Dolmens of the Krasnodar Territory are places of power. Dolmens on Mount Seregai. Dolmens of the Chukhukt River
Dolmen - (Celtic) “tol” - table, “men” - stone. those. "Stone Table" They belong to the culture of “megaliths” - (from Greek) “huge stones”. The carriers of this amazing culture have not been precisely identified, but the monuments they left behind are truly grandiose. The name is European for a reason; dolmens are quite widespread. One can trace an interesting sequence of their distribution. Early dolmens are found on west coast the Black Sea, then the strip of their distribution extends to Asia Minor, then the Middle East.
Palestine - North Africa - Spain - Portugal - France - Holland - northern Germany - along the Danube to the Balkans - Western Bank of the Black Sea. In this way a closed loop is traced. Apparently the carriers of the “Dolmen” culture migrated along this route. True, there are separate dolmens in Central Africa, India, and even Japan. But still, the most interesting for researchers were the dolmens of the Northwestern Caucasus. The name Stone Table was not given for nothing - the presence of a massive lid that crowns almost every dolmen makes it look like a table. Caucasian dolmens are almost all individual, although for decades archaeologists have not given up attempts to find some kind of mathematical pattern to their structure. But in the words of the famous Soviet archaeologist Markovin, a researcher of dolmens who devoted several decades of his life to them, this idea of systematizing these stone monuments is “art for art’s sake,” similar to medieval scholasticism. It is unlikely that the ancient builders suspected some of the mathematical laws that their researchers tried to fit the dolmens into. Rather, it is important to understand what their creators were trying to show by building dolmens.
Scientific research of Caucasian dolmens begins at the end of the 17th century, when the famous Russian naturalist and geographer Pallas first made detailed descriptions of these buildings he found on the Taman Peninsula. True, he somewhat downplayed their age. Pallas discovered in one of the dolmens several objects of a later date than the burial structures themselves. Therefore, he dated them to the time of Greek colonization. Later, the study of dolmens was carried out by such scientists as Tebu de Marigny, Frederic Dubois de Montpere, Felitsyn, Veselovsky and others. Since the mid-twentieth century, archaeologists Teshev, Kondryakov, Outlev, Markovin have been studying this problem. Thanks to their work, many questions regarding dolmens have now been revealed.
The distribution strip of Caucasian dolmens extends from the Taman Peninsula to Abkhazia, 480 km long. Its width varies from 30 to 75 km. Dolmens are not located haphazardly; they can usually be found along river basins and near passes. The map of the distribution of dolmens, when combined with a map of the strike of the main rocks, showed that these buildings were always located where there was material convenient for their construction. In total, according to archaeologists, there are about 2,500 dolmens in Kuban. Local buildings, despite their certain similarity with European dolmens, also have their own characteristics, for example, almost all Caucasian dolmens have a hole on the front side, usually round in shape, the diameter of which ranges from 37 to 43 cm. Apparently, Caucasian dolmens are later than European ones and this can be seen in their more regular form. According to Jessen, they date back to about 2500 BC. AD The period of construction of dolmens lasted about 900 years, after which traces of their builders disappear.
The nature of the finds made in dolmens allows us to draw two conclusions - these were burial structures because In untouched dolmens, the remains of human burials (usually bones sprinkled with red ocher) and burial goods were found. - the second conclusion is that these are undoubtedly cult buildings, as evidenced by their monumentality and astronomical orientation (some researchers conclude that the dolmen holes are directed to the place of sunset on certain days).
Despite the fact that Vladimir Ivanovich Markovin rejected attempts at mathematical systematization, he himself and his colleague Pshemaf Ulagaevich Outlev systematized dolmens into five main groups.
1. Tiled - the most common type of dolmens, about 90% of the total number of known ones. The name comes from the shape and principle of construction. It was built from five massive stone slabs (hence the name). Four slabs made up the walls, the fifth made up the ceiling. It has the shape of a truncated pyramid, the thickness of the walls is from 30 to 60 cm. With great care, V.I. Markovin, after taking careful measurements, derived the proportion of the ratio of the front, rear and equal side slabs. It turned out that the dolmen builders had a certain architectural module, i.e. a unit of measurement with which the entire structure was repaired. This module is equal to 1/10 of the front plate. The overall proportion of most of the tiled dolmens was 10 x 12 x 8 (the ratio of the front, side, and rear sides, respectively, of the dolmen's inner chamber).
The slabs are massive, hewn and are not inferior in thickness to modern artificial panels. We must not forget that there were no cranes or tractors during the era of the construction of ancient structures.
Dolmens in the full sense of the word are the creation of human hands. Historians unanimously view them as ancient monuments architecture. It is with the description of megaliths that almost all educational courses in the history of architecture begin, because works of architecture inextricably combine solutions to practically necessary utilitarian problems with purely artistic creativity. Each era has its own architecture, the images of which actively influence human consciousness and feelings. It should be added that architecture is not only a matter of construction or purely artistic creativity; it is a synthesis of both.
Famous art critic Mikhail Vladimirovich. Alpatov, studying ancient megalithic monuments as architectural structures, wrote: “One can imagine with what sense of self-esteem and creative satisfaction people looked at these monuments, who with their efforts defeated the physical resistance of the stone.” When building a dolmen, a person, in his words, “by piling up material, limits the space; For the first time, load-bearing and resting parts are clearly contrasted here; this opposition became the basis of architecture." From the internal space of the dolmen, "the interior should have developed" - "The dolmens reveal the beginning of order, primarily rhythm, the beginning of which in one form or another became the basis of the artistic language of architecture." To these qualities we can add proportionality and scale, for they create a feeling of strength and grandeur. As a rule, the materials for the construction of dolmens were sandstones and quartzites. And the softer the stone, the more regular the shape of the dolmens themselves and the slabs that made them. Archaeologists have reconstructed with great certainty the technology used to build these tombs. First, a massive block of approximately suitable thickness broke off from the formation. A thin gutter about 1 cm deep was knocked out along the contour of the future slab. After 20-30 cm, along the perimeter of the future slab (along the gutter), through holes were drilled into which wooden wedges were tightly driven. After this, the gutter was watered, and after a while the wood swelled and the stone cracked. The result was a blank for a future dolmen slab.
archaeologists have found unused blanks for future slabs, and the tools with which these slabs were processed. A hole was made in the front slab. After careful cutting and fitting, the slabs were transported to the assembly site (sometimes several kilometers away, given the mountainous and forested area). Transportation apparently took place using both human and oxen traction. The slabs were transported on log rollers, alternately placing them under the moving slab (the famous Thunder Stone was transported in a similar way for the monument to Peter in St. Petersburg). The location for the construction was not chosen by chance, not far from the water (usually along the banks of rivers), and on a hill or on the slopes of mountains (usually, these are places where the sunset is clearly visible). A powerful stone foundation was laid out from two or three large stones, less often from one. For tiled dolmens, grooves were knocked out at the joints of the slabs and their installation began. First, the front and rear slabs were installed using supports, and then the side slabs were attached to them from the sides. The joints were fitted so tightly that in the surviving dolmens you couldn’t even fit a sheet of paper into them. Sometimes a temple was built around a dolmen, most likely intended for ritual sacrifices. After this, an earthen embankment was made on one of the sides of the building, and the top cover-slab was rolled over it. The hole was closed with a mushroom-shaped stone plug. Based on the fact that a dolmen usually weighs several tons, according to archaeologists, approximately 50 - 70 people took part in its construction. The dolmen did not immediately become a tomb. There are dolmens in which there have never been burials; this fact suggests that most likely the dolmen was not built for a specific person, but burial in it took place after a certain period, after its construction. All tiled dolmens have a “portal” i.e. protrude 30-40 cm beyond the junction of the front and side plates. Some scientists associate the presence of the portal with the fact that the dolmen personified the transition to the other world. And the portal could thus represent a gate. Whether this is true or not, some dolmens have such a massive portal that they had to make additional supports for it. All dolmen slabs had a trapezoidal shape in plan, and in general the tiled dolmen has the shape of a truncated pyramid, which ensures the overall strength of the structure.
Thus, the building expands towards the base and towards the “portal”.
2. The next type of dolmen - systematized by Markovin - is a composite dolmen, which is built not from five huge slabs, but from a larger number of smaller stones. Analysis of the study of these buildings showed that at first this was a necessary measure, because Large stones may have been missing and were replaced with smaller pieces.
Dolmens have been found with three monoliths at the base and one of the walls made up of several stone blocks. Later, the composite dolmen becomes an end in itself for its builders, and thanks to the greater plasticity of the architecture of these buildings, dolmens of the most unusual shapes begin to appear.
Even round in plan, although it should be noted that composite dolmens are relatively rare. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, due to their design features, they are less durable and less resistant to the elements and human barbarity. Secondly, due to the greater complexity of technology, fewer of them were built.
3. The so-called “trough-shaped” dolmens are the third type of dolmens identified by V.I. Markovin. Their very name reveals their unique features.
A dolmen chamber was hollowed out in a large block of stone, and the outer part of the stone was cut. A hole was made in the front slab. Then a lid was mounted on the resulting “trough”. Due to their more complex construction technology, these dolmens are also rare.
4. Even less common are “trough-shaped” and “composite” dolmens, which are significantly smaller than all the others. The name itself speaks about their structure - they are hollowed out in a large block. In this case, a “portal” is necessarily imitated, which indicates their later origin than tiled dolmens. They are extremely rare.
5. And finally, the fifth group includes “false portal” dolmens. Their name comes from a strange design feature. If all dolmens with a portal have a hole located on the vertical axis of symmetry, then “false portal” dolmens either have no hole at all or are located in the rear or side slabs. What explains this peculiarity of their construction, scientists have not yet undertaken to answer reliably. There are also very few of these dolmens, one might say only a few. The closest of them to Anapa is located in the valley of the river. Zhane.
Findings of primary objects placed in dolmens by their builders help archaeologists answer some historical questions regarding the bearers of this material culture. For example, despite the later period of existence of the dolmen culture. Pottery and metallurgical production was at a level lower than that of the carriers of the “Maikop” culture. Also, archaeologists have not been able to find the remains of settlements of dolmen builders, which is still unclear. Apparently this bygone civilization embodied all its achievements in these grandiose buildings, paying less attention to the everyday side of life. To this day, dolmens and their history, despite the enormous interest in them both from science and from ordinary people, remain the greatest mystery of mankind.
Dolmen culture
The culture with burial structures in the form of dolmens was widespread over a large territory of the Black Sea region - from the Taman Peninsula to the city of Ochamchiri and the Kuban River basin, occupying mainly mountainous and forest areas. The oldest dolmens in the Western Caucasus appeared in the Early Bronze Age, between 2400-2100. BC. They are monumental (megalithic) buildings made of stone slabs and blocks or carved into the rock mass. Dolmens served as tombs. Among the Adyghe and Abkhazians they are known as “ispun”, “spyun” (“houses of dwarfs”, “caves”), as well as “keunezh”, “adamra” (“ancient burial houses”). Now more than 2,200 dolmens are known in the Western Caucasus. The most common structures are tiled type, less often - monoliths carved into rocks. They are equipped with round or arched holes through which the deceased was placed in the chambers. The most ancient dolmens did not have holes. The most ancient dolmens contained from one to three dead bodies, placed crouched and densely covered with red ocher (Novoslobodskaya Tanitsa, Kizinka River basin). These were the burial places of tribal leaders. During the heyday of the dolmen culture (the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, mass graves in a sitting position appeared. Huge clusters of dolmens (“glades”) with hundreds of buildings date back to this time.
Archaeological finds from dolmens and individual settlements suggest the high culture of their builders. These were tribes engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, and in the coastal zone - marine fishing; they had excellent mastery of not only stone processing, but also metal; they knew how to sculpt durable pottery, sparsely decorated with ornaments.
Researchers believe that the shape of dolmens or their appearance in the Caucasus is explained by the distant maritime connections of the Caucasian peoples. Be that as it may, Caucasian builders did not simply borrow someone else’s practice of constructing such buildings, but put their own ingenuity into it. The era of the existence of dolmens in the Northwestern Caucasus was a time when property inequality arose, and the clan was still a strong social organization, although it had already divided its once collective economy between individual families, when construction technology reached a high level of development and the funeral cult became widespread.
The dolmen culture is usually associated with the ancient Abkhaz-Adyghe ethnic group.
Dolmens in the vicinity of Sochi are represented by tiled composite, monolithic, trough-shaped and well-shaped tombs. Let's look at each of these groups separately.
The first, most common type, recorded in many places (Lazarevskoye, Krasnoaleksandrovskoye, Tsukvadzhe, Solokhaul, Medoveevka, Krasnaya Polyana), are dolmens, which were built using four monolithic quadrangular slabs forming the walls, while the fifth slab served as a lid. Such tombs often also have a stone floor, formed by one or more slabs that underlie the front or back walls. The front wall was usually made higher and wider than the back one, due to which such a dolmen had a trapezoidal plan, and its roof had a slight slope back. The side slabs and the roof, as a rule, protrude beyond the front slab, forming a U-shaped portal, which was sometimes extended with additional slabs dug close to the ends of the side walls. The latter usually protrude from behind. From the outside, they were often supported by additional, inclined pylon slabs. In most cases, the round-shaped hole is located in the front wall of the dolmen; it was plugged with a massive stone plug. One of the dolmens on the Tsukvadzha River also has a hole in the rear, smaller slab. The sizes of the dolmens in question are different. The height of the facade slab is 2-2.5 m, the length of the side walls is 3-4 m, the thickness of the slabs ranges between 0.11 and 0.75 m.
In front of the dolmen there was a platform that apparently served for certain ritual functions associated with the next burial or commemoration of the dead. This area was sometimes surrounded by a fence made of slabs placed on edge (Lazarevskoe). Some dolmens are hidden under mound-shaped embankments or surrounded by a double cromlech-like fence (Medoveevka).
Composite dolmens are distinguished by the fact that their walls were completely or partially folded into 2-3 tiers of carefully fitted slabs. One of these horseshoe-shaped dolmens (Lazarevskoe) had only the front and cover slabs monolithic. Its side and rear walls were built from blocks stacked in two tiers. The area in front of the façade of this dolmen was surrounded by similar slabs placed on edge in one tier.
A remarkable example of a dolmen-monolith is the tomb on the Godlik River southeast of Lazarevsky (Chemitokvadzhe). A flat platform was carved out of a huge piece of sandstone rock at a height of 4 m. Overhanging it is a niche-shaped façade wall with an opening through which the main horseshoe-shaped chamber with a spherical ceiling is hollowed out. On the roof of this dolmen there is a round recess with a diameter and depth of up to 60 cm. There is only one convenient stepped approach to it from the platform in front of the facade along the end of the wall.
Trough-shaped dolmens were discovered in Krasnoaleksandrovskoye, Solokhaul, and in the upper reaches of the Laura River. The chamber of such structures is carved into a block of stone and covered with a separate slab on top. Their facade design usually corresponds to tiled tombs: portal projections imitating the ends of the side walls, a platform in front of the facade, a hole plugged with a massive plug. Sometimes the dolmen chamber was also processed from the bottom side, in which case the tomb acquired a truly trough-shaped appearance. A number of such dolmens have a false facade: in addition to the portal projections, there was also a false hole, as if plugged with a cork, while the real hole was made in the back or side walls (Thessaloniki, Solohaul).
About a dozen dolmen-shaped well-shaped tombs have been registered in the Krasnaya Polyana area. All of them are built deep in the ground from untreated flagstone in several tiers. Pebbles are marked around, outside and on the floor.
In addition to the tombs themselves, the dolmen culture includes fragments of rocks found near dolmens with holes, circles and other images carved on them that had cult significance (Solokhaul).
A special place is occupied by the Kudesten “sacrificial” stone, known among the local population as the “Circassian” stone. This is a block of sandstone, in plan it has the shape of a triangle, each side of which is about 5 meters long. In its north-eastern edge two recesses in the shape of seats are carved. Behind the seats, on the upper surface of the stone, two parallel trough-shaped depressions up to 2 m long and up to 1 m wide were made. Four holes were also knocked out here, a bowl-shaped depression with a diameter of up to 0.2 m. Next to the first block lies another of the same size. Cup-shaped depressions are also visible on its surface. In front of the blocks, the remains of a stone foundation from a building were found, which, judging by the nature of the ceramic fragments, dates back to the early Middle Ages. The relative position of the blocks and the foundation suggests that at this time the blocks no longer played any role in the life of the local population. The nature of the stone processing, individual design details and the fact of the independence of the complex of blocks from the foundation make it possible to attribute this monument not to the 16th-17th centuries, as was believed until a certain time, but to the dolmen time, when these stones undoubtedly played the role of a sanctuary.
In dolmens excavated in the vicinity of Sochi, carnelian and paste beads of cylindrical shape and imitating pendants made from the teeth of a young deer, various ceramics, stone axes, and a bronze spear tip were found. The dolmen culture also includes a series of bronze items, mainly hatchets and adzes, stored in the Sochi Museum of Local History, as well as, possibly, a sandstone human head found in the vicinity of Adler.
A settlement of this time was recorded only in the upper cultural layers of the Big Vorontsov Cave. Stone, flint, ceramic and metal items were also discovered here. Flint tools are represented by scrapers, burins, sickle inserts and pike-type hoes. Among the stone tools, we should note wedge-shaped axes with drilled holes-holes, bars and other products. Ceramic finds include flat-bottomed vessels decorated with rich incised ornaments and a spindle whorl. A bronze awl with a tetrahedral cross-section was also found here.
In the Middle Bronze Age, as before, the basis of agriculture of the local population was hoe farming, domestic cattle breeding, hunting, and various crafts designed to satisfy intra-community needs. Agriculture is illustrated by the finds of flint hoes and sickle inserts in the corresponding layers of the Great Vorontsov Cave. A horse's jaw was found in front of the entrance to one of the Solokhaul dolmens. Among the crafts, noteworthy are the production of ceramics, spinning and weaving, leather and bone processing, and metallurgical production. Stone processing technology reached a particularly high level in connection with the construction of dolmens. It is necessary to dwell on this activity of the ancient settlers in more detail.
Large (tiled, composite, monolithic, trough-shaped, horseshoe-shaped) dolmens were built in advance: during their lifetime, people prepared durable tombs for themselves and their descendants. For this purpose, a suitable place was chosen not far from the settlement. In a number of cases, the placement of dolmens near springs has been noted, and the dolmen on the Godlik River is located next to a mineral spring. An indispensable condition for choosing a place for the tomb was, of course, outcrops of sandstone and limestone. These rocks usually occur in layers, which to a certain extent facilitated work in the quarries. The slabs were probably broken out using wooden pegs driven into holes hollowed out along a contour previously drawn on the rock surface. The pegs were watered: as they swelled, they broke off slabs of the required size. The slabs were roughly processed and moved using rollers, levers and ropes, a large number of people, and possibly draft animals to the installation site. Then both sides of the facade slab and the inner surface of the remaining slabs, as well as all edges and corresponding grooves in the side and cover slabs were carefully processed. The grooves are usually round or rectangular in cross-section. This processing was carried out using adze-shaped bronze tools with rather narrow blades and small chips that left pits.
Near the dolmens, slate tiles with traces of smoothing were also found, which, as they were laid, served to polish the details of the structures.
The production of cork, which was decorated with grooves, bulges and other elements, required high art. The size and shape of slabs, holes, plugs were calculated in advance, which indicates certain mathematical knowledge: the concept of right angles, various dimensions of a square, circle, etc.
The installation of the dolmen itself probably took place as follows. First, apparently, the front and rear, and then the side slabs were installed in the grooves of the floor or in grooves specially dug for this purpose in the soil. They were brought into a vertical position using wedges, levers and ropes and supported from the outside with one or two slabs on each side. The walls, fixed in this position, must have been covered from the outside to the very top with soil and stone. Then, most likely, a covering slab was pulled along the back slope of the embankment, which was laid with grooves on the inner side on the upper ends of the walls specially cut for this purpose. In cases where the dolmen had composite walls made of poorly fitted slabs or slabs not connected by a system of grooves, which did not allow it to stand without continuous support from the outside, the embankment was left. This scheme of constructing large slab and composite dolmens using earthen embankments may be controversial, since the embankment could have been replaced by rolling logs or heaping of stones. It is possible that some kind of specific system of levers and blocks, difficult to reconstruct so far, was used here.
The technique of processing dolmen-monoliths required knowledge of several other techniques associated with cutting down rooms in solid rock. Moreover, this work was complicated by the small size of the facade hole, through which the stone was removed and the debris was removed. The construction of trough-shaped tombs was an easier task, which boiled down to openly hollowing out the burial chamber and making only one covering slab. When building horseshoe-shaped dolmens, certain knowledge of the geometric properties of the circle and the accuracy of measuring work were necessary. It was necessary to make a series of arc-shaped blocks, and then combine them on site in two or three tiers. Well-shaped tombs did not pose a difficult technical challenge at all. Here, there is no longer any need to move significant weights, except for the lid, or to work with an adze.
The construction of large dolmens, even if it was assumed that those who built them could use all the tools and techniques listed above, required the efforts of such a large team, which could only be a clan community. At the same time, it should be thought that not all members of the clan were awarded burial in dolmens, but only certain individuals chosen based on some characteristics. Thus, we can conclude that the dolmen group is, apparently, a special family cemetery, which served to a certain extent, judging by the sacrificial platforms and other attributes (bowls, depressions, solar signs, etc.) simultaneously for periodic prayers and played a kind of role temple complex. The existence of such complex system religious ideas suggests the identification of a fairly influential priestly caste. At the same time, the widespread development of the mountain zone indicates the emergence of transhumance yaylazh cattle breeding, which could not but lead to an increase in the role of the latter in the life of dolmen builders. During this period, the foundations of patriarchal relations were formed, the tribal elite was formed: leaders, elders, priests, who somehow stood out from the background of ordinary community members.
There are no patterns reflecting a ritual nature in the orientation of the dolmens. As a rule, it is directed with the facade down the slope. This is explained by the fact that the dolmen builders took into account the accumulation of soil near the walls, carried down from the slope by precipitation, and sought to keep the approach to the hole open for as long as possible. However, in some cases (trough-shaped dolmens with a false portal), a hole was noted in the rear or side walls facing up the slope. This can be explained by some religious reasons that forced the real holes to be hidden.
There is still debate about the ritual of burial in dolmens. However, in its main features this ritual is already evident in the territory under consideration. First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that in the majority of dolmens in the Sochi region, where an undisturbed layer has been preserved, the presence of only individual, mainly large, human bones was noted. This phenomenon was traced in two tiled dolmens (Krasnaya Polyana) and in a trough-shaped dolmen (Thessaloniki). The results of a study of one of the well-shaped tombs in Krasnaya Polyana are also indicative. Only large bones belonging to at least 6-7 individuals were also noted here. At the same time, there were only three fragments of skulls, and in one of the vessels there were remains of a skull bearing traces of fire. The presence of cremation features in similar tombs at Krasnaya Polyana was noted earlier. In the same tomb, 16 vessels of both very small and quite normal size were found, which also indicates a large number of burials, most likely not carried out simultaneously, but with some interruptions. At the same time, in the small well-shaped tombs of Krasnaya Polyana, in two cases single burials were noted, apparently of women lying in a crouched position on their side with their heads to the east and each having one mug vessel.
A characteristic feature of the funeral cult of the builders of Western Caucasian dolmens is the desire to isolate as tightly as possible interior space dolmens from the outside world. Amazing care in the mutual adjustment of the slabs did not allow the slightest gap. The miniature nature of the ceramics found in the dolmens was believed to be due to the fact that this vessel was intended not so much for the deceased as for his soul, which, according to the ideas of that time, was of small size. Probably, to a large extent, anxiety and fear forced the living to invent such a durable dwelling, designed to last thousands of years, for the souls of their relatives, forced them to create conditions of complete tightness for their eternal peace. Fear of death, clothed in the form of fear of the spirit, the shadow of the deceased, characterizes a certain stage in the development of human consciousness.
Reconstruction of the funeral rite in the dolmens of the Sochi region can give the following picture. The deceased was left in sacred grove near the dolmen, where after a certain time, as a result of natural transformations, only large bones remained on the site. Then they began the main ritual, in which, as one might assume, the main role belonged to the priest and his assistant.
Department of Education and Science of the Krasnodar Territory
Krasnodar College of Light Industry
On the history of Kuban
Topic: Dolmens of the Krasnodar region
Student Morozova Elena Mikhailovna
3rd year, correspondence department
specialty 2809/1
code 06 – 12
Introduction
Thousands of monuments are scattered throughout the Krasnodar Territory, which, according to historical and cultural significance stand on a par with the famous Stonehenge and are the same age as the Egyptian pyramids. These are dolmens. For several years now they have attracted the attention of hundreds of people. Most of them are followers of one of the modern religious and mystical movements, which have chosen dolmens as an object of worship. To see ancient buildings with their own eyes and touch the secrets of antiquity, pilgrims travel thousands of kilometers, traveling from the most remote corners of Russia and neighboring countries. The origin of these monuments still remains mysterious. But thanks to archaeological research recent years, we are learning more and more about those who left behind these tombs that compete with nature and time. Just as archaeologists extract ancient artifacts from the ground bit by bit, the daily life of the ancient builders, their technical capabilities and scientific knowledge, their beliefs and customs is revealed to us step by step.
1. Monuments of the past
Dolmens are megalithic tombs, unique monuments of the past, left to us by the peoples of the Caucasus. Their construction began at the turn of the 4th-3rd millennia BC. Dolmens, like guards, stand between the past, present and future, delighting us with their grandeur, which reflects the history of thousands of years.
The giant stone tombs got their name from the Breton (Celtic) tol - table, men - stone, stone table.
Dolmen culture played a significant role in the formation of the Abkhaz-Adyghe ethnic group at its early stage. Megalithic mausoleums entered the vocabulary of the languages of the peoples of the western tip of the Caucasus and their legends. The Mingrelians called dolmens “odzvale”, “sadzvale” (containers of bones), as well as “mdishkude” (houses of giants), the Abkhazians called them “adamra” (ancient burial houses). The Adygs initially used the word "keu-nezh", which has the same meaning as the Abkhazian "adamra", and in later times the term "ispyun" ("ispun", "spyun"), which is translated as the dwarf's house ("sleep") "dwarf, "une" house). According to Adyghe legends, dolmens are dwellings built by giants (“nart”, “yenizh”) for the neighboring tribe of dwarfs (“spi”, “tsang”, “tsanna”) out of generosity and pity for defenseless creatures (however, there is an option legends that claim that treacherous dwarfs tricked simple-minded giants into doing this work). Later Adyghe tales claim that the gnomes, like dashing horsemen, crossed the round hole of the dolmen’s entrance, jumping out of the cave and jumping inside it riding hares. The Russian-speaking population that appeared in the North-West Caucasus in the 19th century called dolmens “heroic huts”, “didovs” or even “devil’s huts”.
Dolmen culture is widespread in the Western Caucasus, from the Taman Peninsula to Abkhazia. It stretches 480 km in length and 30-75 km in width. By the end of 1976, 2,308 dolmens had been discovered. On the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus - 268, of which about 100 are in the Gelendzhik region, with more than 40 in the area of the villages of Pshady and Mikhailovsky Pass.
Analyzing written sources of the 19th-20th centuries, it can be noted that in the Novorossiysk-Gelendzhik region more than half of the megalithic tombs, which are the property of not only Russian but also world culture, were destroyed. The process of their loss continues. Hundreds of dolmens were destroyed during the construction of roads, quarries, housing, during logging, planning hayfields, gardens, destroyed by treasure hunters...
Dolmens brought world archaeological fame to the Western Caucasus and are included in all encyclopedias.
2. Research and classification of dolmens
The areas of distribution of dolmens in the world gravitate towards the World Ocean. Initially, dolmens from India, Palestine and a number of European countries - France (Brittany), Italy, Greece, Denmark and the Scandinavian countries - became known to European science. Dolmens are considered to belong to the Indo-European race. There is a hypothesis according to which the builders of dolmens belonged to a single nation of seafarers. According to another hypothesis, dolmen culture is characteristic of various peoples who had contacts with each other. The famous Soviet researcher of dolmens L.I. Lavrov believes that, starting from the second hypothesis, it is possible to explore the question of the sea voyages of the ancient Caucasian highlanders, who, although they borrowed, improved the technique of building dolmens. Moreover, since it is now customary to date the construction of the dolmens of the mountainous Trans-Kuban region to 2300-2000 BC, that is, to consider them the same age as the Egyptian pyramids, Lavrov considers it undeniable that there were contacts between the builders of the dolmens and the builders of the pyramids in this era. This, in his opinion, is supported by the same exceptional concern for the afterlife in both cases.
Dolmens were first discovered in the Western Caucasus by the Russian academician P. S. Pallas in 1793. Driving along the Northern Spit on the Taman Peninsula (near the village of Fontalovskaya), he met the ruins of the Tatar village of Chokrak-Koy, “...and a little further,” he adds in his report, “on a flat hill there are many graves... with large flat limestone and sandstone-slate slabs placed on edge in oblong quadrangular boxes. Their origin is not Tatar, but, perhaps, Circassian."
In 1818, the French archaeologist Tebu de Marigny discovered a group of dolmens in the Pshady River gorge. In the early 30s of the 19th century, his compatriot Dubois de Montpere and the Englishman J. Bell discovered several more dolmens between Gelendzhik and Dzhubga, as well as large dolmen groups in the upper reaches of the Abin River; about ten years later, these researchers were the first to publish sketches of the mysterious mausoleums. In the second half XIX century expeditions to dolmens were undertaken by F. S. Bumper (1865-1870), K. D. Felitsyn (1878), who went down in the history of science as the largest expert on dolmens and the discoverer of many dolmen groups in the Kuban region, V. I. Sizov (1888). The pioneer of Kuban local history, teacher of the Ekaterinodar gymnasium V. M. Sysoev, on behalf of the Moscow Archaeological Society in 1892, traveled to the area where Kuban dolmens were distributed, making one of the first attempts to determine their total number. Famous researchers P. S. Uvarov (1891) and L. Ya Apostolov (1897) wrote about dolmens. In Soviet times, many scientists studied them, among whom V.I. Markovin, who devoted 25 scientific publications and 1960-1975 to dolmens, his doctoral dissertation, monograph, and also a popular book, should be noted first; L. I. Lavrov, who in 1960 published the most complete catalog of dolmens of the North-Western Caucasus, and the famous Krasnodar archaeologist Professor N. V. Anfimov - his 1957 expedition to the dolmens of the Russian Black Sea region obtained a lot of new information about stone “birdhouses”.
The first most complete catalog of dolmens was compiled by 1960 by L.I. Lavrov (1139 dolmens). He also proposed a classification of dolmens of the Western Caucasus, which exists today with some changes. L.I. Lavrov divided the entire variety of dolmens into four main types.
1. “Ordinary” (tiled dolmen), i.e. the most common type of dolmens. It is “a quadrangular box, each side of which, as well as the roofs and often the bottom, is a separate monolithic slab.”
2. Composite dolmens - with one or more walls made of smaller slabs.
3. Trough-shaped dolmens.
4. Dolmens are monoliths.
IN AND. By 1978, Markovin compiled a catalog of dolmens in the Western Caucasus, numbering about 2308 monuments. He also compiled and published the monograph “Dolmens of the Western Caucasus”, which today is a kind of “bible” for researchers of megaliths of the Western Caucasus. Classification of dolmens according to V.I. Markovin is an expanded version of the above classification by L.I. Lavrova.
I. Tiled dolmens:
1. Structures of a quadrangular plan:
Buildings without openings;
Dolmens with portals;
Dolmens with wide portal projections;
Dolmens have a sharply trapezoidal plan.
2. Structures with a polygonal plan.
II. Composite dolmens:
1. dolmens, imitating the forms of tiled buildings and transitioning to multifaceted structures;
2. dolmens of a multifaceted and round plan;
3. dolmens of complex design;
III. Trough-shaped dolmens:
1. dolmens without a manhole;
2. trapezoidal dolmens;
3. dolmens, carved into rocks, with chambers of various shapes, decorated with portal projections or niches;
4. false portal dolmens;
5. dolmens, similar to monoliths.
IV. Dolmens are monoliths.
In the monograph by V.I. Markovin presents a preliminary diagram of the development of dolmen types and changes in the burial ritual.
A. The oldest type of dolmen buildings are tiled structures, in which the openings are manholes, and individual walls are dry-built with cobblestones. The appearance of such dolmens can be approximately dated back to 2400 BC. (according to the edition for 1997 - by 2700 BC).
Following them, dolmens of the Novosvobodnaya type appear - portal-type structures (with attached slabs at the facade). They are characterized by: an elongated chamber, rectangular and round holes, and the absence of heel stones. Dolmens are often covered with stone and earth embankments. The time of their construction is determined to be approximately 2300 BC. (as amended for 1997 – 2600 BC).
At the same time and somewhat later, dolmens with a chamber of almost square plan appeared, made of slabs of rectangular shape. Their holes are mostly round. By 2100 B.C. (according to the edition of 1997 - by 2500 BC), in the opinion of scientists, monuments of a more clear trapezoidal plan with powerful portal projections appeared, at the same time the mound of Psynako I was erected.
Almost simultaneously with the earliest tiled dolmens, trough-shaped structures without holes appeared, covered large slab. Somewhat later, the first composite dolmens appeared. These buildings, with their proportions and external design of the portal part, imitate the shapes and decor of tiled dolmens.
The described monuments were intended mainly for individual burials, less often - 2-3 dead bodies, placed in a crouched position, with a strong dusting of ocher.
Alone among the early monuments stands a multifaceted dolmen (Fars River), which, one can assume, is almost synchronous with the Novosvobodnaya tombs.
B. The heyday of dolmen culture occurred in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. (according to the edition of 1997 - at the end of the 3rd - first half of the 2nd millennium BC). At this time, tiled buildings with a trapezoidal plan and profiles with clear proportions became widespread. The trapezoidal shape gave the dolmens greater stability and made it easier to assemble the walls and build the ceilings. The holes take on various shapes (from round to arched). Carefully made heel stones appear under the dolmen slabs. Many buildings are leaned against the slopes, there is no embankment above them (sometimes they are slightly recessed into the slopes and hills).
In addition to tiled dolmens, composite and trough-shaped structures are becoming relatively widespread. Their shape and external design are directly dependent on tiled buildings. Trough-shaped dolmens are carved in huge rocks, giving them the appearance of a dolmen only from the facade, and in fragments of rocks, processing them from all sides. Probably, by the end of this period, dolmens close to monoliths appeared.
Funeral rites are changing. Already in some of the latest portal dolmens, “sessile” skeletons were discovered. Now this method of burial - placing the dead in the corners and in the center of dolmen chambers - is becoming the most common. The amount of ocher on the bones is kept to a minimum.
IN. Late period The dolmen culture dates back to the middle and beginning of the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. (according to the 1997 edition - in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC). Tiled dolmens lose their clear proportions. Probably, at this time, trough-shaped dolmens with chambers of round outlines and in the form of a jug, as well as false portal structures, appeared. Among the composite dolmens there are buildings with overhanging blocks (with a false arch), a round plan and with a facade made of individual polished stones. Towards the end of this period, dolmens - monoliths - appear. Many of the dolmens were used at this time (according to the 1997 edition - by 1400 BC) for secondary burials as a kind of ossuary. By this time, they stopped building, and the construction of dolmens stopped earlier in the territory of modern Abkhazia, and then in the Kuban region.
Some patterns can be identified in the location of dolmens on the ground. As a rule, they were built only in the forest (the only known exceptions are the dolmens discovered on the Tuzla and Fontalovsky capes of the Taman Peninsula, as well as dolmens in the vicinity of the village of Ulyap). The altitude of most dolmens ranges from 250-400 m above sea level. A striking single exception is the dolmen on the Mesetsu ridge (1029 m above sea level).
Dolmens were erected on flat areas of forest slopes, on watershed ridges, on the flat tops of low mountains (for example, the well-known dolmens on the top of Mount Nexis near Gelendzhik). With their facades (portals) they face the lower side of the slope, towards the river, always in the sunny direction (very few dolmens are known that face the north with their facade, but even in these cases there is reason to think that they are facing towards more illuminated clearing).
Some researchers who tried to determine the side of the world to which the facades of the dolmens predominantly faced came to the conclusion that the builders of these structures were guided, first of all, by the idea of best “fitting” the mausoleum into the landscape. But it seems to us that adherence to the above principles (facade towards descent, river, sun) automatically led to compliance with aesthetic criteria.
Dolmens are always confined to the river basin. Abkhaz scientists (Ts.N. Bzhaniya and others) compared the diagram of ancient cattle routes with the area of dolmens and came to the conclusion that the carriers of the dolmen culture knew how to use simple passes.
All dolmen slabs and blocks were individually fitted and fastened together using grooves. But perhaps the most surprising thing is that some buildings have real storm drainage. Material for construction was taken from quarries, which were usually located somewhere nearby. For example, in the valley of the Zhane River, stone was taken 600 m from the construction site. But distances were not such a difficult problem for Bronze Age builders. It is known that for the construction of the world famous Stonehenge, stone was delivered several tens of kilometers away. Many people believe that ordinary people cannot do this. But in practice it turned out that blocks in the range of 20-30 tons are amenable to human power - both processing and moving. At the end of the 19th century, the French experimented with whether a block of 32 tons could be dragged. About 200 people dragged him along the logs using ropes. The megalith builders could carry slabs weighing 320 tons (this is the weight of the largest European menhir - it was carved into the rock, but for some reason was never transported). The most difficult thing is to chop off a slab or block of the required size. A very interesting method was used to split the slabs. Shallow oval notches were made on the workpiece. Then they took a bronze tape 2 times longer than the depth of the notches, bent it in half and placed the fold in the hole and carefully hammered a wooden or metal wedge between the walls (strips) of the tape, alternately in each of the notches. Gradually the stone cracked exactly along the line marked by the notches. And thus, blocks of the required size were obtained.
The blanks were transported to the future construction site with the help of bulls and wooden drags. Here the stone was subjected to final processing. They did this with the help of bronze and stone tools. If one of you ever visits dolmens, take a closer look: on the surface of the carefully hewn slabs you can see traces of the work of ancient craftsmen. Long, narrow nicks were made with a bronze tool, and “pockmarks” (round ones) were made with a stone tool (a sledgehammer or a stone chipper). The chipping technique is called "picketage". The inner and outer surfaces of the dolmen chamber are usually processed using picketage.
Perhaps during construction they used length measures such as cubit, palm, etc. The construction module most likely served as the diameter of the hole in the facade wall. In that distant era, people were already familiar with mathematics, because to create such a design required the most complex mathematical calculations. Especially for dolmens that are round in plan. They are composed of small blocks arranged in several tiers, tapering from the base and forming something like a false vault. Each block in such a building represents a segment of a circle. The length of these segments had to be calculated so that in the end, during assembly, the result would be exactly what was intended. And the thought involuntarily arises whether we have the right to consider the ancient peoples primitive, standing at a lower level of mental development than you and I.
3. Dolmens of Gelendzhik
In the Gelendzhik area, 23 points with 82 dolmens were explored, of which about 50 have survived to this day.
Let's take a look at some of them that are most accessible to visit. In the saddle of the ridge between the Nexis and Dolmen mountains, village. Svetly, southeast of Gelendzhik, there are two dolmens - one tiled ("Big Aderbievsky") and a block one with ornaments on the walls ("Small Aderbievsky").
The first one is made of massive slabs of gray sandstone and has a quadrangular shape. The front slab (height 1.95 m) has a large hole with a diameter of about 46 cm. All slabs are installed on a heel stone. The side ones have grooves for joining with the front and rear plates. The front slab is 3.60 m long, 3.22 m wide at the front and 2.70 m at the rear, 0.45 m thick, sanded on the bottom and sides, and has grooves for fastening to the slabs. The side slabs have buttresses that support them, preventing the building from collapsing. The dolmen is oriented to the southwest. In 1972, archaeologist V.I. Markovin carried out excavations and discovered: three specimens of rough stone tools made of quartzite, resembling disks or scrapers, apparently used for marking; ceramics: fragment of a smoothly bent rim of a black clay vessel; a fragment of a small handle, oval in cross-section, smeared into a special hole made in the body of the vessel, which had a spherical shape, more elongated proportions; fragments of vessels with a pear-shaped body; oval-shaped bronze temple pendant, one and a half turns; a rather neatly cut piece of tubular bone with an angular cutout. Items were found in the portal part of the dolmen.
The second, composite dolmen, is located east of the tiled one when climbing Mount Dolmen. It combines the features of tiled and composite structures. Some of its stones are processed in the form of L-shaped blocks. It has a trapezoidal chamber in plan (2.23 x 2.10-1.80 m with a height of 1.60-1.40 m). The front plate is supported by grooves in the side blocks that form portal projections. It has dimensions of 2.10 x 1.20 x O.32-0.30 m and is equipped with cuts along the edges into which the ends of the L-shaped blocks fit. The round hole, 0.40 m in diameter, is located quite low. The top of the front slab was once covered with a large block. Its base rests on a wide stone, forming a platform in front of the dolmen and part of its floor. Inside, the walls were carefully processed with a tool that left wave-like marks. Its walls are covered with relief battlements and zigzag cuts. Outside, the dolmen blocks support 9 buttress stones. A ceiling made of a massive slab measuring 3.00 x 3.20 x 0.30-0.40 m around the dolmen reveals the contours of the stone tower-like structure in which it was once enclosed. Its excavations were carried out by an expedition of the Committee for the Protection and Restoration of Historical and Cultural Values (Heritage) of the Krasnodar Territory at the beginning of 2003.
The area where the dolmens are located offers a beautiful panorama. In the south is the valley of the Mezyb and Aderba rivers, flowing into the sea near the village of Divnomorskoye, in the west you can see the resort of Gelendzhik and Mount Doob. In the north, beyond the valley of the Shebs River, stretches the Main Caucasus ridge, in the east the road to the Mikhailovsky Pass winds like a snake. The tiled dolmen in the area of the village is very interesting. Wide Gap southeast of Gelendzhik, in the valley of the Shebs River, where it is located on the edge of a river cliff. Its front slab is decorated with a U-shaped ornament - two columns support a single-tier ceiling, above which there are pairs of small rounded protuberances resembling female breasts on the left and right. The round hole is decorated along the edge with a protruding border for a tighter fit of the sleeve (plug).
At the entrance to the village of Vozrozhdenie (located in the southeast of Gelendzhik), on the left side of the road there is a rural cemetery. On the hillock between it and the road stands a beautifully crafted tiled dolmen. The grooves connecting the walls are carefully processed. His condition is critical. The buttresses on both sides and the rear wall have now been lost. The front wall has cracked and fragments have been lost. This is the result of fires being lit at the entrance to the dolmen. In the modern cemetery there is another one - without a lid and interesting because on the side slab there is a protrusion for supporting the slab - a canopy over the entrance.
Next we follow the route, and we find ourselves in the valley of the Zhane River, where until 1917 there was a hunting estate of Prince A.P. Oldenburg, a relative of the Russian imperial family, a general of the Russian army, and a public figure of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. He was known as a patron of medical science, a trustee of educational institutions, and shelters.
Here, two groups of dolmens are of particular interest.
The first group consists of three dolmens located in a row, at a distance of 20 m from each other and oriented with facades with slight deviations to the southeast, that is, down the slope towards the river. Each of the dolmens was surrounded on three sides, excluding the facade part, by a turf embankment of river boulders, reaching the level of the dolmen roof. The diameter of the embankment around the central and westernmost dolmens reaches 20 m. The embankment around the easternmost dolmen is smaller - about 10-12 m in diameter.
The western dolmen of the group is a structure surrounded by an embankment, almost circular in plan, built from large sandstone blocks carefully processed and fitted to each other, to which is adjacent, to the façade, a portal structure and a paved courtyard, fenced with walls and a creped. Its façade (opening) is oriented to the south. The foundation (floor) slab was round in shape, about 3.3 m in diameter and 0.4 m thick. The walls were made of blocks in three tiers. They are given a curved shape so that when assembled they form a closed ring. The internal diameter at the floor is 2.56 m, and at the ceiling level - 2.30 m. The sizes of the blocks vary in length from 2.4 m to 1.4 m; in height - 0.65 m to 0.45 m; in thickness - from 0.4 to 0.6 m. The height of the chamber at the facade slab is 1.8 m. The diameter of the hole is 0.42 m. The floor slab has not been preserved, but according to indirect data, it could have been approximately 4.5 m long and 3.8 m wide, and covered both the chamber and the portal of the dolmen. The western and eastern walls of the portal were 2.2 m apart from each other, and its depth was 1.1 m. Five of the six blocks from it have survived. The dolmen is surrounded on three sides by an embankment with a diameter of about 20 m, which is made of river boulders and was about 1.5 m high at the time the excavations began. Four buttresses made of massive blocks are attached to the walls at an angle. In front of the façade part of the dolmen, adjacent to it, there is a wide courtyard, almost semi-circular in plan, paved with flat boulders and fragments of slabs, with an area of about 120 sq.m. it is separated from the embankment by two walls, folded in several tiers of massive and unprocessed blocks, about 5 years long. .5 m each. Smoothly curved in plan, the walls adjoin one end to the side slabs of the dolmen in the portal part, and the opposite to the semicircular in plan crepida made of obliquely laid slabs, enclosing the courtyard area in front of the facade. During the clearing of the dolmen and the courtyard in front of its facade, about 200 different finds were discovered, mainly fragments of ceramics, about 59 fragments of human bones, a small number of animal bones, a spindle whorl, a bronze spear tip, a bronze plaque with an eye, a bronze spiral piercing, a bronze bracelet , bronze temple ring, iron spear tip, flint core. The eastern dolmen is also a round building, installed on a foundation consisting of three slabs laid parallel to each other on a specially prepared leveled area. The slab under the facade of the dolmen has a segment-shaped shape, 2.9 m long, 1.7 m wide and 0.35 m thick. The slab under the back of the dolmen is also segment-shaped: length - 2.8 m, maximum width - 1.05 m, thickness - 0.35 m, central rectangular slab - length 2.9 m, width - 1 m, thickness - 0.35 m.
The walls of the dolmen are made of 18 carefully processed sandstone blocks, laid in three tiers. Their sizes range in length from 1.75 to 0.8 m, in height from 065 to 0.45 m, in thickness from 0.45 to 0.25 m. A round hole with a diameter of 0.42 m, oriented to the southeast , i.e. facade towards the descent to the Zhane River. The dolmen is covered with a slab of an elongated irregular hexagonal shape with rounded corners. Its maximum length is 2.49 m and a width of 2.42 m and a thickness of 0.40 m. The dolmen is adjoined on all sides by an embankment, the main elements of which are buttresses (a lining of large specially processed stones) and a cobblestone paving of the courtyard in front of the façade of the dolmen.
The area (yard) in front of the dolmen was from 1.8 m wide to 5.5 m at a distance of 4.4 m from the facade. Probably, the embankment covered the entire dolmen up to the ceiling, excluding the facade part. During the clearing of the building and the embankment, about 1,200 different finds were discovered: fragments of ceramics, several human bones, a small number of animal bones, fragments and entire objects of bronze and iron, two glass beads. In terms of architectural features and construction techniques, round in terms of construction, Janet’s groups are closer to false-dome structures of the thick-shaped type (tholos - from the Greek “vault”, dome).
Between them there is a dolmen, almost square in plan, made of four carefully processed slabs. The façade is slightly trapezoidal in shape, 1.8 m high, the base is 2.8 m long, the top edge is 2.6 m long and has a maximum thickness of 0.44 m. The slab is given a convex shape. At 0.3 m from the bottom edge of the slab there is a round hole with a diameter of 0.4 m. A U-shaped relief ornament is applied to the outer surface of the slab - two columns support a two-tier ceiling (support height 1 m, floor length 2.1 m).
The side walls have the same dimensions: length - 3.9 m, height of the portal projections - 1.7 m, height of the opposite portal sides - 1.58 m, thickness - 0.43 m. The ends on the side of the facade are decorated with three rows of vertical parallel zigzags. The side walls protrude beyond the façade slab by 0.68 m along with the ceiling and. The floor slab forms a portal. The inner surface of the chamber walls is decorated with an embossed pattern in the form of a horizontal row of hanging triangles (side and front plates) and a zigzag (rear plate). The ornament forms a continuous border of approximately 60 cm, approximately 16-17 tons. It is oriented to the southeast.
Thanks to the painstaking, long-term and hard work of archaeologists of the West Caucasus Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia) Saint Petersburg) in 1997 and 1999, under the leadership of Candidate of Historical Sciences V.A. Trifonov, numerous visitors to the monument today have a rare opportunity to see, instead of forest-covered ruins, the ancient crypts of the Zhane River valley that have regained their monumentality. Particularly impressive is the vast (about 300 sq.m.) courtyard paved with slabs and boulders, adjacent to the façade of the central dolmen. In terms of the originality of the monumental architecture, the decorative design of the burial chamber and the degree of preservation of the monument, this dolmen complex has no equal within the entire Western Caucasus.
In the second group there is a small tiled dolmen with a hole not in the front, but in the back wall (with a secret entrance). All that remains of the remaining tiled dolmens are just ruins of slabs. Around you can see several hundred medieval mounds located on both banks of the river.
Half of all dolmens in Gelendzhik are concentrated in the valley of the Pshada River. They became known at the beginning of the 19th century and are mentioned in all publications dedicated to the Black Sea coast. Now there are 9 known places where dolmens have been preserved.
The most popular are the dolmens located at the confluence of the Pshady and Doguab rivers. One of the largest dolmens in the Krasnodar Territory, located on the slope of a hill, near the Novorossiysk-Sukhumi highway. It belongs to the tiled structures of a trapezoidal shape and has the following dimensions: the front slab is 1.97 m high, 2.10 m long at the top, 2.85 m long at the bottom, and 0.37 m thick; the back plate is 1.76 m high, 1.67 m long at the top, 2.47 m long at the bottom and 0.40 m thick; side slabs - northern height - 1.75 m, length at top - 2.0 m, bottom - 4.40 m, thickness 0.40 m, southern - height - 1.75 m, length at top - 2.0 m, bottom - 4.37 m and thickness - 0.35 m; The dimensions of the ceiling are 4.62 m long, 2.90 m wide and 0.40 m thick. It is made of massive sandstone slabs and has changed a lot over the past 100 years. Instead of a round hole, an opening was cut in the front wall. The slabs turned red and cracked due to fires being lit inside the chamber and next to the walls. Everything around is trampled by numerous sightseers and tourists. Going a little lower down the slope you can examine two tiled dolmens of a trapezoidal shape, also made of massive sandstone slabs, carefully fitted to each other, and one is relatively small.
Moving along the left bank of the Pshada River to its upper reaches, 4 km from the village of Pshada between the Panasov and Kalusov crevices, dolmens are located on a small flat hill covered with deciduous trees. The Pshada River flows from the west, there is a ravine from the north, a small saddle on the southern and eastern sides, the entire area occupied by buildings is 1000 sq.m. There are nine buildings in this area. Eight dolmens lined up in two rows parallel to the river bank. The ninth dolmen is completely destroyed, the third and fourth - partially.
They belong to tiled buildings, the first type of dolmens. Their chamber is quadrangular in shape, composed of individual monolith slabs, covered on top with a powerful floor slab. The floor slabs simultaneously serve as the heel slabs of the structure. The chambers have a trapezoidal shape not only in plan, but in longitudinal and cross sections. The top plates are rectangular in shape. There are round and oval holes in the front walls. The facades of the dolmens are oriented to the west and southwest, towards the bed of the Pshada River. Their total height ranges from 1.60 m to 2.05 m, length from 2.50 to 3.60 m, width in the front part -1.65 - 1.70 m.
Dolmens are typically portal monuments - the side slabs protrude strongly forward. Additional slabs are attached to dolmen No. 6. The front slab of the dolmen M>7 is decorated with wavy incised lines. Excavations carried out in 1972 inside and around the dolmens made it possible to establish that funeral feasts were held in the portal part in front of the facade. There is an interesting collection of ceramics typical of the dolmen culture of the Western Caucasus. It is kept in the State Historical Museum.
Of interest is the trough-shaped dolmen, located on the north-eastern outskirts of the village of Pshada near the sawmill, at the beginning of Skupkova Gap. It was hewn from a large free-standing block of sandstone (3.80 x 2.57 m). A truncated oval-shaped chamber is carved into it. In longitudinal section it has the shape of a trapezoid. The hole is oval (0.34-0.37 m) and oriented to the north. The facade is decorated with portal projections located on the sides of a flat trapezoidal wall with a platform in front of it. The ceiling had a subrectangular shape (3.70 x 2.70 x 0.45 m). 50 years ago there were two more trough-shaped and a dolmen-monolith nearby, of which nothing remains. Nearby there are picturesque rocks.
On the watershed of the Pshada and Tekos rivers, in the mountains, there is the tract Tsygankov aul. Dolmens are built on a rocky ridge, stretched out in a chain. In 1916 G.N. Sorkhin recorded 18 dolmens. Only seven are completely preserved.
Tsygankov aul is interesting because it had buildings of various designs - ordinary tiled, block, two trough-shaped. They have stone embankments and retaining slabs to the side walls. The front and rear plates are square and trapezoidal in shape. The side walls and floor slabs protrude forward, forming a portal. Round holes are cut into the front plates.
The block dolmens are of particular interest. There is a dolmen here, the side walls of which consist of two blocks each. The other has side walls consisting of 5-6 slabs, laid flat on top of each other. The front and right walls of the third dolmen are composed of several rows of small blocks. Another structure has a side wall slab built on with a narrow block. This is a typical example of the degradation of architecture at the end of dolmen construction.
4. Modern research and projects
Work continues on the study of megalithic monuments left to us as a legacy by peoples who lived 5,000 years ago. They, obeying an unknown tradition and faith, carved out details of fantastic structures in the quarries of the Western Caucasus, which became part of the unique Caucasian landscape. A long-term international program has been developed for the study, restoration and use of dolmens of the Caucasus, which includes the following areas of research: intensive archaeological exploration of specially selected regions with a maximum concentration of monuments in Krasnodar region and the Republic of Adygea; landscape studies using Geographic Information System: (GIS) to analyze spatial relationships between dolmens, settlements of their creators and resources; testing of monuments, including electronic probing, to determine their chronology and function; architectural measurements of megaliths and creation of a computer database that meets European standards for inventory and accounting; collection and analysis of paleobotanical, mineral and other samples necessary for the reconstruction of climate, landscape, life support systems, economic activity and specialization of the population groups that created the megaliths; ethno-archaeological reconnaissance in areas of settlement of the indigenous population to collect comparative ethnographic material, development of methods for restoration and museification of dolmens.
For several years, expeditions have been working in the Gelendzhik territorial district to study dolmens: the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg), under the leadership of Candidate of Historical Sciences V.A. Trifonova - in the valley of the Zhane River; Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), under the leadership of Candidate of Historical Sciences B.V. Meleshko - in the village. Arkhipo-Osipovka; Committee for the Protection, Restoration and Exploitation of Historical and Cultural Values (Heritage) of the Krasnodar Territory, under the leadership of the chief specialist of the archeology department D.E. Vasilinenko - in the saddle between the peaks of the Nexis and Dolmen mountains, in the area of the village. Light.
A huge amount of work has been carried out to verify archaeological monuments with clarification of the number of dolmens, their location, current state. On February 24, 2004, by order No. 22-p of the Committee for the Protection, Restoration and Exploitation of Historical and Cultural Values (Heritage) of the Krasnodar Territory, a list of identified cultural heritage sites, including archeological monuments of the Gelendzhik Territorial District, was approved. The first park of Caucasian dolmens in Russia is being created in the valley of the Zhane River in the Gelendzhik region. Work on the implementation of the project has been carried out since 1997 by the West Caucasus Expedition of the IHMC RAS (St. Petersburg) with the assistance of the Committee for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Krasnodar Territory and the regional forest protection service. The project involves experts in the study and reconstruction of ancient megalithic monuments from Holland, Denmark, the USA and France.
It is planned to create an archaeological park in the picturesque valley of the Zhane River with total area 100 hectares. Main archaeological sites The park will include three groups of dolmens, a Bronze Age quarry and burial mounds, a medieval burial mound and a settlement. The compact location of the monuments and the favorable combination of their scientific, cultural and historical merits with the picturesque surrounding landscape and developed local infrastructure create the possibility of the protected area functioning simultaneously as a park, museum, cultural, educational and scientific center.
Conclusion
The preservation of dolmens, world-class monuments, is a matter of culture, national heritage, conscience and public opinion. A person of the third millennium must reach a higher level of development, relying on the experience of the past, respect the cultural traditions of past generations, and preserve the memory of their ancestors. Do not destroy, but restore historical and cultural monuments, because without the past there is no present, and there will be no future.
List of sources used
1. V.N. Ratushnyak. Essays on the history of Kuban from ancient times to 1920. Textbook. manual: Krasnodar, 1996.
2. B.A. Three brothers. Native Kuban. Pages of history. Educational manual: Krasnodar, 2003.
3. Kasyanov V.V. History of Kuban from ancient times to the end of the twentieth century. Textbook for higher educational institutions: Krasnodar, 2004.
4. E.I. Narozhny. Archaeological discoveries in Kuban 2004. Reference manual: Rostov-on-Don, 2005.
Department of Education and Science of the Krasnodar Territory Krasnodar College of Light Industry ABSTRACT On the history of Kuban Topic: Dolmens of the Krasnodar Territory Student Morozova Elena MiDolmens(translated from Bretno as “tol” - “table”, “men” - “stone”) Krasnodar region — funerary religious buildings as stone boxes with small round holes located on the territory Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. According to various estimates age dolmens oscillates from 6 to 10 thousand years.
In general, dolmens are found not only in the Krasnodar region, but also in the territory Europe, Africa, Asia- almost everywhere except Australia. Dolmen culture originated in India, and then it spread two streams- through the Caucasus to northern Europe, and another route - through northern Africa, although some scientists believe that the practice of building such burial structures originated independently among different peoples. But there is an alternative opinion that claims that the dolmens were erected ancient powerful civilization as special energy facilities. There are over 2,500 dolmens in the Caucasus - this is more than anywhere else in the world.
I wonder what scientific research of dolmens started relatively recently - at the end of the 17th century. The first scientist to describe dolmens located on the Taman Peninsula was Russian geographer Pallas. Unfortunately, almost until the end of the 20th century, science did not focus public attention on the importance of dolmens as archaeological sites- as a result, many dolmens in the Krasnodar region were destroyed local residents, and in the 50s of the last century they were even blown up to train military sappers.
Dolmens are structures made of heavy stone slabs, which were carved into the rock and then folded in a certain way. Most dolmens are characterized by portals with a small round hole. Structures may have different shape- rectangular, round, trapezoidal. Some dolmens were decorated engraved or relief ornament.
Despite their apparent simplicity, dolmens are complex engineering structures, made of stone slabs weighing several tens of tons. Their construction required not only specialized knowledge, but also coordination of work of many people, the use of various mechanisms. You can compare the construction of dolmens with construction of the Egyptian pyramids, the predecessors of which they are.
There are many different theories by whom and for what purpose thousands of dolmens were built, discovered on a strip 75 km wide and 500 km long, stretching along the Black Sea coast. Along with scientific versions assumptions are also made that at first glance relate to the category of legends.
Firstly, the scientific theory that dolmens are burial structures created by Bronze Age people for burials of their leaders. Indeed, during archaeological research, along with human remains in dolmens they find objects that, as our ancestors believed, the deceased needed to exist in other world: amulets, jewelry, pottery.
The second group of theories claims that dolmens were used as a kind of communication system, allowing you to install telepathic contact between people located at different dolmens. This is facilitated by the material from which the dolmens were made - quartz sandstone. Now it is actively used in radio engineering and is valued for its ability to generate current and radio waves. Another approach to explaining the role of dolmens as a system for transmitting information focuses on the fact that dolmens are always located on the shore or near a water source. Thus, it is water that has the property save information in its structure, is key element in the functioning of dolmens.
Thirdly, the dolmens had astronomical significance, since they were oriented in a special way ( usually on a sunny slope), based on the setting and rising of celestial objects.
Fourthly, dolmens could represent knowledge accumulation system- original libraries. The wisest people tribes performed complex rituals using dolmens, through which they received knowledge from previous generations and left their own information for posterity. It was believed that the dolmen is still intact tribe or clan, these people are not in danger. Such theories include, in particular, information from Siberian sorceress Anastasia, described by V. Megret.
There are also unfounded theories, for example, among local peoples there are legends that dolmens were built in ancient times by giants, for dwarfs who, due to their small stature, did not have the opportunity to build their own homes.
The surviving dolmens are located in the area Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi, in Abkhazia, as well as in Adygea. To many dolmens excursions organized, and some you can get to on your own. But there are also dolmens that are not available for inspection. Among the dolmens, which are the most often visited by tourists, one can note the dolmens of the Nexis Mountains, Yatsunov Bugor, the Zhenya River, the Dolmen cooperative, the Pshad dolmens, the Sukhumi dolmen.
It should be remembered that dolmens have strong energy- this is felt by people with high sensitivity. Many people note that those wished for near the dolmen wishes have the ability to come true. By visiting the dolmen, you can get the answer to a tormenting question, to feel insight. Some tourists pay attention to feeling of peace and lightness, which comes from being close to a dolmen. Not only people, but also technology reacts to an extraordinary field, surrounding the domain - often proven devices and equipment fail, and the clock slows down. Those. effects similar to those manifested in Egyptian pyramids. There are known cases when, after visiting dolmens, a person health is restored, and dormant creative potential is revealed. There are specialized dolmens that can help people establish certain side of life, Dolmen of Health, Dolmen of Family and Marriage, etc.
What are mysterious places on our planet and do they really exist or only in the imagination of people who believe in them? Such " anomalous zones“enough on the territory of the Krasnodar Territory - and today we are talking about them
What are mysterious places on our planet and do they really exist or only in the imagination of people who believe in them? There is no clear answer to this question. Those who believe in “anomalous zones” or the miraculous abilities of natural objects will never find a common language with skeptics. So it is people who give a touch of mystery to certain places on Earth. By the way, there are enough such “anomalous zones” in the Krasnodar Territory - and today we are talking about them.
People who are inclined to believe in bugs, poltergeists, aliens and lost ancient civilizations easily find confirmation of their beliefs in the world around them. And as soon as one such “stalker” publishes information about another mysterious zone, a real pilgrimage to this place begins. Over time, the information wave becomes larger and penetrates the world of ordinary people through the media. People tend to believe in all sorts of incomprehensible things and for every scientific explanation they will find ten more eyewitness accounts of the “obvious-incredible”. This is how legends about mysterious places, and Kuban is no exception in this regard.
Although scientists have long proven that Egyptian pyramids, and the famous Stonehenge was built by people using technology that was modern in its time: wheels, levers, but lovers of secrets prefer to believe that the stone blocks were carried not by slaves and civilian workers, but by giants, Atlanteans or aliens. And if all these creatures were engaged in pyramids, then who else but them would build dolmens, of which there are a dime a dozen in the Krasnodar Territory, Adygea and neighboring regions. The word “dolmen” itself translated from Breton means “stone table”. Dolmens are ancient megalithic structures, built four to five thousand years ago.
Dolmens of Kuban
Archaeologists are considering several versions of the purpose of dolmens. Some suggest that these are just man-made mass graves (some contain the remains of hundreds of people), but radiocarbon dating of the bones most often shows that people were buried in dolmens hundreds of years after they were built.
“The orientation of dolmens on the ground is different, but, as a rule, it fits into the arc of sunrise-sunset and the culmination of the celestial bodies northeast - south - northwest,” says megalith researcher Mikhail Kudin.
— Only single monuments are directed to the north... Observations at individual monuments (the Psynako-1 complex, a dolmen with a cromlech of the “Wolf Gate” group, a dolmen with a “Mamedova Gap” visor) showed that they mark the points of sunrise and sunset on the days of solstices and equinoxes .
This observation, on the one hand, indirectly confirms that the builders of dolmens were either sun worshipers or used megaliths for astronomical observations. But the famous scientist Doctor of Historical Sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences Vladimir Markovin doubted the direction of the dolmens towards the sun. According to the author of the book “Ispun - houses of dwarfs: notes on dolmens of the Krasnodar region (Western Caucasus).” in the spatial orientation of the dolmens there is no connection with the movement of the Sun, and the portal can be oriented to any part of the world. Now about three thousand North Caucasian megaliths are known, including partially destroyed ones, and most of Of these, it is located precisely in Kuban and Adygea. Many dolmens are rectangular structures made of stone slabs, or carved into rocks, with holes on the facade. Inside there was a chamber, a room about one and a half by two meters in size and about two meters high, sometimes more, sometimes less. The slabs were placed at a slight inward angle. Sometimes such chambers were carved out of monolithic stone, sometimes they were hidden underground, making mounds. In one of the walls of the chamber, in the slab, a cone-shaped hole was made, about thirty centimeters in diameter, which was closed with a stone plug.
These dolmens are considered by modern lovers of esotericism to be “places of power” where you can recharge with cosmic energy or be filled with the mysterious knowledge of your ancestors. The most famous dolmens of the Krasnodar region are located on the Black Sea coast. So, above the Zhane River, not far from Gelendzhik, there is a group of three dolmens lined up on a hill. On either side of them are two stone mounds. Again, not far from Gelendzhik, in the area of the village of Pshada and the river of the same name, there is a whole sculptural group of seventy dolmens of varying degrees of preservation. And there are many such megaliths along the entire Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory from Anapa to Adler. True, with the flourishing of tourism, many dolmens have turned from objects of worship for lovers of esotericism into ordinary tourist attractions. Some dolmens have cafes, while others carry entire excursion groups in jeeps. It is clear that in such conditions it is almost impossible for a true connoisseur to experience cosmic energy. So connoisseurs of the mysterious look for dolmens in much more inaccessible places than the Black Sea coast, and in them you are more likely to find broken bottles and cans than the secret heritage of ancestors.
Former paradise near Anapa
In general, lovers of esotericism love the Black Sea coast. If you listen to them, there are not so few “places of power”. And one of the most famous of them is Cape Big Utrish. In the summer, lovers of natural childbirth set up their camps here, meditate, practice yoga and qigong. There are advertisements on the Internet saying that for a certain amount and a couple of weeks on Utrish they will help you contact the cosmos, recharge with energy, or, even more wonderful, “change the structure of your DNA,” claiming that Utrish is located in the zone of action of a powerful tectonic fault, being energy anomaly, the so-called “place of power”.
There is a relict juniper grove here, which, according to legend, can heal many ailments. Why not - pine needles and fresh sea air work wonders even without any esotericism.
“The place where this truly wonderful plant grows has a unique energy. There is literally an extraordinary atmosphere of happiness in the air. — the reviews of those who got to Utrish for the first time are not very diverse. — People involved in esotericism say that this is a place of power.
Gradually, civilization captured this paradise. At first, boats began running from the village to the remote lagoons, taking lazy travelers for several hundred to the most remote lagoons. And along with the “sloths” dirt came to the lagoons of Utrish, broken glass, beer cans, drunken squabbles. Now this place differs little from ordinary resort areas Black Sea coast, although the last connoisseurs of esoteric teachings still live here all year round, despite the cold and piercing sea wind. And they call the permanent residents of Utrish (not the villages - Big and Small Utrish, but the lagoons between them) Indians. Civilization reached Utrish not only in the form of excursion ships and mountains of garbage - here, despite the centuries-old juniper listed in the Red Book, they are building a road and preparing to build a mythical “children’s sports and health complex.”
Our triangle
By analogy with Bermuda Triangle, Kuban also has its own mysterious geometric figure - the Shapsug Triangle in the Abinsk region not far from the village of the same name. The corners of the triangle are the Great Shapsug Dolmen, an unfinished monolithic dolmen, nicknamed the “Dolmen Builders Workshop,” and the Devil’s Finger rock along with a mud volcano. According to legend, a spirit sleeps under the Devil’s Finger, who at one time protected earthlings, so the place does not allow people with difficult thoughts to approach it. Here, if you believe lovers of esotericism, two streams appear from the Silver Spring, which originates deep underground. One with living water, the other with dead water. Some claim that dead water even cures cancer, and living water cures diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
According to esotericists, living and dead water differ in chemical composition, and even in temperature, although thermometers lowered into the jets show the same numbers. There is also a “Tree of Love” - an oak tree entwined with aspen. Connoisseurs of secrets find something unusual in this fact, easily explained by biologists. In the very center of the Shapsug triangle, one of local residents not so long ago I built a certain structure out of stones with the romantic name “Mandala “Eternity”. And if you believe the guides, then, standing in the center of “Eternity”, you can feel yourself literally in the center of the Universe, but not everyone succeeds. Probably, in order to feel, you still need to believe in something intangible and scientifically unprovable.
In addition to those listed, there are many places in our region that esotericists consider energy portals and “places of power.” At the same time, lovers of the mysterious are not fools - the list of territories charged with energy actually includes the most Beautiful places Kuban: Big Azish Cave, Lagonaki, Khadzhokh, surroundings of Guzeripl and Mezmay. And on Utrish, and at the sources of the Belaya River in Guzeripl, and in the Shapsug triangle, you feel differently - thoughts about the eternal come to mind, but the vain remains somewhere in the distance. But maybe the reason for this is not some mysterious forces and energies, but nature: powerful, real, beautiful, in all its primeval splendor?
Vasily Baranov