Egikal (; ) is a city-settlement (

aul An aul; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (; ) is a type of fortified village or town found throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia. They are generally built out of stone, on faces of ridges or against cliffs in order to provide protection against su ...

) in the

Dzheyrakhsky District Dzheyrakhsky District (; , ) is an administrative and municipalLaw #5-RZ district (raion), one of the four in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. It is located in the south of the republic. The area of the district is .Official website of the Re ...

Ingushetia Ingushetia or Ingushetiya, officially the Republic of Ingushetia, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country o ...

. It is part of the

rural settlement The definition of a rural settlement depends on the country, in some countries, a rural settlement is any settlement in the areas defined as rural by a governmental office, e.g., by the national census bureau. This may include even rural towns. ...

(administrative center) of Guli. Within its territory are numerous cultural monuments of ancient and medieval Ingush architecture:

cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of masonry, stonework found in Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal Engineering tolerance, clearance between adjacent stones and with clay ...

tower-type dwellings, five combat towers (

Ingush Ingush may refer to: * Ingush language, Northeast Caucasian language * Ingush people, an ethnic group of the North Caucasus See also *Ingushetia (disambiguation) Ingushetia is a federal republic and subject of Russia. Ingushetia may also refer ...

: вӀов, ''vhóv''), six semi-combat towers, and fifty residential towers (

: гӀала, ''ghāla''). There are also a large number of diverse burial sites, including 106 crypt burial grounds, one

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

, and three sanctuaries. These structures, along with the entire territory of the settlement, are currently part of the Dzheyrakh-Assa State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve and are under state protection.

Geography

Egikal is located 85 km south of the capital,

Magas Magas may refer to: Places * Magas, Russia, the capital of the Republic of Ingushetia * Magas, the Persian name of Maghas, the historical capital of medieval Alania * Magas Urban Okrug, a municipal formation into which the town of republic signif ...

, and 25 km east of the district centre,

Dzheyrakh Dzheyrakh ( or ; ) - is a village and administrative center of Dzheyrakhsky District, in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. Etymology The name "Dzheyrakh" is associated with the Arabic name Jarrah (name), Jarrah ("inflicting wounds"). Accordin ...

. The nearest settlements are: Barkhane and Tori to the north, Targim to the east, Khamkhi to the southeast, and Leymi and Ozig to the west.

History

Within the settlement is a site associated with the

Kura–Araxes culture The Kura–Araxes culture (also named ''Kur–Araz culture, Mtkvari–Araxes culture, Early Transcaucasian culture, Shengavitian culture'') was an archaeological culture that existed from about 4000 BC until about 2000 BC, which has traditionally ...

, known as the . It is located to the west of the settlement, toward the Targim Basin, on the southern slopes of a rocky range, and dates to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. The burial ground was discovered and studied by B. M. Khashagulgov in 1988. Also located in Egikal are the remains of more than 15

megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

dwellings dating from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC to the 15th century AD.

Demographics

According to the censuses conducted in 1874, 1883, 1890, 1914, and 1926, the population of Egikal consisted entirely of ethnic Ingush people.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

Открытый Кавказ

Egikal: 3D virtual tour
{{Rural localities in Ingushetia Rural localities in Ingushetia