Vottovaara

Geophile

Photo by Dmitry Bulavinov

Received an email about this spot in Russia near its border with Finland and after learning a little I thought people here might be interested in it. Fascinating place.

From one website: "Mountain Vottovaara is a sacred place of ancient Saami people. Approximately 1600 sacred stones called “seids” are arranged here in a mysterious order.

The cult complex occupies about 6 sq. km and comprises stone boulders of different diameter from 30 cm up to 1.5 meters. They are situated in groups of 2-6 usually forming a circle.

The connection between the stone's location and the surrounding landscape can be sensed distinctly. Some boulders have signs of human effect. Some of them weighing almost a ton are placed on smaller stones as if on legs or smaller stones are placed on top of them. They also have signs of their intentional placement in certain places, usually in high sections of the rock closer to other stone accumulations. Meanwhile archeologists haven't found any evidence to state an exact date of the creation of seids."

It is threatened by mining operations, and if you're interested, a petition to save it is here, with more pictures here and here.