Jeyrakh-Assin Reserve

Employees of the museum-reserve, as part of the protection and preservation of cultural heritage sites, made an expedition to the tower estate "Tovkhanti", located west of Melleri.

The estate consists of 1 residential bunk residential tower and one, rare for the edge, core-shaped mausoleum.

The purpose of the tour was to clear the perimeter of the mausoleum from the sprawling spontaneous growth, which posed a potential threat to the integrity of the historical object.

The guys, armed with saws and axes, cut down shrubs and unwanted vegetation, saving the monument from damage and increasing its attractiveness for visitors. After all, wild plants could not only damage the monument, but also hide it from the eyes of tourists.

The mausoleum is well preserved for its time and it is very important to keep it in this condition for as long as possible.

It is located within the boundaries of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve.

Today, October 3, in the Ingush State Museum of Local History named after Tugan Malsagov, representatives of the Institute of Archaeology of the Caucasus brought a second batch of artifacts - more than 800 archaeological objects discovered during the reconstruction of the federal highway "Caucasus" in the Gamurzievsky administrative district in 2018, and which were still stored in them.

The museum was given archaeological excavations of ancient times in the form of household items, ceramics, tools, jewelry, etc., representing the North Caucasian culture, as well as artifacts related to the Koban culture and the Alan era.

The event was attended by heads and employees of competent organizations, researcher-archivist Bersnako Gazikov, archaeologist Umalat Gadiev, historian-localist Ruslan Kurkiev and others.

Recall that in 2018, during the excavations, more than 4,000 antiquities of great scientific interest were discovered, the first batch of which, in the amount of 200 items, was transferred at the end of August of this year, and work on the return of the remaining part continues, thanks to the mutual agreement of the parties on the return of all finds to their historical homeland.

Employees of the museum-reserve made an inspection trip to the observation tower of Zem-g1al.

Watchtower "Zem-g1ala", located in the gorge of Guloi-khi, 500 m south-west of the tower complex "Vovnushki", a ruined state, previously was a two-storey with an economic annex. According to local residents, it had observation functions.

The name Earth-g1al means literally "observational". From the word “earth (b), attention, observation.”

This tower, apparently, was one of the links of a powerful signal and defensive system of ancient Ingushetia.

Last weekend, a Saturday was held in the central mosque of Magas "Heart of the Caucasus" under construction, where employees of the Dzhirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve also took part.

Employees of the Dzheyrah-Assinsky Museum-Reserve carried out planned work on accounting and fixation of previously unrecorded objects of cultural heritage.

This time the trip was made to the rarely visited tower complex in the eastern part of the Guloikhi Gorge - "Besht", where the ruins of four residential towers are preserved.

The described monument - a pillar-shaped sanctuary or, as it is popularly called, sieling - is located 300 meters west of the complex. Its height is 2.50 m, length is 1.10 m, width is 0.65 m. Below, on the facade of the object there is a lancet beggar with a height of 0.8 m.

In his studies, the Ingush historian and archaeologist M.B. Muzhukhoev believed that pillar-shaped sanctuaries complete the evolution of local religious monuments. And some scientists, on the contrary, believe that pillar-shaped structures are the primary form of religious buildings.

M.B. Musukhoev also claims that the construction of sielings was performed in memory of deceased ancestors. These monuments served as a symbol of veneration and respect for ancestors, and were believed to provide invisible protection to their descendants.

Ethnographic descriptions acquaint us with monolithic "pillars" - sanctuaries known as "Sielings", indicating their mythological connection with the cult of "the sun god" and lightning "Selya". A typical example of the sanctuary-monument is the sielings near the village of Erzi, Egikal, Targim, Niy, Vovnushki, Ozdeche, etc. in Ingushetia.

Researcher F.M. Kostoeva believes that in ancient times, the term "seeling" was used to refer to a high quadrangular stone column facing south, with a flat or gable top and a small niche at the base. The sielings were collected from raw stone before human growth and fixed to a lime or clay solution ("markhal"). Such stone structures were erected at crossroads, at towers or crypts.

As for this structure, we did not find its description in any written source. Employees carried out measurements of the object, photofixation. The monument will be included in the list of identified objects of cultural heritage of the republic, as well as put into scientific circulation, and it will be of interest to all who are interested in the history of Ingushetia.

Archival photographs of the tower complexes "Doshkhakle" and "Khart".

In Doshkhakl in the foreground is a battle tower, the roof of which, according to written sources, was damaged by lightning in 1958.

On the southern slope of Table Mountain, the staff of the Dzheyrakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, as part of the work plan to identify and account for previously unrecorded architectural monuments, and the partners of the institution, as part of the implementation of the National Object Management and Safety System "Territory" on the territory of the museum-reserve, continue joint research of cave-type structures.

As a result of the work, the locations of several more buildings were determined, measurements of the front and interior parts of the premises, window and door openings were made, all structural elements of the premises and their features were noted, photo fixation was made.

Notes from fieldwork.

Building 7 is represented by a solid masonry covering the cave. On the side wall there are 3 small window openings square shaped, which were used to observe and illuminate the interior of the room. On the front wall there is an entrance and a large window - at a height of 2.5 m from the ground - , openings.

From the presence of holes for floors in the inner part of the building, we can conclude that the buildings were three-tiered.

The building number 8 was erected at a height of 3 meters on a site of rock of natural origin, from the front part a pavement with masonry to floor level was made. At the top of the eastern wall there is a small square-shaped window. There are steps outside the entrance.

In the inner corners of the cave there are signs of seasonal water sources.

In the ninth structure, the characteristic features of the rock structure are traced, there are traces of processing of rock. The laying has not survived. The width of the inner part is 4.4 m, height is 5 meters, depth is 4.7 m.

It is no accident that our ancestors gave this mountain a sacred meaning - it harbors many mysteries.

Rock buildings located on the slopes of the mountain are one of the manifestations of the mystery.

We gave some details of the next studies, at the moment the work on 9 rock structures has been completed, previously 6 buildings were noted, all of them will be put on the state register.

The medieval tower complex of the castle type "Harpe" in the 70s and now.

It is located on the spur of Mount Mat Loam in the Jeirakh gorge of Ingushetia.

By the way, the project of restoration of the complex from "ASM Group" became a nominee of the VII International competition in the field of architecture "Golden Trezzini 2024" in the nomination "Best implemented restoration project".

These days, the staff of the museum-reserve carried out planned work on fixing and accounting of early unaccounted cyclopean buildings located 300-350 m north-east of the tower complex "Sredny Ozik".

Most buildings have adjacent walls and do not have binder material. The objects are in a ruined state.

Cyclopic buildings belong to the era before our era. In total, 27 buildings and 3 barrier walls were identified on this site.

All of them will be included in the list of identified objects of cultural heritage of the republic.

On October 16, employees of the museum-reserve made an inspection trip to the Shuang “City of the Dead”, located 1.0 km west of the Shoan tower complex, in the area of Mohde.

The scale of the “Shuang City of the Dead” (Mohde) is impressive – it is the largest necropolis in the region and the region, consisting of more than 200 underground and semi-underground collective crypt tombs with remains of the late Middle Ages.

They are distinguished by significant design features and diversity: completely immersed in the mountain soil and visible from the outside on low stone pillars and mounds; with a clear bulge formed by a vault and a low facade wall with a manhole; with an underground chamber, with a gable-step roof, half out of the ground.

In terms of crypts rectangular, and burial chambers - often, with stone or wooden shelves, small niches, stone boxes, sometimes arranged in the side walls, caches and other original structural details.

Some tombs are multi-chambered and multi-tiered. In a number of tombs, the back wall is formed by a protrusion of a rock or an aligned mountain slope, and there are special stone beds for the dead. The roof of buildings is more often gabled, less often flat.

This unique crypt necropolis has been studied stationarily since the end of the XIX century by V. F. Miller, V. I. Dolbezhev, L. P. Semenov, E. I. Krupnov, M. H. Kataev, M. V. Muzhukhoev, D. Y. Chakhkiev, E. I. Narozhny, R. A. Dautova, X. M. Mamayev and other researchers, whose scientific works give general and detailed characteristics to many local tombs, which were used in the funeral rite, found here on numerous gold coins and timbers. The results of the latest scientific research allow us to attribute this burial ground as a whole to the second half of the XIII-XV centuries.

Of these, 77 burial grounds are registered with the state, further work on their inclusion in the list of identified objects of cultural heritage, and then, after the historical and cultural expertise, in the unified state register of the OKN of the Russian Federation will be continued.

Employees of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, during the monitoring of the Muhul tower complex, photographed petroglyphs located on the residential tower of the complex. Muhul is a tower complex northwest of Gwezi.

Petroglyphs on stones are found throughout mountain Ingushetia - these are one of the important religious components. In addition to single images of humans and animals, there are often fantastic and symbolic images, geometric and other abstract figures. Some of them resemble solar signs, while others are graphic signs resembling writing. Often you can see carved on stone slabs images of a human hand.

There are petroglyphs made in point technology. Among the plots of the petroglyphs of Ingushetia, genre ones are distinguished, depicting scenes of hunting, creation of the world, etc. The architectural structures on which they are depicted date back to the 14th and 18th centuries, but it is quite obvious that the stones with petroglyphs in the masonry of these towers are reused. This is evidenced by the location of stones with petroglyphs in the masonry, which differ from the color of the stones of the main masonry. The greatest number of petroglyphs is found on the facades of residential towers, less often on religious buildings and battle towers. Sometimes there are petroglyphs on the stelae.

Ingush poet A.T. Khashagulgov, who devoted many years to collecting ethnographic material, interviewed many old people, collecting outdated words and folklore motifs, in his poem notes that the meaning of the symbols on the stones is irretrievably lost:

Dysad Ma'an t'yapa deshash,

Kustash a kherash t'a deca

Hanz Ukhaz Yukhaza Dyhka,

Latt vai king hyarkas deshas

(Dzaurova T. A.-Kh. “Ingush National Ornament”)

Researcher A.S. Dozariev in his scientific publication “On some monuments of decorative and graphic art of the Ingush” writes:

As studies show, it is impossible to say with accuracy for what purpose these or other petroglyphs were applied, although the cult-magical context here seems to us certain. At the same time, it is safe to say that the decorative and graphic art of the Ingush has its roots in ancient times. Thus, in a detailed study of this cultural phenomenon, it is impossible not to notice, for example, the similarity of Ingush solar signs with images on objects of Koban culture of the Caucasus, found immediately in Ingushetia (Meadow burial ground, I thousand BC). Known parallels are also found in the culture of the ancient Sumerians, Iranians, Celts, etc.”

The material was prepared in order to protect, preserve and popularize objects of cultural heritage of the republic.

The core-shaped mausoleum of Tangi-Kash (Tangi Tomb), a pillar-shaped sanctuary and an elevated two-tiered crypt with a gable stepped roof earlier and in the present time.

They are located on the western outskirts of the village of Egikal, on a huge rock boulder.

The mausoleum of the 18th century, called Tangi-Kash, in honor of the local warrior-rider named Tangi, the ancestor of the Ingush family Tangiev, who heroically fell in battle. There were two such core-shaped mausoleums in Aegikal; the second was destroyed to the ground. A pillar-shaped sanctuary next to the mausoleum is also erected in his honor.

Employees of the Dzheyrah-Assinsky Museum-Reserve together with specialists of the project organization ASM GROUP made an inspection trip to the tower complex "Niykoate", where planned work is carried out to identify, fix and record all objects of cultural heritage.

The medieval tower settlement "Niykoate" is located in the Dzheyrakh district, east of "Niy" and north of "Tzizda", administratively included in the rural settlement "Guli". On the territory of the city-settlement there are many historical objects, these are residential towers, mausoleums, early Muslim cemetery, landscaped natural spring, ruins of stone buildings, etc., which, unfortunately, for objective reasons, not all are on the state record. And today, as we see, a lot of work is being done to fill them. The condition of all facilities is emergency.

As you know, the inventory of the OKN is one of the necessary components of a comprehensive study of monuments, it is carried out in order to preserve and popularize objects of cultural heritage, as well as to ensure their integrity. This year, similar work was carried out on 30 tower complexes of mountain Ingushetia.

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Today, on October 22, 2024, in the Ingush Research Institute of Humanities named after C. E. Akhriev, a meeting of employees of the IngNII GBU with the director of the Dzheyrakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve - Sampiyev Ahmedkhan Alikhanovich was held.

The meeting was attended by: Director of GBU "IngNII" - Ozdoev Dzhambulat Edalgireevich; Deputy Director for Research - Dzarakhova Zeynep Magomet-Tagirovna; Deputy Director for General Affairs - Dolakov Anzor Kureyshevich; Academic secretary - Agieva Lemka Tuganovna; editor - Khairova Khadijat Rezvanovna.

The meeting discussed the organization of exhibitions at the Interregional Scientific and Practical Conference “National-State Entities and Republics in Russia: From History to Modernity”, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Ingushetia.

It is planned to organize and hold an exhibition of the art gallery of the artist S. A. Gadaborshev, a photo exhibition of T. Agirov “Medievary architecture of mountain Ingushetia”, an exhibition of carpets “The felt chronicle of the Ingushes”, and a tour of mountain Ingushetia will be organized for the conference participants.

Anthropomorphic steles in mountain Ingushetia are located in the tower complexes "Barakh", "Keli", "Myashkhi". This is a very rare type of monuments for mountain Ingushetia, perhaps they had a religious, sacred meaning.

Employees of the museum-reserve made a tour of the tower complex "Ancoate".

Ancoate is a medieval tower settlement east of Niicoate. Today it is possible to observe two three-tiered residential towers with various structural details, in particular, in one of the towers at the level of the second floor, the remains of a stone fireplace have been preserved.

Not far from the village, in the Muslim cemetery is an interesting stele with petroglyphs.

It is located within the boundaries of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve. Included in the list of identified objects of cultural heritage of the republic, subject to state protection.

Based on the results of the field work, acts of the technical condition of the complex will be drawn up and sent to higher organizations.

Acting Director of the Dzheyraskh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve Sampiev A.A., within the framework of the work plan, an inspection trip was made to the tower complexes Dujargisht and Hjarpe.

Dujargisht tower complex is located in the lower part of the Dzheyrakhov gorge on the southern slope of the Mat Loam mountain range.

In 2019, repair and restoration work was carried out at the complex.

Hjarpe is located half a kilometer east of Dujárgisht at the foot of Table Mountain, 5 OKNs have been restored in it.

In the Jeirakh district of Ingushetia, emergency work was carried out to save the crumbling crypt of Meller.

The unique tower-shaped crypt tomb with artifacts was on the verge of destruction and irretrievable loss.

The crypt is located in an inaccessible place - on the outskirts of the tower complex "Meller", a three-tiered crypt, its height is 9 meters, with a stepped-pyramidal roof, the construction of which in ancient times was considered the highest of construction art.

The rock base of the object was damaged and corners collapsed, jeopardizing its stability.

Scientific and design documentation was developed and approved, according to which restoration work was carried out.

The preservation of this crypt was a fundamental task for the authorities of the republic, since it was one of the largest preserved land burial grounds, which increased its historical significance.