Jeyrakh-Assin Reserve

Today, as part of the All-Russian Subbotnik, employees of the Jeyrakh-Assinsk Museum-Reserve and the Committee for State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites carried out sanitary measures to clean the adjacent territory of the office building in Magas city, and a subbotnik was carried out in the mountainous area.

Employees of the institutions trimmed trees, worked to control unwanted vegetation, collected and removed garbage from the territories.

We hope that our small contribution to the common cause of improvement and cleaning of adjacent territories will improve the condition of our region.

The photos show the core-shaped mausoleum in Lower Jeyrakh in the 1940s and today. Time is one of the natural factors of destruction and deformation of monuments, including climate, water, wind, sun, soil movement and natural phenomena.

To date, 12 core-shaped mausoleums of varying degrees of preservation have been recorded in mountainous Ingushetia.

Mausoleums, unlike crypts, were built not before, but only after the death of a person and erected them, according to historians, in honor of noble, prominent people.

In these days, the staff of the museum-reserve made a round of this monument and photofixation of its current state.

These days, the staff of the museum-reserve, within the framework of the work plan for visual inspection of the technical condition of the object of cultural heritage with photo-fixation of the object of cultural heritage with visual changes in the structure, in accordance with the schedule of rounds, monitored the core-shaped mausoleum of the architectural complex “Tyarsh”.

The object has a round base and cone-shaped top with a crowning spire, located 75 meters east of the towers.

The height of the monument is 3.40 meters, on the south-western side there is a trapezoidal shaped trapdoor.

Employees of the “Archaeological Center named after E.I. Krupnov” note that the burial chamber of the mausoleum contained the remains of 9-10 deceased (partly in wooden coffins), as well as a variety of belongings. At the base of the chamber a stone box with a rectangular shape with slightly convex long sides was built on lime mortar. Its edges go under the base of the masonry walls of the mausoleum, which clearly indicates the sequence of construction of the monument. The stone box is oriented along the line NW-SE. The burial inventory allows to date it not earlier than the end of the XVII century.

The mausoleum was permanently investigated by R.A. Dautova in 1982. Restoration works were carried out on the monument.

In the course of work on the preservation and registration of cultural heritage objects of mountainous Ingushetia, the staff of the Jeyrakh-Assinsk Museum-Reserve together with specialists of complex architectural and restoration projects of ACM GROUP have revealed previously unknown cyclopean structures - constructions made of huge unhewn stone blocks of mortarless horizontal masonry, ancient stone dwellings.

Cyclopean structures are evidence of the existence of an ancient civilization that existed in Ingushetia long before written history.

It should be noted that the question of dating of cyclopean structures has been debated among scientists for many years. The problem of dating of megalithic structures is as urgent today as before.

L.P. Semenov and E.I. Krupnov, after studying the remains of megalithic buildings in the Ingush villages of Khamkhi, Egikal, Doshkhakle, concluded that these cyclopean houses - fortresses belong to the era of the Scythians, i.e. VII-V centuries BC. “when there were strong clan foundations and all buildings were erected by the efforts of numerous members of the clan”.

Two Cyclopean buildings were recorded at the Niy complex and their coordinates were determined.

Earlier, the work on revealing and accounting of cyclopean structures was carried out on tower complexes: Upper and Middle Ozik, Doshkhakle, Keli, Khart, Targim, Egikal, Tori, Barkhan.

They will subsequently be publicly recorded and mapped.

On the way from the tower settlements of Metskhal to Garakh, half a kilometer east of Falhan, there are 4 steles on the crest of the hill. This place is still called so by the people: "Di1 churt dag1ach".

Noteworthy is the fact that, despite the apparent similarity, the steles have different heights from 1 to 1.6 meters. Interestingly, one of the steles shows the remains of a carved drawing in the form of a tower and elements of ornamentation. There are also remnants of Arabic ligature.

According to legends, in the old days, the inhabitants of the surrounding villages considered this place to be fertile. Here the inhabitants of neighboring settlements used to gather for reconciliation of parties and solution of socially important issues.

A little farther from the steles, towards Metskhal, there is a lonely grave of an old woman healer from Garakh, a member of the Janiev family. It is said that despite the persuasions of her relatives to be buried in the family cemetery, she willed to be buried here, because of the grace of this place.

Monitoring of the Targim coreshaped mausoleum.

In these days, the staff of the museum-reserve, as part of the work plan, monitored the Targim core mausoleum.

According to the Ingush legends, the monument was erected over the tomb of a local warlord hero in the second half of the XVIII century. The mausoleum was first noted by L.P. Semyonov and I.P. Shcheblykin.

The mausoleum has a rounded base and a domed-stepped covering. In the upper part of the walls can be seen plaster of white-yellow color. The monument is built on lime mortar; the masonry of the walls is polygonal, the preserved height is 3.20 meters, on the southern wall there is a single rectangular shaped barred doorway.

The monument requires restoration work.

Two shelter towers are built in caves on the steep mountainside of the Rocky Range, above the Metskhal and Garak tower complexes.

One shelter tower is higher than the other, and in the past enclosed a large cave. Now most of the wall has collapsed.

The tower stands adjacent to steep cliffs, the masonry of the walls is polygonal, on which the remains of ochre paint can be seen, there is a huge niche inside, and an observation window on the preserved wall.

There is also an interesting detail - stone steps leading into the cave.

As is known, the towers had the function of shelter during enemy raids, and during punitive expeditions old men, women and children were sheltered in them.

The staff of the museum-reserve monitored the temple-sanctuary “Kog-Yerda”, located on the southern edge of the tower settlement “Kog”, which is east of “Keli”.

According to the radiocarbon analysis conducted by the archaeological center named after E.I. Krupnov of the republic. E.I. Krupnov of the Republic in 2017, this monument was built in 1441-1486 .

The sanctuary temple is a one-storey building with a rectangular base and a gable-stepped roof made of 10 slates, the thickness of the walls is 60 cm, the area at the base is about 16 square meters. m.

The southern wall is preserved 5 meters high and 3.5 meters wide. The northern wall is 2 meters high and adjoins the rock. A low vaulted doorway is in the eastern wall, near the southeastern corner, and there is a small rectangular niche above the doorway. There is a window aperture in the south wall.

The walls are covered with yellowish-ochre colored plaster on the outside and inside.

The monument is erected neatly on lime mortar. The building was actively functioning until our century.

Despite the fact that the monument has been preserved to its full height, its condition is unsatisfactory: the roof is damaged, the base is weathered, there are cracks on the walls (field material).

Doshkhakle temple-sanctuary, located in the western part of the tower settlement "Doshkhakle".

The monument was discovered, introduced into scientific turnover and subjected to archaeological excavations by M.B. Muzhukhoev in 1979-1980 , dated XIV-XV centuries.

The sanctuary is a very original building with narrow entrances, it is attached to the rock, has three chambers. On the other side of the temple was a large annex with a separate entrance. To our days only the base of this annex has been preserved.

Inside the monument there are bones and horns of sacrificial and wild animals. The walls are wide, with small caches and niches. The object is half-destroyed, the roof is not preserved.

The last monitoring of the monument by the staff of the Jeirakh-Assy Museum-Reserve was conducted by the end of April this year, during which its unsatisfactory condition was also noted.

The employees of the museum-reserve monitored the cult monument “Sampai-Chug”, which is located 200 meters southwest of the Tsurovs combat tower of the Upper Jeyrakh tower complex.

The structure is rectangular (2.90 x 2.50 meters). The structure originally had a gable-stepped (slate) roof. In the center of its front northern wall there was a vaulted doorway. The sanctuary chamber had a false vaulted construction. Arches were absent at all. In walls of a chamber small rectangular niches were observed. The cult building is erected not very neatly, on a lime mortar. The masonry of the walls is polygonal, approaching to ordinal. Archaeological clearing of the temple-sanctuary was carried out by M.B.Muzhekhoev in 1981. As a result, numerous bones and horns of sacrificial animals, arrowheads were found here. The cult building was dedicated to the patron saint of the hearth (Chakhkiev D.Y. Antiquities of mountainous Ingushetia).

The employees of the museum-reserve measured the object and made photo-fixation.

Today the temple-sanctuary is in unsatisfactory condition. The roof is not preserved. The maximum height of the preserved walls is 1.20 meters. The area at the base is 7.25 square meters. The thickness of walls from 55 to 60 cm (field material).

The medieval Olgeti temple-sanctuary “Itaz-Yerda” today. View from inside and outside.

One of the largest temples-sanctuaries of mountainous Ingushetia, is located to the south of the village of Olgeti, on the right bank of the stream of the Olgeti gorge.

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

Another temple-sanctuary in Doshkhakle (Doshkhakle's 2nd temple-sanctuary).

It is located 300 meters from the combat tower on a low hill across the mountain stream.

The length of the temple - 7 meters, width - 3.9 meters, had a gable-stepped roof.

Inside the building was divided by a slightly projecting arch into 2 parts: east and west.

The structure was built on lime mortar. The masonry of the walls is polygonal.

The monument was first discovered by L. P. Semenov and I. P. Shcheblykin, and it was excavated by M. B. Muzhukhoev in 1974.

Now the object is half-destroyed. Part of the western wall and the roof are destroyed, other walls have cracks. The condition is unsatisfactory.

Temples and sanctuaries of mountainous Ingushetia are unique monuments of ancient Ingush architecture, representing monumental religious cult stone structures, located mainly in the Jeyrakhsky district.

A small late medieval sanctuary with a square base (2.50 x 2.60 m) stands on the crest of a mountain ridge near the village of Kerbite. Earlier the building had a flattened gable-stepped roof. In the center of the front southern wall there was a vaulted doorway. In height the sanctuary reached up to two meters. On the outer side of the western wall there was a rectangular niche. The false vaulted chamber of the construction (1,80m) was covered with massive stone slabs. Two small rectangular niches were observed in the eastern wall of the chamber.

The cult structure was erected carefully, on lime mortar. The masonry of the walls is polygonal, approaching to ordinal. Yellow-white plaster was visible on the outside and inside of the walls. This monument was first noted by L.P.Semenov and I.P.Shcheblykin. Its stationary research, which revealed only bones of sacrificial domestic animals inside the building, was carried out by M.B.Muzhekhoev in 1976 (Chakhkiev D.Yu. Antiquities of mountainous Ingushetia).

The building is one-storied. The width of the southern wall is 2.50 meters. The eastern and western walls are 2.60 meters long, and the northern side is attached to the mountain slope. The thickness of the walls is 55 cm. Today the technical condition of the monument is unsatisfactory, its preservation is 50%, the roof is missing (field material).

Employees of the Jeirakh-Assin Museum-Reserve and the Committee for State Protection of Cultural Monuments conducted a subbotnik on the adjacent territories of the architectural complex “Egikal”, temples “Tkhaba-Yerdy” and “Albi-Yerdy”.

The staff collected household garbage and took it to a specially designated place, also the territory of the complexes was cleaned of deadwood.

The staff of the Jeirakh-Assinsk Museum-Reserve took part in the republican conference “Ethnographic motifs in the works of artist and local historian Khadzhi-Bekir Bachievich Akhriev”, which was held in the mountain village of “Furtoug”.

The conference was organized by the Chakh Akhriyev Ingush Research Institute of Humanities. The event was also attended by the staff of the regional branch of the Association of Anthropologists and Ethnologists of Russia, the Ingush State Museum of Local History named after T. Malsagov and M. Malsagov. T. Malsagov and the G. S. Akhriev Memorial House-Museum, as well as the staff of the regional branch of the Association of Anthropologists and Ethnologists of Russia. G. S. Akhriyev, the Committee for State Protection of OKN RI, the E. I. Krupnov Archaeological Center, the Committee on Tourism of the Republic of Ingushetia, the Memorial Complex for Victims of Repressions, “Heritage” LLC, as well as historians, researchers, public figures and others.

During the event, 20 speakers took the podium. In addition, the audience discussed creative pages from the life of Khadzhi-Bekir Akhriyev and his works in the field of history, ethnography and Ingush culture.

Fariza Karieva, head of the department of scientific propaganda, advertising and publishing activities of the museum-reserve, made a report on the mountain village of Furtoug, which covered the history, the first settlers, the origin of the name, the famous natives, expeditions, the monuments of the complex and the work carried out by the institution to preserve them.

Based on the results of the plenary and breakout sessions, it is planned to prepare and publish a collection of materials on the multifaceted work of Kh.-B. Akhriev, reprint the handwritten album “GIalgIay gIarchosh. 1924” and develop an exhibition project of ornaments, digitize paintings and ethnographic sketches of Kh.-B. Akhriev for free access on the Internet.

In addition, the conference touched upon the possibility of appealing to the Government of RI regarding the inclusion of the monument to G.S. Akhriev in the unified state register of cultural heritage objects (historical and cultural monuments) of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

300 meters northwest of the tower complex “Gadaborsh” there is a medieval building - temple-sanctuary “Dzorakh-Dyala”.

The base is rectangular. Earlier the building had a gable-stepped roof, today it has not survived. There are two doorways in the southern part of the building. In the western wall there are two triangular window openings and another through hole located near the floor. The eastern wall has a window (narrow on the outside, gradually widening inwards) and two small niches. The thickness of the walls is 60 cm.

The monument is original, first of all, for its closed separate room, the purpose of which is unknown. The large room is divided into a vestibule, a temple and an altar.

This cult structure was discovered and described by L.P. Semyonov and I.P. Shcheblykin. Archaeological clearing of its inner area by M.B. Muzhukhoev in 1976 revealed bones of sacrificial animals, arrowheads and knives in the cultural layer.

M.B. Muzhukhoev dated this monument to the XIII century. Today the preservation of the temple-sanctuary is 40%.

Today the Jeyrakh-Assin Museum-Reserve celebrates its 37th anniversary!

The Jeyrakh-Assin State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve was established on June 2, 1988.

By the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the Jeyrakh-Assin Museum-Reserve is included in the list of objects of historical and cultural heritage of federal significance.

The Jeyrakh-Assin Museum-Reserve is located in the Jeyrakh district of Ingushetia - the only mountainous region of the republic and is the largest open-air museum in Russia. On its territory there are over 4000 monuments of antiquity.

The main purpose of the museum-reserve is to protect, preserve and popularize historical and cultural monuments and architectural ensembles of the republic.

The nucleus-shaped mausoleum of “Tovhanti”, a tower estate of the same name, located opposite the “Melleri” complex, on the western slope of the mountain.

The manor consists of 1 two-storey residential tower “Zovr-g1ala”, on the eastern side of which a courtyard is attached and one core-shaped mausoleum, built in the late 18th century and located 15 meters south of the tower. In the southern part of the mausoleum, 20 cm from the ground is a window (45x55 cm).

The condition of the object is satisfactory, there is a partial destruction of the roof top, in the inner part there are traces of ceiling collapse. It has been preserved to its full height.

Mausoleum is a type of funerary structures, monumental memorial ground building.

Nowadays, a mausoleum is a monumental structure with a compartment for storing the remains of the deceased and one or more halls, often used as memorial.

Mausoleums were built not before, but after the death of a person and were erected, as a rule, in honor of major rulers, noble or outstanding, in any field, people.

Different professional level of skill of architects testifies to different periods of construction of mausoleums. It is important to note that, unlike other funerary structures in the North Caucasus, Ingush mausoleums and crypts were built without mortar, and gable and four-pitched roofs were constructed using the false vault technique.

Recently, inspectors of the Jeyrakh-Assinsk Museum-Reserve, accompanied by the head of the border post and three of its employees, made an inspection trip to the previously unrecorded tower complex “Byarch”, located 2 km southwest of the tower settlement “Nyak'ist”, in the closed border zone.

Purpose of the visit: registration, identification, measurement, photo and video recording of cultural heritage objects, as well as description and assessment of their technical condition.

Keli sanctuary is located to the north of Keli settlement and north-west of Kog village, on the southern slope of Tsei-Lam mountain. The building is one-storeyed, half destroyed, rectangular in plan, oriented on a line S-S and earlier had a gable-stepped roof. Thickness of walls 60 cm, masonry polygonal. The sanctuary was discovered and subjected to archaeological excavations by M.B.Muzhekhoev in 1980. Bones of sacrificial animals, arrowheads, earrings, beads and a bell were found inside the sanctuary.