Jeyrakh-Assin Reserve
Jeyrakh-Assin Reserve

The Jeyrakh-Assin historical, architectural and natural museum-reserve is located within the boundaries of the Jeyrakh district of the Republic of Ingushetia on the northern slopes of the foothills of the Central part of the Greater Caucasus Range. The reserve was established on June 2, 1988. The area of the reserve is slightly more than 627 square kilometers. The activity of the reserve is aimed at ensuring the preservation, restoration and study of territorial complexes of cultural and natural heritage, material and spiritual values in their traditional historical (cultural and natural) environment. On the territory of the museum-reserve there are 122 ancient architectural complexes, including more than 2,670 objects of cultural significance, including defensive and residential towers, burial crypts, Christian and pagan sanctuaries and temples. The oldest buildings of the megalithic type belong to the middle of the second millennium BC. Every year, significant scientific discoveries are made on the territory of the reserve, new objects are identified, archaeological expeditions are constantly working, scientists from all over the world come. Since 1996, the reserve has been a candidate for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Significant value in the reserve is given to work on creating conditions for the development of organized tourism, its educational and service component.

The Erzi tower complex is one of the largest tower complexes in mountainous Ingushetia, located at the tip of the mountain ridge, 900 meters west of Kerbite.

It includes combat, semi-combat and dwelling towers, various annexes to them, as well as crypt burial grounds, a nucleus-shaped mausoleum, a temple-sanctuary, etc.

The number of storeys of towers starts from 4 and ends with 6 levels.

Erzi means eagle in Ingush.

Near the towers of the aul there is a nucleus-shaped mausoleum Yand-Kash (Yand's grave), which was built over the grave of a famous local architect named Yand, the ancestor of the Yandiyev family. There are many tales and legends about Yand.

For example, an old Ingush song - illi “About how the tower was built” sings about the work of stonemasons, one of whom is a famous architect named Yand. We will write more about it in a later piece.

Briefly, Yand-Kash was described in the works of Soviet archaeologists-ethnographers L. P. Semenov, I. P. Shcheblykin, E. I. Krupnov, who in the early twentieth century conducted archaeological research on the territory of Ingushetia, thus laying the foundation for a comprehensive study of the past of our region.

A relic of a bronze eagle was found in the mausoleum, which gave the village its name.

This relic became one of the national symbols for Ingushetia. A copy of this eagle is in the T. Malsagov Local History Museum, while the original is kept in St. Petersburg, in the State Hermitage Museum.

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