How to make stone labyrinths yourself. Solovki. Stone labyrinths. Long history of the maze

stone labyrinths on Bolshoi Zayatsky Island is a group of 13 or 14 labyrinths (low helix-shaped stone layouts of a round or oval shape, with a diameter of 3 to 20 meters) on Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, one of the Solovetsky Islands in Arkhangelsk region in Russia.

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.

Except 13 or 14 mazes on this island there are more than 850 man-made heaps of boulders, mounds, stoneworks, and a number of other notable stones, such as a stone with a painted symbol with radial rays, possibly representing the sun ("solar rosette"). In addition, there are dolmens on the island. All labyrinths are concentrated on an area of just 0.4 km2 in the western part of the island on the slopes of the low Signal Mountain.

Why were labyrinths built on the Big Zayatsky Island?

Many hypotheses have been put forward to explain the violent activity of the inhabitants of the Solovetsky Islands, who built stone labyrinths back in the Neolithic era.

In the 1970s The main hypothesis was the assumption N. Gurina that labyrinths served as traps for fish. 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 the Moon, thus 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, there is a popular theory that the labyrinth is ancient symbol integrity. It combines the shape of a circle and a spiral into an intricate 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 Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, described the surreal experiences he experienced while passing through the intricate passages of the labyrinth.

“Having stepped into the labyrinth and passed several times in a circle to the center, you exit through its entrance. After several passes, you forget exactly how many times you made them, and how many times you have left to go. Subjective time stops, but the clock shows that you have been walking through the maze for 15 minutes. It becomes difficult to think about something coherently; the path is narrow, and you must constantly watch your steps. The course of the labyrinth turns either to the right or to the left. And finally, the way out; and you are glad that little trip finished"

In addition to these theories, there are many others. Now the theory of Karl Schuster and Edmund Carpenter stands out especially. 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 the "entrances" and "exits" to the underworld, and they could open only to 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 is divided into the Lower World, where the souls of the dead fall, Middle World, which includes physical plane existence, and the Higher World of 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.

Writes skanek, who visited the island:

Bolshoi and Maly Zayatsky Islands are located 5 km from Bolshoy Solovetsky Island and occupy an area of only about two and a half square kilometers. There are several versions of where this name came from - Zayatsky. Perhaps it is due to the fact that sometimes sea hares (one of the species of the White Sea seals) used to camp there. Another version is more interesting than the previous one: in the 16th century Solovetsky Monastery rebuilt from stone, it was under Metropolitan Philip (does everyone remember the film "Tsar" by Pavel Lungin?). It was then that the famous Filippovsky brick was made, which had high strength, which confirms its good condition in our time. So, it seems like the composition of this brick is still not known (which I hardly believe in), but there is an assumption that eggs of northern birds, possibly eiders, that nested on this island in in large numbers. Accordingly, the monks went there FOR EGGS, hence the analogy - Zayatsky. All in all, this is an interesting story.

So why are the Zayatsky Islands so interesting? The first is its nature, which is strikingly different from the nature of the Big Solovetsky Island. There are no forests and lakes here, all the vegetation is stunted, in its type nature is very similar to the tundra, i.e. low bushes, twisted little birch trees, mosses, lichens and, of course, stones. The beauty is incredible.

The second and probably the most important thing that Zayatsky Island is famous for is labyrinths. I want to focus on them separately. The labyrinth is one of the most mysterious and most ancient symbols, about which there are still disputes about what it means, for what, when and by whom it was first invented. Images of labyrinths were found in many countries, in Russia they are found in Dagestan and in the Russian North. There is a Cape of Labyrinths on Bolshoi Solovetsky Island, but the labyrinths there are a "remake", recently restored, and it is here, on Zayatsky Island, that the largest accumulation of labyrinths of the entire Northern Europe. They are stone excavations of various shapes with a diameter of 3.5 to 40 meters and a height of up to 50 cm with stone mounds in the middle. There are also individual stone mounds.

In total, there are 13 labyrinths and about 850 stone mounds on the island dating back to about the 2nd millennium BC (!!!). The most popular version of what kind of labyrinths these are says that this is an ancient cemetery. This is explained by the fact that archaeological research islands under stone embankments, burnt bones of animals and humans were found. But why on the island? Here's why. The burial of a person at all times was considered a special rite, ritual, and the island is the place that was most suitable for its implementation. All 4 elements are connected on the island: Water (washes the island from all sides), Earth (the island itself), Air (wind blowing through the open part of the land) and Fire, which the man himself bred before performing the ceremony. But some mounds remained empty during their excavations. This was explained by the fact that there were cases when a person went on some kind of voyage, for example, to hunt, and never returned, there was no body, but the rite had to be performed.

Everything seems to be clear with stone mounds, but why is the labyrinth itself needed, despite the fact that nothing was found under the stone mound in the center of the labyrinth itself?

The version of this is as follows: after performing the burial rite, by burning the deceased and burying it under a pile of stones, the soul had to enter the labyrinth, get lost there and no longer appear to the living relatives of the deceased. Somewhere it was written that those who get to Zayatsky Island experience peace, a feeling of solitude. I don’t know, maybe because of the rainy and gray weather, but I felt more uncomfortable and restless. There are a lot of stones on the island, as I said above, among which there is quite beautiful White Sea quartz. Here is one such white pebble, sparkling in the light, and I took it with me and put it on the bedside table near the bed. Maybe this is a coincidence, of course, but for three nights in a row I was tormented by nightmares, until I threw this pebble away, after which it became calmer.

There is also such a version that Manala (Tuonela), the land of the dead, described in the Karelian-Finnish epic "Kalevala", is Solovki:
"... He walked with quick steps,
I walked for a week through the bush,
Through the thickets - another,
Juniper was third;
The island of Manala he sees
Tuonela, he noticed the hill ... "

These two signs coincide with the description of Solovki. In Kalevala, Manala is an island, like Solovki. There is a hill on the island, as is Mount Sekirnaya (73 m) on Bolshoi Solovetsky Island, which is good weather it is visible almost from the mainland, and in general, when you approach Solovki from the sea, the first thing that appears on the horizon is Sekirka.

Labyrinths beckon with their mystery, I want to know as much as possible about it, this desire is addictive. As the Pole M. Vilk said in his book "Wolf Notebook": ".... Our ancestors, their spirits live in stones, as well as in words. The Sami also knew this ...... We reached the Cape of Labyrinths. We sit down on the stones, smoke. -If you want to leave here, do not look into the Sami labyrinths - you will be lost. That's how I .... ". A very good book, which I bought in Solovki. It is called "The Way of the Labyrinth", it contains many versions, stories, photographs and schemes of the labyrinths of the White Sea and the whole world, I recommend it in general.

A small wooden church on the Big Zayatsky Island - St. Andrew's Skete. In August 1702, the first Russian Emperor Peter the Great arrived at Solovki with a squadron of 13 warships, who came to pray. During the 10 days of the stay of the royal ships at the Zayatsky Islands, the chapel on the island was rebuilt into a temple, consecrated in honor of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. It was here that the first St. Andrew's flag of the Russian fleet was consecrated, and for a long time it was this temple that sailors considered theirs until the Naval St. Nicholas Cathedral was built in Kronstadt in 1913. Peter's visit to the Solovetsky archipelago also served as a distraction for the Swedes during Northern war. From

White Sea the squadron was dragged to Lake Onega by land (by the way, then the beginning of the White Sea-Baltic Canal passed along this path) and the Swedes were struck in the rear, later the fortresses Oreshek (Noteburg), Nyenschanz and Landskrona were captured, after which the mouth of the Neva near the destroyed Nyenschantz and Landskrona Peter I on May 16 (27), 1703 laid new town St. Petersburg, which became the port of the Moscow state on the Baltic Sea - the so-called "window to Europe". There is a version that, by analogy with Zayatsky Island, the island in St. Petersburg was called Zayachy, on which the Peter and Paul Fortress is located.

Also on Zayatsky Island in the 16th century, under Metropolitan Philip, the first closed stone harbor of the Russian North was built, which has survived to this day. It is one of many 16th-century structures built by monks and laborers by hand. It remains only to imagine how difficult and long it was work. Here it is, a small piece of land in the cold White Sea, I will try to convey all this beauty with photographs.

The Solovetsky Islands are 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 beliefs 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 religious beliefs. ancient man(maybe with an astral cult), others see them as a ritual, ritual purpose (for example, for testing a person) or grave signs over burials ... N. Turina suggested that labyrinths be considered 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 Solovetsky Islands points to the close connection in antiquity of these islands with the surrounding areas of the coast 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 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 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 century 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 device of the labyrinths is connected 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.

An increasing number of serious scientists are inclined to think that numerous megalithic monuments, preserved on the territory of modern Karelia and created millennia ago - this is a coded ancient knowledge inherited from our distant ancestors. Traditions that arose in the depths of centuries and millennia were passed down from generation to generation, fixed in stone and ritual symbols, demonstrating the unity of man and higher cosmic forces.

"The cosmic-mystical encoding of spiral symbols and labyrinths is beyond doubt."
Valery Demin, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor

Among the archaeological monuments of a cult nature located on the territory of the North of Russia, apparently, there are none that, like stone labyrinths, would have aroused the keen interest of many researchers for about two hundred years. Stone labyrinths are structures with a diameter of five to thirty meters, built of small natural stones in a repeatedly twisting line that forms a spiral figure. They are known on Kola Peninsula, the Solovetsky Islands, the White Sea coast of Karelia, as well as on a number of islands in the White Sea.

Many explanations have been offered regarding the functional purpose of the Solovetsky stone spirals: burial grounds, altars, mock-ups of fishing traps...

However, spiral images are found almost all over the world. It seems that the image of the spiral acts as a kind of code that was passed down from generation to generation, from people to people, regardless of cultural and religious differences. However, the knowledge contained in them was long ago - long lost, the key to deciphering is lost.

The spiral is one of the deepest symbols of the universe. The spiral acts as a single code of a single world, which is laid by Mother Nature in the foundation of all living and non-living things.

According to the views of the Moscow professor V.N. Volchenko and other Russian scientists, the basis of the universe is the so-called torsion (“twisted”) fields, which allow instantaneous distribution of any information. According to this theory, the Universe as a "Super-computer" forms a single biocomputer with the human brain, working, in simple terms, according to the principles of the same twisted spiral.

Classic "stone labyrinth" on Oleniy Island, White Sea

But if we find out about this at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, then how did our distant ancestors know about it thousands of years ago, who folded stone spirals, reminiscent of the modern classical shape of broadband transceiver antennas and used them as a single communication channel with the universe? Stone labyrinths have been revered since ancient times as pointers to the proximity of other spaces and dimensions.

In Rus' northern labyrinths called "Babylon". But why "Babylons"? Generations of stone labyrinth explorers have tried to answer this question. Why did the city of Babylon, mentioned in the Bible and discovered by archaeologists only at the very end of the 19th century, give the name to these strange structures?

In Celtic mythology, the island city of Avallon is known, inhabited by fairies, the island of the blessed, which was opened only to the elect. Therefore, most likely, the Pomeranian name of the stone labyrinth - "Babylon" - is a distorted Celtic word, transferred, but not meaningful, to Russian soil.

This is all the more surprising that the traditions and legends of the northern peoples associated stone spirals with the existence of fairy-tale peoples: "divine people", elves, gnomes and similar inhabitants " underworld". Moreover, as the historian and archaeologist A.L. Nikitin, it is labyrinths in legends and tales that are indicated as “entrances” and “exits” to the underground, otherworldly kingdom, opening only to those who know the magic key to this, figuratively speaking, secret door.

The following fact is very interesting: there is a local Karelian-Finnish myth about the so-called "wild people". These creatures live in mountains and caves, have some kind of power, reminiscent of electricity. They are small in stature, very beautiful and with a pleasant voice. "Divya people" - predictors. Only the elect can hear and heed them - people with a pure soul and thoughts.

In other words, at first glance, the "Divya people" most of all resemble gnomes or dwarfs. Of course, the descriptions of appearance do not match, but many other features coincide: mountain talents, the gift of providence, some actions, etc.

Dwarfs are given amazing speed, for which there is no space: in one leap they can be transferred from one mountain to another, even if there were several hours between the peaks of these mountains - today they are here, and tomorrow in another part of the world. They have the gift of supernatural wisdom and foresight: they know the future and everything that is done in the world. They have knowledge of languages and understand the runes, they know the healing properties of plants and stones.

By the way, as well as mighty giants, dwarfs have occupied a worthy niche in the mythological tradition of both the Slavs and other peoples, in particular the Karelians and Finns. However, the thing is that in ancient Slavic mythology, dwarfs are creatures that live, rather, near a person. But in Finno-Ugric mythology, for example, dwarfs are more often residents of places that are hard to reach for a person.

The Scandinavian Eddas describe dwarfs as blacksmiths who transform into gods and personalities with titanic powers. These images are invariably characterized by arrogance, at times greed, often swagger and pride. According to the texts of the Edda, dwarfs are the flesh of the flesh of this world. They appeared immediately after the birth of the gods from the same original material as the earth, water and sky of the Universe - from the flesh of the god Ymir. When the young gods spread it with fertile lands, life was born there. Its first sprouts were dwarfs. They are the oldest population on earth. In the Edda, the first dwarfs are likened to larvae crawling out of decaying flesh into the light. Dwarfs, children of the earth, were at first absolutely faceless. However, the gods in the Upper World felt the birth of a new life and endowed the dwarfs with speech, wisdom and appearance. The gods left most of the dwarfs in the bowels of the young earth, crevices, caves and grottoes.

"Stone labyrinth" on the Big Solovetsky Island

Then the time of people had not yet come, and the dwarfs reigned supreme in the vast expanses of the earth. Children of the earth - they gratefully accepted her gifts, kept her secrets, fed on her wisdom. Earth and wisdom are often identified in myths.

Ritual ceremonies held inside and near these stone sanctuaries allowed the ancient peoples to make experiments with altered states of consciousness and explore the other world of spirits - a source of enlightenment and strength.

It is well known that many peoples of antiquity had special groups of people whose members possessed exceptional knowledge, inaccessible to the "uninitiated" and based on a deep understanding of the secret forces of Nature. The susceptibility to the hidden forces of Nature, strengthened by special education, allowed them to more boldly and more widely observe the world around them and, thereby, more faithfully serve their fellow tribesmen. These peoples also included the distant ancestors of the Finnish and Sami tribes that inhabited the territory of modern Karelia, who have long been famous for their sorcerers and shamans.

The writers of antiquity always confirmed the superiority of the northern peoples over others in the study of magic. It was believed that they mastered the art of illusion, knew how to cause storms, cover the earth with fog in order to confuse the ranks of the enemy troops or hide themselves from the eyes of the enemy. They mastered the art of body transformation. They were able to see at a great distance. They knew how to prophesy. It was they who, turning to their distant descendants, folded stone spirals in order to convey the foundations of their knowledge, since the ancient secret tradition stubbornly connected their extraordinary abilities with the symbolism and magic of the labyrinths, which personified natural forces and physical energy.

It is no coincidence that the image of a spiral among the northern peoples was also correlated with the image of a snake curled up in a dream, since the snake long time considered a symbol of power. Traces of veneration of snakes are noted among the Saami and among the peoples of Karelia, in particular, among the Veps. An image of snakes from the Oleneostrovsky burial ground on Onega, as well as on the rocks Lake Onega and the White Sea belong to ancient magical and religious ideas and testify to their special reverence.

"Labyrinth" on the island of German Kuzov, White Sea

If such an assumption is correct, then one involuntarily has to be surprised at the profound knowledge that these people possessed millennia ago. They understood that man and the Earth are one. This is the basis of their wisdom. This is what was passed down to us, their distant descendants. But we neglect this knowledge.

Academician B.D. Grekov once said: "There may be grains of true truth in legends." In addition to chronicle history, all peoples also had a secret oral history, carefully guarded and also carefully passed down from generation to generation.

The mysteries associated with the study of "stone labyrinths" have been haunting researchers for many years now. The knowledge underlying their construction does not fit into the established opinion about the primitivism of the thinking of the northern peoples in the era of paganism. Yes! Their knowledge is, in many respects, intuitive. And why, in fact, intuitive knowledge is worse than analytical knowledge? After all, the knowledge itself, which has practical or spiritual value, is important, and not just the means to achieve it.

In 1999, a research group from St. Petersburg arrived on the islands of the Body of the White Sea, aiming to study the ancient labyrinths. Kuzova Islands are very rich in monuments of this kind, which often surprise modern researchers and just tourists.

Toward evening, August 23, this group happened to see an "interesting" phenomenon. They were already finishing their work, when suddenly a strange opaque cloud emerged from the center of the “stone spiral”, which immediately turned into a light pillar. Before the observers had time to come to their senses, the "pillar" began to transform into ... "a human figure." The borders of the main body of this “person” were clearly visible and were brilliant green, and the inside of the “body” was filled with an orange glow like fog. The entire "body" was obviously opaque, observed for about 15 minutes at the same place, and measured up to two hundred meters in height. Then, the body again began to turn into a cloud and then again slowly descended to the center of the "spiral", where it disappeared.

On the same evening, the researchers of the ancient "artifacts" moved their camp, and in the morning they left first for the city of Kem, and from there to their native St. Petersburg! It was an escape from the horror they experienced from what they saw on the Bodies.

“At the very beginning of the winter of 2006, I visited my close relatives in Karelian city Belomorsk. - said Prokop Yuryev from Samara. - On weekends, we, our big friendly company, decided (on the recommendation of my relatives) to go see the old "stone labyrinths", some of which are located near the city. The snow had fallen a few days ago, and the track was fresh, not rumpled. After walking ten kilometers and already being close to the “destination”, we suddenly saw that a short man, thin and dark-haired, was walking slowly, as if walking, a little away from us. It's already a few seconds later, we realized that the concept of "low" absolutely does not correspond to what we saw: it was less than half a meter "dwarf". Intuitively, I fixed (in addition to growth, of course) something unusual in him. I (and not only me, but all of us, as I later realized) was surprised that he was without a hat and very lightly dressed. On rather deep snow, without skis, in light boots, at this time of the year, far from the city, in a dense forest!

We stopped and discussed what we saw for a long time, seeing it off with our eyes. He walked in the same direction where we were heading, and then disappeared behind a small hillock, where, in fact, the "labyrinths" were located. We followed in his footsteps, which suddenly ended abruptly almost in the very center of one of the "mazes". It was very visible in the snow.

Taken aback, we froze on the spot when we suddenly saw him right in front of us about a hundred meters away. It came out of nowhere, but it doesn't happen like that. He stood and looked straight at us, then took a step forward towards the "maze" and disappeared, right in front of our eyes. This, the last drop of mysticism, was enough for us, and we hastily went back to Belomorsk.

Then, after a year and a half, reading the literature on megaliths, I realized that we were faced with that other reality that is next to us, but somehow connected with the structures left to us by distant ancestors.

Hello 🙂

Today's post is about landscape design.

Many today leave the city, buy houses and try to ennoble the area around the house. But a significant problem arises. If you create something big, then visually the space decreases and becomes somehow cramped.

An interesting way out of this situation can be the most common. It is very easy to make it yourself, but at the same time the place will look very original and will gather children for games and fun.

Recently, a team of stoneworkers completed their work on the creation of a 5-segment medieval stone labyrinth in the park of the University of New England and I want to introduce you to their work

Stone labyrinths. English experience

All the stones were selected in such a way that they had a flat top, and the stones themselves were elongated. They were dug into a trench prepared in advance and the stones are securely fixed in the ground and you can not be afraid that students will be able to move them during games in the stone labyrinth.

It is located in a park where oaks and pines grow. Therefore, they decided not to make sand bedding, but to decorate everything with needles and foliage - this gave the stone labyrinth a natural look.

Stone benches, which were also made in medieval style from 3 boulder stones.

By the way, I already wrote how to make a stone bench in the article ""

Stone labyrinth "Babylon"

As it turned out, there is a stone labyrinth "Babylon" in Kandalaksha and I suggest watching 2 videos about it:

The search for the maze "Babylon"

“Labyrinths are none other than 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)

Solovki. stone labyrinths

Purpose of stone labyrinths

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 the 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 (Vinogradov N. Solovetsky labyrinths. Their origin and place among homogeneous prehistoric monuments. Materials of the SOK. 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 and trade magic (Gurina N. Stone labyrinths of the White Sea. M., S. 125-142. 1948), with a visit to the Solovetsky Islands by the inhabitants of the White Sea to perform primitive religious rites of burial of the dead (Kuratov A. Ancient labyrinths of the Arkhangelsk White Sea. Collection of local history and local lore, Vologda, pp. 63–76, 1973).

Stone Babylons of Solovki. Big Zayatsky Island.

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.

... 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 the religious beliefs of an ancient person (maybe with an astral cult), others see them as a ritual, ritual purpose (for example, for testing a person) or grave signs over burials ... N. Gurina suggested counting labyrinths with plans of complex fishing tools, which the ancient inhabitant of these lands first depicted on the ground, for clarity (in passing 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.)

Stone Babylons of Solovki. Big Solovetsky Island.

Two Solovetsky snakes

“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?

five main features of the shape of masonry labyrinths

The main element of the labyrinth is a spiral, most often composed of single boulder stones in a long row.
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.
A single spiral was laid in the form of a line unwinding from the center.
The stacking of two spirals inscribed one into the other looks like an intertwined ball.
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. Particularly clear and expressive images of snakes with longitudinally elongated heads and rounded tails are presented in the Bolshoi Solovetsky labyrinth taken by us 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 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.

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 band 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 until now, 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)