On the issue of the methodology of the study of petroglyphs of medieval architectural structures of the North Caucasus

Iliasov Lecha Makhmudovich ORCID: 0000-0002-8824-4303 PhD in Philology Independent researcher 117335, Russia, Moscow, ul. Trade Union, 42, office 4 lechailyasov@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Unlike rock art, whose historiography dates back more than 150 years, petroglyphs of architectural structures have long been treated at best as part of the decor, suggesting that in certain cases it may have a sacred character. Most often, drawings on the stones of ancient buildings were studied as a special type of rock art that has no independent cultural significance, even in regions such as the North Caucasus, where they are very widely represented ^[1].

Scientific interest in petroglyphs of architectural structures of the North Caucasus appeared already in the first half of the XX century. ^{[2; 3; 4]}. In their study, scientists used a technique developed in the process of studying the semantics and functional purpose of rock paintings. At the same time, it was not taken into account that petroglyphs of architectural structures, indeed going back to the ancient rock art, to a certain extent possess visual independence, which cannot but affect their semantic content and functional purpose.

The first work in which the principles of the methodology for the study of petroglyphs of architectural structures of the North Caucasus were proposed was an article by V.I. Markovin, published in 1988. The researcher proposed to study petroglyphs primarily as a single cultural complex together with the structures on which they are applied. At the same time, he believed that the semantics of sacred symbols and their compositions are often determined by the type of object on which they are applied (sanctuary, temple, mosque, military and residential towers, burial structures) as well as their orientation to the countries of the world. According to the scientist, petroglyphs could also be a reflection of the calendar cycle associated with agricultural work, which was decorated with ritual actions and prayers using petroglyphs and their compositions. He believed that the small set of symbols found in the petroglyphs of architectural structures is compensated by their compositions, which are far from as primitive as it seems at first glance. If we treat them as symbols reflecting fully realized concepts and things, then the limited number of them can serve as an additional tool for reading them. Thus, according to the researcher, petroglyphs represent quite definite symbol systems reflecting the world of spiritual culture of the peoples of the North Caucasus, which contain the key to their reading ^{[5, pp.102-123]}.

Issues related to the methodology of studying petroglyphs of medieval architectural structures were considered by L.A. Perfilyeva on the basis of materials identified by her during an expedition to the Assinovskaya basin in mountainous Ingushetia. She singled out "symmetrical and asymmetrical ornaments, images of solar symbols, amulets, anthropomorphic and plot compositions" among the drawings on the towers, but did not substantiate her classification in any way. The researcher also tried to identify patterns in the placement of petroglyphs on towers, dividing them into "tectonic, that is, related to the structural elements of the building, and atectonic, that is, located arbitrarily, but she herself came to the conclusion that such a classification is conditional. Based on the materials of architecture and topography, L.A. Perfilieva came to the conclusion that in some cases residential towers with petroglyphs, along with ordinary ones, performed cult functions ^{[6, pp.124-136]}. Perhaps, by highlighting the "tectonic" petroglyphs, she meant the drawings on the arched stones of the entrance and window openings of residential and combat towers.

Thus, already in the works of researchers of the second half of the XX century. there is an idea that petroglyphs of architectural structures, on the one hand, represent a special cultural phenomenon that has its own canon of image and is part of a single cultural and sacred space, which includes the building itself and often the territory adjacent to it. On the other hand, they have their origins in rock carvings, and often retain stylistic and semantic similarities with them.

The ancient artist chose the most capacious, universal symbols from the pictorial baggage of rock art, capable of capturing sacred information very important for the collective on the small surface of a building stone, capable of protecting the building from all evil, or a prayer addressed to pagan deities for the well-being and prosperity of the people living in it, or a cosmogonic myth of cult significance. Therefore, we find sacred symbols on the walls of the towers, which belong to the basic archetypes and retain their sacred relevance for thousands of years.

Compositions with images of magical rites were also applied to the stones of architectural structures, "since magic is limited by strict conditions of its effectiveness: accurate reproduction of the witchcraft formula, impeccable perfection of the ritual, strict observance of taboos and ceremonies of the rite" ^{[7, pp.91-95]}.

In addition, it can be assumed that petroglyphs were also used to preserve and transmit important sacred or social information to community members using special symbols (code), which had ancient traditions in this geographical and cultural zone ^{[8, pp.37-46]}.

                                                                                                                                               In interpreting the semantics of petroglyphs, regardless of their nature (rock carvings or petroglyphs of architectural structures), the main role, according to D.G. Savinov, should be played by specially selected paradigms that determine the goal setting, content and purpose of drawings on stones, including "a system of values characteristic of this historical epoch, reflected in monuments of fine art, images/compositions that are understandable to both the creators and the recipients of these images." According to the researcher, four paradigms can be distinguished in the history of rock art: conditionally totemic, mythological, epic and paleoethnographic, developing in two successive directions: cultic-genealogical and socio-cultural. The meaning and functional purpose of a petroglyphic composition is determined based on the assumed semantics of its constituent figures. Selective consideration of the semantics of individual petroglyphs is just as important for a proper understanding of their meaning as the study of the context and composition that they make up. It is in the composition that one can understand and objectively interpret the content of petroglyphs, the semantics of which are complemented and complicated due to their connections within the composition ^{[9, pp.238-248]}.

Of great importance is the definition of the style of petroglyphs, thanks to which it is possible to designate the chronology and belonging of the drawing to any archaeological epoch. According to the definition of E.A. Okladnikova, "the stylistic features of the characteristics of rock art monuments include many interrelated elements that have substantial or thematic, ideological significance and compositional unity... In fact, the style of rock art monuments is the way, the nature of the presentation of thoughts that possessed the ancient artist at the time of his creation of a work of art" ^{[10, pp.166-175]}.

Equally important is the identification of pictorial mythologies in petroglyphic compositions, the search and correct reading of which remains the most effective way of revealing the content of petroglyphic monuments. In this regard, ideograms occupy a special place, that is, images "encoded" by the authors themselves (various kinds of solar symbols; geometric, including curved shapes; "labyrinths"), which, since ancient times, have existed in parallel with realistic ones, have an independent meaning and are in no way the result of anythen schematization ^[9].

These formulas are also found in petroglyphs of architectural structures in the North Caucasus, which allows them to be used as a tool for interpreting the semantics of individual symbols and their compositions.

For example, inverted (anthropomorphic and zoomorphic) figures are interpreted by researchers as dead ^{[11, pp.52-72]}. And this semantics is taken for granted – almost none of them bother to justify it. But in the religious beliefs of Chechens and Ingush of pagan times, the other world was perceived as an inverted reflection of the world of the living. The ancient Vainakhs believed that everything in the world of the dead is upside down and reflected this in their petroglyphs. To this day, Chechens have preserved the belief that shoes turned upside down with the sole can bring death to their owner, which indicates the stability of ancient religious ideas in the minds of the Vainakhs.

As for the inverted zoomorphic images on the stones of residential and combat towers, we can assume an imitation of sacrifice, which has been practiced in the North Caucasus since the Early Bronze Age. For many years, researchers believed that stones with inverted images appeared in the masonry of the tower as a result of an error by the master, who did not understand their meaning ^[11]. But in a region where builders, until recently, were particularly scrupulous about the sacralization of any type of structures, such mistakes were excluded. For example, a stone with a stylized image of a goat upside down is embedded in the wall of the battle tower of the village of Dere. The stone, both in color and texture, belongs to the same rock as the entire building material of the tower. This indicates that the petroglyph was painted during the construction of the tower and is an imitation of a sacrifice dedicated to this event. At the same time, the goat was considered a sacred animal in the North Caucasus, which was most often sacrificed or it became a trophy for winners in horse races or archery competitions ^{[1, pp.149-159]}. The goat was sacrificed during the ceremony of admission of new members to the tap, after which they were called "the people of the tap who sacrificed the goat."

In the compositions of petroglyphs of architectural structures of the North Caucasus, there are stylized anthropomorphic images that have parallels in Koban bronze plastic. These are figures of people with their arms hanging down in a bracket and their legs spread wide, as, for example, on the arched stone of the entrance of the residential tower of the village of Talkali. Images of anthropomorphic figures in this position are found not only in petroglyphs of the North Caucasus, but also in rock paintings of Siberia. They can express a variety of feelings (humility, submission, prayer), researchers note their polysemanticism ^{[11, pp.57-71]}.

Special stylistic techniques are used in petroglyphs of Chechnya when depicting mythological creatures, pagan deities, which significantly exceed the size of anthropomorphic figures. This technique (as well as a phallic sign) is used in rock art in many regions of the world (Scandinavia, Northwest Russia, Siberia, Central Asia) not only to designate deities, but also the social status of people, mythological heroes ^{[13, pp.222-263]}. Images of heroes in petroglyphs of Chechnya are usually accompanied by drawings of daggers and other weapons, both in rock carvings and on gravestone steles. In the composition, an anthropomorphic figure with huge hands is depicted on a residential tower in the village of Talkali, which is several times larger than the figures of people (men and women) placed under her raised and spread arms. In the lower right and left corners of the composition, oblique crosses are painted, which are an attribute of the supreme deity and testify to the protection of people by him, as well as the pose of the deity itself. The huge size in relation to other figures, the unusual drawing of a zoomorphic head (zoomorphic features in an anthropomorphic figure), disproportionately large palms, oblique crosses as attributes can be confirmation that we have an image of the supreme deity in front of us.

                                                                                                                                              Among the petroglyphs of Chechnya, there are many drawings of anthropomorphic figures with three-fingered hands and feet. The presence of such unusual features as three-toededness is a quality of mythological creatures among many peoples of the world, but by some researchers of rock art it is interpreted as a disability of the body and an indicator of the attitude to the lower world ^{[14, pp.126-127]}. In the petroglyphs of the North Caucasus, the three-toed, in our opinion, is an indicator of belonging not only to the mythological characters of the lower level, but also to the creatures of the upper world. Threefingers emphasize not bodily inferiority, but a peculiarity, a difference from ordinary people, their status. This is evidenced by the presence of solar symbols next to three-toed creatures in some compositions, which for the most part can be interpreted as solar myths.

                                                                                                                                              The semantics of the image of the rider depends on the content of the compositions. Sometimes anthropomorphic figures in the form of a horseman are found in hunting scenes, which most likely have a mythological character. In some compositions, images of horsemen are found next to a spiral, or arranged vertically, as if going down. In such cases, it can be assumed that we are talking about a guide who accompanies the souls of the dead to the world of the dead. This plot can be correlated with the tradition of burying a horse with its owner, which existed in the North Caucasus for a long time. One of the heroes of the Nart epic Vainakh Botky Shirtka could visit the world of the dead and return back and even accompany other people there ^{[15, pp.143-151]}. The vertical position of the rider suggests that he descends into the other world, which is located below, underground ^{[16, pp.58-61]}. Interesting from the point of view of semantics are spirals, which in compositions are depicted next to a horseman or with a zoomorphic figure upside down (a dead animal), which allows us to interpret this symbol as a path to the world of the dead. Even if we proceed from the interpretation of the spiral as a coiled snake, then given that it was considered in the mythological representations of many peoples a chthonic being and a guide to the world of the dead, there is reason to assume the significance of the spiral as a road to the other world. This is also confirmed by the semantics of the double helix as a reflection of the movement of the sun across the sky, which "dies" in the evening, leaving for the world of the dead, and in the morning "resurrects" again and returns to the world of the living. At the same time, in the mythology of the Scandinavian peoples, it is the horse that pulls the sun at noon ^{[17, pp.127-138]}. The double helix is associated with the ability of the dead to return to this world for a while ^{[16, p.61]}.

                                                                                                                                    Zoomorphic figures are represented by deer, goats, horses, feline predators, and birds. The most common petroglyph in Chechnya is the image of a deer, which is found in compositions representing solar myths and rituals of hunting magic, and in cosmogonic plots can be interpreted as a totemic animal. The same can be said about the image of a goat ^{[1, pp.149-159]}, which can act in various guises. The researchers note the semantic multilayering (polysemanticism) of rock carvings, which, in addition to references to social reality, may indicate myths and legends known in ancient society.

In the petroglyphs of Chechnya, there are images of waterfowl, which in the mythology of different peoples are perceived differently, both as representatives of the Upper World (creators of the world, demiurges) ^{[15, pp.143-151]}, and as creatures of the lower world, the water element ^{[18, p.98]}, and swans are the personification of the souls of noble warriors. The swallow, whose image we see on a stone in the village of Bavloy, is a character in the Nart epic. She brings water in her beak to quench the thirst of the Nipple of Solsa, who drank molten copper. In the views of Chechens and Ingush, the swallow is a messenger of good. 

A special group includes sacred animals, in the name of which there is a root "phya – blood": phyu – male, phyid – frog, phyagal – hare. The frog and the hare are characters of the Nart epic and are related to each other, while the name of the hare is taboo and replaced by the word "long-eared". Images of frogs are found on tombstone steles, perhaps as embodiments of creatures of the lower world, but not hostile to man, but bringing him goodness, fertility, unlike the hare, the pronouncing of whose name brings bad luck. The dog was also a creature of the lower world, but already as a faithful assistant to man, as his faithful guardian, who accompanied him to the world of the dead and guarded him there. The veneration of the dog appeared in the North Caucasus back in the Late Bronze Age, and, apparently, was associated with its important role in human economic activity ^{[19, pp.20-22]}. The image of a dog is found in petroglyphic compositions that reflect mythological plots related to "space" hunting, as well as next to anthropomorphic figures, such as in compositions in the villages of Sharoy and Khamkhi (Ingushetia).

Based on the range of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures present in petroglyphic compositions of Chechnya, it can be assumed that they correspond to the mythological and epic paradigms of rock art ^{[11, pp.57-71]}. The first one includes myths related to the solar cult, cosmogonic plots, the second, epic paradigm – Nart legends (about the journey of Botky Shirtka to the underworld, about a swallow carrying water in its beak for Solsa's Nipple, etc.).

The petroglyphs of Chechnya in individual compositions reflect the structure of the universe, consisting of three vertical levels: the upper, middle and lower worlds, which, in turn, are divided into horizontal parts. At the same time, the universe, according to the Vainakhs, has integrity and unity and is in constant motion ^{[20, pp.104-111]}.

Thus, despite the limited set of symbols used in petroglyphs of architectural images of the North Caucasus, due to the new semantics that appear as a result of their various combinations in compositions, they have wide pictorial possibilities for expressing social, mythological and religious information. At the same time, the content of many sacred symbols and their compositions is to a certain extent "canonized" and known to both the "artist" and his "audience". Typologically, petroglyphs of architectural structures in the North Caucasus occupy an intermediate place between rock art and pictographic writing. Genetically, they go back to rock paintings and preserve the "ideograms" that originated in rock art, which, to some extent, facilitates their interpretation.