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.

Employees of the museum-reserve, during a planned roundabout, 150 meters east of the tower complex "New Evli" found an underground crypt not taken into account in the list of identified objects of cultural heritage.

New Evloy is located 0.5 km southwest of Old Evloy. Today, there are badly damaged 1 combat and 5 residential tower structures, which are united by a stone wall into a single complex.

The object identified has an almost square base - 200x230 cm, from the inside it is made of uncooked stones, on lime. The entrance to the burial ground is half covered with a stone slab, contains bone remains, safety is satisfactory.

The crypt is an above-ground, semi-underground or underground room intended for the burial of the dead, was called to life in the highlands due to the acute lack of land. They were located mainly on the slopes of the mountains. The Ingushes called the crypts "milha kash" - solar graves.

Usually the crypts are located in a group on the outskirts of the village, forming a special city of the dead, but more often they are scattered near the village in several places. They are made of unhewn stones, on lime, have a yellow lining and in each tier of laze (with sides about 0.5 m), through which the dead were dragged. The laz is covered with a wooden board or stone slab. The crypts are oriented to the cardinal points by corners or walls. The height of the crypts ranges from 3-4 to 5-6 meters, at the base the length of the sides varies from 2 to 4 meters.

Depending on the number of tiers, the manholes are located on all sides of the crypt, serving as an entrance to each tier, also small through holes that provide ventilation are often found in the walls. A drilled stone slab is often reinforced on the side of the manhole or above it; sometimes it was replaced by two stones forming a gap between them.

According to some residents, a pole with a white flag was inserted into this hole in the old days, which remained on the crypt until it decayed. Quite often on the cladding of the crypts there are prints of the hands, as is reasonably assumed, the builder of the crypt.

For the identified object - an underground crypt, to ensure its integrity and safety, an application will be submitted to the Committee of State Protection of Cultural Heritage Objects on its inclusion in the list of identified objects of cultural heritage of the republic.

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