Swords in stone. Mysterious artifacts of antiquity: Agrikov-sword Options for explaining these legends
We continue our excursion to the Kurtatinskoye Gorge. After we visited the ancient rock fortressin Dzivgis, our path continued further up the gorge. The landscapes of the alpine meadows of the Caucasus Mountains are simply stunning. The slopes of the mountains seem to be painted bright green, and the clouds are already clinging to the tops of the mountains. The Kurtatinskoye Gorge continues to amaze us with its views and attractions.
clouds below the mountains
Sights of the Kurtatinsky Gorge
Along the way along the Fiagdon Valley we pass several almost abandoned villages, near which ancient buildings of towers, crypts and houses are visible.
remains of an ancient village
Family Tower
The distance between the villages is small and they are located both on the right and left banks of the Fiagdon River. On the green slopes of the mountains, rock formations stand out as brown or gray spots, in which caves are clearly visible.
gorge caves
another cave
In general, the Kurtatinskoye Gorge is rich in such natural attractions. Some of them were captured while driving right from the bus window. After driving two or three kilometers, we stop near the monument to the Kurtaty Soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45.
at the monument to the Warriors - Kurtatins
After which our guide announces that this is our final stop. The fact is that the long conflict between North Ossetia and Ingushetia, which began back in 1992, brought to naught all tourist routes in this Caucasian republic. And only in 2007 these routes began to be developed again. And today, the excursion to the Kurtatinsky Gorge is longer and includes more visits to the sights of North Ossetia. And there is still something to see - this is the Alan Monastery, the “City of the Dead”, ancient ruins of mountain villages and fortifications, family crypts and of course caves, of which there are many in the Kurtatinsky Gorge. We already learned about all this only from the story of our guide. But on the way back we had another very interesting and exciting stop in the Kadargavan Canyon with a visit to the picturesque “Path of Miracles”.
a cleft in the rocks made by water
Canyon Kadargavan, a crevice washed out in the rocky mountain range
Kadargavan Canyon and the “Path of Miracles” in the Kurtatinsky Gorge
The Kadargavan Canyon is one of the most remarkable natural monuments not only of the Kurtatinsky Gorge, but of the whole of North Ossetia. In this section of the rocky mountain range, the Fiagdon River, as if with a blow of a sword, cut the rock into two parts.
Fiagdon is seething below
Below Fiagdon
This canyon is more than 60 meters deep and 2 to 3 meters wide. And looking down at the seething and roaring river, you feel uneasy and goosebumps begin to run down your skin. It is on one half of this canyon that the “Path of Miracles” has already been built by human hands.
Path of Wonders
Path of Wonders
Walking along the stone steps and iron walkways, you can enjoy magnificent views of this place. There is a small zoo on the Path of Miracles. At least during our visit, there was a mother bear with two small cubs, a bear and a leopard.
Ursa
The cubs calmly climbed between the bars of the lattice and went down a steep slope to the river and walked in the nearby thickets of bushes and trees.
During our visit, they literally, for a moment, came to the river, crossed it and disappeared from view in the bushes on the opposite bank of the river. To my deep regret, I was not able to photograph them.
in this place the cubs were crossing the river
On the opposite rock there is a kind of monument, a sword stuck into the rock, called the “Sword of the Bloodlines,” which has its own legend. I don’t remember it verbatim, and I can’t retell it exactly, and I don’t want to deceive. But I remember its main essence. The highlander saved his blood enemy at this place when he found himself in a dangerous situation. And as a sign of gratitude, the blood enemy forgave the mountaineer, and they reconciled by plunging a sword of enmity into the rock.
"Sword of the Bloodlines"
below between the rocks Fiagdon roars, photo from an outstretched arm
In Russian epics and legends it is called a treasure sword or a self-cutting sword. And it was forged by Agric, the son of King Herod, a cruel tyrant, known from biblical texts and the works of the Roman historian Josephus.
According to legend, this sword emitted a bluish glow in the darkness and had supernatural properties: it could cut into pieces any military armor. The enemies did not even enter into battle with the hero, armed with the sword of Agric, but turned back. How did the sword end up in Rus'?
There is no answer to this question. In epics there are only stories about how heroes receive a treasure sword from the hands of Svyatogor or find it in a deep cave. But here's what's interesting. Chronicles indicate that one of the most fearless commanders of Ancient Rus' was Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky (born around 1109).
In 1149, “surrounded” (surrounded) by enemies, on a wounded horse, the prince pulled out a sword and, simply holding it high above his head, managed to break through to his own. Obviously, this was the very moment when to intimidate the enemy it was enough just to demonstrate a miracle weapon.
In the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, a youth appears to Prince Peter and shows Agrikov the sword lying in the crevice of the altar wall
So under what circumstances did Andrei Bogolyubsky acquire the treasured sword? But under what conditions? Andrei's father was Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, prince of the Rostov-Suzdal land.
Until 1149, chronicle sources say nothing about the life of the young prince. Researchers A. Rybalka and A. Sinelnikov in the book “Secrets of Russian Cathedrals” make the assumption that after the death of his Polovtsian wife, Yuri Dolgoruky sent a wedding embassy led by his youth son Andrei to Byzantium, to Elena Komnenos.
The matchmaking was successful, and the bride took to Rus' as a dowry, among other things, the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”, painted by Luke the Evangelist himself, which later became famous as the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God.
But after this, what was the fate of Andrei Bogolyubsky himself, “the founder of organized Russian statehood” (as the famous Russian historian SM Solovyov called him)? According to the above-mentioned researchers, Bogolyubsky took part in the Crusades and joined the Templar Order.
In support of their point of view, these authors cite the following lines from the Old Believer “Life of Andrei Bogolyubsky”: “For many years in the Holy Land of Jerusalem, I visited the Holy Sepulcher in fasting and prayer, serving the Virgin Mary the Mother of God truly and without self-interest, gaining much wisdom, as Be Sholomon king, in his temple the Holy of Holies abided.”
It would be useful to recall that the full name of the Templar Order is: “The Brotherhood of the Poor Servants of Christ, Horsemen of the Virgin Mary, the Jerusalem Mother of God of Solomon’s Temple.”
It is known that the Templars carried out excavations at the site of Solomon's Temple, and, according to some sources, with great success. The Order became the owner of the Holy Grail, the Shroud, later called the Turin Shroud, and the Sword of Agrikov. When the time came for Andrei Bogolyubsky to return to Rus', the Templars presented him with the treasured weapon as a reward for his services.
Well, after the murder of the prince, with the beginning of the strife, during which the city of Vladimir, beloved by Prince Andrei, passed from hand to hand, the sword was hidden in one of the monasteries of the city of Murom.
“I will die from Peter’s shoulder”
Several decades later, the fate of the sword was intertwined with the fates of the Murom prince Peter and his wife Fevronia (late 12th - early 13th centuries). The content of “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia,” written by the church writer Ermolai-Erasmus, is known to readers. Its beginning, based on Murom traditions and legends, contains a mention of Agric’s sword.
It all started in Murom during the reign of Prince Paul, Peter's elder brother. Paul had a beautiful wife, to whom, in the absence of her husband, a winged serpent took the form of flying to her. The princess told her husband everything. The prince thought for a long time about how to kill the “enemy of the human race,” and came up with an idea.
“Find out from the serpent,” he told his wife, “what kind of death he is destined to die.” Although the task was very difficult, the princess managed to find out the secret. “I will die from Peter’s shoulder, from Agrikov’s sword,” the serpent admitted. Pavel's younger brother Peter heard about Agric's sword, but did not know where to look for it. Deciding to trust in God’s help, the young prince went to church and began to pray in solitude. And an angel appeared to him in the form of a youth and said: “I will show you where Agric’s sword is hidden, follow me.”
He led Peter to the altar, where this sword lay in the gap between the stones of the altar wall. After talking with Pavel in his chambers and showing him the sword. Peter went to visit the princess. And what does he see? Next to the princess sits his brother, whom he has just left in the distant chambers.
Having made sure that there was a werewolf in the princess’s chambers, Peter struck him with the Agric sword. But in his death throes, the snake splashed the prince with his blood, and he was covered with festering ulcers. Well, then - the story of the prince’s recovery thanks to the healing of the maiden Fevronia.
What is hidden behind this legend? Maybe in the “reserved and dense, terrible Murom forests” there really were winged snakes that took on human form? Or maybe there are completely earthly matters hidden in it?
Some enemy of Paul could have infiltrated the prince’s entourage and tried to seduce the princess in order to find out where the treasured sword was kept. Did not work out. But with his “last gasp” this werewolf could, for example, throw some poison in Prince Peter’s face...
And Khostovrul and Evpatiy got along
It is clear that the precious relic is being taken care of more than ever. True, the sword did not have to lie “motionless” for long. In the winter of 1237, 140 thousand Mongol horsemen, led by Batu, approached the borders of Rus' (many researchers also name another figure - 300 thousand people). The Murom-Ryazan principality desperately resisted. And yet, on December 21, Ryazan fell.
But soon one of the governors of the Ryazan prince Yuri Igorevich, Evpatiy Kolovrat, who was on a long absence, gathered a squad of 1,700 people, and on January 15, 1238, five thousand Mongol soldiers, led by Batu Khostovrul’s brother-in-law, fought in battle with Evpatiy’s warriors.
The chronicle reports: “And Khostovrul and Evpatiy came together. Evpatiy was filled with force and cut Khostovrul into half (in two halves - A.O.) to the saddle. And he began to cut down the power of the enemy, and beat many of the famous heroes of the Batyevs here, cut some in half, and chopped others to the saddle.”
In the fast-paced battle, Khostovrul’s detachment was almost completely destroyed, which puzzled Batu. Even if we admit that Evpatiy Kolovrat was a hero of heroes, how could he deal with dozens of well-armed enemies alone? Maybe Kolovrat had Agrikov’s sword in his hands? Maybe he was leaving Ryazan behind him when he learned about the impending threat?
Faced with unprecedented resistance, Batu decided to surround the camp of Kolovrat’s detachment, which had only four hundred warriors left alive, with an army of thousands and bring up “vices” (throwing weapons). Without engaging in open battle, the Mongols threw stones at the brave Russians. And then, on the orders of Batu, the soldiers brought the body of Evpatiy Kolovrat to him.
The “Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu” says: “And Tsar Batu said, looking at the body of Evpatievo: “Oh, Kolovrat Evpatiy! You treated me well with your small retinue, and you beat many heroes of my strong horde, and defeated many regiments. If such a one served with me, I would keep him close to my very heart.” And he gave Evpatiy’s body to the remaining people of his squad, who were captured at the massacre. And King Batu ordered to let them go and not harm them in any way.”
Hitler's Directive
Did Batu know about the existence of Agrikov's sword? Hard to say. At least, the quoted words from “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan” inspire hope that the miracle sword was taken from the battlefield by the surviving Russian soldiers.
Confirmation that the sword did not leave the borders of Rus' are the events that happened more than seven hundred years after that battle.
According to some data (materials from the secret organization Ahnenerbe, which operated as part of the SS), in December 1941, Field Marshal von Bock received a directive from Hitler banning shelling and bombing of a five-kilometer zone along the Oka, from Ryazan to Murom.
A group of commandos from the Ahnenerbe, which was engaged in the most secret affairs of the Reich, was parachuted into these places: from the creation of “techno-magical” disc planes and other Wunderwaffe (“miracle weapons”) to the search for the Holy Grail and Agrikov’s sword. December, of course, is not the most suitable month for searches and excavations, especially in conditions of hostilities.
But, apparently, the Nazis had reliable information about the location of the miracle sword in the Ryazan region. Some researchers believe that they could have gleaned such information from the Russian chronicle, which migrated abroad during the 1917 revolution and the civil war.
Indeed, “researchers” from Ahnenerbe scoured all the occupied countries of Europe, trying to find these artifacts or evidence of them. Why did Hitler need the weapons of bygone days? Could it compete with the Katyusha or the T-34?
You need to know that the ideology of fascism grew from occult-mystical roots, fed by everything: from the theory of the superiority of the “Nordic race” to the “revelations” of German pagan priests. There was also a place in it for artifacts that Hitler wanted “to place next to himself to feel the universal strength and power.”
As for the Nazi commandos sent into the Murom forests, they say that only two of them, with frostbitten and empty hands, were able to get beyond the front line.
From the magazine "Miracles and Adventures" (2013)
There is one “legend” related to Anglo-Saxon culture. It has survived to this day. Surely you have heard it: “the sword is in the stone.” The legend is identified with the sword of King Arthur - Excalibur. And it says that some time ago the stones were or could have been for some time in an amorphous state. It was then that buildings and structures that are now unimaginable were built from them.
Someone stuck a sword into the stone and it stood there for several centuries, delighting minds and exciting the imagination. There is one more thing.
Didn’t think about the very meaning of the name “Order of Freemasons”. Why masons?
This is the beginning of the solution to all mysteries. They definitely know (knew) almost everything on the topic of “casting stone blocks.”
There is a place (I couldn’t find it specifically) where such a sword exists:
Perhaps this is a fake Excalibur to attract tourists
The following symbolic place where the “sword in the stone” is installed:
The monument is located in the Kardavan canyon in North Ossetia. In the Kurtatinsky Gorge, the Path of Miracles is stylized; on it there is a stone split into two parts. The bloodline sword is driven into the stone.
According to legend, a hunter was walking along a narrow road and saw a traveler who was in trouble. The traveler was his blood enemy, the hunter was supposed to kill him out of revenge. But after the rescue, the hunter and the traveler made peace and, in honor of friendship, stuck the sword of the bloodlines into the stone.
And one more place:
Durandal (French Durandal) is the sword of Roland, a character in numerous French medieval legends and literary works, including The Song of Roland. A fragment of Durandal, according to legend, is located in the rock near the sanctuaries of Rocamadour.
Forged by the blacksmith Galan (or, according to other legends, by the blacksmith Madelger from Regensburg, Munifican). Presented by Charlemagne to his knight after he took the oath. Forged from the same iron as the sword of King Joyeuse.
It is possible that this is also a tribute to the legend: the sword itself, or maybe a fake, was driven into a crevice in the rock.
But the legendary sword in the stone, often associated with the legend of King Arthur, does exist. It is not located in some Avalon, but in Italy. It can be seen in the Montesiepi Chapel, near Saint Galgano Abbey in Chiusdino, in Tuscany.
The story is like this.
Thirty kilometers southeast of Siena stands the dilapidated Abbey of San Galgano, which once belonged to the Cistercian Order (an order adjacent to the Benedictines). This abbey was built precisely in the 12th century, in honor of the memory of the saint, who in the world bore the name Galgano Guidotti.
This Guidotti led a very dissolute lifestyle, was arrogant, voluptuous and prone to all sorts of violent atrocities. But one day he had a vision of the Archangel Michael, and Guidotti, abandoning everything, became a hermit, and after his death - in 1181 - he was canonized.
It is said of him that, as a sign of his renunciation of peace - and war - Guidotti plunged his sword into a stone, which “givered like butter.” As a result, only the handle and three or four centimeters of the blade stick out from the stone, forming a cross.
Here you can see that the sword is inserted into a small frame made of another metal. How to explain this? Perhaps the metal has oxidized at the base and to fix it so that the handle does not break off, this place was reinforced with some kind of clamp.
Galgano's sword was studied by specialists. Although the sword was considered a fake for many years, recent research has proven that the metal composition and style of the sword are entirely consistent with the period from 1100 to the early 1200s. This is indeed a metal sword, apparently forged precisely at the time when the legendary saint lived. Therefore, it appeared before Arthurian plots in the retelling of Chrétien de Troyes and others. But this does not mean that the Celts could not have similar stories.
During the study of the Tuscan sword in the stone, it turned out that there was some kind of emptiness underneath it. Church authorities, however, have not yet given permission to move the stone, so scientists do not know what the sword in the stone hides underneath. Nowadays, it is kept under protective glass, still in stone, in the chapel and is available to everyone.
Sources:
https://masterok.livejournal.com/1144508.html
https://p-i-f.livejournal.com/13549701.html
Options for explaining these legends.
1. All these legends about the sword in the stone say that in the past many rocks were plastic. They may have had a petrified crust and a plastic internal structure (during the process of petrification). Or Podust stones, like the rock from which blocks were made for many buildings in St. Petersburg - were available in many parts of the world.
2. The masses into which the swords were stuck were of artificial, construction origin, like the Victoria stone, from which many things were built in Europe.
About the chemistry and physics of the process.
yuri_shap2015: In my work I often have to communicate with road builders, and recently we discussed one technology: in the southern Federal District of the Russian Federation, the problem of road destruction due to the fact that the base is clay and high acidity.
So, it turns out there are technologies called SOIL STABILIZATION using limestone flour and cement…. For example this .
As a result of chemical reactions, the once clay base turns into an analogue of concrete. Those. clay is transformed into concrete or in Russian: into an analogue of stone.
Let us recall the mass of recipes our ancestors used to create artificial granites, marble and other stones (products from which exist to this day), we can conclude that our ancestors took their recipes from the reality around them, when they themselves observed the processes of transformation of mobile substances into solid ones .
Now go through this modern construction technology with the information below:
Do you remember the mention in the Russian folk tale “Geese-Swans”: “...milk rivers, jelly banks”? Show the former “jelly banks”?
R. Katun, Gorny Altai. These water-eroded rocks in the past were probably liquid clay, “jelly,” which quickly petrified during the withdrawal of high water.
A few years ago, they sent me photographs from the Katun River with fantastically “corroded” boulders and banks. Water could do this only in plastic masses. She grinds hard stone over its entire surface.
It doesn't look like the water has been washing this for hundreds of thousands of years.
The Milk River is streams of boiling water in many rapids and ledges
With a large number of rapids, the river has a white color over its entire surface.
I gave this example as an analogy that in nature after the cataclysm there were processes of transforming clay masses into stone. And the legends about swords in stone say that this happened in historical times.
