Velesov stone

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Throughout the territory of Ingermanland, there are many ancient, cult places that have been revered by both the Slavs and the Finno-Ugric from ancient times. One of these places is the modern city of Volosovo and its environs. The city of Volosovo itself is located on the site of the ancient temple of Veles, hence the name of the city.

For the first time this name is found in the Novgorod scribal books of the 16th century (but this does not mean that it did not exist before). On the maps of the Ingermanland province of 1705, there is the settlement of Volosovo.

Very interesting coat of arms of the city

In 1870, the St. Petersburg - Revel railway was built, on which the Volosovo station appeared. By the end of the 19th century, the settlement turned into a summer cottage settlement. In September 1927 it became the administrative center of the Volosovsky region. In 1937 it received the status of an urban-type settlement. During the Second World War it was destroyed. It was restored in the post-war period. From 1963 to 1965 it was part of the Kingisepp rural area. On April 20, 1999 Volosovo received the status of a city.

In a green field, an old man sitting right on a gold damask throne in long ancient Russian clothes, holding a gusli on his knees, on which his right hand is laid, and a staff in his left hand. From behind the throne, on the sides, the bull emerging to the right and the bear to the left. All figures are gold. The elder symbolizes the image of Veles (Volos) - the ancient Slavic god of fertility, the "cattle god", whose cult was associated with the worship of the bear as the owner of animals. The bear is a symbol of foresight, the bull is a symbol of fertility and prosperity. The gusli reminds of the legendary singer Boyana (in the "Lay of Igor's Host" he is called the grandson of Veles), and also symbolizes the rich spiritual culture of the region.

And the coat of arms of the Volosovsky region:

In the green field there is a through oblique rhombus, accompanied by bezants in the inner crossings. In the upper right corner - the head of a bull, in the upper left corner - an abstract fir tree. At the end of the shield there are three bezants (one and two), surrounded by a ring, accompanied on the sides by two abstract ears, laid in an arc-like manner and directed upward to the sides. All figures are gold. The bull's head and ears symbolize animal husbandry and plant growing - the basis of the region's economy, and rhombuses (an element of Old Russian ornament) and three bezants in a circle (a sign that, according to N. K. Roerich's idea, should be placed on all cultural monuments) - its rich culture. The bull is also associated with the ancient Slavic cattle god Veles (Volos), on whose behalf the toponyms Volosovo and Volosovsky region originate.

Now, unfortunately, even local residents do not know anything about the temple, not about Veles, much less about the history of the region, and the history is very remarkable. Throughout the entire territory of north-west Russia, even during Christianity, a stable cult of stones remained, which the Christ-loving missionaries could not overcome, but they were able to erase their true meaning from the memory of the people and rethink according to the new pantheon, and those who could not “fit "Were branded damned, damned and" filthy ". One of these cult stones is located in the vicinity of Volosov, not far from the village of Seltso. This is Velesov's stone, Suur-kivi or demons' stone (the name depends on what religion you are). It is located in a swampy, coniferous forest. A boulder with a height of more than 5 meters and more than 38 meters in girth. At the top of the boulder there are ledges like steps or seats, unfortunately it is not clear whether this is a natural phenomenon or the work of a person.

On its surface there are several petroglyphs - at the top you can see signs of the Latin alphabet, the remains of the worship of the stone by medieval Finns-Ingrian (or already modern "graffiti"), on the northern side of the stone there are two oblique crosses about 40x30cm in size.

There are two versions of their origin: according to one, these are crosses left by Orthodox Christians during the period of the struggle against "pagan remnants" in the 16th century, according to the other, based on trace data, they are interpreted as runic signs meaning a sacrifice, which may indicate the worship of this stone in 9-10 centuries. On the one hand, almost at the very base of the stone, something was carved in the likeness of an arch, which is interpreted by Christians as the entrance to a church that has gone underground, which in itself is strange to say the least.

But there is another version: The lower edges of the stone have chips, confirming the legend that during the era of the eradication of the faith of the "bad arbuyi", an attempt was made to destroy the stone, for which it was lined with trees, set on fire and poured water from the surrounding swamps - which should have been according to the idea of the guardians of the Orthodox faith, to split the stone with a temperature difference. However, only small lower parts appear to have broken away from it. Presumably there were pagan symbols-patterns on the stone, but if they were, the “humble sheep of Christ” destroyed them completely.

According to local legends, one can wander and wander through the forest for a long time, but never reach the stone, "the stone does not let a bad person" walk ten meters without seeing him. By the way, we went there at random, but arrived as if by inspiration, never straying off the road. Let's hope that it will be so and the “bad people” will not get there.