Glimpses of the Material Culture History of the Chechens in the 18th Century: Architectural Monuments

The article characterizes the unique high-rise monumental architectural structures of the 18th century - tower and crypt buildings on the territory of Chechnya that form a special complex of historic monuments and material artifacts of the Chechens. As compared to residential towers the military ones are the pinnacle of the ancient Chechens’ architecture and engineering. The Chechen military towers are especially distinguished by “mashikuls” - small protective balconies in the upper floor for successful defense - and large stylized depictions of crosses, snakes, animals and people carved in stone. Some of the tower complexes on the territory of Chechnya can be referred to as “castles” (Pakoch Castle in the valley of the Chanty-Argun river; Aldam-Gezi in the village of Kezenoy; a castle near Galanchozh). A substantial proportion of the architectural monuments in the mountainous areas of Chechnya are those of sepulchral nature - underground and semi-underground crypts as well as elevated ones (malkh-kash). At times the crypt constructions made up “towns of the dead” with houses of various shape and size - the local necropolises. Next to the “towns of the dead” Chechens used to build up sanctuaries - temples. There were two types of sanctuaries. In the 16th through the 18th centuries the pagan sanctuaries and Christian temples were replaced by Muslim mosques that were built of stone and retained features of the traditional architecture. During the period under consideration the Chechens’ settlements were located both in the mountains and on the plains. Living conditions on the plains were found more comfortable by the local population.