Funerary stones — also known as coffin stones or the dead’s stones — are a widespread phenomenon across the Northwest of Russia, particularly on the ancient Izhora Plateau. These are usually large glacial boulders standing not far from rural cemeteries. When someone died, and the funeral procession carried the coffin toward the burial ground, the mourners would stop at such a stone, place the coffin upon it, and seal it after the final farewell. Once this ritual pause was complete, most of the villagers returned home, and only the closest family continued the path to the grave.

But what was the meaning behind this ritual?
It reflects the local belief in walking dead — the idea that the deceased could rise and return to the living, bringing them harm. According to traditional lore, the dead could not pass beyond this stone. It served as a point of bifurcation, a boundary between worlds — the final threshold of no return. In this way, the stone protected the living from those who had crossed into the other realm.

Today, such farewell customs have faded into the past, yet in some villages people still leave offerings — food or flowers — during ancestral memorial days. These ancient stones remain recognized as part of the surrounding sacred landscape.

The photographs show a grave stone located near the village of Beseda in the Leningrad region.