Acting Director of the Museum-Reserve Sampiev A.A., together with the staff, within the framework of the work plan, made an inspection trip to the tower settlements “Tsori” and “Oasegh”.

Medieval complex "Tsori" - one of the largest tower complexes - is located in the eastern part of the Dzheyrakh district of the Republic of Ingushetia, on the border with Chechnya and Georgia, on a high mountain ledge. Its more accurate location is the Guloikhi Gorge. There is a tower complex at an altitude of 1,170 m.

At the moment, there are three battle towers, more than three dozen residential, 12 crypt burial grounds, early Muslim land burials, an ancient mausoleum, and traces of two river mills were found. If you look closely, on the walls of the towers you can see interesting ornaments created from stones of different colors. There is a lot of evidence that artisans and architects who lived in the fortress were famous for their art throughout Ingushetia.

The battle towers of the castle ensemble are quite high, although not completely preserved. You can still see window openings, loopholes, arched ceilings and nothing like salt symbols, telling about the traditions of ancient Ingush. In general, despite the huge age of the buildings, many ornaments and decorative fragments have been preserved on the buildings.

The roof of the battle tower is flat with teeth at the corners, topped with conical stones. In Tsori, the towers and sakli of almost all the villages adjoin each other, piling up with tiers and forming one solid, strongly fortified castle.

Crypts are scattered near the village in several places. They are made of uncooked stones, on lime, have a yellow lining and in each tier of lazes - often rectangular, less often with a semicircular vault. More than half of them remained at full height. And the crypt that collapsed in 2022 was restored last autumn.

The tower complex "Oasegh" is located 500 meters north of Zori, right by the road. In the past, the complex had 6 residential towers up to three floors high, with a variety of annexes, which together with a stone defensive wall formed a single castle complex of the late medieval period. Nearby stood two tower-like terrestrial collective crypt tombs. Only one residential tower has survived. According to the preliminary results of the All-Union census of 1926, 2 peasant farms and 11 people of both sexes were recorded in the village.

Field material was collected by officers on the spot, the preservation of monuments was examined, and photofixation was carried out.

On all objects of cultural heritage of the complex will be drawn up acts of technical condition and sent to higher organizations.

Recently, mountain Ingushetia was visited by a film crew of the federal TV channel “Culture”. The next issue of the program “Unknown Routes of Russia” will be devoted to culture, architecture, life, craft of Ingush in the Middle Ages.

For the filming of the program, the guests visited the “Towers of Two Rivals”, the castle complex located on the spur of the Rocky Ridge, between the gorges of Ozdi-chozh and Ah-chozh, north of Vovnushki, the ancient temple “Thaba-Yerda” and the architectural complex “Niy”. The group was accompanied by the head of the department for the preservation of monuments of the museum-reserve Ziaudin Gurazev.

Recall that in 2023, according to the magazine “Around the World”, the Dzhyrakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve entered the top 10 of the most striking and unusual museums in Russia, receiving 9.6 points out of 10 possible.

Recently, on the territory of the temple "Thaba-Erdy" an employee of the museum-reserve discovered interesting bas-relief stones, in the amount of 5 pieces. For a professional opinion about the value of the find, we turned to the famous archaeologist of our republic, Umalat Gadiev, who noted that “fragments of the revealed stones are obviously part of the once decorative decoration of the temple of Taba-Yerda”.

“They are mostly made from pieces of soft limestone rocks “wide”, which are well processed. These are fragments of cornice blocks, and apparently parts of the frame of window and doorways. Others require further interpretation. The findings are interesting and should be thoroughly investigated and transferred to the state part of the museum fund, the scientist concluded.

All found historical relics are transferred to the local history museum of the republic, where in the future they will be used in the restoration of cultural heritage objects.

In order to study the history of our people, you do not need to go far, history is under our feet, at every step. In the mountains of Ingushetia, we often find echoes of our past – the memory of our ancestors, our history. Recent findings suggest that pages of history can be opened every day, hourly and minutely.

Yesterday, together with the staff of the Dzhirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve and the Committee for State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of the Republic of Ingushetia, timed to the International Day of Monuments and Historical Places, which is celebrated on April 18 around the world, and the motto of which was the words: “Preserve our historical homeland”, held a large-scale Saturday on the territory of the Egikal complex, along the bed of the Agi-Khi River – a tributary of Assa.

As a result of sanitary measures, a tributary of the Assa River was cleaned, about 15 bags of garbage were collected and removed.

The event was held in order to attract the attention of the general public and government officials to the protection and preservation of local monuments and historical sites, as well as world cultural heritage sites.

International Monuments and Sites Day, also known as World Heritage Day, was established in 1982 by the Assembly of the International Council for the Protection of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), established under UNESCO.

It has been celebrated since 1984 and provides an opportunity to learn more about the diversity of the world’s heritage and the forces that are applied to its protection and preservation.

Russia currently has about 150,000 objects of cultural heritage of federal and regional significance. The basic law in the field of preservation, use and state protection of objects of cultural heritage (monuments of history and culture) is the Federal law of June 25, 2002 N 73-FZ "On objects of cultural heritage (monuments of history and culture) of the peoples of the Russian Federation".

These days, the staff of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, as part of the work plan, made an inspection trip to Upper Pui.

Architectural complex "Upper Puy" - a small tower village of castle type, located in the Jeirakh district, the southern part of the Targim basin, under the Molellnya mountain. The height above sea level is 1200 m. It consists of one semi-combat, which survived to a height of four tiers and dilapidated residential towers. Administratively enters the rural settlement of Guli.

Field material was collected by officers on the spot, the preservation of monuments was examined, and photofixation was carried out.

On all objects of cultural heritage of the complex will be drawn up acts of technical condition and sent to higher organizations.

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The self-name of the Ingush “GIalgiai”, according to some researchers, is etymologized as a “builder”, “resident of towers”. This is confirmed by the ethnogenetic traditions of neighboring peoples, as well as the design features of architecture that emphasize the unity of their origin. Famous Caucasian scholars E.I. Krupnov, I.V. Shcheblykin, V.I. Morkovin believe that the ancestors of tower construction in the mountainous zone covering the territories of modern Ingushetia, Chechnya, North Ossetia and the mountainous part of Eastern Georgia are the Ingush ancestors.

The Ingushes called people who knew how to skillfully handle the stone, “togovzanche”, (literally, “knowing the tricks of the stone”). The secrets of construction skills were carefully stored in families and passed down from generation to generation. The builders had a special status in Ingush society, they did not fall even under blood feud, as they were considered especially significant for society people (mehknah). Building towers required high skill, experience, knowledge and technical skills.

Recognized and famous master builders of the Middle Ages were Yand from the villages. Erzi, Dugo Akhriev, Dyatsi Lyanov and Khazbi Tsurov from villages. Furtog, Baki Barkhanoev from the villages. Barkhane, Erda Dudarov from the villages. Upper Huli, Arsamak Evloev from the villages. Yovli, Hing Haniyev from the villages. Khani, Tet-Batyk Eldiyev from the villages. Targim, Barkinhoevs from the villages. Upper, Middle and Lower Ozdik.

The works of these masters amaze with their monumentality even now.

Among scientists there is no unity in the question of their dating, but presumably these architectural structures are attributed to the XIII-XIV centuries. The well-known Caucasian expert E.I. Krupnov wrote: “Ingush battle towers are in a true sense the pinnacle of architectural and construction skills of the ancient population of the region, they amaze with the simplicity of form, monumentality and strictness of the city.

grace. Battle towers of Ingushetia - high samples of engineering and construction art of that time

Various legends remained about the construction of many family towers, which are recorded in Ingush legends and legends. So, there is a legend about the construction of the tower, which was photographed in different angles by Yuri Karpov in 1989. Ingush legend says that Chur and his four sons lived in Jerakh. The brothers agreed to build a battle tower. They laid the cup and began to build the tower. The builder they hired was from Galgayev. He agreed to build a tower for sixty bulls and cows, who were three or four years old. The master built the tower,

He placed a final castle stone over her and said that he would not come down until he was given another cow over and above the agreed payment.

His request was granted, for if he had been kept on the tower for a long time, he might have weakened, fallen and broken. According to custom, in such cases, the owners were responsible for the deceased during construction and could be subjected to blood feud. Having received consent, the master demanded that everyone move to the other side of the gorge, and on this side left the cows laid for his work. The Master’s request was fulfilled and allowed him to leave in peace. It should be noted that only strong Ingush families had their own towers, so their construction was treated with all responsibility.

The construction of the tower had to be completed within one year, otherwise the clan was considered weak and lost respect in society.

Rich tower architecture of mountain Ingushetia and monuments of the pagan period. The sanctuary of Myattsili is located on top of the table mountain in the south of Ingushetia, at an altitude of 3000 m above sea level.

The sanctuary was erected in honor of the god of fertility, great abundance, prosperity and justice Mat-tsel.

In mountain Ingushetia there are many crypts, and this is not surprising. The ancestors of the Ingush said: “A man needs a tower in life, and after death a crypt.” All Ingush families had their own battle towers and crypts. In the crypts, only representatives of a kind were buried, strangers were taken to where they lived. The burial in the crypts was made approximately until the middle of the XIX century. Known crypts of various types - underground, semi-underground and ground.

Traditions of stone processing are still alive today. In each village of the flat part of Ingushetia you can see houses and fences built of rock by masters of stone architecture.

The Ingush people carefully preserve the unique monuments of Ingush architecture, using in whole or in part some elements of the decoration and composition of the material culture of their ancestors.

(From scientific publication M.S.-G. Albogachieva, M.T. Bezhitashvili)

"Tower Architecture of Mountain Ingushetia" (based on materials of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Museum of Georgia)

In the course of the ongoing work on fixing and accounting of cultural heritage objects of mountain Ingushetia, employees of the Dzheyrakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve together with specialists of complex architectural and restoration projects of the ASM GROUP carried out work on the architectural complexes "Salgi" and "Khairakh".

Inventory OKN is one of the necessary components of a comprehensive study of monuments. In most cases, it is necessary to state that information about historical and cultural objects is fragmentary. Therefore, it is important that when developing project documentation and program documents on cultural heritage, it is provided for obtaining systematic information about what the object of management is and how to organize its monitoring.

As a result of the events held in Salgi, 108 OKNs were recorded - these are 2 combat, 2 semi-combat towers, 17 residential towers, 10 crypts, 1 sanctuary, 61 funerary steles.

In Khairakh, 1 battle and 13 residential towers, 5 crypts, 48 steles and ruined objects were recorded and recorded. A total of 73 OKNs are in emergency and ruined condition.

The document reflecting the field information collected is the “Act of inspection of the technical condition of the OKN”.

The partners of the project are SAFMAR and Revival charitable foundations.

These days, during the next round, the inspector of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve on the territory of the Tsori tower complex discovered a previously unknown underground chamber structure made of stone, presumably, an ancient underground crypt.

The underground structure was discovered near two above-ground crypt tombs located near the roadway. A small rectangular-shaped hole was covered with a large boulder, pushing away which the worker found the entrance hole of an underground stone crypt, with preserved bone remains inside.

We remind you that in mountainous Ingushetia, together with the specialists of the ASM GROUP, work is being carried out on the inventory of cultural heritage objects, to identify their actual presence and ensure their safety.

The discovered object, after carrying out the relevant works, will be included in the list of identified objects of cultural heritage of the republic.

Before scanning the monuments of architecture and culture of Ingushetia, specialists of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve and ASM Group carefully identify all historical objects, including crypts and stone steles, fixing them with flags with individual numbers. The main task of the project is to identify everything without missing anything.

The project partners are SAFMAR and Revival Charitable Foundations.

These days, employees of the Dzheyrah-Assinsky Museum-Reserve made an inspection trip to Sredny Ozdik.

In 300-400 m south-west of the complex, in the forest there is an unaccounted small town of ground, underground and semi-underground crypts, according to preliminary information, numbering 22 objects. At the next stage, employees will make measurements, photofixation and inventory of these objects to ensure their safety and integrity. They are also subject to further research involving employees of competent institutions.

A unique monument in the mountains of Ingushetia, preserved in its original form - Dzaurkyongi-Jel. It is located 2 km north of the village of Upper Guli. The tower has three tiers. It is amazing that the roof of the tower is a huge boulder to which it is attached.

According to the legend that has reached our days, it was built by a skilled master architect from representatives of the teip Dzaurovs. He built the first and second floors for the sheep, and the third floor for the shepherd who looked after them. On the second floor sheep were driven by tramp. Around this tower were pastures, during the day he herded sheep, and in the evening, in order not to drive her home, he drove her into this sheepdog.

The building has two entrance openings on the first and second tier, and on the third floor there are small rectangular holes, which may have served for ventilation, or for observation.

Wooden floors, with the help of which the separation of tiers was ensured, have not survived to our days.

The monument has maintained a good condition due to the fact that it is attached to the rock, which provides it with a protective function. It is located within the boundaries of the Jeirakh-Assin State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve. Subject to state protection.

These days, during the monitoring of the tower complexes, the staff of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve conducted field work on measurements, photofixation and description of cultural heritage objects that are not in the list of identified cultural heritage objects.

Three unrecorded river mills are located along the riverbed, in the southern part of the "Sredneye Ozdik" and in the eastern parts of the complexes "Meller", "Upper Guli". At the base of the last object, an arched stone of the entrance opening was preserved. The buildings have a rounded shape, the state is ruined.

The results of the work will be presented to the Committee for State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of the Republic for further response measures.

As part of the growing Program to identify all historical buildings on the territory of Ingushetia, the specialists of the Dzheyrakh-Assinsky State Museum-Reserve together with the restorers of ASM Group examined two medieval complexes - Lower and Upper Garakh in the gorges of the Dzheyrakh district.

During the survey, 1 combat and 3 semi-combat towers, 27 residential towers and 7 crypts, 1 stone spring and 78 steles were identified. In addition, numerous ruins were discovered, as well as cyclopean buildings. Almost all facilities are in emergency condition.

On May 15, acting director of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve Sampiev A.A., on behalf of the head of the State Protection Committee of the OKN of the Republic Kodzoev T.U., together with the head of the Kazyat Charity Fund, representative of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia Akkaziev R.Y., in order to monitor the technical condition, visited the Borg-Kash mausoleum - one of the earliest surviving Muslim monuments in the North Caucasus and the oldest in Ingushetia.

The monument is located on the north-western outskirts of the rural settlement of Pliyevo, Nazran district of the Republic of Ingushetia, on the banks of Sunzha, which is a spur of the Sunzha Range. Height above sea level - 652 m.

The mausoleum is a white stone structure 5.5 meters long, 4 meters wide and 3.2 meters high. It has a rectangular base and a semicircular dome. On the south side is a pointed arch, crowning a low entrance, above which are three plates with Arabic inscriptions. They report that the mausoleum was built in 808 Hijra (which corresponds to 29 June 1405-17 June 1406) for the burial of a certain “Bek-Sultan son of Hudaynad”.

Borga-Kash is a monument of history and culture of all-Russian significance and is protected by the state. At different times he was studied by Semyonov L.P., Shcheblykin I.P., Lavrov L.I., etc.

The head of the charitable fund, in turn, expressed his desire to provide all possible assistance and take direct part in the work on its preservation.

Today Ingushetia celebrates the Day of the Ingush Tower.

The decree on the establishment of this holiday was signed by the Head of the Republic of Ingushetia Mahmud-Ali Maksharipovich Kalimatov on July 9, 2021.

The holiday is celebrated in the Republic of Ingushetia, starting from 2022 annually on the third Saturday of May. It is symbolic that this year, this holiday coincides with the International Museum Day, which is annually celebrated on May 18.

The day of the Ingush Tower is of great importance for our people, as the medieval towers are unique objects of history and architecture of ancient Ingushetia.

Ancient monumental residential, defensive, signal-guard and observation stone structures are scattered throughout the mountainous Ingushetia. In the perimeter of the tower complexes there are also other objects of Ingush architecture - sanctuaries and crypts.

For the local population, this holiday is very important, because it is due to the national characteristics of the people.

Given the importance of preserving historical monuments for the Ingush people, the leadership of the republic makes every possible effort to preserve stone architecture for the younger generation. Excavations of ancient ornaments are made. A school of architects was opened with practical work with restored objects.

Today, contemporaries are proud of the family towers, and many representatives of different genera are doing everything to preserve them in their original form.

Mountain Ingushetia is a place where there are historical monuments of which the people are proud. Our task is to pass on to our descendants in safety and security of our property.

In turn, the staff of the Dzheyrah-Assinsky Museum-Reserve congratulates all residents of the republic on this holiday. Our ancestors with an iron grip joined forces on the way to the construction of these towers, we wish all of us to join forces on the way to preserve these towers!

May our towers stand forever!

The study, revival, preservation and protection of the historical and cultural heritage of peoples is a priority task of the state.

Mountain Ingushetia has a huge number of architectural monuments, including religious buildings of the ancient and medieval periods, which can be called an open-air historical and ethnographic museum.

Currently, there is a tendency to preserve and restore monuments of material culture of peoples, which is manifested in the protection and restoration of cultural heritage objects.

During Soviet times, more than sixty different types of religious buildings were discovered in mountainous Ingushetia, and many of them now need restoration to preserve their historical significance.

Special attention of scientists is attracted by the temple of Thaba-Yerda, dedicated to the deity Tha, located in the center of the Galgai society between the villages of Pui and Khairakh. The Mehk Khel (public assembly) was held here every year, where important decisions were made that affected the interests of the Ingush people.

Taba Yerdy is the oldest temple in Ingushetia. The time of its foundation is considered to be the VIII century. Included in the list of cultural heritage sites of federal significance, the temple has been repeatedly restored and is currently the object of archaeological research conducted by the company "ASM Group" in partnership with OJSC "Heritage of Kuban" and specialists of the Ingush Archaeological Center named after E.I. Krupnov. Studying the territory of the ancient temple of Thaba Yerda, researchers discovered underground crypts and unknown settlements.

One of the important elements of the Ingush culture was the revered cult of ancestors, accompanied by memorial ceremonies and sacrifices in their honor. This was the main reason for the emergence of architecturally decorated sacred structures, such as temples, sanctuaries and crypts (malhara kash) – solar burial grounds, special rooms for the worship and burial of the dead, both above ground and underground. The ancestors of the Ingush said, “A man needs a tower in life, and after death a crypt.”

About twenty partially destroyed Ingush sanctuaries are located in the basin of the Assy River. They have a rectangular shape with a gable roof, similar to a normal house. Architectural analysis shows that the shape of these sanctuaries was inspired by residential buildings that have long since disappeared in the area.

In his studies, M.B. Musukhoev drew attention to the evolution of religious buildings.

It is obvious that over time, the Ingush moved from simple forms of construction of religious buildings to more complex and durable buildings. Perhaps the architectural features of the Ingush shrines differed depending on their status and purpose.

The temple (Elgatz in Ingush) was built for religious ceremonies. Sacrifice and other rituals were performed in Elgaz. Scientists note that some sanctuaries "elgits" (elgats) have similarities with "seelings", which have a gable roof.

Researcher F.M. Kostoeva claims 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 [10, pp. 20-24].

The unique ethno-cultural heritage of Ingushetia is represented by a significant number of historical and cultural monuments, including ancient religious buildings, where various rites and ceremonies were held.

As a result of ongoing research in mountain Ingushetia discovered a large number of unaccounted historical and cultural monuments, revealing the secrets of ancient customs and rituals, the study of which will reveal many mysteries.

It should be noted that the new architectural monuments testify to the presence on this territory of unexplored objects of cultural heritage, including religious buildings belonging to the early period of the history of Ingushetia, requiring special careful study and restoration.

Revealed in the mountainous part of Ingushetia religious buildings reflect the life of the peoples who inhabited the region in different historical periods. Cult monuments of mountain Ingushetia are a phenomenon of the ethnic culture of the Ingush people.

From the scientific publication Karieva F.A., Dolgieva M.B. “Historical and cultural heritage of the Ingush people and historical memory (based on materials of mountain Ingushetia)”.

Specialists of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, together with the specialists of "ASM Group" climbed one of the most inaccessible tower complexes in mountain Ingushetia - "Towers of two wives".

As a result of the works, 2 combat and 1 residential towers were marked, as well as 1 crypt and 1 stele. All towers are in an emergency condition.

Project partners - SAFMAR and Revival Charitable Foundations

Recently, an employee of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, during a planned bypass of the Erzi tower complex, in the masonry of an above-ground dilapidated crypt with an open memorial chamber located next to the core mausoleum of Yand-Kash, discovered a rectangular stone on which horizontal notches are carved in two rows, parallel to each other.

Many forms of use of cult stones existed in Ingush society. For example, often in the masonry of residential and battle towers you can see stones with holes or small cup-shaped depressions, symbolizing grace.

Researcher Tanzila Dzaurova, in his work “Ingush National Ornament” calls such a stone “calendar” and notes that they are found mainly in the crypt with a memorial chamber – “Kash-kov”. “And some of them are embedded in the masonry of a residential tower, which makes it difficult to determine their dating, because they are reused. This is evidenced by the location of stones with petroglyphs in the masonry, which, as a rule, differ from the color of the stones of the main masonry, as well as the methods of its processing.”

A number of Caucasian scientists and researchers V.N. Basilov, V.P. Kobychev, M.R. Uzhakhov, B.A. Khairov, Dzaurova T.A-Kh. and others agree that these stones served as a calendar in the past. The principle of action of these calendar stones, presumably, was based on the movement of the sun.

Similar crypts with a memorial chamber are also located on the territory of the tower complexes "Niy", "Ozdice", "Targim", "Khamhi", "Egikal", "Erzi".

Head of the State Protection Committee of the OKN RI Kodzoev T. U. and Acting Director of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve Sampiev A. A. attended a festive event at the end of the academic year in the GBOU "SOSH 8 Nazran".

Ahmadkhan Alikhanovich congratulated the graduates on their graduation, wished them to outline a goal and go to it in the most correct ways, not to forget their teachers and mentors who gave them a start in life.

And the most important thing is to love, respect your land, your republic! “May you succeed, let only good luck and great prospects await you!”