Jeyrakh-Assin Reserve

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.

The battle tower of the architectural complex "Niy" and the collective tomb of the tower settlement "Erzi" in the 80s and now.

In Nazran, on the territory of the G1oazot Kashamash Memorial Complex, a mourning event is held dedicated to the memory of the victims of the events of autumn 1992. Head of the Committee for State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites Kodzoev Timerlan Umarovich and Acting Director of the Dzhirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve Akhmetkhan Sampiyev also take part in this event.

As you know, this place was chosen not by chance, some of the victims of the tragic events are buried here, on the territory of the complex.

This year marks the 32nd anniversary of the tragic events of the autumn of 1992, when tens of thousands of people were forced to leave their places of historical residence: many lost loved ones, property and home. Hundreds of residents of the Prigorodny district and Vladikavkaz of Ingush nationality were killed, including many children, women, and old people.

The fate of many of them is still unknown, a considerable number are considered missing.

This tragedy left a big mark on the memory of people, touched the whole people. The Ingush nation suffered irreparable damage. The problem of returning to the place of former permanent residence has not yet been solved.

Hundreds of people attended the rally, including representatives of state and municipal authorities, public organizations, deputies, heads of various institutions, religious figures and ordinary residents of the republic.

One of the most interesting objects of the tower settlement Goust is a core-shaped mausoleum, located on the south-western outskirts of the village and dating from the end of the XVII - the beginning of the XVIII centuries.

Among the old-timers of the Jeirakhov gorge, the object is called Salam-Kash (The Tomb of Salam), since, according to legend, it was erected over the grave of the heroically fallen leader of the military squad named Salam from the Akhilgovy family.

It is associated with some fragmentary and very interesting plots of Ingush heroic-historical songs "illi", as well as various legends. According to these sources, recorded by Dautova and Chakhkiev in different years, an idealized hero named Salam once lived in the tower village of Goust (no more than 250-300 years ago), who was a representative of the nascent feudalizing (primarily military) stratum of Ingush society of the late Middle Ages.

Salam is drawn in folklore sources by the leader of a small military squad, who became famous for his numerous military victories, personal courage, courage and nobility.

It is reported that usually he, capturing rich prey, allegedly shared it or sometimes gave everything to poor and large widows. He was tall, powerful, and possessed inhuman strength. But in the end, Salam heroically fell on the battlefield, not even having time to get a family.

“He was buried with great honors in a tomb specially built for him in his native village of Goust. Subsequently, in the mausoleum began to bury their dead representatives of two related surnames – Achilgov and Tsitskiev.

The monument was first described by D.Y. Chakhkiev in 1985. They note that the burial chamber of the mausoleum contained the remains of more than 50 deceased with abundant and diverse accompanying inventory. Separate burials were in wooden (sometimes richly ornamented) coffins.

On October 31, 2024, employees of the Chakh Akhriev Research Institute of Humanities and the Dzhirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, under the leadership of researcher Alikhan Akhriev, under a bilateral agreement on joint cooperation, made an expedition to the temple of Thaba-Yerda, with the aim of conducting research.

The subject of this research is the iconography and decoration of the temple and its interpretation.

“Any large project (which always includes the construction of a national facility) must have both an infrastructure and a theoretical basis. If, according to the first, everything is more or less clear (The Temple of Thab Yerda occupies an incredibly successful place - the choice of which is dictated not only by considerations of the beauty of the landscape, but also by strategic goals - the Great Silk Road, famous in ancient times, passed by it, it is located in the center of settlement of Ingush tribes and all roads lead to it), then there is no clarity with the theory. According to the theory of Ingush architecture, there is no work at all. Of course, written sources are of particular importance for understanding the theoretical foundations. In their absence (this is the case we have with Taba Erda and the tower architecture of the Ingush), iconography comes to the fore. The iconographic program of the studied Temple is very rich, but completely unexplored, notes researcher A. Akhriev.

The staff made photofixation, made a full inspection and analysis of the current state of the famous monument, made the necessary measurements.

The main purpose of the expedition, as noted earlier, was to study the decor of the Main Shrine of the Ingush people, with which it is "generously decorated ... in the form of cornices, curbs and other details made by a skilled master of soft limestone conglomerate."

“Not all of these decorations are wall cladding, which appeared after their construction (like the slabs of the ctiator composition on the western facade). Some of them are sculpted, carved, scratched on the protrusions of masonry stones, creating a constructive and architectural whole with a facade. Particular attention was drawn to the stone tiles depicting a person in the posture of addressing God (orant). Until recently, it has not been described in the literature, as well as the rest of the decor from the South Wall. For this reason, we confined ourselves to the decor from the southern facade of the Main Temple of the Ingush people.

On the southern facade of the Thaba Yerda Temple, more than a dozen elements deserve special attention. These elements, seemingly chaotic at first glance, are actually embedded in the masonry of the wall in a certain order, which suggests their relationship with each other and that reading each of these signs makes sense in a general context. The elements are horizontally arranged on two levels (belts I, II). At the bottom there are only three elements, the central of which is the entrance arch.

The upper belt of the iconographic program of the southern facade of the Temple of Taba Yerda is very informative. It includes three images on the same line, the farthest right of which - the orant is the most interesting. All three have in common the fact that they depict a person.

Here we see a schematic image, remotely resembling a rider (V.I. Markovin defined it as a petroglyph in the form of a rider). On the same line with him is a quite artistic image, quite accurately conveying the idea of the author. A successful attempt to interpret these images can give an answer to the question of whether these signs are separate images that have no connection with each other or are still signs of a single text that should have been read by an ancient pilgrim who came to bow to the Temple.

We hope that the joint search and survey activities at the site can clarify this issue and result in an original interpretation of all three images from the upper tier of the southern facade, in general, a very rich iconological program of the Thaba Erda Temple.

Neither rain, nor snow, nor wind, nor heat distract the staff of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve from the intended goals. And the goal is as follows: by the end of the year to put on the state record all the cyclopean buildings of the Jeirakh district.

In connection with the planned goal, this weekend, taking advantage of favorable weather conditions, work was carried out on the Keli and Upper Keli complexes, where, according to preliminary data, at least 10 ancient buildings with barrier walls were noted.

Earlier, similar work on the accounting and fixation of cyclopean buildings was carried out in the tower settlement of Sredny Ozik, where 27 buildings and 3 barrier walls were taken into account.

As we have already noted, earlier on the state record, in the status of the identified objects of cultural heritage of the republic, there were only 14 cyclopean buildings of the architectural complex “Targim”, although, according to preliminary data, such buildings are noted in the tower complexes “Egikal”, “Khamkhi”, “Khart”, “Doshkhakle”, “Tori”, “Ozik”, “Keli”, “Kyazi” and others.

The next work is planned to be carried out at Upper Ozik and Doshkhakle.

Battle towers of the tower settlement of Khyamishki - before, after and during the restoration.

Khamishki is a medieval castle-type tower complex east of Lyazhga. Two battle towers of the complex were restored in 2012.

Employees of the Dzheyrah-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, within the framework of the work plan - supervision of restoration, conservation and emergency work on the preservation of historical and architectural objects on the territory of the museum-reserve, made an inspection trip to the tower settlement "Eban".

Eban is a village in the Jeirakh district of Ingushetia, as part of the rural settlement of Beini, located at the beginning of the Jeirakh gorge, on the steep right bank of the Armkhi River five kilometers from the Georgian Military Road. Nearby there is a turn to the center of a rural settlement - aul Beini.

The Eban tower complex was destroyed during a punitive expedition of the tsarist troops to mountain Ingushetia in 1830.

Once in this village towered military and residential towers.

Rehabilitation work is currently underway at the complex.

The working week in the Dzhirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve began with a meeting, under the leadership of acting director Sampiev A.A.

On the agenda were the issues of participation in the scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Ingush statehood, accounting of all cyclopean buildings of the Dzheyrakh district, accounting of cave-type rock objects located on Table Mountain and determining their locations.

Sampiyev A.A. stressed that a number of issues should be closed by the end of the year, given the seasonality of some of the work carried out, recalled the need for daily monitoring of tower complexes for detection of violations.

Concluding the working meeting with the employees, the head expressed hope that the employees will cope with the tasks set, and that joint participation in the conference will mark the beginning of mutually beneficial cooperation aimed at preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of the region.

On November 12, 2024, the opening of the Interregional Scientific and Practical Conference “National and State Education in the Republic of Ingushetia” took place in the village of Armkha, Dzheyrakh district of the Republic of Ingushetia.

Russia: History and Modernity, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Ingushetia.

At the interregional scientific-practical conference "National-State Education in Russia: History and Modernity", dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Ingushetia, Akhmed-Khan Sampiyev made a scientific report on the activities, successes and problems of the Dzheyrah-Assin Museum-Reserve.

Among the guests of honor at the conference "National-State Entities in Russia: History and Modernity" were: Advisor to the Head of the Republic of Ingushetia Fursov Oleg Borisovich; Minister of Culture of the Republic of Ingushetia Zalina Israilovna Lyanova; Deputy of the People's Assembly of the Republic of Ingushetia Tsoev Ahmet Khadjibikarovich.

The final stage of the conference "National-state formations in Russia: history and modernity". Climb to Erzi Tower Complex. We are among the first to rise, waiting for the rest of the group. Climbing here unprepared will seem difficult, so when you are going to visit these towers, keep this in mind. Slowly gather all the participants of the expedition, many here for the first time, Ahmed Khan takes his position, as the host party and we begin our exciting journey into the world of towers.

Participants of the interregional scientific and practical conference arrived. Malsagova Lena - a professional guide-guide of mountain Ingushetia kindly agreed to us to open unknown pages of history. The participants of the expedition listen fascinated and with genuine interest.

The conference was organized by the Government of the Republic of Ingushetia, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Ingushetia, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Ingushetia, the Ingush State University, the State Archival Service of the Republic of Ingushetia, the Geirakh-Assin Museum Reserve and the Ingush Research Institute of Humanities.

Throughout 2024, events dedicated to the anniversary of the republic are held in Ingushetia, and the conference was among these events.

On November 11-13, employees of the Jeirakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve, within the framework of the implementation of the List of instructions of the Head of the Republic of Ingushetia dated August 30, 2023, on holding a conference dedicated to the preservation and popularization of cultural heritage objects, and within the framework of a bilateral agreement between the State Research Institute named after C. Akhriev and the State University “Jeyrakh-Assinsky Museum-Reserve” on cooperation of the parties, concluded on August 29, 2024, took part in the Interregional scientific and practical conference “National-State Education in Russia”, dedicated to the history of the Republic of 100-modern education.

The conference itself was held within the framework of the Plan of main measures for the preparation and holding of the celebration in 2024 of the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Republic of Ingushetia in pursuance of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 938 “On the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Republic of Ingushetia” dated December 8, 2023.

The conference was organized by the Government of the Republic of Ingushetia, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Ingushetia, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of RI, Ingush State University, the Ingush Research Institute of Humanities named after C. Akhriev, the Dzhirakh-Assin Museum-Reserve.

The conference was attended by: the Head of the RI, deputies of the RI People’s Assembly, members of the RI Government, representatives of scientific institutions of the RAS, universities and scientific centers of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Grozny, Essentukov, Krasnodar, Karachayevsk, Nalchik, Makhachkala, Maikop, Rostov-on-Don, Stavropol, Cherkessk, Elista, Magas and other cities of Russia.

By the beginning of the conference, a collection of materials in two parts was published, which will be included in the database of the Russian Science Citation Index (RISC) and posted on the Elibrary.ru portal.

The conference was held in the following sections:

National-state autonomy in the Caucasus: Ingush Autonomous Oblast ( 1924-1934 ): political and socio-economic processes.

Multinationality of the country as a factor of its stability in confronting challenges in new and modern times.

Languages of the peoples of Russia: preservation of linguistic diversity.

Literature and folklore of the peoples of the Caucasus: historical and cultural context.

Cultural heritage of the peoples of the Caucasus: history and modernity.

At the conference, acting director A.A. Sampiev made a scientific report on the activities, successes and problems of the Jeirakh-Assin State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve.

A.A. Sampiev’s speech caused a lively discussion among those present, all participants noted the great theoretical and practical significance of the presented report.

Art gallery of the artist Gadaborshev Sultan was organized and held: “Mountain Ingushetia through the eyes of the artist Gadaborshev S.A.”, photo exhibition of Timur Agirov “Medievary architecture of mountain Ingushetia”.

On the third, final day of the conference, a tour of the Jeirakh district was held for the participants.

In conclusion, I would like to note the high professional level of this event and its important positive role in the current conditions.

Taking this opportunity, we would like to express special gratitude to all employees of the Ingush Research Institute of Humanities named after C. Akhriev represented by the head of D. E. Ozdoev, as well as to all organizers and participants of the event.

On the territory of the Tumgi complex, an underground crypt was discovered, previously not recorded.

It is worth noting that some destroyed, ruined or underground structures can only be found in winter and early spring, when there is no vegetation cover.

The above objects include, recently discovered during the inspection, north of the semi-combat tower No. 1 of the Tumgi tower complex, an underground crypt, the condition of which is visually determined as satisfactory. The object found at the base has dimensions of 2x3 m, the entrance rectangular type.

We say discovered because in the formed lists of institutions – identified objects of cultural heritage – this object is not listed.

We admit that each of those who visited this complex repeatedly passed by this crypt, unaware that it may be of any interest, and the primary task of the museum-reserve, as part of the planned work, is the fixation and accounting of such objects.

And yet, as we noted earlier, the unknownness of these crypts lies in the fact that earlier the inhabitants of this area, for religious reasons, covered them with earth, or stones covered the entrance hole in them. So, in the course of comprehensive scientific research, the specialists of ASM Group identified the construction of stone bases of residential towers and ancient crypts with anthropological artifacts, and completed the restoration of 8 objects of cultural heritage. Restoration works will affect 34 facilities of the complex.

In 800 m south-east of Tumga there is a small, little-known castle-type tower complex - Hashale, which has a relatively well-preserved 1 semi-combat, 4 residential towers, 1 crypt burial ground.

The local towers were recorded and examined by D.Y. Chakhkiev in 1980, who notes that the complex has 4 tower buildings of the late Middle Ages with various structural details and a dilapidated collective tomb.

In our material, for the first time, a description of the object composition of the complex is given.

Demi-tower No. 1 - dimensions at the base (4*6 m). The building is three-tiered, partially destroyed, the roof is missing, on the east side on the second and third tiers there are two entrances-lazes, the entrance to the first tier is collapsed. The northern side is deaf, on the western and southern sides there are holes-holes, also on the southern side there is a ruined annex with preservation of the base.

Residential tower No. 2 - dimensions at the base (7*14 m) The building is located on the hillside, destroyed and in an extremely emergency condition, the north side is collapsed, the roof is missing, on the east side there is an arched blocky entrance.

Residential tower No. 3 - dimensions at the base (4 * 7 m). Destroyed and in an extremely emergency condition, the roof is absent, on the south side an arched entrance and a manhole have been preserved, the latter is located on the left side above the entrance.

Residential tower No4 - dimensions at the base (8*4.m). Partially destroyed building, the roof is missing, on the north side is buried in the mountainside, on the west side one above the other there are two arched entrances, from the inner part of the southern wall there are niches-deepening and one through hole-laze.

Residential tower No5 - dimensions at the base (10*5 m) Destroyed and extremely emergency building, the roof is missing, the northern and eastern parts are destroyed to the ground.

Crypt burial ground No. 6 - dimensions at the base (3.30 * 3.20 m) Destroyed and extremely emergency building, located on the hillside, the roof - pyramidal step, preserved in half, the eastern and northern parts of the crypt collapsed, on the western and northern sides there are holes.

Field material. It is published in order to protect, preserve and popularize objects of cultural heritage.