Shum Gora
Encyclopedia
Shum Gora is a massive kurgan
(tumulus
) situated in Peredolskaya parish, near the bank of the Luga River
, Batetsky rayon, Novgorod Oblast
, northwestern Russia, about 60 km west of Novgorod.
The hill was formerly involved in local liturgical practice.
19th century sources record that three crosses standing on its top, but by the 20th century these had been removed. During the mid 19th century, there used to be processions, with pilgrims walking three times around the hill before ascending it to "listen to the noise" and leave small sacrifices in a pit at the top. People suffering from headache used to put sand from the pit in their ears.
These practices are described by A. A. Panchenko in 1998.
The site and the associated folk customs were first described by M. Bystrov in 1879. Bystrov records the tradition that the sand from the hill had miraculous power on Trinity Sunday
, and that if the hill was ascended on that day, the sound of bells could be heard if one "listened in a special way", and that on this day, pilgrims from as far as 50 miles away would come to the hill in hope of curing headaches.
The kurgan has not been excavated, but in 2002 a georadar survey was performed by the Russian Federal Geological Institute (ВСЕГЕИ), and in 2003 to 2004, the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences
has done experimental surveys testing non-intrusive archaeological methods. The kurgan is 14.6 m in height and 70 m in diameter, comparable in proportion to the largest Migration era tumuli in Scandinavia such as Raknehaugen.
Aleksashin (2006) discusses a boulder with a monogrammatic inscription he found on the hill in 2003. He compares the inscription to Carolingian monograms and based on this revives the theory connecting Rurik
, founder of the Kievan Rus with Rorik of Dorestad.
Kurgan
Kurgan is the Turkic term for a tumulus; mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves, originating with its use in Soviet archaeology, now widely used for tumuli in the context of Eastern European and Central Asian archaeology....
(tumulus
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
) situated in Peredolskaya parish, near the bank of the Luga River
Luga River
The Luga River -See also:* Shum Gora, an archaeological site near the banks of the river...
, Batetsky rayon, Novgorod Oblast
Novgorod Oblast
Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located there...
, northwestern Russia, about 60 km west of Novgorod.
The hill was formerly involved in local liturgical practice.
19th century sources record that three crosses standing on its top, but by the 20th century these had been removed. During the mid 19th century, there used to be processions, with pilgrims walking three times around the hill before ascending it to "listen to the noise" and leave small sacrifices in a pit at the top. People suffering from headache used to put sand from the pit in their ears.
These practices are described by A. A. Panchenko in 1998.
The site and the associated folk customs were first described by M. Bystrov in 1879. Bystrov records the tradition that the sand from the hill had miraculous power on Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
, and that if the hill was ascended on that day, the sound of bells could be heard if one "listened in a special way", and that on this day, pilgrims from as far as 50 miles away would come to the hill in hope of curing headaches.
The kurgan has not been excavated, but in 2002 a georadar survey was performed by the Russian Federal Geological Institute (ВСЕГЕИ), and in 2003 to 2004, the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
has done experimental surveys testing non-intrusive archaeological methods. The kurgan is 14.6 m in height and 70 m in diameter, comparable in proportion to the largest Migration era tumuli in Scandinavia such as Raknehaugen.
Aleksashin (2006) discusses a boulder with a monogrammatic inscription he found on the hill in 2003. He compares the inscription to Carolingian monograms and based on this revives the theory connecting Rurik
Rurik
Rurik, or Riurik , was a semilegendary 9th-century Varangian who founded the Rurik dynasty which ruled Kievan Rus and later some of its successor states, most notably the Tsardom of Russia, until 1598....
, founder of the Kievan Rus with Rorik of Dorestad.
External links
- Shum Gora (countrysite.spb.ru)