The Last Remains of the Archaic Block House Tradition in Karachay (Central Caucasus)

Abstract

This paper explores disappearing vernacular architecture in the Karachay region (Karachay-Cherkessk Republic,Russian Federation). Recent research at the University of West Bohemia in cooperation with Karachay-CherkesskUniversity focused on the last preserved examples of block buildings in the mountain villages of Greater Karachayin the central Caucasus. Such buildings mostly disappeared in the late twentieth century due to both the Stalinistdeportation of the Karachay people and modern development. Dendrochronological evidence has helped to datethe surviving vernacular buildings to the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries. Interviews with localinhabitants revealed the cultural context of the traditional housing and attitudes towards it. Possibilities fortracing cultural links and elucidating the historical context of this neglected building culture are also discussed.