Dolmens in the Krasnodar Territory in the Caucasus are heroic huts or houses of the soul. Dolmens of the Caucasus

And in the north - to the valley of the Laba River. But earlier there were in the area of ​​​​the city of Zheleznovodsk in Stavropol Territory and possibly elsewhere. A separate closed region of distribution of original dolmens or "dolmen-like crypts" of late construction is the Upper Kuban region (the basin of the Kyafar River in Karachay-Cherkessia). They continued to be used in the Late Bronze Age and beyond. In total, about 3,000 dolmens are known, including destroyed ones. Of these, no more than 6% have been studied.

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✪ Architecture ("Kolikho. The secret of the dolmens of the Caucasus")

✪ On the other side of the dolmens

✪ V. Pyatibrat about Dolmens.

✪ Interesting facts from the history of the North-Western Caucasus (Part 1)

Subtitles

local names

• Russians (since the 19th century): heroic huts or huts, didov and devil huts.

Security problem

Falsification of history and obscurantism

Since the second half of the 90s of the last century, after the appearance of literature of occult and mystical content, designed for a public completely free from specific knowledge, but having conveyed to it the news of the existence of such objects, a near-dolmen boom begins. The burial grounds have become a place of constant pilgrimage and even a place of residence for an exalted sectarian and inadequate public. The media were filled with the conjectures of various "researchers", as well as authors completely far from the subject being studied, who are looking for popularity or gather flocks and clients for themselves, talking about some "knowledge", "resonances", "strength", about some alternative options purpose of buildings. The most accessible dolmens were invented proper names and they, having become an element of pop culture, are included in commercial and travel business. Near some dolmens, constructions (labyrinths, etc.) are created from small stones, which have never been here, but which are taken by sightseers for real antiquities. Regularly, teams of “researchers” who are far from both archeology and geology are shooting more and more new films filled with the same standard fabrications and outright lies.

Dating

The main number of dolmens appeared in the first half of the 3rd - the second half. 2nd millennium BC e. . Often dolmens are also called megalithic under-kurgan tombs of the Novosvobodnenskaya culture and carved tombs in Karachay-Cherkessia. There are suggestions about the latter that they were either built by the medieval Circassians - Kasogs or Alans in the VIII-XII centuries, or these are structures of the late period of the dolmen culture, and the Alans simply inserted their stone boxes into them, since they have just such a design.

In addition to classical dolmens, small dolmens, assembled from random stones, were also built on the southern slope of the Main Caucasian Range. There are also small underground well-shaped composite tombs. They are covered by an incomplete false vault and a covering slab. There are even ground-based tombs with a real dome filled with small stones and tiles. If the well-shaped tombs unequivocally belong to the dolmen culture, then with the chronology of others, there is still no complete clarity.

Origin

Regardless of their origin, dolmens in the Western Caucasus did not appear from scratch. More ancient stone tombs are known in the burial mounds of the Maikop and Novosvobodnenskaya cultures (or in other words, in the early and late periods of the Maikop-Novosvobodnaya community). Some structures represent a transitional phase from the Novosvobodnaya tombs to classical dolmens. At the same time, there is a version about the initial impulse that caused the start of dolmen construction in the Caucasus, from the Mediterranean side. Since it is there that the closest analogues in architecture are found Caucasian dolmens. There are parallels in ornamental symbolism. There is also a temporal correspondence. The path of the bearers of the dolmen tradition is traced starting from the Iberian Peninsula 4000-3500 BC. BC e. (Los Millares culture). Or perhaps more early center was located in the Balearic Islands (Pre-Talayotian period), Sardinia (the Bonu Iginu culture 4600-3300 BC - Donuragic Sardinia) and Corsica. Further - North Africa (Rocknia) and Sicily - Jordan and Syria - Asia Minor and the Balkans (3rd-2nd millennium BC) - Western Caucasus - Crimea (3rd millennium BC). Also, many items of material culture of the builders of dolmens have their predecessors in the Aegean basin and in Asia Minor.

In the Caucasus, the oldest dolmens appeared on the southern slope, in the coastal and mountainous zones in the early Bronze Age in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. e. These include dolmens in Esher, Azanta, Otkhara, Kulanurkhva, Shroma, Doi. They are small to medium in size.

In the Southern Crimea, somewhat later than in the Caucasus, the carriers of the Kemi-Oba culture built stone boxes (cysts), sometimes with grooves in the slabs, and even painted them. In general, throughout the Caucasus (including in the steppe regions), graves were lined with stone slabs, and in some places huge megaliths were built (Armenia, Georgia). The only question is whether there are mutual cultural influences in each of these cases.

Location of dolmens

Since clusters of dolmens are cemeteries of the dolmen culture, there are usually several settlements of this culture in their vicinity: either at a considerable distance or nearby. There are some regularities in the location of dolmens. They are usually found on flat areas on the tops or on the sunny slopes of ridges (mainly at altitudes of 250-400 m above sea level, the maximum height is 1300 m) or on river terraces. The vast majority of dolmens are oriented down the sunny slope, which implies a fairly large spread of directions. If this was not possible, then the dolmen was oriented at least to a sunlit area on the opposite ridge. In addition, the orientation to specific astronomically significant points on the horizon was noted. The statement about the binding of dolmens to water sources has no basis.

The purpose of the dolmens

The purpose of dolmens is not just an established fact, but has always been known fact. As a type of tombs, the dolmens of the Western Caucasus are on a par with many similar structures from different times and many peoples. Revealed ancient burials in dolmens were left by their builders. And although a certain number of soil burials of the dolmen culture are already known, they, apparently, were less common, and their known number does not at all correspond to the many fairly large settlements.

Of course, the structures also served as a sanctuary, most likely a family or tribal one: this, for example, is evidenced by the discovery of a stone altar during the reconstruction of the dolmen complex on Zhana (located in the Gelendzhik Museum of Local Lore). The newly reconstructed complexes on the Zhana River and on Mount Neksis (both near Gelendzhik), as well as many dolmens with "courtyards", allow us to imagine the ceremonies that once took place there.

Some dolmen complexes were clearly designed to be visited by a significant number of people. These are, first of all, the megalithic mound Psynako I near the village of Anastasievka in the Tuapse district, the Silver Mound in the Klady tract near the village of Novosvobodnaya, and the same complexes on the Zhana River and on Mount Neksis. All of them could well fulfill the role of tribal objects of worship. Unfortunately, the museumification of the first from the list has not been carried out, and the second is almost destroyed.

Construction of dolmens

For the construction of dolmens, stone from the closest deposits was used, if possible. If there were suitable plates of natural origin nearby, then they were also collected. But if there was no choice, then the cut slabs could be transported for several kilometers. Used for buildings different kinds sandstones and limestones. marl. In one building, different breeds could be combined.

The stone quarry used the power of water-swelling wooden wedges to break the stone. Fresh quarry stone is softer and can even be worked with stone tools. But the builders of the dolmen culture also had bronze chisels in their arsenal, whose clear traces are constantly found when studying buildings. It is assumed that the processed plates could be aged for some time before use in order to gain sufficient hardness. Grinding of surfaces and grooves was carried out by stone grinders, which are found in construction sites. The cover slab was dragged along the sloping embankment behind the dolmen. The power of animals could also be used in construction.

Frequent speculations about the impossibility of repeating the exact fit of dolmen slabs in our time, for example, after moving it to a new place, occur only because of a misunderstanding of the fact that it is almost impossible to re-duplicate all the features of the old foundation in a new place. Which leads to various distortions and mismatches.

Dolmen architecture

Design

ornamentation

Compared to the total number, quite a few dolmens are decorated with engraved and even convex ornaments. But, probably, many of the ornaments simply did not reach our time due to the erosion of the stone. They are located throughout the portal and inside the chamber. There is an image on the front plate with a cross in a circle and a labyrinth-like pattern similar to a comb with a zigzag extending from it and the inlet. Sometimes there are just rows of vertical zigzags. On the front slab, an image of another dolmen portal is sometimes placed, as well as one or two pairs of large bulges above it. Or just made a rectangular recess that occupies a larger area of ​​the plate. Rows of vertical and horizontal zigzags may have ends of side plates. And attached portal plates on the inner plane are sometimes decorated with a landscape consisting of a series of triangles (mountains) and vertical rows of zigzags (rivers). Above the mountains is placed the sun in the form of an oval with a cross. Sometimes the entire portal slab is covered with horizontal stripes, each of which is formed by a herringbone pattern of chisel cuts. The side plates can also be decorated in this way. Recently, dolmens have been found whose facades were decorated, in one case, with convex diagonal stripes forming a large framed "Christmas tree"; and in the other - already deepened horizontal rows of a wide stretched zigzag. This zigzag is further complicated by segments of single vertical zigzags on the side and on the sides of the inlet. Sometimes a stone was chosen for buildings, which had an unusual surface, due to its internal structure. Such a dolmen, without special processing, received a decorative design in the form of bizarre dents and bulges.

Inside the dolmen chamber is sometimes surrounded by a horizontal zigzag of a wide strip and a straight line above the horizontal zigzag. In the second case, a series of hanging triangles or scallops is obtained. This design can be further complemented by sections with vertical zigzags. Stone plugs can also have embossed concentric circles on the cap, like a nipple in the center, four bulges around the circumference and one in the center, or a embossed cross.

Sometimes on the roof of a dolmen there are numerous small bowl-shaped depressions or holes scattered over the surface randomly or forming short rows and circles with crosses inside. Similar signs are also found on the side and front plates of dolmens. And also on separate stones near the dolmens, where they can also have a circle around them.

Some of the stone blocks that form the courtyard bear bulges on their surface - bosses. They don't have such correct form, like those on the facade plate. These are the remnants, preserved after the alignment of the entire plane of the wall. Whether they had any significance other than decorative is unknown.

There are also some simple engraved petroglyphic drawings on or near the dolmens. Their meaning is not yet clear, as well as the time of their application is unknown.

Recently, two plot engraved images were discovered on a dolmen in the village of Dzhubga: a scene with a man and animals and a struggle between two "twins". The second plot fully corresponds to the known images on the anthropomorphic steles of the Kemi-Oba culture. Perhaps the same plot is present on the triple hook from the Novosvobodnenskaya tomb.

Crypts with medieval Alanian burials in Karachay-Cherkessia, almost completely covered with wavy furrows and various symbols, stand apart. It is believed that it was the Alans who decorated the more ancient buildings. The so-called “royal mausoleum” is especially distinguished by its plot images, in which they already find Christian motives.

There are almost no dolmens in which there are traces of colorful painting in the chamber and on the facade. The poorly preserved coloring in the dolmen of the Silver Mound is now completely disfigured by vandals. And the color drawings in the two two-chamber Novosvobodnaya tombs represent an earlier culture.

List of some notable dolmens

Gallery

In the mountains of the Caucasus, somewhere between the cities of Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Novorossiysk and Sochi, there are hundreds of megalithic monuments, which are called dolmens here. The age of all these megalithic dolmens dates back to approximately 10,000 - 25,000 years, and today both Russian and Western archaeologists argue what they were intended for.

There is no single point of view about dolmens in the Caucasus - some archaeologists believe that the age of these megalithic structures is actually from 4000 to 6000 years. Thousands of prehistoric megalithic monuments are known all over the world, but those located on the territory of the former Soviet Union (including the Caucasus) are little known in the West.

Dolmens are mainly located in the Western Caucasus (in Russia and Abkhazia) on both sides of the mountain range, covering an area of ​​approximately 12,000 square kilometers. Caucasian dolmens are unique type prehistoric architecture - buildings created from perfectly fitted cyclopean stone blocks. For example, there are stones in the form of a bull "G", which were used on the corners of dolmens, or stones in the form of a perfect circle.

Although such "fragments of the ancient era" are generally unknown in Western Europe, these Russian megaliths are no less significant for science than the megaliths found in Europe - both in terms of age and in terms of the quality of architecture. And the most amazing thing is that their origin is still unknown. Scientists note that despite the variety of Caucasian stone structures, they show a striking resemblance to megaliths from different parts Europe and Asia (Iberian Peninsula, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Israel and India).

A number of hypotheses have been put forward to explain this similarity, as well as speculation about the purpose of the construction of megaliths, but so far all this remains a mystery. At the moment, about 3000 such megalithic sites are known in the Western Caucasus, but new megaliths are constantly being found. At the same time, unfortunately, many of the Caucasian monoliths are in an extremely neglected state and will be completely lost if they are not protected from vandals and natural destruction.

Most of the megaliths, dolmens and stone labyrinths that are found in the Caucasus mountains (but they are little studied) look like rectangular structures made of stone slabs or carved into the rocks with round holes as an entrance inside. However, not all dolmens look like this. In fact, here you can find very diverse examples of architecture: multi-storey stone buildings, square, trapezoidal, rectangular and round.

Remarkably, in all such buildings on the facade there is a hole leading inside. Most often it is round, but sometimes square ones are also found. Also, stone “plugs” are often found in dolmens, with which the inlet was closed. Sometimes these stone plugs are phallic in shape. Inside the dolmen, there is most often a round platform, on which light fell through a round hole. Scientists believe that some rituals may have been performed at such sites. Such a platform was surrounded by large stone walls, sometimes more than a meter high.

It is in this area that archaeologists have found Bronze and Iron Age pottery that helped date these burials, as well as human remains, bronze tools, and jewelry made from silver, gold, and semi-precious stones. Usually, the repertoire of decorations for such graves is not very diverse. The most common are vertical and horizontal zigzags, triangles and concentric circles carved on stone blocks.

One of the most interesting megalithic complexes is a group of three dolmens, which is located on a hill above the Zhane River on the Black Sea coast in Krasnodar Territory near the Russian Gelendzhik. This area has perhaps the largest concentration of all types of megalithic objects, including settlements and dolmens.

Photo: thelivingmoon.com
Sourced from ewao.com

The article is devoted to the dolmens of the Western Caucasus, which are considered not only as monuments of ancient material culture, but also as significant tourist sites that have become a real brand of the Olympic Sochi. The author provides interesting information about mystical power dolmens, comparative parallels are drawn with famous megaliths abroad and the reason for people's interest in monuments of dolmen culture is revealed.

Dolmen culture of the Western Caucasus: geography and heritage

According to the ancient legends of the highlanders, along with the Narts - the ancient giants - tiny people lived in the Caucasus, weak and helpless, riding hares ... Out of pity for this small people, the Narts erected impregnable fortresses-houses from huge stone slabs, where in the front had small openings that only very small people could enter. Therefore, the Circassians called the dolmens "ispun", that is, houses for dwarfs.

Ancient dolmens in the life and epic of the highlanders

Dolmens are the oldest religious buildings, the name of which comes from the Breton words "taol" and "taep", which means "stone table". Indeed, the design of dolmens outwardly resembles a table, since a powerful flat stone slab rests on several supports standing on the earthen surface. Dolmens are classified as megalithic structures or simply megaliths - structures made of large hewn stones, used mainly for tombs. Ancient megaliths have long been of interest to researchers and ordinary people, but if the former deeply and systematically study megalithic culture, the latter consider dolmens as a picturesque part of the landscape, giving them special mystical properties, using them mainly as objects of tourist display.

At the same time, it is very interesting and useful to trace the attitude of people to dolmens and to the entire dolmen culture within the framework of any one territory.

As you know, dolmens are found in various parts of the world: in North Africa, Europe, South Korea and others, but we will try to explore some facets of the manifestation of dolmen culture in the Western Caucasus and in particular Greater Sochi.

The culture of dolmens developed on the territory of the modern city of Sochi in the Middle Bronze Age. It mainly includes dolmens - monumental tombs, corresponding deposits in the Great Vorontsovskaya cave and individual objects scattered throughout different regions of Greater Sochi. The territory that

At the entrance to the Great Vorontsovskaya Cave in the Khostinsky District of Sochi (photo by the author)

now it occupies the famous Russian resort, it has always differed from other areas of the Black Sea region by its difficult terrain due to the strong dissection of the relief. Most likely, for this reason, the Sochi dolmens became known to the scientific community later than similar structures in other regions.

One of the first to describe and sketch the Sochi dolmens in detail was Alexander Miller, a well-known Russian explorer of the Caucasus, ethnographer and archaeologist. In 1907, he described and sketched several dolmens in the valley of the Ashe River and a trough-shaped monolith in the Mamedov Gorge on the territory of the current Lazarevsky district of Sochi. Although the

Composite dolmen in the courtyard of the Museum of the History of the city of Sochi (photo by the author)

Trough-shaped monolith "Healer"

Most likely, he was not the first to discover this monument, since even now one can clearly distinguish the image of the Maltese cross carved in stone with standing next to date - 1906.

Today, this dolmen is especially famous and revered in these parts, it is called the "Healer", attributing a special energy that can endow people and animals with a rare life force. People living nearby claim that on May 19, 1986, they were awakened at night by a loud roar, although the weather was clear and calm. In the morning it turned out that three powerful trees, pulled out of the ground like light blades of grass, lay near the dolmen, and the fourth, half-burnt, was still smoking and had a bizarre shape. These trees still lie near the dolmen today, reinforcing the extraordinary impression made by this mysterious megalith, shaped like an Egyptian pyramid.

Locals even notice an increase in the number of wild animals in this place and their quite peaceful attitude towards people. They say that hares, who like to take sunbaths on it, especially fell in love with the dolmen. Or maybe it's not about sunbathing at all, but about mysterious dwarfs who, according to legend, lived in dolmens and rode hares...? Then it is quite possible to assume that the hares continue to patiently wait for "their owners."

In general, the talent and resort ingenuity of the local residents of the Sochi coast cannot be denied. Any interesting object or phenomenon quickly forms the basis of a new excursion route. So, for example, an esoteric route has been formed on the “Healer” dolmen, where everyone is offered to feel the special rejuvenating energy of the dolmen. Of course, promises of rejuvenation are nothing more than spa advertising, but the power of Caucasian nature is truly amazing!

In this regard, one should pay tribute to the numerous researchers of the dolmen culture of the Western Caucasus, who have been observing these mysterious monuments of ancient material culture for two centuries now. The work of several dozen scientists was summarized and systematized in 1960 by the researcher L.I. Lavrov, who created a complete catalog of dolmens. There were 1139 dolmens in it, and a scientific classification of dolmens in the Western Caucasus was proposed, which remains relevant at the present time.

All the variety of existing dolmens Lavrov divided into four groups:

• 1. A group of ordinary tiled dolmens. This is the most common type of megaliths, structurally representing a quadrangular box, each side of which, as well as the bottom and roof, is a separate monolithic slab.
• 2. A group of composite dolmens. These are structures with one or more walls made of smaller slabs.
• 3. A group of trough-shaped dolmens.
• 4. Group of dolmen-monoliths.

In 1978, researcher V.I. Markovin updated the catalog of dolmens, adding to it up to 2308 objects. Thanks to painstaking research work, the era of dolmen culture, which flourished in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, has become more understandable and close to us - modern people.

Carefully studying the features of the development of dolmen culture, scientists pay attention to the fact that at the peak of its development, trapezoid-shaped tiled structures with profiles of clear proportions are widely used. This design gave the dolmens greater stability, facilitated the assembly of walls and the laying of ceilings. During this period, dolmen openings take on various forms (round, in the form of an arch, etc.). Under the tiled dolmens, carefully crafted heel stones appear - a kind of dolmen foundation. Many buildings are leaning against the slopes and even slightly let into them. In addition to tiled dolmens, trough-shaped ones were also created during this period - they are carved into the rocks, giving them the appearance of a dolmen only from the facade. By the end of the heyday of the dolmen culture, monolithic dolmens appeared. Such changes in the design of these religious buildings, according to scientists, occur in connection with changes in funeral rites. In the late periods of dolmen culture (the middle of the 2nd millennium BC), trough-shaped dolmens are supplemented by round-shaped chambers and jug-shaped outlines, and false portal structures are also noted.

In general, dolmen culture different regions the world has a lot in common. In particular, researchers of the megaliths of the Western Caucasus note their close resemblance to the tiled dolmens of the Mediterranean, as well as the megalithic monuments of Catalonia, France and North Africa. However archaeological heritage dolmen culture in Sochi and the Tuapse region is so large and diverse that, undoubtedly, indicates its temporal duration, and the dolmens found and described represent the full range of all known structures of these samples of the megalithic era.

In general, the territory of the Sochi resort can be safely called the "World capital of dolmens", since there are three most important signs of its superiority over other regions rich in monuments of megalithic culture:

Firstly, all known types of monuments of dolmen culture are present on the territory of B. Sochi.

Secondly, some of the dolmens are architecturally completely unique and have no analogues in other regions: a monolith dolmen, dolmen-shaped well-shaped tombs (tholos), dolmen complexes (Psynako-I).

Thirdly, such design features, as the surrounding of dolmens with a ring of stones (cromlech), the presence of corridors - dromos, tiled false portal structures, "reverse" dolmens and dolmens with two facades are found in the Sochi region in much greater numbers than in other areas with a developed dolmen culture.

As already mentioned, the region of the current city of Sochi in its poorly developed areas is difficult to pass. The dense Colchis forest protects many secluded corners of the resort from modern barbarism, but civilization is steadily advancing and crowding out the protected areas. natural areas, represented in particular by monuments of dolmen culture. Unfortunately, many magnificent examples of megalithic complexes have been irretrievably lost. In particular, they are broken into crushed stone and building stone, ruined by summer residents and private entrepreneurs, exhibiting huge monolithic stones in the form of decorations and alpine slides in cafes or private house gardens. Such "aesthetics" are not embarrassed by the fact that these stones are part of the burial structures. Of course, this is due to ignorance and some kind of pagan craving for worshiping the forces of nature, concluded, according to their ideas, in huge megaliths.

However, one way or another, over the past few decades, the following have been destroyed: the dolmens of the “Glinishche I” group, the dolmens of the “Soloniki II” group were broken, while laying a logging road, the end of the side slab of the dolmen of the “Nihekh I” group was almost destroyed, on which a rare zigzag ornament, and in 1997, during the construction of a gas pipeline in the Chernomorka tract, a unique tiled dolmen was covered with a dump, and this sad list, unfortunately, can be continued.

At the same time, about two hundred dolmens (189) are currently known on the territory of Sochi. Of these, 141 were examined, 48 were not examined.

If we talk about the departmental affiliation of the lands on which the monuments of dolmen culture are located, which is also important for ensuring their safety, then a quarter of them are located on the lands of the administration of the city of Sochi, and the rest on the territory of Sochi national park. Geographically, Sochi dolmens are located both on mountain slopes and at the mouths of mountain rivers. The greatest proximity of dolmens to the sea is noted in the basin of the Ashe and Psezupse rivers, as well as the Godlik stream in the Lazarevsky district, where the largest and most famous Volkonsky dolmen-monolith on the coast is located, which has become a real archaeological brand of the Olympic resort of Sochi.

Volkonsky dolmen-monolith - tourist brand of Sochi-2014

In general, the Lazarevsky district of Sochi is the most saturated with monuments of dolmen culture. A large number of dolmens are found on the way from Tuapse towards the village. Golovinka to the Shakha river. Across the Shakhe River towards the center of Sochi, few dolmens have been noted and, as a rule, they are located in mountainous and hard-to-reach places. There are no dolmens in Sochi itself, except for the dolmen brought from Lazarevsky to the territory of the museum of the history of the resort city of Sochi.

In the Khostinsky district of the city, only one composite dolmen was found, the so-called "cult stone with seats" near the village. Kudepsta. In the Adler region, dolmens are located mainly in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe village. Krasnaya Polyana and Medoveevka. There is another interesting pattern in the location of the dolmens of the city of Sochi - they are all located in close proximity to springs or streams, since most of of them was made of sandstone, the layers of which were formed in the immediate vicinity of water bodies.

• Narts are the heroes of ancient epic tales of many Caucasian peoples.

Ancient crypts, built from huge boulders around the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, are found in the vast territory of the Western Caucasus: from the Fontalovsky and Tuzla capes on the Taman Peninsula to the mountainous regions of Adygea and Krasnodar Territory, in the north reaching the Laba river valley, in the south - the outskirts of the Abkhazian city of Ochamchira. The basin of the Kyafar River in Karachay-Cherkessia is known for separate clusters of dolmen-shaped tombs.

About 3 thousand megalithic structures have survived, representing the dolmen culture of the middle bronze age, and only about 6% of them have been studied by scientists. Many stone tombs are gradually destroyed under the influence of time and natural elements, but a large number of them are destroyed by vandals, who stretch stone monoliths across their courtyards with the help of powerful tractor equipment.

A certain pattern can be traced in the location of the structures: as a rule, the tombs were found on small plateaus at a level of 250-400 m above the sea, less often up to 1000 m, on the sunny slopes of low ridges or in river valleys. building material for them, stones mined nearby served, usually limestone or various types of sandstone - yellow or reddish ferruginous.

Design features

Outwardly, the dolmen is a stone house, consisting of 4 slabs installed vertically, covered with a heel on top. On the facade, an inlet was made in the form of a manhole, usually round, closed with a stone cork, but there are also crypts with an oval, square or arched opening.

Depending on the structural features, archaeologist I. Lavrov proposed to classify dolmens as follows:

• tiled, or ordinary - erected from solid stone slabs;
• composite - composed of several stone fragments, fitted with grooves carved in stone;
• monoliths - carved in stone rock in the form of a chamber with a round hole, from which the internal space expanded;
• trough-shaped - cut down in a huge block and covered with a lid or turned upside down.

Each of the dolmens belonging to a particular species is distinguished by its individual traits, for example, in plan it has the shape of a trapezoid, square or rectangle. The roof slab can lie horizontally or slope towards the rear wall. Its dimensions sometimes exceed the length of the side walls - a visor is obtained. Often there is something like a facade portal, in front of which a small courtyard was even equipped with paved stones. Occasionally, the portal finds a continuation in the form of a kind of corridor leading to the entrance-manhole. The floor inside consists of one or more stone slabs, sometimes it is simply covered with pebbles. The inlet is not always located on the facade wall, its imitation is often observed, and the entrance itself is on the side or behind the dolmen, which in this case is called a false portal.

Only a few of the structures are decorated with a peculiar semblance of an ornament - zigzag stripes carved in stone or even lines arranged in a herringbone pattern. Small bowl-shaped depressions are found on roofs, side slabs of the facade and are also considered as decorative elements. Plot engravings are rare: most famous images- a man surrounded by animals and the struggle of two "twins" on the slabs of a dolmen near the village of Dzhubga. The paintings and petroglyphs on the inner walls of the dolmens have practically not been preserved, and it is not completely clear whether they were left by the builders of ancient tombs or those who used them later.

Connection with the dolmens of the world

Scientists involved in the study of megalithic structures around the world are increasingly expressing the opinion that the Caucasian dolmens have common features with similar stone crypts found in different parts of the world. For example, their similarity with the dolmen buildings of the Dekan Plateau of Hindustan can be traced; pottery fragments found in the West Caucasian dolmens look like bowls with beak-shaped spouts from North African megalithic structures; strongly protruding portals, borders around inlets, grooves on the side plates of the Mediterranean dolmens are also similar to the Caucasian monuments of the Bronze Age. The well-known buildings in Turkey, especially in Buyunlu, are practically similar to those in the Caucasus; there are many common features of buildings in the upper reaches of the Kuban with the dolmens of Corsica and the Iberian Peninsula.

The later erected dolmen structures of Japan, Korea, and China have nothing in common with the megaliths of the Caucasus.

The most remarkable of the dolmens

In the vicinity of Greater Sochi:

No less famous is the dolmen excavated from the barrow in Dzhubga with petroglyphs, in the Tuapse region near the village of Maloye Pseushkho, an ancient stone structure on a triple terrace, a megalithic complex in the Novorossiysk region near the village of Vasilievka in the valley of the Ozereyka river, consisting of several dilapidated dolmens.

The crypts on the Zhane River are located east of the village of Vozrozhdenie near Gelendzhik. They are considered one of the easily accessible ancient megalithic complexes of the Caucasus, which includes five structures. The central tiled dolmen received the name "Royal", next to it - several low block structures in the form of a truncated cone. Nearby are buildings called "Universal", "Harmony", "Hidden Opportunities", and a little away from them, like a mushroom under a hat - "Fortitude".

Adyghe dolmens:

• Khadzhokh-3 and Khadzhokh-4 are located near the village of Kamennomostsky, both tiled and portal, and Khadzhokh-3 is hidden in a stone mound. In 2013, work was carried out on the restoration of unique ancient crypts.
• Novosvobodnensky dolmens were found in several places near the village of the same name: on the Kamenny Kurgan, a crypt with a cromlech rises on a plinth made of an inclined slab; in the Klady tract, a dolmen of the Silver Mound is known with preserved elements of internal and external painting and a rectangular courtyard with menhirchiks.

Attractions near the dolmens of the Western Caucasus

Visiting buildings often coincides with exploring other interesting places nearby. So, a trip to the dolmens located in the vicinity of Greater Sochi is combined with hiking in the territory of the Sochi National Park and remains impressed by visiting the Zmeykovsky waterfalls, the Khmelevsky lakes or the observation tower of Mount Akhun.

In addition to the dolmens on the Zhana River near Gelendzhik near the village of Vozrozhdeniye, tourists admire the incredibly beautiful landscapes of waterfalls, look with interest at the town, called the center of positive creativity, in which an unusual festival is held annually - freshly squeezed juice, freshly cut figurines, freshly picked honey are sold in small wooden houses. The most enduring ones reach the baths of Aphrodite and then climb Mount Shakhan or Cossack.

Near the monuments of the village of Vasilievka in the Novorossiysk region are picturesque places of the Ozereyka valley and quite close - the famous wine cellars of Abrau-Dyurso, the mysterious lake Abrau, the sights of Novorossiysk.

A trip to any of the Caucasian dolmens can always be combined with a visit to interesting places located nearby.

Where to stay

Exploring the dolmens in the vicinity of Greater Sochi is quite affordable by staying in one of the hotels of the famous resort. The nearest of them are Bridge Resort, Luck Plus, Sport Inn, Arfa Park, Azimuth, Caucasus with accommodation prices of 1050 - 1500 rubles per day.

You can see the buildings of the Zhane River 8 km from Gelendzhik by stopping at one of the recreation centers in the village of Vozrozhdenie - the Yagoda-Malina country complex, the Rafael hotel complex, the Minutka guest house, as well as in the local spa center - eco- village "Health", a kind of balneological mini-resort with a healing iodine-bromine well.

It is quite possible to visit near the dolmens near the village of Vasilyevka of the Novorossiysk region, having settled down to rest in hotels of nearby settlements, remote by 3-4 km: in the guest house Izumrud in the village of Glebovsky, in the hotel Rose of the Winds in the village of Borisovka, in the guest houses in the village of Tsemdolina Lazurny, Alibi, Paradise , Chill Out with price offers 1660-3000 rubles per day

How to get to the Caucasian dolmens

From Moscow to Sochi (Adler) you can take a train or take an air flight, the cost of railway tickets, respectively, is from 2780 rubles, for an airplane - an economy ticket from 2960 rubles. From Moscow to Novorossiysk, a trip by rail will cost about the same amount as to Adler. Coastal highways are regularly followed by buses from Novorossiysk and Sochi, which can be used to get to the nearest settlement from the buildings.

Municipal buses depart from Novorossiysk to Vasilyevka on the route 101 and 102, the fare is 15 rubles.

The dolmens in the valley of the Zhane River are easily accessible by bus 112, which runs between Gelendzhik and the village of Vozrozhdenie.

You can get to the Sochi dolmens by any transport, following the coast through Lazarevskoye, and to the famous Volkonsky - by train to Volkonskaya station. Many travel agencies in Sochi organize excursions to various attractions, including visits to monuments.

Note to tourists

When choosing an excursion to the Caucasian dolmens, you should carefully review its program. As a rule, according to the compiled program, it is easy to understand whether a qualified specialist will lead along a tourist route. Unfortunately, representatives of various sects organize trips to the structures, presenting unique archaeological sites as places of power. Indeed, many scientists have noticed that people near buildings experience various changes in well-being, but they are most likely associated with the placement of megalithic structures on the fault lines of the earth's crust. First of all, dolmens are ancient crypts in the burial places of primitive people.