Images on the stones at Scebiaraky village in North-West Belarus

Abstract

This paper focuses on five stones with ancient incised images containing the symbol of a pole with a semicircle or a cross at its top. This symbol had a cosmological meaning and represented a projection of the "heavenly sphere" onto a flat surface. The strict orientation of the stones and the symbols to the north indicates a ceremonial "world axis" directed to North Star. This symbol of the "world axis" was used during funerary rituals at gravestones The Scebiaraky site is an example of Baltic sacred stones (stabas) in the Baltic-Slavic contact zone.