Messages in stone
On Bolshoi Zayatsky Island, a small patch of land in Russia's White Sea, lies the highest concentration of ancient stone labyrinths on Earth. The Solovetsky Archipelago contains 35 of these structures, known in local dialect as "vavilons" or "Babylons". Fourteen of the best-preserved examples are clustered within just 0.4 square kilometers on Bolshoi Zayatsky. These are not mazes with branching paths and dead ends. Instead, each is unicursal—a single, winding path that twists its way to a central point and back out again.
The builders used local boulders, typically 30-40 cm in diameter, to construct the coiled walls. The labyrinths vary in size, with the smallest measuring 6 meters across and the largest reaching a diameter of 25.4 meters. Many are formed by two intertwined spirals, a design compared to "two serpents with their heads in the middle looking at each other". The entrances mostly face south. Alongside the labyrinths, researchers have documented more than 850 other stone heaps and formations, including burial mounds and a stone arrangement with radial spokes, possibly representing the sun.
Theories on the Arctic spirals
The purpose of the Solovetsky labyrinths remains an unsolved archaeological question. One theory connects them to ritualistic practices. Their proximity to burial sites suggests they may have been a symbolic border between the material world and the underworld, used in ceremonies to guide the souls of the dead. The path could represent a transition from life to death.
Another hypothesis proposes a more practical function related to fishing. Thousands of years ago, sea levels were higher, and these coastal structures might have functioned as fish traps. Fish could have easily swum into the single entrance at high tide and become trapped as the water receded. Other ideas suggest they were used as calendars, with the stone lines mapping the orbits of the sun and moon. Similar stone labyrinths throughout Scandinavia, often called "Troy Towns," were used by fishing communities, who believed walking the paths before a voyage would ensure a good catch and calm seas.