On the TV channel Magas there was a news story about the field work on fixing and accounting of all objects of cultural heritage of mountain Ingushetia, conducted by employees of the Dzhirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve together with specialists of "ASM GROUP". The start of work fell on January 2024. The program is designed for a long time, as it is aimed at identifying all towers and crypts in Ingushetia.

Yesterday, the event of the official transfer of a treasure of 16 coins to the local history museum named after Tugan Malsagov took place. Valuable finds were discovered by specialists of "ASM Group" during field work in one of the towers of the architectural complex "Tumgi" of mountain Ingushetia.

The unique treasure consists of 5 copper and 11 silver coins of the Golden Horde, relating to the middle of the XIV century, to the reign of Uzbek Khan, Haji Khan and Toktamysh Khan.

The event was attended by heads of competent organizations, representatives of the SAFMAR Foundation, researchers, ethnographers, representatives of Teip Tumgoev and others.

In my opinion, this is a very valuable find from the point of view of the history and archaeology of Ingushetia, it is a storehouse of scientific material for everyone who is interested in our history. They will be stored in the local history museum of the republic and presented to a wide circle of the population, where everyone will have the opportunity to see them firsthand, said the head of the Committee for the State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of the Republic of Ingushetia Kodzoev T.U.

Earlier, a similar find, dirham - a coin of Sultan Murad III, grandson of the famous Suleiman the Magnificent, minted in 1574-1575 . was found by archaeologists during the clearing of materials of the collapsed above-ground crypt of Tsori.

Also, in the local history museum there are transferred fragments of bas-relief stones discovered at the beginning of the year on the adjacent territory of the tower complex "Pui", and of great scientific interest.

Recently, an employee of the Dzhirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, during a planned tour, a bas-relief stone was found on the territory of the architectural complex "Keli", which, according to experts, is most likely a fragment of a stele. Such relief images specialists often found on stone steles and on clothing. Steles were used to perpetuate someone's memory or an event. As you know, our ancestors paid great attention to the spiritual life, evidence of this is a large number of preserved religious buildings.

After the study, the historical relic will be transferred to the Museum of Local History of the Republic of Ingushetia.

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Coordinator of the Agency for Industrialization of Construction, member of the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation in the field of construction, well-known in Europe and Russia solution specialist Ruslan Marzaganov conducts research on samples of ancient mortar at cultural heritage sites of mountain Ingushetia.

Last autumn, together with colleagues of the Dzhirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, about 28 samples were taken on initiative at four sites – Thab-Yerda, Albi-Yerda, Hamkhi and Qest. And at the moment, there will be studies of these samples. According to preliminary data, we can say that we have found an active mineral additive that gives strength to this solution, that is, in one way or another it is involved in different solutions. We are now trying to determine when this additive was introduced into the solution. Either it was introduced during the firing of lime, or it was introduced during the preparation of the mixture.

There are already some interesting observations, and if everything goes well, then we will start full-scale tests in the spring, in the late spring of this year, and will interact with the staff of the museum-reserve. We're going to start picking out objects that we're going to mint and make test stitches and we're going to watch them. This work is very thorough. I hope that I will be able to publish my works, similar to those I did in Germany, before this summer. There will be shown methods already tested in their work. I'm not giving a quick result because we have to study it carefully. It takes us about a year to get the first serious related findings. This work will continue because it is not only an Ingush work, but at least an all-Caucasian one. I have interaction with Georgian specialists, we will try to solve this issue in this interregional order, there are also specialists abroad who are interested in this work, but we must understand that everything that was built in the world up to the XIX century, was based on lime solutions, Marzaganov said.

On March 19, within the framework of the work plan on visual inspection of the technical condition of cultural heritage objects, acting director of the Dzhirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve A. A. Sampiev made an inspection trip to the Lyazhgi tower complex. The state of the monuments was examined, visual changes in the design were photographed.

Lyazhgi is a large castle-type tower village northwest of Olgeti and Khyamishka, east of Mellare Castle on the site between Olgeti and Eban, southeast of the district center of Jairakh, on the banks of the Armkhi River. According to folk etymology, the name Lyazhgi originated from the word "lying" - the so-called leather bag intended for storing grain. This name was given to the village because its land gave good harvests - a small piece of land collected a whole "lie" of grain.

The complex has preserved monuments of the late medieval era. At one time, five powerful castle complexes towered here, each of which had a battle tower. To date, three ensembles have been preserved in the village: Khutievs, Kharsievs and Kurskievs. The Kharsiev Tower is the first restored battle tower in modern Ingushetia. The battle tower of the Khutievs, located in the upper part of the village, has been preserved in its original form, it is the tallest and slender of all the towers, with a slate step-pyramidal coating. Its feature is also the presence of a four-sided stone false vault not only on the 2nd and 6th floors, but additionally on the 3rd. This strengthened the structure of the tower and increased its defense capability.

Speaking of the other towers, they were 5-storey, with a flat roof and a parapet. Now it is not so often you can see a tower with a surviving spire.

On the south side of the village was adjacent to a high stone barrier wall of the late Middle Ages. It had wide locking gates. Near them, day and night, local guards were on duty, controlling a section of the most important trade, transport and military highway that ran here. Currently, only a few parts of the wall remain.

The complex also has residential towers and crypts of varying degrees of preservation. The water mill, located on the territory of the Lyazhginsky waterfall, was the last identified by the OKN of the complex.

Based on the results of the trip, acts of technical status will be drawn up at the OKS and sent to higher organizations.

On the left bank of Assa, opposite the Targim complex, there is a dilapidated large pagan temple of Albi-Yerda. According to radiocarbon research, the monument was built between 668 and 974, making it one of the oldest temples in the North Caucasus. The temple has the structure of a three-church basilica common in Georgian Christian architecture. An oblong quadrangular room (14x8 m) surrounds the gallery with side aisles on three sides.

Albi-Yerdy was first examined by V. F. Miller, his brief description and plan are preserved. “It is a small rectangle structure with a length not exceeding 13 steps and a width of 8 steps. The roof collapsed long ago and covered the inside of the building. On the east side inside there are traces of the altar absid and a window with a semicircular vault, in the south wall there are 2 windows and between them a low and wide door; on the west side there is a window high, the north wall is deaf.

Albi-Yerdy was examined by L. P. Semenov and I. P. Shcheblykin, V. I. Markovin, M. B. Musukhoev. In 1990, M. B. Muzhukhoev during excavations it was discovered that Albi-Yerdy, like Thab-Yerdy, had aisles from the south and north. The southern aisle had its own altar, with the floor level raised by one step and the bench for sitting on both sides. The chapel was connected to the central part of the opening and had a separate entrance from the west. The northern chapel also had its own altar and was connected by an opening to the central volume. There was no separate entrance.

The walls are composed of regular rows of tiles, reddish color. The roof collapsed throughout, part of the vault above the altar was preserved. From the inside, all the walls are covered with a thick, even layer of white plaster; under the last layer, in places, two more layers of older plaster of yellow and reddish colors can be observed. From the west to the building adjoined an open courtyard, also folded on a mortar and a simultaneous temple. The cladding is best preserved on the altar wall, from the outside it can be seen only in certain areas of masonry.

The walls of the building are now of varying degrees of preservation, of which the highest height from the level of the ancient floor reach transverse. The temple obviously had a gable roof. This is indicated by the remains of the cornice, traced along the longitudinal southern wall and located at a height of 3.20 m from the base. The material of the roof coating, most likely, were flattened stone slabs, which were discovered by M. B. Muzhukhoev in large numbers when clearing the blockage in the room. The fully preserved light opening in the altar (height 1.05 m) has a semicircular arched completion formed by a solid slab of well-treated gray sandstone.

The entrance to the temple is from the south side, shifted to the western wall. It has an arc-shaped top inside, laid out in the technique of a false vault of nine hewn sandstone slabs. Outside, the entrance is blocked horizontally by one large stone, which is embedded in the wall in such a way that covers the upper rounded part of the doorway. The width of the entrance is 1.03 m, the internal height is 2.10 m.

It is located within the boundaries of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve. Subject to state protection.

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These days, the staff of the Dzheyrakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, as part of the work plan for a visual inspection of the technical condition of the OKN, made an inspection trip to the architectural complex "Kashtym", located in the Tumgoy Gorge, near Galushpa.

Kashtym is a small dilapidated castle-type tower village, within the boundaries of which 12 towers, 4 crypt burial grounds and several ruined outbuildings are fixed. Residential towers in terms of rectangular, they have preserved separate different types of door and window openings, economic and defensive niches, loopholes, niches, caches, central support pillars of inter-storey floors and other structural details.

Included in the list of identified objects of cultural heritage of the Republic of Ingushetia. Subject to state protection.

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

On March 28, acting directors of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve Sampiev A.A., together with employees, under the work plan, made an inspection trip to the Old Evli tower complex.

Staryi Evli (Evloi, Tisha Iovle) is a castle-type tower village on the spur of the Tsorei-Loam mountain, on the high left bank of the Niihi River, northeast of Khairakh (right bank of the Assa River). According to the list of identified objects of cultural heritage of the republic, 15 residential towers, 10 crypts and a complex of early Muslim funerary steles are recorded in the complex. Residential towers in terms of rectangular or trapezoidal, 2-4-storey, with a flat roof and a high parapet, they have preserved diverse door and window openings.

Separately, I would like to note, a relatively well-preserved, elevated crypt with a rectangular climb and with a stepped-pyramidal roof, with a large cone-shaped stone crowning.

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

Employees of the Dzhnirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve held a Saturday on the territory of the complexes Lower Ozdik and Hamkhi - along the bed of the Assa River.

In Nizhny Ozdika, in the yard of the office space, whitewashing of seedlings and trees was made, drywood was collected. And along the bed of the river Assa was collected, attention !!️, about 20 bags of garbage! Unfortunately, we have to say that vacationers leave behind a lot of garbage. This is not what nature and our mountainous region deserve.

People, observe order, clean up your garbage, take it to specially equipped garbage sites, which are available in recreation areas.

Follow these basic rules of purity, and nature will reciprocate us.

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.