The Kadargavan Canyon, part of the famous Kurtatinsky Gorge in North Ossetia, is an impressive natural phenomenon. Situated among alpine meadows and bright green slopes, the canyon impresses with its majestic beauty. The old peaks, shrouded in light fog, tend to the cloudy heights, and the Fiagdon River flows along the bottom, carrying its fast wat
City of the Dead (Dargavs crypt burial ground)
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The City of the Dead, also known as the Dargavs crypt burial ground, is a unique complex of above-ground and semi-underground crypts located in the village of Dargavs in North Ossetia. This complex, dating from the 14th–18th centuries, is the largest such structure in the North Caucasus.
Consisting of 95 structures, it is made of large stones connected with lime mortar. External walls are often plastered and their thickness varies from half a meter to 0.75 meters. The crypts include both semi-underground and above-ground tower-type ones.
Semi-underground crypts have a large capacity, with an internal chamber up to 8 meters in length. Inside, there was usually a wooden funeral flooring inclined towards the hole, and sometimes there were two-tiered crypts.
Tower-type crypts are multi-tiered, with wooden ceilings supported by stops built into the masonry. The facades usually have manholes leading to different levels. The roof can be gable or hipped, topped with a conical finial.
Burials in crypts were carried out in various ways: open burials without coffins, burials in boat-shaped logs, and also in wooden coffins. The crypts do not have a uniform layout and were built chaotically, with new structures added next to existing ones.
The history of the use of crypts is associated with various factors, such as land scarcity in mountainous areas, ancestor worship, religious and social customs. In the mid-19th century, burial in crypts ceased to be practiced, and burials switched to burial in coffins.
This unique complex of crypts, preserved to this day, is the object of scientific research and attracts the attention of researchers and tourists for its historical and architectural value.
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