Explanation of the mysterious inscriptions on the island of Valaam

The investigation was carried out by the geologist Gorokhov L.K. in 05.07.1989.

According to the restorer of icons of the Restoration Workshop of the Valaam Museum-Reserve, Makarov Vladimir Pavlovich, who knew well and was friends with the guide Makarov Bris Vladimirovich for a number of years.

In June 1987, walking in the vicinity of Leshcheev Lake, which is 25 mk from the Central village towards the "Red Hermitage", they found the remains of the foundation of some kind of structure, the stones of which were melted in an incomprehensible way. And on one of these stones, there were brown streaks on a white plane, to some extent resembling Cuneiform.

Student of the restorer (local resident) Alexey Anatolyevich Svintsov volunteered to show this place.

As the survey showed, the place where the melted stones were found is the remains of the temporary foundation of a hay barn located on the peninsula of Leshcheev Lake. Which, as the supporting "pillars" on which the log structure was based, had a brick frame masonry with "cast" stones, i.e. small boulders and overburden bricks.

In the case of artisanal brick firing, at the base of the kiln (pit) A kind of horizontal blowpipe is laid out, running from the center to the periphery. Then, in the center, a woodpile is made of firewood in a certain shape, which is lined with dried molded raw material, braided with a willow net, coated with clay and covered with earth. Through the horizontal pipe of the blower, the firewood is ignited and the draft is adjusted. Usually, firing in such an oven lasts about 50 hours.

After the furnace cools down, the earth and clay are removed, the bricks are disassembled, the ash is swept out, and a new batch of molded raw materials is prepared for firing on the site.

Hearth bricks and bricks of the horizontal blow pipe are located in the center of the main heat of the kiln. And after several cycles they burn out and partially melt.

These caked, partially melted, remnants of burnt bricks were found by two Makaorv. By chance, among the hearthstones, there was a piece of light gray gabbro-diorite, on the plane of which small streaks of molten brick froze. During the construction of the monastery, gabbro-diorite was mined on the island and used for finishing works.

The lack of knowledge of the geology of Valaam Island, ignorance of the technology of artisanal brick making, ignorance of the origin of the building materials used in the construction of the monastery and a certain degree of imagination allowed the guide B.V. Makarov to "see" in the brick burn and hearthstone "prehistoric" writings of "unearthly" origin.