Where this mysterious stone is located is a cult place of the Shushmore tract. Like everything in this anomalous zone, it is covered in various legends, conjectures and assumptions. Many sought him, sometimes found, and then lost again.
Where does the snake stone disappear? The history of the study of these places shows that the reasons for this are understandable. The historical dramatic events taking place in these places, the inaccessibility of the surroundings of the village and the location of the stone itself. Due to the fact that the snake stone is located in a damp and swampy lowland and is constantly flooded with water, it is either found or lost again. Nevertheless, it really exists, and it is quite possible to find it now.
After reviewing the information in the article, you can find out interesting information about the Shatur snake stone. How to get to it and what is it like? Answers to these questions and others can be found in the article.
What is a snake stone?
The serpentine is a fairly common mineral belonging to the genus Serpentine. Usually this breed has a yellow-green or dark green shade with a splash. Its color resembles the skin of a snake, so many legends and myths have developed around it. The properties of snake stone are presented later in the article.
There is another object of the same name with a mineral in the old village of Shatur - in the cult site of the famous tract Shushmor. About him and presented more detailed information in the article.
General information about the village
Before we find out what a snake stone looks like, we will provide some information about the village itself.
There are places on the land of Yegoryevskaya, shrouded in mystery. They attract both historians and tourists, and just curious people. Such places include the village of Shatur, located in one of the remote areas of the Moscow region. It should be noted that its name is correctly pronounced with emphasis on the first syllable.
Shatur is the oldest "capital" of the territory of the present Egorievsky and Shatursky regions, which gave the name to the modern city of Shatura. It is known that the church built there at one time was painted by the notorious I.E. Grabar (Soviet and Russian painter and restorer).
The inaccessibility of these places has always provided residents with protection from the appearance of unwanted guests. Therefore, people have settled since ancient times in the territory of the now abandoned Shatur churchyard. Although it is not comfortable to live among the swamps, but there is always peace and silence in these places. The village is located in an interesting place - on the high bank of the river. Poly, which in these places has a certain boggy appearance.
According to the assumptions of local historians and historians, people in these places lived even before the baptism of Russia. They were pagans who worshiped a variety of gods. But in the dense and impenetrable forests among the peat bogs, the Serpent God was especially revered.
What was in ancient times?
Before we go directly to the snake stone (photo - in the article), we will provide information about what was here in ancient times. With some degree of probability it can be argued that in place of the small village of Shatur in ancient times was the main sanctuary of Ur - the serpent god. The word "shatur" has two roots: shat - "a small hill", and ur - "serpent god or king."
Apparently, here was the temple of Ur - the pagan god. Pagan ancestors in this place turned to the spirits of good and evil, to the forces of nature, and also prayed for a successful hunt and brought them trebs (sacrifices). An idol made of wood or stone stood on a small elevation, and near it a sacred tree grew and a bonfire for sacrifices burned.
History of Shatur
The place where the snake stone is located has an amazing and long history. Shatur originally belonged to the land of Rostov-Suzdal, and after the formation of the Great Vladimir Principality, it began to belong to the Vladimir princes. Bronnitsky tract passed through the outskirts of the village - the road to Vladimir. The princes of Vladimir, Andrei Bogolyubsky (1111-1174 years) and Vsevolod III the Big Nest (1154-1212 years), on it more than once passed with their squads to Kiev. That was the beginning of the history of these places.
The heyday of Shatur falls on the XVIII century. At that time, two churches were built in it - Christ the Savior and St. Nicholas. There were only 19 villages in the parish. But Tsarina Catherine II, driving through these places in 1775, liked the village of Vysokoye more. She bought it from the Chudov Monastery, giving 75 rubles for each male resident (there were 81 souls in total), and the rest of the inhabitants (women, children, etc.) were free of charge at that time. Since then, the village of Shatur has remained forgotten and abandoned.
In the 20s of the XX century, from the moment that the state district power station was built and industrial peat mining began, the village of Shatur is completely forgotten, but its name is preserved in the newly emerging settlements: the villages of Shatursky, Shaturtorf, Shaturstroy, and the Shatura state farm. And in 1936 the city of Shatura was born.
Village today
Thanks to the snake stone of the village of Shatur, this area remains famous today. By the beginning of the 80s of the XX century, the village was almost empty, and also began to deteriorate and literally fall into the swamp road leading to this place from the village of Big Gridino. Among the Meshchera swamps and dense forests, Shatur found eternal calm and silence.
Today, on the site of a former village on an ancient hill, a brick dilapidated bell tower rises above a pine forest. In the center there is an old cemetery, oddly enough, practically producing no depressing impression. On the contrary, it organically fits into the overall picture with the preserved houses (buildings of the 19th century), with the forest surrounding this area, and with a picturesque wooden bridge, thrown across the small but deep reservoir of Poli. Abandoned by people, Shatur seems to be hiding from people.
Ritual stone
The sacred stone is a granite block, unusual and unusual for Shatursky swamps. Once it was the sanctuary of paganism, and a little later - the sanctuary of the Orthodox. In reality, this stone still exists.
In a southerly direction from an abandoned Shatur, just one verst from it, there is a large stone ingrown into the ground in the form of a complexly cut boulder. It is quite difficult to find him. Local natives who know about it from their grandfathers and other ancestors can lead to it. It is located south of Shatur, closer to the village of Sabanino. The snake stone is located on the left side, if you go from this village.
One side of it has many wave-like eyebrows that look like snake tracks. Small sacrifices are made to this stone today, tying ribbons on the trees around it. Many still sincerely believe that this stone fulfills desires. This place is both an Orthodox and a pagan shrine. Near him they ask for luck, happiness and for the restoration of health.
In addition, to this day there are amazing legends about this mysterious stone. Rumor of people says that for a long time there is a treasure under it. There were many who wanted to find those treasures, but the story is silent about the final positive search results.
The neighborhood of past times
Local old-timers remember a spring beating near a ritual stone. It was once consecrated, and next to it was a chapel (was built in Christian times), which has not been preserved to this day. This ritual stone was an important part of the temple.
There is currently no spring, and the chapel has long been destroyed. There is no trace left of them. A serpent stone was preserved in Shatur, in which the ancestors worshiped the serpent god.
On the worship of local people by snakes
On ornaments and drawings preserved on earthenware, on charms for water and on altars, serpentine patterns and their images are found: sometimes alone, but the most common are two snakes, touching their heads turned in different directions and forming a coil in the form of a spiral. Moreover, these are images of peaceful snakes, revered by many peoples as home defenders and patrons.
The tribes living on the Shatursky land constantly encountered snakes in the course of their life, observing the habits of these, as it turned out, wise creatures of the earth aroused respect and reverence and worship among them. People living in these places have learned to use such a dangerous neighborhood for their own benefit. For example, they used snake venom to treat various diseases and arrows from the enemy.
About the abnormal zone
It is believed that the area where the snake stone is located is an abnormal zone. Ancient temples were usually built on "places of power" - where powerful energy emissions occur. Researchers have repeatedly recorded abnormal magnetic field stresses in the Shatura zone. Their epicenter, presumably, was located in the place where the ancient megaliths lie.
Perhaps with such anomalies is connected and snake-like mysterious entity that hunts people. Gentiles managed to tame her terrible and bloodthirsty temper by building a temple in honor of this Serpent and making human sacrifices. And having lost all this, the entity again began to hunt for people.
Opinions about the stone
There are pragmatists and realists who believe that this boulder was brought to these places by an ancient glacier. And the locals, who have known about this stone since ancient times, called it in a simple way - Gray Stone. And he gained popularity among them not because of his mystical properties, but only because he was a good guide for travelers among dangerous and impassable swamps in dense forests.
In any case, the stone has become a tourist attraction and a good reason to wander through the picturesque places covered with all kinds of legends and mysterious stories.
Coil - Healing Stone
The article should also mention a mineral called a serpentine and not a gem. In mineralogy, it is called serpentinite, which from the Latin language means "snake stone." By chemical composition it is magnesium silicate.
Since ancient times, it is known as a decorative gem. This mineral is a rock of green or yellowish-green hue with dark dots and characteristic veins. The pattern and color are similar to snake skin. Therefore, people call it a serpentine.
Properties of snake stone (serpentine)
The fact that the mineral coil has magical properties has been known since ancient times. Previously, it was widely used by people engaged in black magic. This does not mean that this stone is capable of causing any evil to man.
The fact is that he can clean the owner and the space around him from negative energy, providing protection against malicious intent. It turns out that sorcerers and magicians wore it in order to protect themselves from other people's influence (witchcraft) and to cleanse the space for conducting their own rituals. Often in everyday life it is used to protect against damage, the evil eye, envy, curses and gossip. It turns out that snake stone has good properties.
Given the useful properties of this rock, various talismans and amulets are made from it. It can even be any interior items, for example, figurines and figures. They can not only protect against unlawful and evil actions (attack by intruders and thieves, floods, fires, etc.), but also create a wonderful atmosphere in any room.
Thanks to the stone, intuition improves, a person has the opportunity to look at the world with different eyes. Having such excellent properties, a snake stone is used for rituals when communication with earthly forces is necessary.
Finally
Today in the area of Shatur there are no permanent residents. People come here only in the summer, and in the winter they appear only a few times in order to slightly heat the hut. Due to the fact that there is no electricity in the village, kerosene lamps are used here. And to get to these places is difficult, because it is not in vain that the area of the village of Shatur in the Moscow region is considered one of the most deaf and abnormal. However, that same mysterious snake stone attracts people here.
Periodically, press reports of "fire snakes" appearing in these places. In 2010, during the period of catastrophic fires, when the fire carried by the wind moved along the tops of the trees, several shots of the fiery whirlwind were taken. Upon careful examination of the photo, the flame turned out to be very similar to a dragon with a large head and with its mouth open. Many people believe that if there is a temple, then the Serpent will also exist, waiting for travelers who have entered the forest.