Dargavs ( os, Дæргъæвс, ''Dærğæws'') is a settlement in
Prigorodny District
Prigorodny District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia:
*Prigorodny District, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, an administrative and municipal district of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania
*Prigorodny Dist ...
of the Republic of
North Ossetia–Alania
The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; os, Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани, ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston — Alani'', ) is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. Its population acco ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, located on the
Gizeldon River
The Gizeldon (russian: Гизельдон or Гизель-Дон; os, Джызæлдон, ''Džyzældon''), is a river in North Ossetia–Alania just west of Vladikavkaz. It drains the northern slopes and glaciers of Mount Kazbek north to the Ter ...
. Dargavs was a center of the Ossetian province of
Tagauria.
City of the Dead
There is a late medieval
Ossetian necropolis
A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead".
The term usually im ...
outside the village of Dargavs called the "City of the Dead" (Город мёртвых).
[Тменов В. Х. «Город мёртвых». (Позднесредневековые склеповые сооружения Тагаурии). — Орджоникидзе: Ир, 1979. — 151 с.] It comprises 99 different tombs and crypts. Some sources say the oldest of the crypts dates back to the 12th century.
In addition to the tombs, a tower stands at the back of the burial complex.
Architecture
The crypts have ridged curved roofs which rise in step-like fashion to a pointed peak at their center. The smaller crypts have flat sides at the front and back and curve inwards on the sides while the very smallest have no roofs whatsoever.
The walls are made of stone blocks and
mortared with most likely
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
or
clay-lime. In the walls are square holes to place the dead bodies in the crypt.
On the inside of the crypts there is a pointed
groin vault
A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: L ...
complex supporting the roof, though on the smaller ones these are pointed
barrel vaults
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
.
The bigger crypts can be 2–4 stories high.
Placement and position of buildings
The placement and "plan" of the site is very similar to the necropolis at
Itum-Kali
Itum-Kale (russian: Итум-Кале, ce, Итон-Кхаьлла, ''Iton-Qälla''), also spelled as Itum-Kali (russian: Итум-Кали) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Itum-Kalinsky District, the Chechen R ...
, where the tombs and crypts are placed closely together on hills or mountainsides, although some crypts are located further apart.
At the highest point, or at least higher up than the rest of the buildings, a tower is always built to watch over the dead. The crypts climb the mountainside in a row, with some of them built into the mountainside itself.
Old traditions and burials
Archaeological excavation has shown that people of the neighboring villages often buried their family in small wooden "boats". As there are no navigable rivers nearby, it is thought that this custom was meant to enable the souls of the departed to cross a wide river which they would face after death. The dead would be buried along with some of their belongings.
The grounds near the complex are scattered with coins. Ossetians would throw a coin for a dead family member from the hill and if it hit a stone, it was believed that this indicated the soul of the deceased had reached heaven. This could also be done in the small wells that are in front of every crypt.
Myths and legends
There are several myths connected with the cemetery, one being that any man who dared to walk in would never come out alive. This is one of the reasons why the locals almost never go there.
Tourism
The place is a popular tourist destination, close to other sites of interest like the
Midagrabin Waterfalls farther south. To reach Dargavs, it takes about one hour from
Vladikavkaz
Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the North Ossetia-Alania, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Ru ...
on narrow roads across many hills.
Gallery
See also
*
Mutso
*
Shatili
Shatili ( ka, შატილი, ''Šat’ili'' ) is a historic highland village in Georgia, near the border with Chechnya. It is located on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus mountains, in the historical Georgian province of Upper Khevs ...
References
External links
Chillhour.com
Encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com
{{Authority control
Rural localities in North Ossetia–Alania
Buildings and structures in North Ossetia–Alania
Cemeteries in Russia
Tourist attractions in North Ossetia–Alania