Over the millennia, a huge number of walls have been built in different parts of the world. Some are known more, others less. The most famous wall is, of course, the Great Wall of China, in second place is the Great Gorgan. Scientists have long found out who and when built these grandiose structures in the Celestial Empire and the Middle East.
But who and when erected the third great wall - the Abkhazian (aka the Kelasur wall) - is still unknown to science. But this "baby" - only 160 kilometers in length - is shrouded in a special romantic veil, she also has her own legends.
AT BOOM SPEED
The ruler of Abkhazia, whose name no one remembers now, was tired of endless wars that did not give rest to Apsny (the ancient name of Abkhazia). He ordered to gather the best architects, whom only knew his country. When they came to his beautiful palace by the sea, the ruler said to them the following words:
“For a century our people will be grateful to those of you who build a wall that the sun would go around exactly in a circle - from Ingur to Kelasur. And so that the rider would go around this wall in five days, but a human word would fly around it with the speed of an arrow … Who will undertake such work, answer."
The builders thought over the words of the sovereign for a whole week, but could not come up with anything. Then one young shepherd came to him, bowed low and said: “Build the wall so that the mountains are behind you, in a semicircle from Ingur to Kelasur. The rider will travel around this land in five days. And so that the human word flew around it with the speed of an arrow, erect two thousand towers. A. When you build the towers, place a warrior on each of them. From tower to tower, from the beginning of our wall to the end, good or bad news will fly with the speed of an arrow.
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The emperor was delighted with this idea and ordered to reward the intelligent shepherd with everything he wanted. But the young man refused the offerings: he was a real patriot, and the well-being and freedom of his native land were the most expensive gift for him.
You will surely hear such a romantic story from local guides who are happy to show tourists one of the main attractions of their small country - the Great Abkhaz Wall. Of course, it is far from Great China, but you must admit that even a few tens of kilometers also inspires respect.
In addition, not every country has such an attraction. The towers and the walls connecting them stretch in a kind of loop over the mountains of Abkhazia, the ends of the loop close at the mouths of the Ingur and Kelasur rivers. Hence the second name of the fortress - the Kelasur wall.
KEEPING SECRETS
This grand fortification is considered one of the most mysterious and controversial structures in the Caucasus. Its main secret is who, when and why exactly brought such a large-scale plan to life. Scientists have been researching the wall for over a century, but they still have not been able to answer these questions. And since the issue of "authorship" remains open and no dates have been set, the Great Abkhaz Wall still does not have its own passport.
Nevertheless, it is listed in the preliminary lists of especially valuable objects of historical and cultural heritage. From time to time (depending on funding), scientists study the wall, but each time they complain that to this day there has never been a truly serious archaeological excavation of sufficient volume. You can count on your fingers who and when tried to unravel the mystery of the ancient structure.
So, in 1907, under the leadership of the Russian archaeologist and ethnologist A. A. Miller, the coastal part of the wall was examined and excavations were carried out in one of the towers. The scientist discovered ceramics of the XI century, colored and transparent glass and many other interesting small things. But, despite his encyclopedic mind, Miller was never able to figure out where the dishes came from. Perhaps it was brought there later.
In the 70s of the last century, Soviet archaeologists got down to business. They assumed that the wall was built during the late Middle Ages. This version has been a priority for a long time.
And in 2013-2014, Abkhaz and Russian specialists rolled up their sleeves again. They were in for a surprise. The hypothesis about the construction of an object of the highest military engineering thought in the late Middle Ages suffered a fiasco. The wall was much older.
Scientists are inclined to believe that it could have been built during the early Middle Ages. And even in the days of Antiquity. But in order to prove the latter, it is necessary to carry out a huge amount of work, the financing of which is not yet ready to undertake. Well, we'll have to wait for better times.
60 THOUSAND STEPS
In the meantime, the guides of Sukhum honestly tell tourists about four versions of the emergence of this unique monument. The first is Mingrelian. If you believe her, the Kelasur wall was built in the 1640s-1650s by the sovereign prince of Megrelia Levan II Dadiani to protect his possessions from attacks by his former vassals - the rulers of Abkhazia.
This theory was passionately promoted by Professor Yu. N. Voronov, a native of these places and the ideologist of the independence of Abkhazia, killed for his political views. He wrote: “In the last period of his reign (1640-1657) Levan was forced to go over to the organized defense of his possessions, expressed in the construction and strengthening of fortifications on the border with Abkhazia.
Arcangelo Lamberti reported that the rulers of Mingrelia "at very great expense erected a wall 60 thousand steps long, and at a certain distance there are towers guarded by significant detachments of riflemen." On the map of another Italian missionary, Kastelli, above the expressive image of the Kelasur wall there is an inscription: "A wall of 60 thousand steps, intended to restrain the Abkhaz."
Vakhushti wrote about this: "To the east of Anakopia from the sea to the mountains, Levan Dadiani built a large wall so that the Abkhazians could not go down to Megrelia."
It is possible that in the future this version of a highly respected scientist will fade into the background, since the wall, as we said, is most likely much younger. Here the version about the Greek, Byzantine and Persian traces comes to the fore. Perhaps the fortification was erected by the ancient Greeks in the days of Antiquity.
Also, other wonderful architects - the Byzantines - could have “noted” here. Who prevented them from starting the "construction of the century" back in the 6th century, when the Byzantine emperor Justinian ruled here, planning to defend his possessions from the highlanders who lived to the north-east ?! It is possible that the Persians also got here and, in order to gain a foothold in new territories, erected a defensive structure.
Be that as it may, but the wall was built to glory. It made a strong impression not only with its size, but also with the number of fortifying towers - there were several hundred of them! Each of the towers was a real impregnable fortress. The height varied from 8 to 12 meters.
The largest, the Kelasur Tower, stretched 15 meters high and 6 meters wide. Each had three rows of loopholes. The wall was not continuous, and why, if the area abounded in mountains, and a high mountain was the same fortress. Try to take this! So the ancient builders skillfully used the mountainous relief.
About 200 towers have survived to this day, many of them are partially destroyed. But even today, lovers of antiquity are ready to go hiking in the mountains and estuaries of the rivers of Abkhazia in order to get an unforgettable experience. Most of the towers and remnants of the wall have been preserved in the section from the Kelasur River to the Mokva River - there you can see about 100 towers in fairly good condition.
Natalia BYKOVA
