Oct/20

The City of the Dead in Dargavs

No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in History, Regions, Travel

Dargavs is a small village located in the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania, about 36 km southwest of Vladikavkaz. The area where the village is located has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. A large number of archaeological sites have been discovered here.

The village is very rich in various architectural monuments. The main one is the so-called “City of the Dead” – an old necropolis consisting of 97 stone memorials, which from afar resemble a small mountain village. It is the largest surviving burial of this type in Russia. Dargavs on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexey Zhirukhin.

Each structure is a family crypt, where entire generations are buried. In total, about 10,000 people are buried here. The necropolis was formed in the center of a mountain valley around the 14th century. The last burials date back to the end of the 18th century.

Initially, the crypts were created only as a burial place. However, in the 18th century, during the plague epidemic, they began to be used as a quarantine, where sick families voluntarily isolated themselves with supplies of water and food.