Many Caucasian scholars of the North Caucasus, including E.I. Krupnov, I.V. Shcheblykin, V.I. Morkovin, L.P. Semenov and others have repeatedly noted 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.
To this day, the names and surnames of famous builders of towers and other monuments of medieval architecture have been preserved. So, in the Jeirakhov and Assinov gorges, such masters as Yand from the village of Erzi, Dugo Akhriev and Khazbi Tsurov from the village of Furtog were well known, the name Barkhanoev from the village of Barkhin and others.
From the mountain village of Furtog, many famous tower builders appeared in Ingushetia and abroad. At the end of the XVIII century, the builder of towers Dugo Akhriev (according to legend, buried in the crypt next to the complex), as well as other masters, Dyatsi Lyanov and Khazbi Tsurov, who built a variety of housing and defense, funerary and religious structures even in the neighboring regions of North Ossetia, Georgia and Chechnya, became especially famous.
The Ingushes called people who knew how to skillfully handle the stone, “togovzanche”, (literally, “knowing the tricks of the stone”). According to M. Albogachieva, 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.
Researcher S. Mereshkov believes that they were called (mehk-nah), they did not fall even under blood feud, since they were considered especially significant for society people. Building towers required high skill, experience, knowledge and technical skills. Recognized and famous masters-builders of the Middle Ages by the above were Erda Dudarov from 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, etc.
According to historians, the famous architect Arsmak lived in Lyalkh, who erected many high-strength, diverse stone buildings not only in Ingushetia, but also in neighboring areas of mountainous Georgia and North Ossetia. Bialgan Tower was built by a builder from the Hautiev family.
Ingush masters of tower construction kept their art secret and passed on by inheritance. They were deservedly famous for their unsurpassed skill in the construction of various types of stone buildings - Ingush architects were considered one of the best builders in the Caucasus. Neighboring nations invited them to build their own fortifications. Some scientists suggest that the similarity of traditional buildings among these peoples is due to the fact that they were erected by the Ingush.
The master builders of the towers, almost all the work on the construction of the tower was done from the inside, they did not know what external scaffolding was during this period.
“The master used only internal decking, outside he worked only in the construction of the roof. After that, he demanded a “rollover fee”.
After the completion of the construction of the tower, the master often left the imprint of his palm on a wet solution at the entrance to the tower, or circled it with a chisel. Also, the Ingush, inviting masters for the construction of the tower had to fulfill some conditions. First of all, they were responsible for his safety, then they had to feed him well, but the master builder of the tower also had to take on some obligations, including the quality of his work and timing. The construction of the tower was to be completed within a year.
