This city of the dead is located in North Ossetia, hidden in one of five mountain ranges that traverse the region. There are many myths and legends among the locals, and they all boil down to the fact that no one has ever returned alive from these places. Local residents never go there, this land also does not attract tourists.
Only if you go by the road of the city of the dead, then it will take 3 hours to drive along narrow roads and small hills. Always foggy weather slows down even more. Once there, you will find that the entire city stands on a hill and consists of small white buildings. These white buildings contributed to the city's name. The fact is that these white buildings are nothing more than stone crypts where locals buried their loved ones. Dargavs is an ancient Ossetian cemetery. The oldest crypt dates back to the 16th century.
The region is of little interest to tourists, but archaeologists make unusual discoveries here. So it was discovered, for example, that the bodies were buried in wooden forms resembling boats. The secret remains: how the boats ended up in places where there are no navigable rivers. One explanation is that the soul must cross the river before going to heaven. Many coins were found not far from the crypts. This is explained as follows: as soon as the Ossetians buried a person close to them, they threw a coin down the hill, and if it hit a stone, then the soul of the deceased reached heaven.
Some crypts are located separately. The criminals of the earth were buried in these crypts. Thus, if during an epidemic the whole family died, then they were buried by other people in the same crypt.
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To some extent, Dargavs can be attributed to the most mysterious places on the planet, as there are many legends and secrets around it.
Dargavs is a fairly large settlement, only there are practically no permanent residents there. This is all due to the collapse of the peg glacier, which occurred in September 2002. He destroyed the road leading to the village, as a result of which Dargavs was left completely without communication with the outside world. Dargavs is also known for its battle towers and the "City of the Dead".
The fact is that the Dargav necropolis is the largest in the entire North Caucasus, there are 95 ground and semi-ground crypts. It is also very often compared to the Valley of the Pharaohs in Egypt. Experts often associate the creation of this “City of the Dead” with a terrible plague epidemic - it was then that the population of Ossetia fell from two hundred thousand to sixteen thousand people. But research has shown that this necropolis had already functioned from the 9th century to the 18th century.
Right on the banks of the Wallagdon River, there is the Mamsurov Tower - its height is 16 meters, but despite the fact that the upper part of the tower was destroyed, it still impresses with its size and impeccable masonry quality. The arched entrance is at a height of two meters, and in case of danger, people climbed there by an attached wooden staircase, and then dragged it behind them and locked the entrance with an iron-bound door. The Mamsurovs' tower is a vivid example of Ossetian stone architecture, in addition, only the wealthiest families could afford the construction of such towers.
The beginning of tower construction dates back to the Alanian era. But the style of the Caucasian Ossetian tower took shape in the Xvii - Xviii centuries. At first, the towers were built as defensive, military, and often as residential buildings. By the way, in addition to the military significance during the raids of the invaders, often the towers in North Ossetia appeared as a means of protection against blood feud. Such ancestral towers were revered as shrines, since they were the dwelling place of the holy spirit. Ancestral towers are a stronghold and a guarantor of the integrity and duration of the clan and surname. The role of the towers in Ossetia was so important that over time they even became objects of worship.
The Alikov Tower rises above the "City of the Dead" just a kilometer from the village, on the slope of the raminyrag mountain. This maskig had four balconies. This tower controlled the approaches to Dargavs from the Genaldon gorge. It is also known as the Badtiev Tower - they captured it later. The tower was badly damaged by the 1923 earthquake.
And on the very eastern outskirts of the village there is a living tower of the Degoevs. It was a once well-defended house - a fortress. Inside there was a hearth, over which a chain hung, a carved wooden chair for an older man, low three-legged tables for food, a water tub hollowed out of a tree trunk, wooden homemade beds, a bench, wooden and earthenware dishes were placed on the shelves, a cold place took pride of place on the wall. and firearms.
In Dargavs, the following architectural monuments also exist in varying degrees of preservation: the Taroevs 'complex, the Sakhmanovs' castle, the Dzhibilovs 'tower, the Sasievs' residential tower, as well as many other monuments of unknown origin.
The origin of the name of the village has several explanations - Osset. Duargas ("Gatekeeper or Defender of the Gorge"), or from the Osset. Darg ("Long") Faez ("glade." centers of formation of the Tagaur mountain society, according to historical and genealogical legends, "Tsarevich Taga" (Tagaur), the ancestor of clans and surnames belonging to the upper class of East Ossetia, lived here. The Kanukovs and Mamsurovs were especially influential,who owned the best land plots near the village and had the right to protect the Dargav gorge. The most noble families of Dargavs founded new auls in the nearby gorges, for example, the Kanukovs founded the village of Upper Koban, which is known throughout the world for its archaeological monuments of the Bronze Age, which gave the name to the ancient Koban culture. Later, the Tulatovs founded the village of Lower Koban. The transfer of some of the inhabitants of the village to the plain began after the founding of Mozdok in 1763. In 1830, during the uprising in Ossetia, the tsarist troops under the command of General Abkhazov broke into Dargavs. Many inhabitants were killed, several towers were destroyed. The leaders of the uprising were exiled to Siberia. Currently, there is practically no permanent population,which is connected with the descent of the Kolka glacier in September 2002 (as a result of the descent, the road leading to the village was destroyed, and Dargavs was left without communication with the outside world.
The Chmiy Basin, the Saniban Kauridon Basin, the basins near the villages of Tmenikau and Dargavs are parts of a common longitudinal valley lying between the lateral and rocky ridges. The rocky ridge drops off to the valley with high steep cliffs that look like mesas. The highest point of this ridge is called a table mountain. The rocks of the rocky ridge are represented by limestones of the Jurassic period, and the transverse valley itself is almost completely covered with thick boulder deposits formed by ancient giant glaciers.
The area of the Dargav basin is treeless, only on the humid northern slopes there are small thickets of dwarf birch, but there is an abundance of forage grasses for livestock. In the lower part of the basin, dry-loving plants grow: various thorns, juniper, barberry is found. On the southern and western slopes of the Chijitykhokh mountain, flocks of sheep from the experimental station of the North Ossetian Agricultural Institute graze all year round.
Not far from the village of Dargavs, in the valley of the Midagrabindon river, on the southwestern spur of the Chitjitykhokh mountain, there is a historical and archaeological monument "City of the Dead", which the local population has called since ancient times "Walmardty kuybyr" ("cemetery hill." - A complex of 99 semi-underground (IX - Xvii century) and ground (XIV - Xviii centuries) stone crypts, which served as family tombs and protected by unesco.
The local name of this ridge is Rabinirag. The historical and archaeological complex consists of several dozen above-ground or semi-underground stone burial grounds. The crypts resemble towers in shape and are distinguished by great strength, skillful laying of walls and roofs. The pyramidal and cone-shaped roofs of the crypts are made of slate slate in the form of stepped ledges. The burial grounds served as family (ancestral) tombs of the Ossetians. The custom of burial in aboveground crypts was associated with the cult of ancestors. The deceased was buried in full dress with small household items. The deceased was carried through a hole wrapped in cloth or in a boat-shaped wooden deck in a robe and with some small items (knives, axes, daggers, clubs, arrows) and usually placed on wooden shelves. Small holes were made in the walls for ventilation. Due to the exceptional dryness of the local climate, good ventilation and warmth, the corpses were mummified and well preserved. In the Middle Ages, during the plague epidemic, the infected people voluntarily immured themselves in these stone dwellings.
In Dargavs, defensive structures have been preserved, including multi-storey battle towers. Near the village there is a family watch tower of the Mamsurovs (more than 16 meters high; the highest in North Ossetia. Despite the fact that the upper part of the tower has been destroyed, it impresses with its size and impeccable quality of masonry. The arched entrance is located at a height of 2 m; in case of danger, people rose on an attached wooden staircase, they dragged it behind them, locking the entrance with an iron-bound door. The Mamsurov Tower is a striking example of Ossetian stone architecture, the construction of such towers could only be afforded by the wealthiest families.
The Alikov Tower rises above the "City of the Dead", a kilometer from the village, on the slope of the Raminyrag mountain. Masig has four balconies (mashikul. This tower controlled the approaches to Dargavs from the Genaldon gorge. It is also known as the tower of the Badtievs who seized the tower later. The tower was badly damaged as a result of the earthquake in 1923.
On the eastern outskirts of the village there is a living tower of the Degoevs, next to which the ruins of a battle tower of the Degoevs were discovered. The living tower of the Degoevs was a well-defended house - a fortress, inside which there were: a hearth over which a chain hung, a carved wooden chair for an older man (histar), low three-legged tables for food (fing), a water tub hollowed out of a tree trunk, wooden homemade beds, a bench, wooden and earthenware dishes were placed on the shelves, cold weapons and firearms took pride of place on the wall.
In Dargavs, the following architectural monuments also exist in varying degrees of preservation: the Taroevs 'complex, the Sakhmanovs' castle (Galuan), the Djibilovs 'tower, the Sasievs' residential tower, as well as many other monuments of an unidentified pr in the upper reaches of the gorge, ancient settlements with stone fortifications and towers that served as a refuge have been preserved to the ancestors of the Ossetians.
Unusual architectural forms in the poor Middle Ages gave rise to the most unusual assumptions about the creators of the necropolis. The Mongols, Nogays, and the aborigines were called Kobanians. But now it is considered established that the first builders were the Alans, the ancestors of the Ossetians. Archaeological finds confirm that already from the 6th century these places were densely populated by Alans. But this did not remove many mysteries. It is surprising that often the dead were placed in small boats, which is not found in any other people of the Caucasus, sometimes an oar was placed nearby, despite the fact that there are no navigable rivers in Ossetia. The crypts were used for a very long time and became the last refuge for entire generations of highlanders.
The city of the dead in the mountains of North Ossetia.
North Ossetia is a place that is not so widely known for its legends and history as, for example, the same Egypt, but which is of no less interest to tourists. Moreover, the mountains of Alanya and Egypt, as well as other countries with a very ancient history, have something in common. Namely - the necropolis, which is located here and causes at the same time awe at the atmosphere that soars here, and the desire to learn more about this place. And in the latter, we will help you.
There is nothing mystical about the creation of the city of the dead in North Ossetia, in general, no. This is a complex of ground crypts, equipped in the mountains of Alanya near the village of Dargvas. This is one of the oldest settlements in these places, which began to be developed back in the Bronze Age. Since then, people practically did not leave the valley. A village appeared, which developed and prospered, allowing local families to organize rather complex and rich burial places of the deceased.
In the necropolis complex there are more than 90 crypts of different sizes, which are regular parallelepiped structures tapering upward with roofs in the form of stepped pyramids, with small window openings. The richer and more noble the family was, the larger the crypt was, and the poorer families had small crypts, with gable roofs, or even “Boxes” made of stone slabs. Some of the crypts were built of stone with mortar, while others were made of solid stone slabs.
Of course, excavations were carried out here, but practically no valuable things were found - the crypts were closed with wooden doors that have suffered from time, and the looters are not embarrassed by ethical considerations in the search for gold, etc., but still, scientists managed to find very interesting things - in particular, funeral boats, hollowed out of the decks, where the bodies were laid. Despite the fact that neighboring peoples did not practice such forms of burial, the question arises - why were boats chosen as coffins?
It should be noted that both crypts and types of burial have many analogues among ancient peoples, even those that lived far away both temporally and territorially. Also, weapons, jewelry, and other objects accompanying the last journey were found here.
Not far from the city of the dead, there are two stone watchtowers. On the territory of Ossetia there is a whole system of watchtowers, built so that at least two others are in the field of view of each of them.
The proximity to the crypts does not bother the inhabitants of the village of Dargvas, and not only them. In the same Egypt, there is a city of the dead, one of the oldest cemeteries on the planet, where there has long been a whole residential area, however, for the poorest segments of the population, but the more actively life is boiling there. So you shouldn't be afraid of necropolises. But it is also not worth disturbing the peace of the dead, turning the necropolis into a necrodisneyland - it is believed that anyone who offends those who are buried here will be severely punished.
However, if the heavenly punishment does not scare you, you can enter the crypts absolutely freely (the entrance is paid, the object is under state protection, it is carefully looked after, the monument is part of the unesco world heritage), but, in general, there is nothing interesting there - bones and skulls, rags, mold and dust, and even the smell is a very dubious pleasure to smell like that. So we recommend limiting yourself to an external examination. And, you know, you need to leave the dead alone, not to enter their abodes - crypts are a tribute to the dead.
Plague
For many, the desire to enter the crypt can be discouraged by the fact that many remains of the inhabitants of these places who died from the plague lie inside. When the black death walked through these places, thousands of people died. And most of those who became infected had only one terrible way out - to take the family, including its youngest members, and go to the family crypt to die there, without forcing the neighbors to tinker with the remains, which also posed a mortal danger. Therefore, not all burials were performed according to the rite - people died side by side in the walls of the crypts.
Only in the 60s of the last century was the city of the dead in North Ossetia recognized as safe to visit. By the way, this is one of the reasons explaining the reluctance of the residents of Dargvas to come to the necropolis or arrange exciting excursions for tourists. Firstly, this is the memory of very distant, but still ancestors. Secondly, although the plague has already disappeared, the memory of those living here could have retained the cases told by their fathers or grandfathers, when those who tried to steal some valuables from the crypts were struck by a disease from which there was no salvation …