Blue Stone (Russia)

Sin-Kamen (Синь-Камень, in Russian literally – Blue Stone, or Blue Rock) is a type of pagan sacred stones, widespread in Russia in areas historically inhabited by both Eastern Slavic (Russian), and Volga Finnic tribes (Merya, Muroma[1]). Unlike Sledovik (both Sledovik proper and Cup-stones), Blue Stones did not have major hallows on them, and were venerated in a simpler way: by pouring water on them, or leaving food offerings. Some of the Blue Stones are still known, and to some extent venerated by local populations.

The Sin-Kamen (Blue Rock) near Lake Pleshcheyevo used to be a Meryan shrine

If used as a personal name, Sin-Kamen (Blue Rock) usually refers to the most famous sacred stone of this kind, located on a shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo near Pereslavl-Zalesskiy. While in the majority of cases, the stones belonging to the Blue Stones type are black or dark gray, this particular stone does indeed look dark blue when wet.[2] The stone surface is covered with small knobs;[2] its weight is estimated to be about 12 tons.[3]

See also
  • Sieidis - sacred stones of the Finno-Ugric Sami culture
  • Sledovik another type of Slavic/Ugric sacred stone

References
  1. И.Д. Маланин. Материалы разведки Синих камней Подмосковья в 2003 году // Краеведение и регионоведение. Межвузовский сборник научных трудов. ч.1. Владимир, 2004. (Russian)
  2. Бердников, В. Синий камень Плещеева озера // Наука и жизнь. – 1985. – № 1. – С. 134–139. (Russian)
  3. Комаров К. И. Древние боги Ярославской земли Archived August 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (Russian)
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