Dargavs, Russia: Legends, Plague, and the City of the Dead

Dargavs Village

Often referred to as the City of the Dead, Dargavs Village is considered one of the most mysterious places in Russia. This ancient site is located on one of five hills in the Caucasus Mountains and consists of an old cemetery filled with tombs or crypts. Behind these crypts lies the story of peoples who once lived near this place and buried their loved ones there for reasons that have been lost over time.

Strangely enough, the mystery surrounding this city has contributed to the creation of many myths and legends about the place. In the past, local residents refused to go there out of fear that they would never leave alive.

Some sources say that the oldest crypts date back to the 16th century. As for the reason for their construction, it is said that they were built to bury people during a plague that swept through the region and led to the annihilation of its entire population.

The Location and History of Dargavs Village

Dargavs Village is located in the Republic of North Ossetia in southern Russia. It lies about a three-hour drive away via dangerous and winding roads. The village was built in the middle of a mountainous valley stretching 17 kilometers in length and is surrounded by mountains rising up to about 4,000 meters, looming over the village on the horizon.

The first mention of the site dates back to the early 14th century AD, when the ancestors of the Republic of North Ossetia settled in this mountain range. Since land was expensive, they were forced to choose the most difficult places to live, characterized by steep slopes and strong winds blowing over the hill. Despite this, the area was once a center of one of the largest populations in Eastern Ossetia.

At first glance, the cemetery appears to be the remains of a medieval village, with small houses clustered together on a grassy hill. But upon closer inspection, you will not find a single living soul inside any of these houses—because the inhabitants buried their dead here for hundreds of years. Inside each crypt, human skulls and bones have been found.

The Architectural Structure of the Dargavs Crypts

Dargavs Village was built on a grass hill in the form of small white buildings. These house-like white structures are actually stone tombs, and there are nearly 100 of them rising in an extremely organized manner along the hillside. At the back of the village stands an old, nearly ruined watchtower. Legends say that this tower was built to watch over and protect the souls of the villagers. The crypts themselves are shaped like huts with curved roofs.

Dargavs Village: The City of the Dead

These crypts vary in size and height. Some reach heights of two to four stories, while smaller ones have flat fronts, and many have no roofs at all. Each crypt contains a side vault, while the roofs take on pyramid or conical shapes made of slate stone, designed with stepped edges. The walls are built from stone blocks mixed with mortar (lime or clay-lime) and contain square openings resembling windows, designed to place bodies inside.

The people who lived in the valley buried their families and loved ones in these crypts along with their clothing and personal belongings. Each family had its own crypt, and the larger the crypt, the more people were buried inside. Some crypts contain underground chambers, while others have two or even three floors, depending on the number of generations in the family. There were also communal crypts used for those who had no family or who came from outside the village.

Mystery and Legends Surrounding the City of the Dead

Interestingly, the bodies discovered inside the crypts were placed in wooden structures resembling boats (one was even found with an oar beside it). The mystery remains as to how and why boats were placed inside the graves, despite the absence of any navigable rivers nearby. One interpretation suggests that it was believed the departed soul had to cross a river to reach paradise—similar to afterlife beliefs in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Another fascinating fact is the presence of wells in front of each crypt. Many coins were found in the ground near the crypts. It is said that when the Ossetians buried their dead, they would drop a coin into the well. If the coin struck a stone at the bottom, it meant that the soul of the deceased had reached paradise.

One legend surrounding the cemetery claims that any man who dared to enter it would never come out alive, which is said to be why local residents never visit Dargavs Village. Another legend tells of a group of warriors who once abducted a beautiful girl from a distant land. Unable to agree on who would take her, they killed her instead. The gods of the highlands punished them for the murder, causing them to die slowly from a strange disease within these tombs.

Many legends were woven around this village regarding the cause of the inhabitants’ deaths and why no one approaches it. However, most historians believe that a plague struck the Ossetian region sometime between the 16th and 18th centuries, claiming tens of thousands of lives and reducing Ossetia’s population from 200,000 at the end of the 18th century to just 16,000 by the mid-19th century.

To prevent the disease from spreading to their neighbors, some of the infected went with their families and children into these pre-built tombs and never came out again. They survived on small food rations brought to them by local residents, and their bodies were left to decompose inside the huts when they died.

Dargavs Village Today

There are many similar “Cities of the Dead” spread throughout Ossetia, but Dargavs Village is considered the most impressive, likely due to the large number of mausoleums and the stunning natural beauty of the area. During the Soviet era, tourists used to visit the village by bus, and there was even a ticket booth run by an Ossetian babushka (Russian grandmother).

The environment of Dargavs is rich in archaeological landmarks ranging from the Bronze Age to the late Middle Ages, providing archaeologists with a wealth of information about how the Ossetian people lived in the region hundreds of years ago.

Despite the site’s richness, mystery, and beauty, it has become largely abandoned in recent times. Tourists rarely visit—not because of any curse associated with it, but perhaps due to the difficulty of reaching the village.