Bolshoi Zayatsky Labyrinths

Bolshoi Zayatsky is a small treeless island in the Solovetsky archipelago, covered in low tundra and stone, and it holds thirteen or fourteen stone labyrinths - spirals of boulders laid flat on the ground, a few metres across, with a single winding path that leads to the centre and back out, along with hundreds of other stone mounds and settings. They are usually dated to the first or second millennium BC. Similar labyrinths occur around the White Sea and in Scandinavia. What they were for is not known: proposals include fishing magic, burial or funerary ritual, and boundary marking between the world of the living and the dead, and none is established. The island also has a stone harbour and a small wooden church of 1702 built on Peter I's orders. The whole archipelago is a UNESCO site, and access to the labyrinth field is on marked boardwalks with a guide because the ground and the lichen are fragile.

What you actually see

• The stone labyrinths - thirteen or fourteen boulder spirals on open tundra.
• The unknown purpose - explanations proposed but none demonstrated.
• The stone settings - hundreds of associated mounds and alignments across the island.
• The 1702 church - a small wooden church built at Peter I's order by the harbour.

When to go

June to August, when boats cross. Two to three hours on the island, a full day with travel.

Honest expectations

Boats run only in summer and are cancelled by White Sea weather. Access is guided, on boardwalks, and stepping onto the labyrinths is prohibited. The island is exposed with no shelter. Reaching Solovki at all takes a flight or a long boat crossing.

Nearby

Solovetsky monastery is on the main island; Sekirnaya hill is north of it.