Borisov stones. Borisov stones - the mysterious stonehenge of Belarus
This story begins in the distant 12th century:
In the dry summer of 1128, several wanderers made their way through the forest to the borders of the Polotsk principality. The times were restless. Famine and pestilence engulfed the land. In a distant monastery, a black chronicler wrote down terrible lines about that time: the snow lay until summer, the flood was great, “and in the fall, kill the frost, do everything and winter and be hungry ...” People ate tree bark and moss, praying the Lord to forgive them sins. Great sorrow seized the Polotsk land.
The wanderers stopped at a fork in the forest path. The right place was already close. There was a breath of coolness from the nearby river. The path brought people to the shore. Somewhere nearby, the water roared, twisting in jets in the rapids. And next to the shore, in shallow water, a huge boulder-stone protruded from the water. Having set up camp, the wanderers prayed for a long time on the shore, kneeling. Then the eldest of them walked across the water to the stone, carefully taking the brought tool with one hand, touched the gray surface of the boulder with the other and whispered: “Lord, help your servant Boris” ...
Prince Boris- the eldest son of Vseslav Charodey, who ruled in Polotsk in the XII century. It was he who founded the city of Borisov at the very beginning of the 12th century, defeated the Yotvingians, and a few years later he was defeated in the fight against the Semigallians. He died in 1128 and was buried in the Borisoglebsk church in Belchitsy.
Borisov stones are the most famous Belarusian boulders. The first surviving mention of them is contained in the Chronicle of Lithuanian and Zhamoit, compiled in the 16th century: There is a cross on the stone, and under it there is an inscription: "Help, Lord, your servant Boris ...".
Since ancient times, stones have played a big role in the life of Belarusians. The cult of stones has always existed and was widespread here, which could not but affect many aspects of the life of the people, especially religious, poetic, philosophical, the traditional way of life, historical events, famous people, about which I would like to talk a little.
In Belarus there is a group of unique monuments of the past, the so-called Boris stones. They are huge (up to several meters) boulders with crosses carved on them and various inscriptions. These stones got their name from the prince of Polotsk Boris,
who ruled in the 12th century, whose name was engraved on most of them. Boris stones have long attracted attention.
There were these giants, left over from the time of the glacier, mainly in the north of Belarus. In the course of the Western Dvina, in different places, starting from Polotsk, one could see many majestic granite boulders with crosses and inscriptions carved on them of various shapes, in some this name was mentioned: “Lord help your servant Boris.” The people called them Boris-Khlebnik, Pisanik, Boris-Gleb.
One of these monuments with the inscription "Sulibor Khrust" was pulled out of the river, taken to Moscow in 1888 and is in the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. Another one was transported to Polotsk in 1981 and installed on the Upper Castle, next to. This seventy-ton stone has 8 meters in circumference, the length of the cross is one and a half meters. On both sides of the six-pointed cross on it is carved: “XC. Nika. GI (Lord) help your servant Boris.
There was also one Rogvolodov stone and there is still an unnamed boulder known as, but they all belong to the same time. The exact reason for the appearance of such unusual monuments on our lands is still unknown.
Most of the Boris stones were destroyed during the struggle against religion. The same fate befell Rogvolodov stone with the inscription “In 6679 (1171) of the month of May, on the 7th day, this cross is completed. Lord, help your servant Vasiliy in baptism with the name of Rogvolod, son of Borisov ”, standing near the village of Dyatlovo, Orsha district. It was savagely blown up in the 1930s. and its fragments were used for the construction of the Moscow-Minsk highway.
Among scientists there is no consensus about the stones. According to some, Polotsk people, even having adopted Christianity, worshiped a stone, and the prince ordered a cross to be carved on a boulder - a symbol of the new faith. Others associate this inscription with the famine years of 1127-1128, others consider the stones to be monuments of Boris' military actions.
Only four "Belarusian" have survived Borisov stone, one of which was taken to Russia in 1888 and is now in the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. There are three left in Belarus: near the church of St. Sophia in Polotsk (Vitebsk region), Vorotishin cross in the village of Kameno (Vileika district, Minsk region) and in the town of Druya (Braslav region, Vitebsk region). By the way, the last one for a long time was hidden under water at a depth where it was pulled by the spring ice drift in the first half of the 20th century. Only in 2002 it was discovered and pulled ashore.
Sasha Mitrahovich 19.11.2015 10:38
“... a time to scatter stones, and a time to collect stones; a time to hug, and a time to avoid hugging; time to seek, and time to lose; a time to save, and a time to throw away…” (Eccl. 3:5-6)
One of these gigantic stones in the channel of the Viliya, which had the name Previtalnya, once interfered with navigation, and those who sailed near it threw bread and salt, saying: “I greet you with bread and salt! Accept, but let me pass!
Such giants are also known on land: one stood near the village of Vysokiy Gorodets, Tolochin district. It was an almost square slab with an eight-pointed cross and an inscription along the edges and was called "Kravets" or "Stepan".
The legend of the stone "Stepan":
Stepan possessed miraculous power. It was enough in the evening to bring a tailored fabric to him and ask: “Stepan, sew me a zhupan!” - as in the morning clothes lay on the surface of the stone. So for a long time the stone was sheathed by local peasants, getting its name from here - Kravets.
Several such stones are known. They "themselves" sewed boots, clothes, being in the past shoemakers or tailors, cursed for working on a holiday.
The stone has been preserved in the Vileika region, in the village of Kamena. This is a block of eleven meters in circle with a cross and inscriptions, among which are the words "Vorotishin Khrest". Perhaps Vorotisha and Sulibor are the names of the masters.
The so-called Rogvolod stone stood near the village of Dyatlovo, Orsha district. The inscription on the surface of the plate read: “In the 6679 (1171) month of May, on the 7th day, this cross is completed. Lord, help your servant Vasily in baptism in the name of Rogvolod, son of Borisov. In 1171 Rogvolod was a prince in Polotsk. The locals called the stone a tomb and revered it as a shrine.
Legend of the Rogvolodov stone:
The legend said that he once stood on his feet and had a head in the form of an animal. The local miller, having chopped off his head, remade it into a mill stone, which not only ground itself into sand, but also “ground” the whole fortune and the miller’s family.
Later, a chapel was erected over it, but this monument did not survive Soviet times - it was blown up in the 1930s, like Kravets.
Sasha Mitrahovich 19.11.2015 11:38
The largest stone on the territory of Belarus is a boulder, which is located near the village of Gorki, Shumilinsky district, Vitebsk region. Its length is 10.6, width - 5.3, height -3.7, while the perimeter is 28.2 meters. And the giant weighs no less than 292 tons. It is interesting that it is called that - the Big Stone, although it belongs to the category of Devil's. It is believed that upon seeing this giant, the traveler will definitely begin to stray and, as a result, return to his original place.
Huge granite boulders, widely known monumental monuments of our history and literature, have long caused a lot of judgments and disputes. Giant stones with crosses engraved on them stood along the Western Dvina and in Latvia almost to the Baltic, eloquently testifying to Polotsk's belonging to the Lower Dvina.
There were different opinions about the origin of the drawings and inscriptions, but so far none can be considered completely convincing. Versions were put forward that the boulders were the designation of the borders of the Polotsk principality, but all of them are located in the depths of its territory. There are theories that the symbols of the struggle of the new faith with paganism were designated in this way.
Before the adoption of Christianity, these stones were pagan shrines. Carving the cross, the prince of Polotsk seemed to be struggling with the old faith and at the same time perpetuating his name. There is a hypothesis that the name of one of them - Boris-Khlebnik means that in this case the name of Boris was associated with the ancient agricultural holiday of the first shoots of spring crops, to which, in the 12th century, the day of Saints Boris and Gleb was timed in May.
Perhaps the name was given for the similarity of its shape with a loaf of bread. Some scholars believe that the inscriptions and crosses on some of them were carved during a terrible famine in May 1128. Then the snow lay until May, the frost beat the winter crops, people ate moss and straw. Boris is the prince of Polotsk, the son of the legendary Vseslav the Enchanter.
Perhaps the appearance of a request for help is connected with the military campaigns of Boris against the Baltic tribes of the Yotvingians and Semigallians in the 12th century. All the more characteristic is their placement along the Dvina to the west of Polotsk, where the campaigns went, so the order was given to carve these inscriptions, asking for help from the Lord. Near the village of Kraslavka, at one time, there was a stone with the inscription "May my soul not be afraid of my enemy with the firm hand of the right hand, the branch of Svyatopolk Alexander."
On the boulder is a warrior's helmet with the image of the sun, which further confirms the thought of the "military" origin of the symbols. Stones with crosses engraved on them stood along the Western Dvina and in Latvia almost to the Baltic, eloquently testifying to Polotsk's belonging to the Lower Dvina.
One has only to regret that almost all Polotsk stones - these priceless monuments of our antiquity, national shrines - perished. Some of them were blown up in the 19th century, others - in Soviet times.
Sasha Mitrahovich 19.11.2015 11:40
The "discovery" of the Borisov stones took place in the 19th century. Historians Sapunov and Sementovsky, zealots of antiquity counts Rumyantsev, Plater, Kankrin, Tyshkevich studied ancient boulders with great interest.
These stones were called "Borisov", "Dvin", "Polotsk". Their cultural and historical significance is enormous. For Belarus, it is comparable to, say, Stonehenge or the pyramids, because all the stones made up a single architectural sacred complex.
There are about 200 geological monuments of nature in Belarus. Stone giants are mainly located in Central and Northern Belarus. The Myadel region is especially rich in them: there are 13 boulders, the Stepenevsky coastal ledge, the Kocherginskaya, Lukinskaya, Tyushkinskaya ridges. The stone outcrop near Zaslavl is also a natural monument.
Until now, the mystery of its purpose has not been fully disclosed. The main feature of the Borisov stones is that they are the oldest evidence of the spread of Christianity in our land, the most ancient worship crosses, reminding everyone passing by of remembering God, of prayer and repentance. Perhaps that is why during the time of godlessness, most of them were barbarously destroyed.
Today, not every Belarusian knows about the existence of the famous boulders. Even harder modern consciousness perceive these stones as a spiritual shrine that needs reverence and understanding. After all, the original, true role of the stones of Boris was to teach, instruct us, descendants, in prayer.
Most researchers are of the opinion that the boulders were chosen for the image of the cross and prayer is not accidental. Previously, they could be pagan idols, dolmens. Pagan temples were turned into Christian shrines.
The fact that the stones were revered by Orthodox Christians is beyond doubt. Suffice it to mention that over two of them - the so-called. "Rogvolodov stone" and "6th Borisov stone" temples were built in the 19th century.
But until now, the Borisov stones are fraught with an unsolved mystery. Who was that Boris, on whose behalf the prayer on the stones is addressed to God? Almost all historians agree that the inscriptions on the stones are associated with the name of the Polotsk prince Boris Vseslavovich, the son of Vseslav Bryachislavich (1044 - 1101), one of the characters in the Tale of Igor's Campaign.
Sasha Mitrahovich 19.11.2015 14:30
The exact number of Boris stones that originally existed is unknown - some researchers call five, others seven or nine. This is due to the fact that, starting from the moment the boulders were saved from destruction in 1818, only five stones with the name Boris were found. But there were also stones.
The place of pilgrimage for newlyweds and lovers has traditionally become the Stone of Love and the Bride's Stone. The first one lies in the forest near the village of Bolshaya Volovshchina, Minsk region, and has a smooth, elongated shape. The second, resembling a wedge, hid in the Rambovsky ravine near the village of Gorodniki in the Oshmyany region.
It is not clear the origin of the stone with the names Svyatopolk and Alexander, described by lieutenant Denebal. At different times, researchers of Belarusian antiquity noted the presence of other interesting stones in the channel of the Dvina. But there were no inscriptions on them, but only the image of a six- or four-pointed cross.
Vitebsk historian of the 19th century A. Sapunov in his work "Dvina or Borisov stones" (Vitebsk, 1890) describes in detail each of the Boris stones, assigning them conditional numbers.
first stone once lay downstream of the Dvina near Polotsk, near the village of Podkasteltsy. During the flood, a stone measuring 3.5 by 2.6 m was completely hidden under water. It was this boulder that was the luckiest. In 1981, he was raised from the river and transported to Polotsk, where he is now located near St. Sophia Cathedral. This is the only one of the Borisov stones left in Belarus, which tourists can freely see.
Second stone lay almost in the middle of the Dvina, on a shallow five kilometers from the ancient town of Disna. This stone was the most famous and the most beautiful. It was photographed and painted many times - an impressive boulder over 2 meters high had a perimeter of about 11 meters. The inscriptions and the cross were clearly visible. In 1818, they tried to blow up the stone, but they could not, they only damaged the top. It was destroyed after the Second World War, during the struggle with faith.
Third Borisov stone, located just two kilometers downstream from its neighbor, suffered the same fate. This boulder was the largest among the others, having a length of about 5 meters.
fourth stone, described by A. Sapunov, differed from the others. “The fourth, and finally, the smallest stone of red granite lies on the left bank of the Dvina, almost next to the third, near the confluence of the Povyanushki river into the Dvina,” writes A. Sapunov. This stone is distinguished from the rest by the image of a cross, four-pointed with widened ends, resting on an inverted semi-oval. To the right and left of the cross, clear inscriptions in two lines have been preserved: on the left: “suln / Bor”, on the right: “khr / st”. The stone went down in history as "sulibor cross", but often the inscription on it is deciphered in a different way: "strong brave Saint Boris".
Is it true that the stones are here? Scientists are convinced that this is just an illusion and a folk legend. The fact is that many stones are hidden deep in the ground, at the top there is an insignificant part of them. In winter, water falls under the boulders, which, under the influence of frost, turns into ice and pushes the block to the surface. This is how the effect of growth is created.
In 1879, on behalf of the collector of antiquities Count Uvarov, engineer M.F. Kusnitsky delivered this stone to Moscow with great difficulty. Today, the Borisov stone "Sulibor Khrest" is located in the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve and continues to attract the attention of researchers.
Fifth Borisov stone located in the border village of Druya and survived by chance. Interestingly, the Church of the Savior was built opposite the boulder in the old days. (All in all, in little Druya Orthodox churches was seven). In the 19th century, the stone was completely visible above the water.
The anti-religious campaign of the 1930s did not touch the shrine - Druya was then part of Poland. A multi-ton block was moved from its place during ice explosions in the 1930s and found itself at a depth. For many decades, the stone was considered dead.
For the first time, an attempt to find it was made in 1984, during the construction of the Daugavpils hydroelectric power station, when the water level in the Dvina dropped. A boulder similar to the "fourth stone" was found, but they could not lift it. This was done only quite recently - in the summer of 2002. The year was very hot and the level of the river dropped so much that the edge of the boulder looked out of the water. With great difficulty, Borisov managed to pull the stone ashore, but it broke into several pieces. Today, the stone is available for inspection by rare visitors to Druya.
It is difficult to say how many more Borisov stones lying in the water of the Dvina were destroyed in 1818. At least two more stones associated with the name of Prince Boris Vseslavovich were found by researchers quite far from the Dvina region. The ethnographer E. Romanov at the beginning of the 20th century discovered and described the Borisov stone lying near the village of Vysokiy Gorodets to the north of Tolochin.
E. Romanov describes the 6th Borisov stone as flat, almost square, having sides of more than 3 meters. The inscription was similar to most Borisov stones. A chapel was built over the boulder, prayers were served. The shrine perished, devastated by Komsomol members in 1936. The stone has been blown up.
Just as tragic was the fate of the no less revered Orthodox shrine- Rogvolod's stone.
The Rogvolodov stone lay on the border of the modern Tolochin and Orsha districts near the village of Dyatlovka. An absolutely flat boulder had a length of more than 3 m and a width of 2.4 m. It had a deeply carved cross with a “calvary” and the inscription: “In the 6679th month of May, on the 7th day, this cross was completed. Lord, help your servant Vasily in baptism with the name of Rogvolod son of Borisov”, 6679 from the creation of the world is 1171 from the Nativity of Christ. The letters on the stone reached a height of 14 cm.
The most common cult stones are the so-called "trackers", boulders with indentations-imprints of hands or feet. Many believe that these marks are of unearthly origin. However scientific world much more skeptical. Researchers believe that the mysterious footprints appeared as a result of washing out rocks of a different composition from a block. Or, alternatively, the marks have become ... the work of man.
The Rogvolod stone was not only the only (!) dated monument on the territory of modern Belarus. The inscription on it was the largest in size of all known ancient Russian inscriptions.
Rogvolod-Vasily Borisovich, the son of Boris Vseslavovich in his youth was sent to study in Byzantium, from where he returned in 1140 and became the prince of Polotsk. But his reign was not calm. In 1151, the Polotsk people overthrew Rogvolod and exiled him to Minsk. Seven years later, the prince seized Drutsk by force and soon again fortified himself in Polotsk. Rogvolod spent the following years in wars with rivals and in 1161, after the defeat inflicted on him by Vsevolod Glebovich, he left Polotsk forever, retiring to Drutsk.
Probably, due to the fact that our understanding of Belarus, its history and culture has changed so much that with an unwavering hand we are destroying what has stood for centuries, building dummies of concrete and double-glazed windows on the site of medieval castles, contact with the living stones of history is shocking. After all, if you look closely, you can see - these old walls are real.
The very name of the medieval brick - "finger" - seems to keep the touch of the master's hand.
Perhaps, in order to preserve the monuments of history, to bow down before the shrine, you just need to touch the true antiquity once, feel its spirit, the special taste of the time in which the people who built these walls lived, laid these streets and squares. This contact will forever change something within us. And then it's time to collect the stones...
Sasha Mitrahovich 19.11.2015 15:10
Borisov stone (Boris Khlebnik) is one of the most ancient cultural monuments on the territory of the modern Republic of Belarus. It was found in the Western Dvina River near the village of Padkastseltsy (5 km from Polotsk). In 1981, the stone was transported to Polotsk and installed near St. Sophia Cathedral.
The stone is a huge boulder, presumably brought by a glacier from the territory of modern Finland. Red feldspar is about 8 meters in circumference and weighs over 70 tons. A six-pointed Christian cross and the inscription “XC. Nika. GI (Lord) help your servant Boris.
Several such stones have been found. Most of them were engraved with Christian crosses and the name of Prince Boris.
There are several versions of the origin of the inscription on the stone. Scientists, ethnographers, historians cannot agree, but the most likely version seems to be that once all the boulders found in the river served for pagan rites. old faith never leaves without a trace, however, the young militant Polotsk prince Boris, the son of Vseslav the Wizard, having adopted Christianity, began to resolutely fight against all pagan shrines. Therefore, he decided to “christen” even the ancient “bread” stones by knocking out Christian crosses on them.
At these stones, the pagans made sacrifices, asking for a fertile year and an abundance of grain. There are legends among the people that because Boris "christened" the stones, the old gods were offended by the prince and punished the entire Polotsk region with a terrible famine, which the old people told their grandchildren for a long time. They say that even now the Borisov stone fulfills cherished desires, returns love and health. Christians and pagans come here from the most remote regions to touch the mysterious shrine. Scientists continue to explore the unusual properties of the stone.
Borisov stone in Polotsk survived miraculously. In Soviet times, the new masters of life fought desperately against all religions and beliefs. Many stones were destroyed, split by a barbarian hand.
These stones were called "Borisov", "Dvin", "Polotsk". Their cultural and historical significance is enormous. Until now, the riddle of destination has not been fully disclosed. The main feature of the Borisov stones is that they are the oldest evidence of the spread of Christianity in our land, the most ancient worship crosses, reminding everyone passing by of remembering God, of prayer and repentance.
Borisov stones are the most famous Belarusian boulders. The first surviving mention of them is contained in the Chronicle of Lithuanian and Zhamoit, compiled in the 16th century: There is a cross on the stone, and under it there is an inscription: "Help, Lord, your servant Boris ...".
The "discovery" of the Borisov stones took place in the 19th century. In the autumn of 1818, a group of military engineers was engaged in clearing the fairway of the river. Dvina. At that time, rapids still existed on the river in many places, which impeded navigation, so the authorities decided to clear and deepen the river in these dangerous places in order to make it passable for large ships. Thresholds were cleared with explosives.
One of the military engineers, Lieutenant Denebal, drew attention to the fact that among the numerous boulders that cluttered the riverbed in many places - the heritage of the glacier - there are stones on which you can see strange inscriptions and drawings. The officer guessed to report the strange find to his superiors. When Lieutenant-General Kankrin found out that stones with inscriptions were being destroyed in the channel of the Dvina, he immediately sent an order by courier: "Do not touch the stones!" But it was already too late. Several stones were completely destroyed.
Who was that Boris, on whose behalf the prayer on the stones is addressed to God? Almost all historians agree that the inscriptions on the stones are associated with the name of the Polotsk prince Boris Vseslavovich, the son of Vseslav Bryachislavich (1044 - 1101), one of the characters in the Tale of Igor's Campaign.
Boris reigned for a very short time - from 1127 to 1129. Boris took the reign during an unprecedented crop failure and famine. Such terrible time was perceived by the pious prince as a punishment for the sins of the pagan father. This explains his order to carve the words of his prayer on all conspicuous stones on the border of the principality. Unusual for a man of the twelfth century, he left a religious feeling, a manifestation of faith and repentance, to his descendants, turning pagan temples into places of worship for Christ. It is no coincidence that researchers pay attention to the fact that the Borisov stones depict a cross with a “calvary” (ie foot) as on church antimensions.
The exact number of Boris stones that originally existed is unknown - some researchers name five, others seven or nine. This is due to the fact that, starting from the moment the boulders were saved from destruction in 1818, only five stones with the name Boris were found.
The stone, located in Kolomenskoye, distinguishes from the rest the image of a cross, four-pointed with expanded ends, resting on an inverted semi-oval. To the right and left of the cross, clear inscriptions in two lines have been preserved: on the left: “suln / Bor”, on the right: “khr / st”. The stone went down in history as "sulibor cross", but often the inscription on it is deciphered in a different way: "strong brave Saint Boris".
In 1888, on behalf of the collector of antiquities Count Uvarov, engineer M.F. Kusnitsky delivered this stone to Moscow with great difficulty.
In 1888 he was taken to Russia. Transported from the State Historical Museum and installed in Kolomenskoye in the 1920s
An ancient stone from the banks of the Western Dvina. In the 12th century, an image of the Calvary cross and the inscription "Sulibor Khrist" ("Sulibor's Cross") were made on it. The creation of the inscription is attributed to the reign of the Polotsk princes Boris Vseslavich and his son Rogvolod. The stone was transported to Moscow in 1879 and installed in Kolomenskoye in the 20th century.