In the Zhiguli Hills, not far from the villages of Sosnovy Solonets and Askula, Stavropol District, Samara Region, there is a mythological object called the Ausin stone (or Ausin stone). According to legends, he is many years old, and he has some magical properties. According to most researchers, this is part of a ritual grain grinder (stone mill), previously composed of two stones. But some historians suggest: this is the destroyed altar of Avsen, or Ovsen, the ancient Slavic god of autumn.
With an emerald inside
I must say that the veneration of sacred stones is an integral part of pagan Slavic beliefs. It was believed that some of them contribute to the onset of pregnancy (it is enough for a woman to touch him and she will immediately bear it), others heal, others protect life and property, etc. Such stones served as a place of pilgrimage, offerings were left near them, and water, gathering in their recesses was considered curative.
Local legends about the Ausin stone in Samarskaya Luka explain its origin in different ways.
According to one of them, the stone was once removed from the land by a peasant named Ausin. He wanted to make a large millstone, rolled the stone to the right place, but then something went wrong, and the stone mill was not built.
There is another legend. In ancient times, giants allegedly lived on the banks of the Volga. One of them, Ausin, learned that in the bowels of the earth there is a stone nut with a huge emerald inside. He found the stone and split it into two halves. One of them went into the soil, the second (Ausin stone) remained on the surface. And the giant giant placed a huge emerald in a cave known to him alone - to his other treasures.
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Gate between the worlds
Another myth is related to witchcraft. There lived an evil wizard Ausin. And he wanted to build a mill that would change the fate of people (according to Slavic beliefs, the millstone represents the cycle of the seasons). With the help of witchcraft, he forced a huge stone to come to the surface of the earth (on this place the Ausin pit was formed), and then go on his own (the path was transformed into Ausin's clearing, a place where the forest still grows very poorly). But on the way the sorcerer met an old man, according to one version - the Master of the forest, according to the other - Nikolai the saint. This passer-by-wanderer said: "God help you", and then disappeared. And Ausin lost his magical power and could no longer force the stone to move.
Finally, the fourth legend says that once upon a time a wise and wealthy people, familiar with magic, lived in the Samara Luka area. But among these people there was no unity: some of them worshiped the Sun, and others - the Moon. The confrontation turned into a brutal internecine war. And then the defeated supporters of the cult of the Moon created a magic stone in the form of a millstone, which served as a gateway between the world of the living and the world of spirits. He was named Auhien - in the language of this people, the word meant "Merciless." With this support, the power of the Moon worshipers has increased many times over. But the servants of the Sun, having gathered all their strength, dealt them a powerful blow. In the last battle, all the ancient people died, only a few people found salvation in the caves. And since then the stone has been lying in the place of its then stay, and it must not be touched so as not to awaken the evil spirits dormant in it.
Black silhouette
The first written mention of the Ausin stone can be found in the book by Mikhail Emelyanov "Zhiguli and" Around the World ", published in 1937. The author briefly recounted the legend of a peasant who decided to make a millstone.
Search engines from the Samara region, interested in paranormal phenomena and united in the "Avesta" group (the name goes back to the collection of sacred texts of the Zoroastrians, a monument of ancient Iranian literature), set out to find the Ausin stone and study it. The expedition was organized in the summer of 1994. The participants collected a large number of stories about the stone, but the object itself was not found.
The stone was found a year later. He was in a clearing surrounded by huge oak trees. There were also several dilapidated buildings: the remains of a residential building and auxiliary premises. The large stone resembled a slightly elongated half of a nut.
The members of the expedition noted that they encountered something inexplicable that day. Suddenly it began to rain and a strong wind rose. The bonfires were extinguished, the tents were soaked through and through. But most importantly, people felt weakness and fatigue, everyone wanted to quickly leave this place. So they did not examine the stone. According to the search engines, on the way back, they had to endure several unpleasant minutes when they discovered that some ghostly black silhouette was trying to catch up with them.
In the same 1995, another expedition of the "Avesta" went to the stone by another route. This time he was carefully examined, measured and photographed.
The rounded elliptical stone has a diameter of about 1.5 meters, in the center there is a hole 20-25 centimeters in size. The structure is silicified (that is, with frequent inclusions of quartz or chalcedony) limestone. The stone lies on its side, with the central hole facing west. At a distance of half a kilometer from the Ausin stone, another similar object was discovered - presumably a "pedestal" of a grain grinder (according to other researchers, it may be in the ground under the Ausin stone).
Silt prints
Since then, a fairly large number of researchers have already visited this place. Despite the not too impressive size of the object, it is notable for the fact that some mystical phenomena constantly occur around it.
Search engines often hear incomprehensible loud sounds. Not far from the stone is a large pit (presumably an object was removed from here, that is, it is the Ausin pit). While moving from stone to pit, in some cases time stops - the clock suddenly starts to lag behind by 15-20 minutes. This phenomenon has been observed many times. In 1998, at the bottom of the pit, in a layer of silt under the accumulated water there, they found five prints of a regular rectangular shape, approximately 100 by 60 centimeters in size. Their origin is unclear.
There is a strong background radiation near the stone, and any signals are distorted on the air, which makes it impossible to use radio communication devices or cell phones here.
One of the expeditions discovered the sudden disappearance of the Ausin pit, but a year later it reappeared in the same place.
Analysis of the photographs of the rock and the pit led to the conclusion that during the filming there was an additional source of illumination, which people do not notice, but which is indicated by the location of the shadows.
Strange animals resembling large dogs were repeatedly encountered in the forest, local residents also tell about them. "Dogs" do not attack people, but, being in the distance, accompany them.
Ritual building
Back in the 1930s, an ancient settlement was discovered in the area of the stone - the remains of a fortified settlement protected by earthen ramparts, moats and natural barriers. According to archaeologists, a small settlement existed from the 3rd to the 7th century, representatives of the so-called Imenkov culture, which existed before the arrival of the Bulgars in the Middle Volga region, lived in it. Most likely, it was a small fortress, where, in case of danger, the surrounding residents took refuge. But it is possible that the settlement could have been a place where the clergy associated with the god Avsen (Ovsenem) lived, and the Ausin stone was part of the altar of the ancient sanctuary.
The researchers note that in any case, this object had ritual significance in ancient times. The cult of stone structures was once borrowed by the Slavs from the Finno-Ugric tribes. But the northern seids (sacred structures) consist of at least two stones - at the base and at the top. There is every reason to believe that Ausin's stone once stood or should have stood on a base plate. Thus, several versions of the events that took place in antiquity can be considered.
The grain grater remained unfinished - according to the legend about the unknown traveler. Then, a large slab not far away is the base of the ritual structure to which the Ausin stone was delivered.
The grain mill worked for some time and at the same time served as a religious object. For some reason, the top stone was removed and moved to the side.
The grain grinder worked, but the lower stone gradually went deep into the ground, and the mentioned slab has nothing to do with this object.
Back in 1882, in the US state of New York, near the border with Canada, an ancient structure was discovered: a granite hemisphere with a radius of about 1.5 meters, placed on a "pedestal" of the same material. The natives believed that this swinging stone had magical powers. There are references to such objects in mythology and the Scandinavian countries - it says that they are capable of giving advice and predicting the future.
Most likely, the Ausin stone was part (in reality or by design) of just such a construction. He stood (or should have stood) on the base plate and swayed relative to it. This allowed the object to serve as a grain grinder - and at the same time serve as a religious building. And the central hole, where, according to one of the legends, a huge emerald was once located, could serve for placing offerings or conducting magical rites.
Elina POGONINA