Ingush towers (Ingush: гӀалгӀай гӀалаш/вӀовнаш, romanized: ghalghai ghālash/vhóvnash)[lower-alpha 1] are unique monuments of medieval Ingush architecture, which served as residential, signal and defensive stone structures, mainly situated in the Sunzhensky and Dzheyrakhsky Districts of Ingushetia.

Scientists believe that the construction of towers in the North Caucasus originated in ancient times, which is associated with the remains of megalithic cyclopean dwellings (ca. II-I millennium BC), found on the territory of the ancient Ingush villages of Targim, Khamkhi, Egikal, Doshkhakle, Kart, and others.[1] In the Middle Ages, a period of revival of the tower culture of the North Caucasus began, the phenomenon of which, according to researchers, mostly manifested in the mountains of Ingushetia, which was labeled by many as “the country of towers",[2][3][4] to the extent that in 2022 the region's tourism committee announced that the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Russia) patented the slogan "Ingushetia — Land of Towers".[5]

Many historical sites and monuments remain unexplored due to inaccessibility and various restrictions associated with the border zone. The issue of the preservation as well as the dating of the tower structures remains problematic; they range from the 13th-14th centuries up to the 15th-17th centuries.[6] Significant damage to the tower architecture of the Ingush was caused as a result of numerous punitive expeditions during the Tsardom of Russia, Russian conquest of the Caucasus, Russian Revolution, as well as the Deportation of the Ingush and Chechens from 1944 to 1957, when half of the nations historical monuments were destroyed.[7][8]

Tsori
Erzi
Pyaling
Targim
Egikal
Vovnushki
Ingush towers complexes: from top left to right: Tsori, Erzi, Pyaling, Targim, Egikal, Vovnushki.

Origins and development

Stone tower buildings existed among the ancient Ingush Koban tribes of the North Caucasus at the end of the II-I millennium BC. The remains of megalithic cyclopean buildings made of large stone slabs and blocks can be found in mountainous Ingushetia. Scientists tend to attribute cyclopean buildings made of large stones folded without mortar to very distant times, up to the Neolithic age.[9] Usually these buildings served as protective walls, erected in front of the entrance to the cave or around the dwelling. Over time, the cyclopean structures were replaced by buildings made of ordinary rock stones using a fastening mortar. Round-shaped river stones were almost never used, since they were poorly bonded to the mortar and to each other. It is very difficult to establish the dating of the beginning of such buildings: some scientists attribute it to the first centuries of our era, others - to the 8th century AD. As a result of archaeological excavations, remains of ceramics dating back to the 1st millennium BC were found at several megalithic dwellings, i.e. the period of the Koban culture.[10] Based on their layout, masonry technique and other features, cyclopean buildings have common features with later tower buildings in mountainous Ingushetia. Researchers note the continuity of the tower architecture of the Ingush, which was highly developed in the Middle Ages, from the stone construction technique that existed in the mountains of the Central Caucasus since the ancient period.[11]

The revival of the tower culture of the North Caucasus, which began during the Middle Ages, according to researchers, mostly manifested in the mountains of Ingushetia. It was here that tower construction received its greatest development in quantitative and qualitative terms. This fact, as well as the ethnogenetic traditions of the peoples living in this region and many design features of architecture, emphasizing the unity of its origin, allow a number of researchers to believe that the ancestors of tower construction in the mountainous region, covering the territories of modern Ingushetia, Chechnya, North Ossetia and the mountainous part of Eastern Georgia, were the ancestors of the Ingush.[12][13]

In the mountainous region of Ingushetia, on the territory of the modern Dzheyrakhsky District were about 150 settlements (auls). All of them consisted of complexes of stone residential towers. With rare exceptions, each of them had semi-combat and combat towers. Many villages were fortified castle complexes, which included one or more combat and semi-combat towers, united by high defensive stone walls with residential buildings.[3] The battle towers, which have strict harmonious proportions, combined with the strength of the walls, reach a thickness of about one meter at the base, and demonstrate the high level of development of medieval Ingush architecture. At the same time, they are an illustration of their era, the everyday life of which was war and the struggle for survival. The constant reflection of external aggressions, internal internecine clashes, as well as the geographical location on the pass routes from Transcaucasia to the plains of the North Caucasus. All these circumstances forced the Ingush to build strong stone houses and fortresses.[14]

Gradually experiencing an increase in population, the medieval settlement turned into a fortified castle complex, which had all the attributes of a medieval fortress; high battle towers, fortress walls, residential and outbuildings. Each such settlement was a single, self-sufficient and strong association of neighboring relatives, consisting of one or several clans (teips). All relations with the outside world were regulated through the institution of elders, whose activities were strictly regulated in accordance with popular law (adat). In their external form, these settlements resembled small "medieval cities", in which there was a unified policy, at the head of which the interests of "free and equal citizens" were put. These interests prevailed in all relations with the outside world and were limited only by the interests of neighbors - the same nearby "villages-cities". In each such settlement there was an elected elder, who was given authority by the local population. Mountain gorges, in which up to several dozen medieval settlements were grouped, were also unique "federations of towns and villages" with their own distinctive features and characteristics. As a rule, each such gorge had its own political center like a capital (principal village), which was usually also the largest settlement in the gorge, located in the most strategically advantageous area, controlling the pass routes.[15]

According to researchers, Ingush towers stand out noticeably among the towers of neighboring peoples with their grace and abundance of small architectural details, e.g., horse feeders made of stone, built into walls and fences; stone hitching posts, protruding like reels; the presence of stone canopies over the windows, etc. All this gives the Ingush towers a special picturesqueness. Another important difference between Ingush battle towers and other Caucasian towers is their significant height in relation to the base — 10:1.[16]

In 1931, Ukrainian traveler and explorer M. Kegeles wrote:

“From the ancient monuments that have been preserved here, it is obvious how talented and gifted the Ingush are. These people, who knew nothing of the alphabet, at a time when Moscow was still a village, were already building high stone towers on rocks, 26 or more meters high. We can say that the first skyscrapers did not appear in America, but here, in the Caucasus Mountains.”[17]

The famous Soviet archaeologist and historian Evgeny Krupnov in his fundamental work "Medieval Ingushetia" wrote:

The Ingush battle towers can truly be recognized as the pinnacle of architectural and constructional mastery of the ancient population of the region. They amaze with their simplicity of form, monumentality and strict elegance. <...> The Ingush towers for their time were a true miracle of human genius.[18]

Construction and mastery

The sections of an Ingush battle tower, drawn by Ivan Shcheblykin in 1928

The choice of site for the construction of tower settlements and their fortifications (combat, semi-combat towers, defensive walls, etc.) depended on a combination of several factors. A settlement, generally, was founded in the most strategically advantageous place: near a road, at a river crossing, at the entrance to a gorge, which made it possible to control communication routes. When choosing a settlement site, the natural conditions of the area and the quality of the soil were also taken into account. Settlements were never based on areas suitable for farming, since the huge shortage of such lands in the mountains forced literally every piece of land to be used for sowing, the value of which in the economy of the Ingush mountaineers was very high. For the construction of tower settlements, they usually chose the most barren areas with rocky soil, and sometimes they built them on bare rocks.[19]

In addition, safety factors from natural disasters of various kinds were also taken into account: avalanches, earthquakes, floods, landslides and others. Therefore, the Ingush tried not to build on areas that pose such a danger. Villages were founded near sources of drinking water, which, due to the numerous small rivers and springs, were not lacking. A large number of villages are located in close proximity to the main rivers of mountainous Ingushetia, Assa and Armkhi. The aesthetics and order of the tower structures were strictly observed. The construction of the Ingush tower was solemn and accompanied by various rituals. The first rows of stones were stained with the blood of the sacrificial animal. The one who employed the services of a master builder also had the responsibility of feeding the master, and he had to fully demonstrate his construction abilities. During work, the masons did not use external scaffolding; everything was done from the inside with special floorings that could rest against niches, nests for future floors and corner slabs that protrude with ribs at the corners of buildings. The battle towers were erected most carefully. Here, when it came to creating a pyramidal roof, the craftsman worked from the outside, supported by ropes. Having finished the masonry, he demanded a “descent” fee and then, at the entrance to the tower, he left an imprint of his palm on the still damp mortar, or traced its contours with a chisel on the stone.[20] There are Ingush folk songs (illi) about the construction of towers, which glorify their beauty, skill and talent of the craftsmen. One of them is called “illi about how the tower was built”.[21][22]

The construction of the Ingush tower had to be completed within a year. If it was delayed, the clan that ordered the tower was considered weak. If the built tower collapsed after some time, they also blamed, first of all, the family; meaning, due to weakness and poverty, the builders were not paid in full (in Ingushetia, which did not know class differences, the well-being of the family played the most important role). However, they preferred not to work with builders who made serious mistakes. All the architects were known by name; the construction of towers was an extremely honorable occupation. For installing the keystone crowning the roof of the battle tower, the craftsmen were generously rewarded.[23]

Ingush master builders

In medieval Ingushetia, one of the most developed areas was the construction business. If almost every highlander could extract a stone, deliver it to the construction site and even do the initial rough processing, then only a master stonecutter could give the stone the desired appearance, size, and even more so, cut the edges and corners with "jeweler’s precision". This had to be learned, this required the appropriate tools, knowledge and dexterity, which are acquired only with work experience. In the scientific literature there is some information about the existence of individual "specialties" in the construction business - stone miners, stone cutters and hired carriers.[24] The craft of a builder was even more complex and required special professional training. Assuming that the construction of not very complex residential and commercial buildings could be carried out without the participation of a professional craftsman by the residents themselves, then the construction of battle towers would require high skill, many years of experience, knowledge and technical skills.[25]

These specialists certainly include builders, "artists of stone" (Ingush: тӏоговзанча, romanized: thogovzancha), who specialized in the construction of high-quality multi-story residential buildings, various types of crypts, temples and sanctuaries. At the same time, the construction of religious buildings associated with sacred concepts for the mountaineers could be entrusted only to selected Ingush masters. For the master, such trust was a great honor, recognition by society of his professional merits and high moral and ethical qualities. Recognized and famous master builders of the Middle Ages were:

  • Yand from the village Erzi;
  • Dugo Akhriev from the village Furtoug;
  • Dyatsi Lyanov from the village Furtoug;
  • Khazbi Tsurov from the village Furtoug;
  • Baki Barkhanoev from the village Barkhanē;
  • Erda Dudarov from the village Upper Guli;
  • Arsamak Evloev from the village Yovli;
  • Khing Khaniev from the village Khyani;
  • Tet-Batyk Eldiev from the village Targim; and many others.[26]

The construction craft was sometimes the work of almost entire family brotherhoods, a kind of "professional clan". Such recognized artisans, especially in the construction of military towers (vhov), included, e.g., the Barkinkhoev family from the villages of Upper, Middle and Lower Ozig (Ozdik).[27][28] Ingush masters were also known outside Ingushetia — in Chechnya, Ossetia and Georgia.[12][29][30]

Scholars have noted the leading role of the Ingush school of architecture in the 14th-18th centuries in the area covering the territories of present-day Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia and the northern regions of Georgia.[31][32]

After exploring Ingush architecture, ethnographers Vladimir Basilov and Veniamin Kobychev concluded:

“The layering of various technical methods in Ingush buildings, from primitive to more advanced, and also genetically interconnected, convinces us that local architecture developed primarily on the basis of the accumulation of its own experience, and not affected by any external influences. The obvious continuity with the monuments of the Bronze Age makes us look for the origins of stone architecture among the Ingush in ancient times.”[33]

This was asserted by Soviet researcher Arkady Goldshtein, who proclaimed the existing evidence of the work of Ingush master builders in Ossetia, Northern Georgia and Chechnya, whilst there being no evidence that foreign masters were ever invited to build in Ingushetia.[34]

Purpose

Based on the principle of the functional purpose of Ingush monuments, archaeologist and art historian Leonid Semjonov divided them into three main groups: monuments of a defensive, religious and funerary nature.[35] Remaining mainly within the framework of this classification, professor of Archaeology Dr. Evgeny Krupnov proposed a similar typology into groups. He included monumental residential and defensive structures in the first group: residential towers (ghalash), combat towers (vhovnash), fortified castles, fortifications and defensive walls. The second group included burial structures: underground, semi-underground and above-ground stone crypts (kashamash), cave and ground burials, cists and mounds. The third group included ancient temples (e.g. Alby-Yerdy, Tkhaba-Yerdy), various kinds of pagan sanctuaries (e.g. Dyalite, Myat-Seli, Mago-Erda, Tumgoy-Erda, Kog-Erda, etc.) and roadside steles (churtash).[36]

Residential towers

The residential or family tower (Ingush: гӀала, romanized: ghāla) was a square or rectangular stone building, usually built in two or three floors, with a flat earthen roof well coated with clay. The height of the three-story tower reached an average of 10-12 meters, and the dimensions of the base varied from 5×6 to 10×12 m.[37] The walls of the tower are narrowed towards the top, which is a distinctive detail of the Ingush architecture of the Middle Ages. For example, combat or battle towers had a significant narrowing angle of the walls, reaching an average of 10-11 degrees. In the battle tower of the village of Upper Leymi, the narrowing angle of the walls reaches a record 14 degrees, which gives a special harmony to its appearance.[15]

The masonry of the walls in the residential towers, which consisted of roughly processed stone blocks, was more primitive compared to the masonry of the military towers. The task of constructing a residential building differed from a combat one, since it required the speedy completion of construction to settle a family, so such close attention was not paid to the appearance. Towers were erected everywhere in mountainous Ingushetia using lime mortar, and the top was covered with a thick layer of yellow or yellowish-white plaster, and the masonry seams were covered with mortar from the inside. This was a characteristic detail of all architectural monuments of mountainous Ingushetia; military and residential towers, crypts and sanctuaries. According to legend, milk or whey and chicken eggs were added to the lime mortar.[38]

Central support pillar (erdabhoagha) of an Ingush residential tower

The first floor of the residential tower was dedicated to a stable, in which the cattle were tied to the manger in a certain sequence. A special corner was arranged for the horse. Part of this room was fenced off; grain was stored in this corner. In some cases, the entire second floor was cleared for small livestock, where the cattle were driven along a wooden flooring arranged for this purpose. In the middle of the tower, from the very base, stood a quadrangular stone pillar (Ingush: ердабӏоагӏа, romanized: erdabhoagha), which served as a support for the main thick beams of the interfloor floors. Thinner beams ran across them, resting at one end on the stones of the opposite side protruding parallel to them. Brushwood was laid on top of the beams, onto which clay was poured and compacted.[39]

In most towers, the second floor was the main living space (Ingush: лакхера цӏа, romanized: laqera ts'a). On average, it was 40-45 m² in area, in some towers the area was quite significant: 60-70 m². The height of this floor exceeded 3-4 m. It was a spacious room containing basic household items: bedding, dishes, and utensils. A central hearth (Ingush: кхуврч, romanized: quvrch) was also built here, above which a supra-focal chain (Ingush: зӏы, romanized: z'y) descended.[40] The family spent most of their time in this room., free from work and other worries. The last floor was intended for storing food and agricultural equipment. It was also a room for resting guests, who, upon receiving them in the living quarters, were accommodated for the night in a separate upper room, where a special sleeping place was equipped for this purpose. Sometimes a balcony was added to the third floor, which had an economic purpose. Initially, a "ghala" also had a defensive significance, which is confirmed by the structural details of the architecture: protective parapets on the roof of the towers, the construction of many viewing slots and loopholes, compartments for keeping servants (prisoners of war) etc.[6]

Semi-combat towers

Researchers consider the so-called semi-combat towers to be a transitional form from residential to combat towers. They differ from residential and combat towers in that they contain elements of both. They were built on 3-4 floors. At the base, semi-combat towers are almost square and have a smaller area compared to residential ones. Their sizes range from 4,5-5 m in width to 5-5,5 m in length. Height is 12-16 m. These towers do not have a central support pillar, but have hanging machicolated balconies, like battle towers. The ceiling of the walls, like that of residential towers, is flat and made of logs. The entrance is located in the same way as for residential towers, on the ground floor. It is very rare to find semi-combat towers in which the entrance, like combat towers, is located on the second floor.[6]

Combat towers

Ingush combat towers (vhovnash) in Niÿ

The highest flowering of Ingush tower architecture is associated with the construction of the military (combat) towers (Ingush: вӀов, romanized: vhóv). The Ingush combat towers were of several types, which, as experts explain, trace the evolution of the technology for constructing defensive structures in the mountains of the North Caucasus. It is believed that combat towers appeared during the improvement of construction techniques, through the evolution of residential towers, first into semi-combat ones, then into combat towers with a flat crown and, finally, into towers with a stepped pyramidal roof.[41] At the same time, the appearance of more advanced towers did not mean the cessation of the construction of previous types; they all equally continued to be erected until the late Middle Ages.[42]

Each floor of the battle towers had its own specific functions. One of the first to try to characterize these functions was the architect Ivan Shcheblykin, who wrote: "the first floor was intended for prisoners, the second for guards and defenders, the third and fourth for defenders and family, and the fifth for observers and family."[43] The first floor served as a prison for prisoners and storage of agricultural supplies; for this purpose they were equipped with special cone-shaped stone "bags", i.e. compartments at the corners of the tower.[44] It could only be entered through a square hole from the second floor. The entrance to the tower was usually located at the level of the second floor, which also deprived potential enemies of the opportunity to use a ram. It was a vaulted doorway, closed from the inside with strong wooden shutters and locked with a wooden beam that slid into the thickness of the walls. And only some towers, located in hard-to-reach places, had an entrance on the ground floor.

The second floor served as housing in case of a siege. Above it, as well as above the upper floor, stone ceilings were built in the form of a closed (four-sided) false vault with a lancet outline. Such a ceiling, unlike a wooden one, could not be set on fire if the besiegers burst inside, and the besieged locked themselves upstairs.[45] They were also intended to enhance the seismic resistance of the tower, so, being completed with a strong stone vault that strengthened all four walls, the second floor became additional support for subsequent floors. Some battle towers (in particular, the Lyazhgi complex, built by master builder Khanoy Khing) were reinforced with an additional stone vault between the fourth and fifth floors to give them special strength. And in most cases, other vertical floors were divided by wooden floors supported by ledges and special stone cornices. Communication between floors was carried out through square confined spaces, hatches equipped in the corners of the towers, along ladders in the form of jagged logs. These passages between floors were arranged in a zigzag pattern. Starting from the second, each floor had skylights, combat niches (loopholes) and viewing slits (eyeholes). The construction of the loopholes was carried out in such a way as to cover, if possible, all approaches to the tower.[46]

At the level of the last (fifth or sixth) floor, which was the main observation point and at the same time the main combat platform, weapons were stored here: stones, bows, arrows, guns. In the middle part of each of the walls of the floor there were through door niches (embrasures). They were covered with special stone hanging balconies, i.e. machicolations (Ingush: чӏерх, romanized: ch'erkh). The upper part of the embrasure remained free for observation. Archaeologist Maksharip Muzhukhoev suggested that the choice of building one or another type of defensive tower depended on the terrain. Based on the architecture of towers with a pyramidal stepped roof, which are distinguished by the greatest defensive capability, Muzhukhoev believed that this type of tower was erected in easily accessible places, the approach to which was not naturally fortified. Such towers were built taking into account that the enemy would be able to get close to the walls of the tower. In places difficult to access, from the point of view of a possible assault, less fortified flat-roofed towers were erected.[46]

Towers with pyramidal roofs

Battle tower in Khyani

Most of the stepped-pyramid towers were built with five floors and reached a height of 20 to 25 meters, as well as six-story towers whose height ranged from 26 to 30 meters. They are the most perfect in architectural terms and, as a rule, are part of castle complexes. There were similar towers in such villages as Upper and Lower Ezmi, Pkhamat, Lower Dzheyrakh, Lyazhgi, Morchi, Erzi (village), Upper Khuli, Khyani, Doshkhakle, Upper and Lower Kart, Upper, Middle and Lower Ozig, Kiÿ, Egikal, Pŭy, Pyaling, Niÿ and others.[44]

The pyramidal-step roof of the tower, usually, consisted of thirteen slate slabs and was crowned with a large cone-shaped stone.[47] Professor Evgeny Krupnov considered towers with pyramidal roofs as "an expression of the purely individual characteristics of Ingush culture."[48]

Architect and specialist in the field of Caucasian stone architecture Arkady Goldshtein, describing the evolution of Ingush battle towers, simultaneously explains the reasons for the appearance of stone roofs on them in the form of a pyramidal-stepped covering:

In Ingushetia, as well as in neighboring territories, Chechnya and Northern Georgia, there are towers whose flat earthen roof is surrounded by a high parapet, taller than a man. It is cut in the middle of each of the four sides with a large opening, so that the parapet does not have the appearance of a wall going around the roof along the perimeter, but of separate piers forming four large teeth at the corners of the top of the tower. The defenders of the tower would hude behind these battlements, which played the role of a combat platform. Through these large openings in the parapet bows were shot down at the attackers. At the bottom of the opening there is a machicolation in the form of a balcony, fenced with stone walls and covered with slabs on top, but without a floor. Stones were thrown down through it. The defenders would shoot while resting their knee or elbow on the stone cover of the machicolation, which, protruding forward, covered the shooter. But an earthen roof requires constant maintenance. After each rain, it needs to be rubbed down with a hard broom so that it does not crack; it is periodically smeared with clay and rolled with a roller. Otherwise, it will begin to leak, the wooden beams will rot, and it may collapse. During winter, one would need to constantly clear the roof of snow, especially since it accumulates in large masses behind the parapet and blocks the exit hatch to the site. All this is inconvenient and time-consuming. Therefore, it is natural to assume that a wooden canopy was built over the flat roof of the tower, above this combat platform, for protection from precipitation. As is known, military towers were covered with wooden tents in Rus'. The high corner piers, crowning some towers in North-Eastern Caucasus in the form of four battlements, probably served as pillars supporting the canopy. If you replace a wooden tent with a stone one, you get the shape of the crown of a characteristic Vainakh battle tower. Wooden tents on military towers were replaced with more permanent ones both in Russia and Western Europe; Naturally, this could have been done in Ingushetia.[49]

Towers with flat roofs

Battle tower in Byalgan (13th century)

Flat roof towers were usually built with 4-5 floors. Their roofs were reinforced for defense with a parapet or crenellated crown. Their height varied on average from 16 (e.g. Metskhal village) to 25 m (e.g. Barkinkhoy village). Combat towers with a flat covering, ending with a high parapet (barrier), were present in the villages Furtoug, Kharpe, Lyazhgi, Falkhan, Shoani, Gadaborsh, Qost, etc. Castle complexes in the village are equipped with towers with battlements at the corners of the roof. Govzt, Metskhal, Garq, Bìsht, Nyaqaste, Biysar, Tsori and others.[50]

An example of a tower of this type is also the Byalgan combat tower. It is located on the slope of Mount Myat-Loam in the village of Byalgan. It is a 16-meter battle tower with a flat roof and a crenellated top. There are 4 more residential towers nearby. These are architectural monuments of the 9th-10th centuries, but this particular tower dates back to the 13th century.[51]

Towers built on cliffs

Tower settlement Khay

In the mountains of Ingushetia, several signal and defensive towers built on rocky ledges can be observed. The most famous is the tower complex of Vovnushki, which in 2008 became a finalist in the Seven Wonders of Russia competition.[52] Similar constructions are found in Khay and in the Assa valley of Ingushetia. Two rocky shelter towers, erected in caves on the steep mountain slope of the rocky range above the villages Metskhal and Garq. The second shelter tower is located above the first, and covered a large cave in the past. Now most of the wall has collapsed. The stone steps leading into the cave have been preserved.[53]

Ingush signaling system

Ingush villages were built close to each other, with intervals of 500 meters to a kilometer. From one village it was always possible to see the battle towers of its neighbors: the towers were also used as signal towers; in a matter of seconds, an alarm signal was transmitted over many kilometers. Almost all villages are “stuck” to the tops of hills, the slopes of gorges or the ridges of ridges. If one looks at a map of mountainous Ingushetia, one will notice that tower villages stretch in a continuous chain along the valleys of Assa, Armkhi and their tributaries.[54]

Watch towers

Although combat towers were simultaneously built for both signal and military purposes, several towers (outposts) were built solely for the purpose of alerting nearby villages of approaching danger (e.g. Ghalghai Koashke, Zem-Ghala, Kur-Ghala, Maiden tower, Pẋagalbäri, Gir-chozh castle, etc.)[55] The majority of these watchtowers were built on cliffs in mountain gorges, yet several were located at strategically important places on the plain or piedmont, like the medieval tower settlement of Zaur, from which the surrounding area was visible from a distance.[56]

Ruins of a medieval cliff tower located on the inaccessible slope of Mount Tsey-Loam along the Assa valley, 1700 meters above sea level.[57]

“Since ancient times, in the mountains of the Galgai, the people had fortified settlements spreading to present-day Khevsureti and Tusheti. Along the gorges of the rivers Terek and Assa existed stone walls called “Galgai Koashke” with watchtowers that secured the passages, the remains of which are still visible today.”

— F.I. Gorepekin[58]

Design and cultural connection

Usually at the entrance to the tower there is a handprint of the hand of the craftsman who erected the building. It was a kind of guarantee of the strength of the architect's creation, which has been confirmed by time - the towers outlived their creators for many centuries. Petroglyphs are carved on many towers. Among them are signs resembling letters, drawings in the form of crosses, spirals, swastikas, solar circles, images of household items and weapons. Family symbols were also depicted on the towers.[59]

The tower culture of Ingushetia, a vibrant legacy of ancient material culture, is unique both in the Caucasus and throughout the world. The Ingush as an ethnic group are mentally inextricably linked with their tower culture. It is believed that for many centuries the tower complexes developed among the Ingush mountaineers an aesthetic sense of beauty, a sense of caring for the house as a family sanctuary, which is one of the foundations of the Ingush code of honor — Ezdel .[60]

Puy (late 19th century)
Gveleti (1902)
Metskhal (1903)
Guli (1910)
Vovnushki (1910)
Dzheyrakh (1921)
Byalgan (early 20th century)
Ghalghai Koashke (early 20th century)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ ghālash (sing. ghāla) refer to residential towers, while vhóvnash (sing. vhóv) refer to combat towers.

References

  1. ↑ Chakhkiev 2003, p. 103.
  2. ↑ Basilov & Kobychev 1971, p. 120.
  3. 1 2 Dolgieva et al. 2013, p. 136.
  4. ↑ Tarakanova 2023, pp. 50–51.
  5. ↑ Targimov 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Dolgieva et al. 2013, p. 143.
  7. ↑ Baddeley 1908, pp. 264-265
  8. ↑ Dakhkilgov 2003.
  9. ↑ Dolgieva et al. 2013, p. 45.
  10. ↑ Dolgieva et al. 2013, p. 72.
  11. ↑ Muzhukhoev 1995, p. 42.
  12. 1 2 Shavkhelishvili 1966, p. 7.
  13. ↑ Krupnov 1971, pp. 149–150.
  14. ↑ Dolgieva et al. 2013, p. 140.
  15. 1 2 Chakhkiev 2003, pp. 132–133.
  16. ↑ Robakidze 1968, p. 65.
  17. ↑ Kegeles 1931, p. 4.
  18. ↑ Krupnov 1971, p. 71.
  19. ↑ Markovin 1975, p. 119.
  20. ↑ Markovin 1994, p. 21.
  21. ↑ Illi 1979, p. 238.
  22. ↑ "Илли о том, как построили башню". ghalghay.com (in Russian). 12 January 2010.
  23. ↑ П. Пелевин. История и традиции строительства ингушских башенных комплексов. Фонд «Азан» (2011)
  24. ↑ Khasiev 1983, p. 23.
  25. ↑ Krupnov 1971, p. 131.
  26. ↑ Mutaliev 2004, p. 47.
  27. ↑ Chakhkiev 2003, p. 126.
  28. ↑ Khasiev 1983, p. 25.
  29. ↑ Shcheblykin 1928, p. 280.
  30. ↑ Makalatiya 1940.
  31. ↑ Goldshtein 1975, p. 112.
  32. ↑ Piotrovsky 1988, p. 262: “The similarity between Ingush, Chechen, Khevsur and partly Ossetian battle towers is obviously explained by the influence of Ingushetia on its closest neighbors.”
  33. ↑ Basilov & Kobychev 1971, p. 125.
  34. ↑ Goldshtein 1975, p. 37.
  35. ↑ Semjonov 1928, p. 5.
  36. ↑ Krupnov 1971, pp. 61–62.
  37. ↑ Goldshtein 1977, p. 229.
  38. ↑ Dolgieva et al. 2013, p. 142.
  39. ↑ Muzhukhoev 1977, p. 20.
  40. ↑ Robakidze 1968, pp. 49–49.
  41. ↑ Markovin 1975, p. 121.
  42. ↑ Dolgieva et al. 2013, p. 137.
  43. ↑ Shcheblykin 1928, p. 277.
  44. 1 2 Chakhkiev 2003.
  45. ↑ Goldshtein 1977, p. 236.
  46. 1 2 Muzhukhoev 1995, p. 30.
  47. ↑ Dolgieva et al. 2013, p. 139.
  48. ↑ Krupnov 1971, pp. 55–56.
  49. ↑ Goldshtein 1977, pp. 237–238.
  50. ↑ Dolgieva et al. 2013, p. 138.
  51. ↑ "Заключение по результатам радиоуглеродного датирования" (in Russian). Archaeological Center of the Republic of Ingushetia. 8 March 2017.
  52. ↑ "Вовнушки:боевые башни Ингушетии". Это Кавказ (in Russian). 12 October 2021.
  53. ↑ Проект «Открытый Кавказ». "Скальная башня-убежище № 2 над Мецхал и Гарак" (in Russian).
  54. ↑ Проект «Открытый Кавказ». "Карта" (in Russian).
  55. ↑ Sampiev 2023, p. 223.
  56. ↑ Butkov 1837, p. 8.
  57. ↑ "Девичья башня" [Maiden tower]. «Открытый Кавказ» (in Russian).
  58. ↑ Gorepekin 2006, p. 20.
  59. ↑ Dzaurova T.A.-Kh. (2019). "Ингушский национальный орнамент. ГIалгIай къаман гIарчош»" [Ingush national ornament] (in Russian). M.: «Дзурдзуки». Историко-географическое общество Ингушетии.
  60. ↑ "The Ingush people. Broadcast in the series 'Peoples of Russia'". Vestnik Kavkaza. 2015-09-06 – via History Department of Moscow State University.

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