Many legends, tales and amazing finds are associated with the Caucasus, over which the most venerable archaeologists and historians puzzle.
Noah's ark
Probably, this is the oldest mystery of the Caucasus, because according to the Bible, Noah moored to Mount Ararat when the water of the Flood began to subside. And it turns out that all people are descended from the first inhabitants of Ararat. Many archaeologists dreamed of exploring the mountain, but the Turkish authorities back in 1974 forbade exploring the slope on which the ancient ship lies. According to the testimony of the Armenian Georgy Khagopyan, the ark, made of strong gopher wood, is still on the mountain. Allegedly in 1905, George, being an eight-year-old child, found the ark with his grandfather and even went inside it. In 1939, the American magazine "New Eden" published the memoirs of the Russian pilot Vladimir Roskovitsky, who saw the ark from an airplane in 1916. Moreover, allegedly the Russian tsar even equipped an expedition to Ararat that visited the ark,but all her results and photographs were burnt in the fire of the revolution. The Chinese were the last to see Noah's ark: allegedly in 2009 they climbed the mountain, found the ark in the ice, visited it and even took samples that showed that the wood is 4800 years old.
Scientists consider the videos and photographs of the Chinese to be fake. But even if this is so, then the ark must still be located somewhere there, on the top of the forbidden Ararat.
Colchis
In the west of the Caucasus Mountains, on the territory of Abkhazia, Georgia and Turkey, there was the beautiful kingdom of Colchis, inhabited by the Colchians. In these parts stood the legendary polis of Dioscuriada and there was a huge city of barbarians, in which the mythical Medea was born. It was here that the head of the Argonauts, Jason, came for the golden fleece. It is the Greek myths that chained the titan Prometheus to the great Kazbek in the "mountains of Scythia" and it is his "blood oozing on the rocks of the Caucasus." An Abkhazian legend says: “At the very top of Elbrus, a terrible abyss is open, from which groans are heard - a giant is chained there. The giant's beard is up to his feet, his whole body is overgrown with gray hair, and there is a heavy chain on his arms and legs.
Promotional video:
Great abkhaz wall
In the Caucasus, there is a grandiose Kelasur wall. Its length is 160 kilometers. The wall is ancient, partly in ruins, but it can still be seen on the territory of Abkhazia. On the wall there are about three hundred towers up to 12 meters high. It is unclear from whom or what the peoples who built the wall were defending against. Some believe that the wall was built in the 17th century by the prince of Megrelia Levan II Dadiani to protect against the Abkhaz, others that it was erected in ancient times by the Greeks, defending themselves from local peoples, while others believe that the wall was erected by the Byzantines to protect against the Mingrelians (Georgians).
Dolmens
The Caucasian dolmens are probably the most mystical mystery of the Caucasus Mountains. No other artifacts cause such a barrage of speculation and speculation as these megaliths. Officially, these are tombs. For example, not far from the village of Shepsi, a dolmen was found, which contained a round ball and the remains of a man buried a thousand years before the Pharaoh Cheops lived.
Usually dolmens date back to 3-2 centuries BC. You can meet them in the mountainous regions of the Krasnodar Territory, in Adygea, near Ochamchira in Abkhazia and in the valley of the Laba River. More than 3,000 dolmens have been found, but no more than 6% of structures have been studied. It is believed that the domain culture came from the territory of ancient Spain or even North Africa. Dolmens in the Caucasus are different - some are made of huge stone slabs, others are carved into the rock. Some even have their own names: Khan, Tenderness, Thor.
Fountain of youth
It is no coincidence that this legend appeared in the Caucasus, because there are so many healing sources here. The legend tells that somewhere out there, far in the mountains there is a source of eternal youth. Many heroes looked for her, but if they did not find it, they did not say. And many simply did not return - after all, it is so easy to overdo it with water that gives youth. He drank too much - and became a baby who will not tell anyone anything.
The riddle of El-Tyubu
“City of the Dead” is the name of the cemetery near the village of El-Tyubu in the Chegem Gorge of Kabardino-Balkaria. This place is also called the "Nest of Eternal Youth". Above-ground crypts are like small houses. It is generally accepted that they began to be built around the 13th century. There are many legends associated with the cemetery. One says that during excavations, the remains of two giants guarding the valley were found (the growth of men was a little more than two meters, which in ancient times was a rarity). The question remains - who were they guarding?
Legends say that the village itself is famous for long-livers, and this is supposedly due to the fact that it stands on top of a huge hidden pyramid.
Svaneti towers
Another mystery of the Caucasus is the towers of Svaneti (Georgia). The towers can be seen in many villages. One thing is not clear - what role they played. It is known that they were built from the VIII to the XIII centuries, then they were stopped to be erected. The Svan towers have three floors: the first is monolithic, the second has an entrance to which a wooden staircase leads. The walls are vertical and the roof is decorated with battlements. Each tower has only one narrow window, and it faces south. There is no hearth or stove. Their purpose is still unclear: it is difficult to defend in them, they do not protect from avalanches. The current population often uses them as storage facilities.
Maya Novik