ON THE PROBLEM OF ATTRIBUTES, PECULIARITIES AND CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE CITY CEMETERIES OF THE CENTRAL CISCAUCASIA OF THE X–XIV CENTURIES

Abstract

The structural peculiarities and characteristics of the large tombs in the city type centers of the late Alania and the Golden Horde with the archeological complexes of the developed medieval epoch such as Rome mountain in the vicinity of Koslovodsk in Stavropol border and the Upper Julat township in North Osetia as examples have been considered in the report. The community and clan and also the “pagan” catacomb tombs in their basis, Christian and Muslim graves and cemeteries are considered as parts of these complexes. Among the attributes and the typical features of these cemeteries the most prominent are: large scale, the combination and the close location of the diff erent types of the tomb constructions and the confessional variety of the rites, the high density fulfi llment of the tomb fi eld plots, the concentration, overcrowding, the multi–level, the overlap and the overcut of the tomb complexes, the mutual overlap of the tomb and the economic and household complexes, the using of the functioning and the deserted plots of land used for the rites and some other purposes, etc. All these indicators are the refl ection of the multiplicity, the ethnic–cultural, social, and policonfessional complicity of the city centers population structure. The extremely intensive use of the tomb territories indicates also the scantiness of the free city land, the prestige of being buried there and also possible high cost of the city cemeteries plots of land.