labyrinths.