Dargavs — the City of the Dead

OVERVIEW

Outside the village of Dargavs lies a late medieval necropolis, the 'City of the Dead', of 99 tombs and crypts climbing the mountainside, some two to four storeys high, with square openings through which the dead were placed inside. A tower stands at the back of the burial complex.

HISTORY

Archaeological excavation has shown that people of the neighbouring villages often buried their families in small wooden 'boats' — though there is no navigable river nearby — perhaps so that the souls could cross the wide river they would meet after death. The dead were buried with some of their belongings. The ground is scattered with coins: Ossetians would throw a coin for a dead relative, and if it hit a stone the soul was believed to have reached heaven.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

Several myths surround the cemetery, one being that any man who dared to walk in would never come out alive — one reason, the article says, why local people almost never go there.

VISITING

A popular tourist destination, about an hour from Vladikavkaz on narrow roads across many hills.