Boris stones

Boris Stones (Belarusian: Барысавы камяні, [baˈrɨsavɨ kamʲaˈni]; Russian: Борисовы камни), also called Dvina Stones (Russian: Двинские камни), are seven medieval artifacts erected along the bank of the Western Dvina between Polotsk and Drissa, Belarus.

Although these landmarks were described in the 16th century by Maciej Stryjkowski, it was Georg von Cancrin in 1818 who first brought them to scholarly attention.

Cancrin discovered that a boulder near Orsha had the following inscription: "In the year 1171, on the 7th day of March, was completed this cross.

In the 1930s, two of these were blown up by Communist authorities as religious objects and their remains used to pave the road between Minsk and Moscow.

What unites them is their programmatic illustration: "In each case the centrepiece is an enormous cross flanked by abbreviated elements of the conventional Greek legend proclaiming Christ's victory".