A mysterious dolmen has been standing in the courtyard of the Stavropol Regional Museum of Prozritelev and Prava for half a century. At first he was in the open air, and then a special gazebo was made for him. But as “Notepad Stavropol” learned, not all the dolmen's riddles have been solved so far.
Mysterious dolmens hold a special mystical place among the Caucasian antiquities. It is still not known for certain who and why erected these stone boxes with a hole in the front wall.
They usually consisted of several huge boulders of stone, placed vertically and covered with a massive horizontal slab. Dolmens were widespread in Asia, Africa and Europe. How one of the most beautiful dolmens ended up in Stavropol is not known to everyone, and why there are relatively modern Alanian ornaments compared to the age of the dolmen itself.
The director of the museum, Nikolai Okhonko, said that the ancient monument was discovered in the upper reaches of the Kyafar river, a few tens of kilometers from the Arkhyz observatory in the middle of the forest.
- In the courtyard of the Stavropol museum is the tomb of the Alan ruler of the 11th century, brought from Karachay-Cherkessia in 1957, and here, in Stavropol, we created it in its original form. And when we mounted it, unknown details came to light. Probably, medieval Alans discovered a disassembled dolmen. This is a dolmen of the Bronze Age (second millennium BC - editor's note). And the Alans simply took this dolmen, restored it, and covered it with images. But since they assembled it piece by piece, and the images were also applied piece by piece, some pieces would be covered while lying down, while others would stand. I suspect that by the time of Alan the dolmen was partially destroyed and some of the slabs were lying on the sidelines, so they forgot to decorate some of the ends. Sure,Attention is drawn to a typical dolmen detail - a round hole in the center of the slab.
- That is, on the ancient dolmen the Alans have already depicted their mythology?
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- Yes, around the circle they painted three crosses, such a protective sign. This dolmen is the most capacious monument of the Alan culture. The main concept is that the ruler of Alanya is depicted on the front plate. Archaeologist Kuznetsov even suggests that it could have been Durgulel the Great, known from written sources.
- As far as I know, Vladimir Kuznetsov is sure that Durgulel the Great had his own mausoleum, he means this dolmen. That this mausoleum is made up of 9 huge hewn slabs. Each of the slabs is covered with different scenes that have not yet been deciphered. According to him, no one knows what they mean.
- This is his theory. Perhaps the Alans did not have a written language, so it is difficult to say with absolute certainty. Next to the ruler is depicted a clergyman of rank no lower than the metropolitan, this is indicated by a special legguard. The scene may indicate that this metropolitan is escorting the protagonist to the afterlife. He has an attribute of power - an ax. Such axes are found in archaeological excavations. And next to the Christian scene, which is reinforced by three crosses, that is, the Trinity, a purely pagan scene. The cupbearer and the image of a dog are depicted, which is associated with the cult of the dead and in the Alanian, including funeral rite. All scenes have their own logic and they are not interrupted. Further pictures from the life of the hero whom he met in life. Including the famous in the Alan and Nart epics - Kurdalagon, he was considered a heavenly blacksmith, a master of armor. And on three sides we see the presence of a dog, as if it marks the afterlife. And after the hero has gone all the way, he ends up in the afterlife. Memorial scenes are also depicted. People living on earth remember him, arrange celebrations in honor of him, so that he can live better in the afterlife. There are such attributes on the dolmen that are often found by archaeologists. In the funds of our museum there is a wooden table on three legs, they are for cult use. In the funds of our museum there is a wooden table on three legs, they are for cult use. In the funds of our museum there is a wooden table on three legs, they are for cult use.
The dolmen was found in the forest-kyafar settlement.
- So they are now common in Ossetia …
- Yes, Ossetians are descendants of Alans. So, on a dolmen on this style lies the head of a sacrificial animal. There is also an image of a hearth, and a person who performs a certain ritual.
- And what is depicted on the fourth wall?
- The buried person is portrayed as an epic hero. And, naturally, he performs feats. He can be seen fighting the monsters. There is a picture of him knocking off a turtle from an eagle, this is a well-known Narva motive. We also see a monster with an open mouth, horn and four ears and a huge tail. According to the epic, all the power of this monster lies in its tail, and the hero throws it into the abyss.
- Who was the original author of the dolmen?
- Little is known about dolmens, there are different theories, but it has been scientifically proven that these are burial structures.
- But it is extremely difficult to place the body of the deceased in a circle …
- Maybe it was placed in a different way. And most likely it was a tomb for the whole family, judging by the number of finds inside. They contain ceramics, remains of axes, beads, and parts of skeletons. In the Caucasus, it is a closed stone box. The structures also served as a sanctuary. Many have tried to falsify history by giving the dolmens some occult properties. Moreover, they are very popular with tourists. And the Alans turned the ancient tomb into their mausoleum.
Alexandra Verischak