Open AccessBoulder pits of the White Sea Region
Author(s) -
M. M. Shakhnovitch,
AUTHOR_ID
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
trudy kolʹskogo naučnogo centra ran
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2307-5252
DOI - 10.37614/2307-5252.2021.4.21.008
Subject(s) - white (mutation) , geology , archaeology , geography , russian federation , settlement (finance) , paleontology , biochemistry , chemistry , regional science , gene , world wide web , computer science , payment
The purpose of the article is to introduce into scientific circulation little-known and controversial objects made of stones discovered during our field surveys in 2019 on the Tersk Coast of the White Sea near the Khlebnaya River. The monument consists of 27 boulder structures of four types: ring-shaped layouts with a recess in the center –– boulder pits (24), “seid”, “pile”, a flat boulder with stones laid on it. Boulder pits within the borders of the Russian Federation are found in the coastal zone of the Western and Northern White Sea regions and the Barents Sea. The distribution of such objects is noted in Finnmark and Finnish Lapland and correlates with the area of historical settlement of local Sami groups. We tend to interpret the “boulder pits” as objects associated with non-Christian cult practices, possibly of a funerary nature.