Boris Stones ( be, Барысавы камяні, ; russian: Борисовы камни), also called Dvina Stones (russian: Двинские камни), are seven medieval artifacts erected along the bank of the

Western Dvina , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

between

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

and

Drissa Vierchniadzvinsk ( be, Верхнядзві́нск, lt, Drisa, pl, Dryssa) or Verkhnedvinsk (russian: Верхнедви́нск) is a city in Belarus in the northwest of Vitebsk Region; it is the administrative center of the Verkhnyadzvinsk Ra ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. They probably predate

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in the area, but were inscribed in the 12th century with text and an image of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

. The largest of the stones is 17 metres in circumference.

History

Although these landmarks were described in the 16th century by

Maciej Stryjkowski Maciej Stryjkowski (also referred to as Strykowski and Strycovius;Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN. t. 6, 1997 – ) was a Polish historian, writer and a poet, known as the author of ''Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all of Rutheni ...

, it was

Georg von Cancrin Count Georg Ludwig Cancrin (russian: Егор Францевич Канкрин, tr=Egor Francevič Knkrin; 16 November 1774 – 10 September 1845) was a Russian German aristocrat and as a politician best known for spearheading reforms in the Ru ...

in 1818 who first brought them to scholarly attention. Cancrin discovered that a boulder near

Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha ...

had the following inscription: "In the year 1171, on the 7th day of March, was completed this cross. Lord, please help your servant Basil, whose other name is Rogvolod, Boris' son". Subsequently, several other boulders with Boris's name were discovered. In the 1930s, two of these were blown up by Communist authorities as religious objects and their remains used to pave the road between Minsk and Moscow. Another one was thrown into the river, where it lay until its discovery in 1988. When an attempt to recover it was made, the stone broke apart into three pieces. Three other boulders were moved to be exhibited near St. Sophia Cathedral in

, in the Museum of Boulders in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, and in

Kolomenskoe Kolomenskoye (russian: Коло́менское) is a former royal estate situated several kilometers to the southeast of the city center of Moscow, Russia, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name). The 390 hectare ...

near

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Description

Both names for the stones are somewhat misleading: only four of them are located along the banks of the Dvina, and one of the stones does not mention Boris at all. What unites them is their programmatic illustration: "In each case the centrepiece is an enormous cross flanked by abbreviated elements of the conventional Greek legend proclaiming Christ's victory".Franklin 74-75. It is generally accepted that the Boris mentioned in the inscriptions was

Rogvolod Vseslavich Rogvolod Vseslavich, baptismal name Boris, was the Prince of Drutsk and Polotsk. He was the son of Vseslav of Polotsk, Grand Prince of Rus. Rogvolod probably was named in honor of his ancestor Rogvolod. Some historians, including Mikhail Pogodi ...

(baptismal name "Boris"), Vseslav's son, although it is quite likely that such boulders had been venerated by pagan locals long before the land was

Christianised Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

References

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