More recently, the Armavir branch of the Russian Geographical Society (RGO) visited the republic of the North Caucasus, Kabardino-Balkaria for a research purpose. This time we were interested in the Chegem waterfalls and the Verkhnechegem burial grounds in the Chegem gorge.
The beauty of the Chegem waterfalls can be admired endlessly! Their alluring and attractive nature leaves no one indifferent. Therefore, leaving here, I would certainly like to come back here again. Here, like in a fairy tale, everything is beautiful and attractive.
The most impressive structures of the Upper Chegem are ground crypts located on an ancient burial ground just outside the village of Eltyubu. They are made of stone, have both a quadrangular shape and an octagonal cone. This is a kind of City of the Dead, which has long attracted the attention of scientists. The monuments have been studied and described many times.
“An external examination of the Verkhnechegemsky burial ground makes it possible to distinguish seven types of graves in it:
1. Earthen embankment lined with stones at the edges;
2. Stone embankment;
3. A stone box made of smoothly fitted stones and covered with stones inside. That is, the same stone embankment, but with fortified walls;
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4. Stone cemented box with a steep gable roof; the inside of the box is filled with stones. This grave differs from the previous one only in that it is better protected from destruction;
5. A grave with the same box as the previous one, differing from it in that, firstly, it is empty inside and, secondly, it has a small square window on the east side. That is, it is a small crypt, as if repeating the external forms of a stone cemented embankment;
6. Large quadrangular crypt (keshene) with a high gable roof and a window on the east side;
7. A large octagonal crypt with a pyramidal (also octahedral) high roof, turning into a cone at the top. This is how LI Lavrov, in particular, describes the city of the dead on his trip to Balkaria in 1936, and twenty years later Timur Shakhanov found only eight of the eleven crypts. When we arrived in the town of the dead Eltyubu, I counted already seven keshenes, which were completely preserved, many of them were in ruined or dilapidated state. And what will happen in time, no one knows.
Regarding that, according to local historian of local lore Viktor Nikolaevich Kotlyarov, when the Verkhnechegemsk mausoleums were built, scientists today did not come to a consensus. In general, it is generally accepted that they began to be built no earlier than the 13th century and were erected until the 18th century.
"City of the Dead", as these burials are also called, is a favorite stopover for tourists coming to the Chegem Gorge. Most of them are sure that many legends, mysterious stories, unusual facts are associated with this place. And they are right. What is worth even this: during the excavations, which were carried out from the outer side of the crypts, skeletons of unprecedented sizes for those times were found - two meters and even more. The question is: who, even after death, were guarded by those giants?
And finally, I would like to say a few words about the village of Eltyubu itself, since a variety of myths, legends and rumors circulate about it. At one time, the newspaper "Moskovsky Komsomolets" published a sensational article entitled "The Nest of Eternal Youth", which said: "The high-mountain Balkarian village of Eltyubu is a mystery village. It is worth dropping into the aul, and the walkers start or lag far behind, or stop altogether. Contrary to the laws of physics, mineral water exposed to frost overnight does not freeze until the bottle is shaken. Milk and meat remain fresh for a long time even in summer heat.
Sakli, built several centuries ago, do not need repairs. A third of the residents in the village have crossed the 100-year mark. Women who become mothers at the age of 50 are not uncommon in Eltyubu. Lambs and yaks brought from Eltyubu are distinguished by excellent health and fertility. Scientists see the explanation of the reason for such unusual phenomena in the fact that the aul, closely surrounded by rocks, is the base of a pyramid, the top of which are mountain peaks. Moreover, the faces of the rocks are oriented strictly to the cardinal points, one of which is exactly to the Polar Star."
On my own behalf, I want to note that the expedition of the Armavir branch of the Russian Geographical Society did not encounter such things, in addition, when we asked the local residents about the manifestation of such things in their village, they laughed at us and almost twisted their fingers at their temples and said that this was all not true. Based on this, we cannot yet confirm or deny all of the above. New research trips to the Chegem gorge are needed.
Author: Member of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) of the city of Armavir Sergey Frolov
