Fortress of "warm water"

25
Fortress of "warm water"
Frame from the filmstrip "The Tale of Dahanago" (1957)

“Then they said to each other:
“What should we do? We answered ourselves
When they entered the battle with heaven:
Than we live in slavery and endure shame,
It’s better for everyone to die with glory.”
Such was the end of the courageous Narts.
Let the world remember the exploits of their military "

"The Last Battle", from the epic of the Narts

History and culture. And it was so that in childhood my parents very often showed filmstrips to me. One of them, “The Tale of Dakhanago”, I especially remember. And how could it be otherwise, because the heroine there was such a beautiful girl with long golden hair. It turns out that Narts lived in the Caucasus a long time ago - ancient mythical relatives of such peoples as Kabardians, Ossetians, Balkars, in a word, those who inhabited the Kuban and the North Caucasus, lived on the coast of the Black and Caspian Seas, near Elbrus and Kazbek, along the banks of the rivers Don and Terek, and built the city of Derbent. But I found out all this later. In the meantime, sledges, so sledges - the main thing is that the girl there was very beautiful.


Another frame from the filmstrip "The Legend of Dakhanago", which shows how Yapanes fights with Dahanago. I always wanted them to finish the fight as soon as possible and sit down at the wedding table

Many years passed and it turned out that I ended up in places directly connected with the ancient legends of the Narts, and which the Adygs called "Psyfabe" (warm water), and today there is a resort Goryachiy Klyuch. Resting at a resort is always useful, but far from always interesting from a cognitive point of view - you lead yourself a kind of semi-vegetative existence, eat, drink, sleep and get wet in mineral water. However, any recreation also has a cognitive side, especially if you walk around the neighborhood of the place where you ended up.




Beautiful, isn't it?

And the places are really amazing. And beautiful in a special way, in autumn. Rocks, water and a ghostly, autumn sky are very beautiful in their own right. But it’s curious - where does this path lead, or, say, that one over there. I went and ... it turns out that this place is not at all easy. Actually, it has always been not easy, because the foothills of the North Caucasus have always attracted immigrants here.


Rocks, water and orange leaves. Where are you, Monet?

And who just did not settle here before the same Adygs. Scythians and Sarmatians, Meotians and Greeks, and also Goths, Huns, Avars, Kasogs - in a word, a whole set of tribes and cultures. And someone passed by the local mountains, in a hurry to occupy the fertile plains, and someone climbed here specifically to find shelter from numerous enemies.


What's left of the fort...

And here, on the western slope of the Abadzekh mountain, a little higher than the Petushok rock (“Rock of Salvation”), archaeological excavations that began in the fall of 1989 discovered the remains of the foundations of an ancient fortress.


Photo of excavations in 1989


Path carved into the rock

The excavations uncovered not only the remains of the walls and bastions of the fortress, but also the pavement, religious structures, and samples of local ceramics. It was established that Psyfabe is a Zikh-Fat fortress founded in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries. and lasted until the XIII-XVI centuries.

Of course, one should not think that if you come to this place, then ruins will open to you, like those that were unearthed in ancient Knossos. Of course not. But even what is is better than nothing, especially if nature has endowed you with fantasy. Then this is really cool!


Needless to say, an assault of such steepness would have been given to the enemy with considerable difficulty, if he even wanted to contact him. I personally wouldn't...

Apparently, this platform above the Cockerel rock as a naturally protected place has attracted people since the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (1 BC), that is, pre-Ottoic time (first centuries AD). This is evidenced by the finds of ceramics in the fortress, exhibited in the local museum, as well as precious jewelry, coins and weapon Bosporan and Byzantine times, which were brought by the inhabitants of the Psekup valley as sacrifices to a mineral spring near the Abadzekh mountain.

In other words, even then people noticed that “warm waters” have a healing effect, and if it is curative, then this, of course, is from the gods, and the latter need to be thanked and appeased.


But what about the fortress can be read directly at the place where it stood

However, quite archaic remains of ceramics of the Early Bronze Age, that is, the time of the Maikop culture tribes that once inhabited the valley of the river, were found in the fortress. Psekups. However, the place is really not only beautiful, but also convenient, and most importantly - people came here to heal, well, they paid the owners of the fortress for the right to drink local water and bathe in its source!


And now let's add some natural beauty, which, as you know, is eternal, and let's go get acquainted with the rusty iron of past eras ...

During the Great Migration of Peoples, in order to protect themselves from the raids of the Huns and Avars of the 1,5th-XNUMXth centuries. the site on the mountain was also surrounded by a moat, cut into a rock XNUMX m deep; behind which three walls and several polygonal towers were erected at once.

Together with the watch tower, this brought its dimensions to 62 m in length and 43 m in width. At the same time, the walls of the fortress had a thickness of 3,5 m, and were built from blocks cut from sandstone and fastened with clay mortar. It is interesting that the wall construction technology here was exactly the same as that used in the construction of western knightly castles: that is, two walls were built - external (40-50 cm thick) and internal (30 cm thick), and all the space between them was covered with chipped stone.


Circassian daggers. Well, how could it be without them here in the Caucasus?

It is interesting that in the constructions of Psyfabe there is a purely Caucasian tradition - the construction of a fortress in a place that nature itself created impregnable and ... the construction of towers, bastions and walls in the Byzantine style. In the ruins of the fortress, the remains of a solar pagan temple were also found, which was then converted into a Christian temple (it is known that Byzantium from the XNUMXth century spread Christianity among the Zikhs and Kasogs).


The plan of the fortress, compiled by the archaeologist N. Lovpache


And this is him, with the same card

It is quite possible, therefore, that the temple in Psyfabe is the northernmost Christian sanctuary found in the territory of the North Caucasus and functioned long before the baptism of Rus' in the XNUMXth century - that's even how!

Moreover, archaeologists suggest that Psyfabe was not only a citadel for the Adyghe population, but also a feudal castle of the Khamysheevsky prince Lavristan, who is known as the most active opponent of the Avars. And maybe there was a border here, beyond which the Avars never passed?


Traces of human activity are everywhere. You walk and remember for some reason ... "Hagakure" - "Sheltered under the leaves" ...


Half-filled cave today. It is believed that earlier, when it was of natural size, supplies were stored in it in a cool

The museum has quite a lot of interesting exhibits, although the misfortune and scourge of our museums is their poverty. Only a specialist can be interested in terribly rusty pieces of iron, in which there is no iron left, and one can only guess about their original form. Here, for example, are the arrowheads and spearheads found here.


Tips: 1-2. Spearheads, 3th–4th centuries 5. Knife for cutting leather. 6. Spearhead (copper). 7. Arrowhead, XII-XIII centuries. 8. Arrowhead (bronze), village Martanskaya. 9. Arrowhead (iron). 10. Knife (fragment), XII-XIV centuries. XNUMX. Arrowhead, XII-XIII centuries. XNUMX. The tip of the ancient Russian arrow "srezen", X-XII centuries.


Axes and broken pots in all museums are almost the same

But here's what seemed really interesting to me: this shield with a umbon and a very well-preserved helmet. Probably not made of iron, that's why it looks like that.


Shield, umbon XIII-XIV centuries.


Helmet of the Adyghe warrior. I wish they could turn it into a completely new product, like a shield, put it on a beautiful male mannequin and put it somewhere in a conspicuous place so that people could take pictures next to it!

In general, as they say, although "a trifle, but nice." It is gratifying that they are digging, it is joyful that our history is being collected bit by bit, that there is one more place on the map of our country where, standing and looking around, you can feel the inexorable passage of time. Well, going to the local museum, you can see artifacts that are interesting for everyone who is attracted by Russian history.


Diorama overlooking the Psyfabe fortress

PS


The diorama in the museum was my favorite. It is made very realistic, which is especially noticeable when you return from a walk around these places.
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25 comments
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  1. +4
    27 November 2022 05: 33
    I remembered the words of A.S. Pushkin about wonderful discoveries... The study of history always brings discoveries that are interesting to learn about. How many are still unopened? Thank you, Svetlana, for the story.
  2. +8
    27 November 2022 06: 52
    Good morning!
    Great story. Thanks Svetlana!
    Dear editors, in my opinion, it is worth thinking about creating a separate section *World of travel.*Yesterday and today we were simply pleased with marvelous articles! good
    Have a nice relaxing day everyone!
    1. +5
      27 November 2022 14: 48
      Hello, Sergey! smile
      I join in your gratitude to Svetlana good and I fully support the creation of a separate rubric like "The World of Travel". Yes
      1. +5
        27 November 2022 15: 09
        Quote: Sea Cat
        headings like "The World of Travel".

        Greetings Konstantin!
        And why not? There are authors who travel, there are readers who are interested in reading about places where they have not been. Yes, even if they have been, why not remember that event? Not comment? And now you can see such memories in any section, up to *News*. hi
  3. +6
    27 November 2022 07: 54
    Thanks, Svetlana.

    Landscapes and artifacts. What could be better?!
  4. +4
    27 November 2022 08: 02
    Thanks Svetlana, a wonderful story about my native places. Yes, the foothills of the Caucasus are the most beautiful and interesting places. The handles of the Circassian (Adyghe) daggers, not the Cossack ones, but the Circassian ones, have always surprised me. They have a very small handle, three fingers of an adult, I can’t imagine what kind of grip they had.
    PS Write more, great article!
    1. +8
      27 November 2022 09: 01
      They have a very small handle, three fingers of an adult, I can’t imagine what kind of grip they had.
      Perhaps with an overlap of the index and middle fingers over the guard. Such retention of the blade greatly expands the possibilities of stabbing.
      1. +5
        27 November 2022 09: 37
        Quote: 3x3zsave
        Perhaps with an overlap of the index and middle fingers over the guard. Such retention of the blade greatly expands the possibilities of stabbing.

        Yes, there is no guard as such, it is not convenient to keep it that way. And the first protrusion, where the handle is attached to the blade, does not always protrude strongly. On a checker, the handle is always larger than the palm of an adult man, due to this it can be twisted as you like (flanking), but I don’t understand how with a dagger. He held the dagger in his hands a hundred times, it is convenient, the stabbing blow is magnificent, but the Cossack one, but I don’t understand the Circassian one. And the early authorized dagger of the Black Sea Cossack army is also very interesting (I can’t quickly find a picture). His blade curve was not the same as that of a saber or bebut, and the plane of the dagger was bent upwards.
        1. +5
          27 November 2022 09: 51
          Yes, there is no guard as such
          This I know. But I have no other suggestion to justify such a small handle.
          1. +5
            27 November 2022 10: 01
            Quote: 3x3zsave
            This I know. But I have no other suggestion to justify such a small handle.

            I think maybe the little finger was placed under the handle, so that the emphasis would be better during the injection? There is chainmail and so on. There is a lot of video on the checker, but I didn’t see anything worthwhile on the dagger.
          2. +2
            27 November 2022 20: 43
            Everything is very simple with this handle, on early daggers it is quite normal, but on later, purely decorative ones, it is already so fashionable. There, the blades are often useless, although the frame is rich
            1. +1
              27 November 2022 20: 54
              Hi, Igor!
              How is Texas?
              In Los Angeles, as far as I know, everything is fine.
              1. +1
                29 November 2022 18: 51
                Yes, so-so, the crisis is both economic and political request
            2. +2
              27 November 2022 21: 14
              I’m not sure, but in my opinion, on the old dagger, I paid attention to this for the first time, I’ll be in Armavir, I’ll go to the museum specially, I saw it there for the first time.
        2. +4
          27 November 2022 20: 48
          You don’t need to turn the saber in battle, flanking is just a beautiful trick, in a real battle a saber is worse than a saber because it is impossible for it to fence, and the absence of a guard is far from the only minus, weight distribution and balancing interfere much more. A saber is a melee weapon from the times of the decline of melee weapons in general, hence the constructive, you can chop, you can’t fence
          1. +3
            27 November 2022 21: 17
            Quote: Icelord
            No need to turn the saber in battle, flanking is just a beautiful trick ...

            I understand this.))) There, in my opinion, the exercises were three blows and an injection, on horseback. I saw old shootings of the Red Army, probably from the 30s.
      2. +2
        27 November 2022 21: 24
        Anton, hello! Hello and all honest company!
        It is interesting that the wall construction technology here was exactly the same as that used in the construction of western knightly castles: that is, two walls were built - external (40-50 cm thick) and internal (30 cm thick), and all the space between them was covered with chipped stone.

        I read about Novgorod in the book "Fortresses of the North-West of Russia" that its wooden Detinets was built from log cabins, and a "cultural layer" was filled up between them. In general, the gaps between the two log cabins, internal and external, were covered with guan and sticks, as they say. Is it true?

        To the author, dear Svetlana - my bow. love My fiancee is from Kabarda. Her school history teacher, Artur (Anton, Mikhail and Sergei Mikhailov know him) also moved to St. Petersburg and lives not far from me. For the first time he had a "glass of tea" and told me about the Narts, before that I had never heard of them at all. He even sang a Kabardian song about Badinoko (one of the Narts).
        Here is her remark performed by Astemir Apanasov:




        Narts are an interesting topic. The main "hero-warrior", like Hercules in Dr. Greece - Sosruko. And he died like Achilles - he had his own "weak point", legs, which the Fire Wheel ran over.
        And I had a customer, originally from Ossetia. My name is Dzerassa. Very beautiful girl. love There was also such a goddess among the Narts - Dzerassa! Yes
        In general, our country is multinational, multicultural, and thank God! If only they themselves found a language with each other, and we will all be happy! drinks
        1. +1
          27 November 2022 21: 52
          Badinoko, Sosruko...
          Are you sure that there were no "children of Amaterasu" here?)))
          1. +1
            27 November 2022 22: 12
            Are you sure that there were no "children of Amaterasu" here?

            Pretty sure. stop Shintoism is a separate religion, and, I think, the Japanese themselves cannot understand themselves now - they are Shintoists, Zen Buddhists, or a mixture of both. However, this is organically intertwined in their society and worldview. hi And, if necessary, we will all die for the Mikado! angry
            You read about the sex life of the Narts better on Wikipedia. wink How Sosruko was born, and how Dzerassa gave birth. So to speak... what Funky! request Those entertainers still lived in the Caucasus then, it seems ... wink
            But the way Sosruko died is a direct reference to Achilles, to his "Achilles heel"! hi
            1. +1
              27 November 2022 22: 28
              You read about the sex life of the Narts better on Wikipedia.
              I'd rather not. And then all of a sudden I start having wet dreams, and I want to kill some graduate student ... And Moika is not at hand!
              1. +2
                27 November 2022 23: 25
                And then all of a sudden I start having wet dreams, and I want to kill some graduate student ... And Moika is not at hand!

                You are not a lecturer. So it shouldn't start. laughing
  5. +7
    27 November 2022 10: 26
    It turns out that Narts lived in the Caucasus a long time ago - ancient mythical relatives of such peoples as Kabardians, Ossetians, Balkars

    just don’t tell the Ossetians that they are not the only descendants of the Narts))) Yes
    And the French scientist and linguist Georges Dumezil believed that it was the legends about the Narts that were at the heart of the legends about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Like it or not, it's hard for me to say, but "the death of King Arthur" and "the death of Batradz" are written as a blueprint. request
  6. +4
    27 November 2022 10: 49
    "Narts from Abkhazia". Finally, they explained that the northern sleigh was out of business here.
  7. +4
    27 November 2022 20: 40
    It’s true that I’m not a very big specialist in Caucasian daggers, but firstly, it’s not a fact that they are Circassian, and secondly, the end of the 19th, or even the beginning of the 20th century, this is too late the Middle Ages))) and the article itself is very pleasant, I read it from interest
  8. +2
    27 November 2022 22: 26
    The place is really beautiful...
    And fairy tales about Narts are really more or less common for the Caucasus ..

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