Funa

Funa (Demerdzhinsky fortification). Castle XIV-XV centuries. Located 2 km north of the village. Radiant (formerly Demerdzhi). The fortification is located on a small rocky hill, from which the entire Alushta valley is clearly visible. From the north, east and west, the fortress territory was protected by walls. From the south and southwest it is surrounded by rocky cliffs 5-6 m high. A parapet was built along the cliff. The greatest length of the fortress from north to south is 106 m, from west to east - 56 m. The fortification area is 0.52 hectares.

Initially (in the 8th - 10th centuries) the settlement was located below the Ghost Gorge, occupying the top of the watershed with an area of ​​about 4 hectares. On the western slope of this hill near the source, several ceramic kilns were built in which amphorae, flasks, jugs, pots, sinkers for nets, tiles and other products were fired.

In the 10th century the settlement perishes during a fire and is never restored. Residents are forced to move higher into the mountains - to the Ghost Gorge. This place is less convenient for living, but safer. The gorge itself is divided by deep rocky ravines into two parts: the south-eastern and - flatter - north-western, on which the settlement is located. Those places where it was possible to pass were closed with stone barriers. Houses were built on the terraces of steep slopes, and on two rocky capes - two small churches, near one of which there was a necropolis. Natural, slightly deepened and widened rock cracks were used for the graves. Fragments of plaster with traces of fresco painting were collected on the ruins of one of the churches. Apparently, at the same time (in the 10th-12th centuries) on the opposite side of the gorge, where the road from the yayla to the valley passed, a small guard fortification 30 x 40 m was erected.

The agricultural lands of the inhabitants of this settlement were located at the very foot of the mountain. The remains of terraces have been preserved here to this day. On one of them, several years ago, a pithos dug into the slope was accidentally found.

By the end of XII - beginning. XIII century life in the mountain settlement gradually froze, people moved to the valley, closer to fields, gardens, vineyards, and above all to water. The new settlement was located between the landslide (adjacent to its rocky blocks) and the hill on which the fortress was subsequently built.

There is a burial ground near the settlement on the hillside. It revealed the ruins of six chapels, two of which were explored (one in 1966 by O.A. Makhneva, the other by the author in 1982).

As a result of the first stage of the study of the Funa fortress, the following conclusion can be drawn. Before her appearance, there were some buildings in the same place, surrounded by a thick wall. The good quality of these buildings suggests that there was originally a small monastery here, which was destroyed in the 13th century. In the next century, a fortification with powerful walls and two towers was erected on its ruins.

Throughout its relatively short existence, Funa was destroyed and rebuilt. The lower layer of the fire can be attributed to the first half of the 15th century. (until 1459). With what exactly events of the second quarter of the 15th century. Can we connect the first destruction of the fortress? At this time, both the Genoese (Carlo Lomellino's expedition of 1434) and the Turks showed significant military activity, who, having reached the Black Sea and demonstrating their strength, launched a series of predatory attacks on the coastal territories of the Black Sea states. It is possible that in the course of further excavations it will be possible to clarify the causes of the fire and the first destruction of Funa.

In 1459, the fortress was rebuilt by one of the Mangup princes and carried border service until 1475, when the castle was captured and destroyed by the Turks. It is noteworthy that the Funa donjon, built in 1459, is a slightly smaller copy of the Mangup one, about the time of construction of which different opinions were expressed. Thus, E.V. Weimarn dates the construction of the Mangup citadel to the 6th century, N.I. Repnikov and A.G. Herzen - to the 14th century, and A.L. Berthier-Delagarde - to the 16th century. Similarity in size, layout, entrances, embrasures, wall thickness, masonry technique, etc. gives grounds to say that the Mangup citadel was erected in the 15th century. The growth of “Turkish fear” (timer Turcorum) after the capture of Constantinople in 1453 forced many rulers of the Black Sea states, including Mr. Theodoro, to take care of strengthening their borders.

An archaeological survey of the Alushta Valley shows that in the 14th century. There are only two fortresses left here: Aluston and Funa. But if Alushta is known as a fortified locality from the 6th century, Funa was first mentioned in documents in 1384. regarding the bickering of the metropolitans - Gothic, Sugdean and Chersonese - over a number of parishes. According to A.L. Berthier-Delagarde, in this area of ​​the coast there were two districts mentioned in the sources - Kensanus and Ellis; and Funa and Aluston belonged to the first of them. The question arises - who owned these two fortifications? From the building inscription found during the excavations of the donjon of Funa, it is clear that it was owned by the gentlemen of Theodoro, and the monograms on the bowls from the same donjon indicate the name of the owner - Alexander. This name was already known. Let us briefly recall its history. Alexander is the son of Ulu Bey. After the death of his father in 1471, he was forced to settle in exile with his brother-in-law, the Wallachian ruler, and stayed there until 1474, when his uncle Isaac died, usurping the throne, and his son took the latter’s place. Arriving in Crimea with a small detachment of Wallachians (300 soldiers), Alexander managed to gain a foothold on Mangup and organized the defense of the capital when the Turks approached in the summer of 1475. Was Funa a family castle, owned by the crown prince Alexander, having received it from his father? Alexander's kinship not only with the house of the Emperors of Constantinople, but also with the Girays is indicated by the tamga of this family, placed at the base of the monogram decorating the watering bowls. Whether the prince himself lived permanently in the castle until 1471, or whether only the garrison subordinate to him was stationed here, does not change the essence.

Comparing Funa with other fortresses of the Mountain Crimea of ​​the XIII-XV centuries, we note that in the layers of the XIV-XV centuries. Not a single labor tool was found here, except for a few carpentry tools (saw, chisel, hammer). Only weapons were discovered (arrowheads for bows and crossbows, fragments of a sword, stone ballista and sling balls, an armor plate). And millstones and weights for presses were used as building material. There was also a supply of provisions: approximately half of the pithos discovered in the fortress (32 copies) contained grain, and the rest, obviously, contained water. It follows from this that the garrison of the fortress was engaged exclusively in guard duty.

It is difficult to judge the size of the Funa garrison until all the premises have been revealed and their functional purpose has been determined. In our opinion, it hardly exceeded 30-50 warriors.

It should also be noted that none of the fortifications mountain Crimea did not have such a significant density of towers, the distance between which is 13-17 m with a norm of 35-40 m. Protruding beyond the line of the walls by 2.6-7 m, the fortress towers provided effective flank fire, eliminating the “dead” space in front of the curtains.

Returning to the question of ownership of the Alushta fortress, we can say that Lusta was part of the “Captainty of Gothia”. Italian sources say that the Genoese on the Crimean coast owned several fortresses: Caffa, Sugdeya, Cembalo, etc. Obviously, the owner of Lusta, who in 1474 found support and protection from the gentlemen of Theodoro in the fight against the Guasco family, was in vassal dependence on them. And it was not for nothing that the last consul of Soldai, Christofore di Negro, expressed concern that the castle of the Guasco brothers in the village of Tassili could be captured by gentlemen from Gothia or the Turks.

The materials that can be obtained by continuing the study of the internal fortress buildings of Funa will undoubtedly give an idea of ​​​​the life and daily activities of the inhabitants of the fortress. This will be one of the tasks of its further archaeological research.

Funa - Church of St. Theodore Stratelates

The church is one of the main objects of excavation in the fortification. Before work began, only the surviving part of the altar apse rose to a height of 5.50 m above the modern day surface. Excavations have revealed almost the entire building and its adjacent buildings. The church was two-story, with a box vault (second floor ceiling). The apse is oriented to the east. Actually, only the second floor was suitable for church services, and the first floor was probably always used as a fortress casemate, into which several entrances led. During its existence, this entire complex was repeatedly rebuilt or repaired. The church described by Köppen, Dubois de Montperée, Berthier-Delagarde and others in the 19th century was, of course, significantly different from the original building of the 15th century. Destroyed at the end of the 15th century. during the storming of the fortress, it was apparently restored in the 16th century. Mostly the second floor was rebuilt.

The fact that the church existed in the 16th century is indirectly confirmed by D. Strukov, who reported on the basis of a letter from Tsar Boris Godunov that "..., some churches, such as the churches of the Assumption, St. Theodore Stratilates, St. George and Michael the Archangel , had a constant salary and praise from the Moscow sovereigns “since ancient times.” And the discovery of a coin of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1613-1645) in one of the crypts explored in the necropolis located next to the fortress indicates that sums of money and in subsequent years they continued to receive money from the Russian tsars to support the parish church in the village of Funa.

The dimensions of the church complex (with extensions) are 14.4 x 11.3 m (Fig. 8). Initially, the fortress chapel was located on the second floor of the gate tower. The height of the church is 9 m, length 14.4, width 6.8 m. The entrance to the church, 0.85 m wide, was located in the southern wall. A staircase of two flights led to it. A 1.72 x 0.75 m slab was inserted above the entrance. An ornament in the form of large shields with wickerwork was carved on its sides. There were three windows in the church building: in the apse, the northern wall and the western one. The roof is gable, covered with stone tiles measuring 0.71 x 0.50 x 0.1 m.

During the excavations in 1980, the rubble formed after the collapse of the roof and walls of the church was dismantled. The thickness of this layer in some places reached 2.5-3 m.

Inside the fortress territory, 12 rooms have been partially or fully explored. Most of them were clearly for economic purposes: they were used for storing grain, keeping livestock, smelting iron and making metal objects, rest of guards and storage of weapons. All these buildings are adjacent to the defensive wall.

In the 18th century From the north, room I is attached to the temple, divided into two parts by a buttress. The floor here is covered with limestone slabs and red clay plinth measuring 25 x 19 x 3 cm, obviously reused. The room is apparently the latest addition to the temple, which after its abolition in 1778 fell into disrepair and collapsed. Neither Köppen nor Berthier-Delagarde noted it on their plans.

Room II represents the lower surviving part of the first floor of the church; internal dimensions: 11.40 x 4.10 m. The entrance, 1.82 m wide, was located on the west side. On both sides of it there are two octagonal columns 1.62 m long, the distance between opposite faces is 0.45 m, the width of the edge is 0.18 m. The Armenian letter “B” is carved on one column. Similar signs were found in the Tiranovor Church (Maisyan, Armenia), where they were scratched on the walls.

Of the finds in the rubble layer of the church, noteworthy is a fragment of a tray of a glazed dish, in the center of which is depicted an oriental type face - with elongated eyes, as on Persian ceramics of the 12th-13th centuries. The closest analogies come from fragments of dishes from the 13th century. from Dmanisi in Georgia and Chersonesos. This fragment was embedded in the wall during construction. A measured cross-encolpium was found in the wall of the church; on its front side there is a crucifix and the monogram 1C XC, on the reverse side there is the Mother of God.

Adjacent to the temple from the south is a building that apparently served as a place where a priest was looking for. History has preserved the name of the last priest of the church of Theodore Stratelates in Funa - Trifiliya, who moved in 1778 with his fellow villagers to the Mariupol district, where they founded the village of Constantinople and built a temple in honor of the same Feodor Stratelates.

The southern extension was two stories high. A staircase led to the second floor, two steps of which have survived. The upper room is probably residential. Below it is a basement (room III): 2.70 x 3.50 m, connected by a passage to the lower residential floor of the temple. After the top floor of the extension collapsed, blocking the basement, the passage was blocked. The walls, preserved up to 2 m in height, are not connected to each other - i.e. were built at different times.

Particularly interesting materials were obtained during excavations of room IX, adjacent to corner tower. In plan, it is an irregular quadrangle with sides of different lengths: the length of the eastern wall is 4.37 m, the northern - 3.98, the western - 4.62, the southern - 5.85 m. The southern and western walls are made of rubble with mud mortar and remained at a height of 1.90-2.10 m.

On the clay floor, a layer of burnt boards, poles and caked clay (remnants of the roof), and fragments of lime plaster were cleared away. Fragments of 15th-century watering bowls and dishes and animal bones were also found here. Among the finds on the floor, we should also note an iron arrowhead, a bronze case for goose feathers and dice (three "heads" and "bats"). Holes were drilled into the bat, which were then filled with lead, making it much heavier. Dice with lead filling are known from excavations of the Okolny city (Pskov) in the layers of the 16th-17th centuries. The bronze case is a very rare find and has not previously been found on Crimean monuments. A similar one was found in Pskov in the layer of the 15th-16th centuries.

Near the southern wall of the room, an accumulation of iron slag was cleared, and fragments of krits, a handle, a sword blade, several horseshoes, nails and a whetstone were found. These finds indicate that there was apparently a forge here, and the room itself, therefore, served as a forge. Similar traces of medieval iron production were found during the examination of the mountain fortifications of Kermen-Kaya, on Yamantash, Kipia, Boyka, Kuchuk-Isar and on the Isar-Kaya mountain above Gaspra, in Sudak, etc.

Research shows that room IX was built after the construction of defensive walls in the 14th century. - it is adjacent to them. Stratigraphically, two construction periods can be clearly traced here. Initially, two entrances 1.12 m wide led into the room - from the west and from the south. After the first fire, which occurred around the middle of the 15th century, it was partially destroyed. During restoration work, the floor, initially uneven (with rock outcrops), is leveled by adding ash, clay and crushed stone on top of the burnt area. Thus, the floor level increased by 0.4-0.5 m. In the first construction period, the walls of the room were not plastered, but in the second, they were covered with lime plaster to the level of the new floor. During the renovation, the western entrance was blocked. If at first this building was used for household needs (a forge), then in the second construction period it became residential or served as a rest area for guards.

Funa - small fortress courtyard

When the defensive system of Funa was rebuilt in 1459, between two curtains and towers - a semicircular and a rectangular one (donjon) - a closed space of about 70 square meters was formed, which we conventionally called a small fortress courtyard. In plan it is a trapezoid.

It was possible to get here from the semicircular tower, from the donjon and from the outside - through a gate 2.40 m wide, paved with large slabs, which was not observed in the rest of the courtyard. Day surface of the 15th century. was densely compacted clay with crushed stone and lime chips. The passage, 3.6 m high, was covered by a cylindrical vault, as evidenced by the discovery of curvilinear tuff blocks in 1980.

Approximately in the middle part of the forward defensive wall, closing the courtyard from the east, a latrine was built (room XII on the fortress plan) - height 1.73-1.80 m, width 0.90, length 1.50 m. From it outside Fortress, probably leading to a sewer pit, leads to a channel 1.32 m long, dimensions at the exit: 0.30 x 0.40 m. In the lower part of the room there are grooves for wooden flooring, and at the entrance there are grooves for fastening the door frame. Not only sewage, but also rainwater was drained through the sewer canal.

Funa - fortress donjon - finds

When clearing the rubble in front of the entrance to the donjon, fragments of two limestone tombstones were discovered at a depth of 1.80-1.90 m from the modern day surface and at a distance of 1.20 m from the entrance. Of particular interest are three large fragments of one tombstone, on the lower part of which, during secondary use, a Greek inscription dating back to 1459 was carved. The length of this tombstone is 1.88-1.90, width - 0.58-0.60, height - 0.51 -0.60 m. The inscription is placed in a rectangular frame measuring 1.80 x 0.50 m and is compositionally divided into two parts - upper and lower.

The upper part, 0.22 m wide, is divided into five equal rectangles, in the center of which there are round medallions with a diameter of 0.20-0.21 m (shields) with coats of arms. The spaces between the dividing vertical lines and medallions are filled with relief, stylized and symmetrical images of grapevines. The first medallion is carved with a "flourished" equilateral cross, with the letters IC/XC/NI/KA on each side. Monograms are placed in the second, third and fourth coats of arms. If the names in the second and third monograms are not entirely clear, then in the fourth the name “ALEXANDER” is quite clearly readable. The fifth depicts a double-headed eagle with the crowns of the Palaiologan emperors of Constantinople.

At the bottom there is a four-line inscription - three lines for the entire length, and a fourth (short) one below them. The lines are separated by horizontal relief stripes. There is a cross at the beginning of the first line. The left side of the inscription is badly damaged. The date “6967” is cut out in the bottom (fourth) line. (i.e. 1459).

Judging by the conditions of the find, the slab was placed above the entrance to the donjon for quite some time. high altitude: when dismantling the walls, it was thrown off and split into three parts.

During excavations of the donjon, the following layers were traced: under a layer of turf (0.10-0.15 m) there was a layer of tower blockage (0.75-1.25 m); Fragments of the walls of pithoi, amphorae, jugs, ceramides, calyptera, and glazed vessels of the 13th-14th centuries were found here, and pieces of lime mortar adhering to them indicate that ceramics were used in laying the walls.

A stone blockage formed during the destruction of the walls of the donjon covered light brown soil, saturated with organic remains and decomposed lime mortar. Also found here were fragments of lime plaster with traces of yellow paint, which covered the walls from the inside. In this layer, which apparently formed before the destruction of the walls, fragments of bones of domestic animals, glazed and kitchen ceramics of the 16th-17th centuries were collected, and a silver coin of Sahib-Girey (1532-1550) was found.

When dismantling the rubble formed during the destruction of the southern wall of the donjon, one piece of cast encolpium measuring 7 x 5.4 cm was found. Its central part is occupied by an image of a crucifix, above which in reverse spelling it is indicated: 1C XC; under the outstretched hands there is an illegible inscription. At the ends of the cross there are round medallions with chest-length images of the four evangelists, next to which there are also unreadable inscriptions. Encolpies similar to ours come from various places in Kievan Rus, where they date back to the 13th century. The Fungian cross is very close in shape to the cast encolpium from Chersonesos. The distribution area of ​​these crosses is very wide. Their finds are noted in Poland and Bulgaria. These crosses apparently came to Crimea from Russian cities in the pre-Mongol period. The second wing of the found cross was disconnected in ancient times. Encolpius fell into the masonry of the donjon wall along with the mortar. Under the light brown soil there was a layer of fire up to 0.40 m thick, which was separated by a thin (0.5-1.0 cm), traceable in some places, horizontal layer of sand. A layer of burning lay on the floor of the lower floor of the donjon and consisted of two tiers of burnt beams, boards, wooden posts and partitions. Its structure indicates that the donjon was a three-story structure; Moreover, the floor of the lower one was earthen, and the second and third had wooden flooring.

Of particular note are the crossbow bolts and an iron armor plate found in this layer. The length of the bolts is 6.8-7.1 cm, the diameter of the sleeve is 1.6 cm. The tips are triangular with a large sharpening angle (i.e. they were intended for piercing armor and chain mail). An iron plate was attached to the chest part of the armor using rivets. Its dimensions: 9 x 12 cm, thickness 0.3 cm. The tips of crossbow arrows (bolts) stand out for their massiveness. They weigh two to three times more than bow arrowheads, the finds of which were recorded not only during the excavations of Funa, but also in other places. The shape of these arrows corresponds to their armor-piercing purpose. The working part - the tip - and its connection with the short shaft (30-50 cm) are designed for significant impact loads.

Similar finds at Crimean monuments are quite rare and are known from excavations in the Sudak fortress (the work of I.A. Baranov), Mangup (A.G. Herzen), Gasprinsky Isar (O.I. Dombrovsky) in the layers of the 13th-15th centuries. The earliest examples of independent bolts in our country date back to the last quarter of the 12th century. Crossbows appear in Crimea, apparently, in the 13th century. Thus, during excavations of the Isar-Kaya fortification near the Shaitan-Merdven mountain pass in the fire layer of the 13th century. A pyramidal-shaped crossbow tip with square edges was found.

By the 15th century bolts are becoming larger and stem bolts are gradually being replaced by socket bolts; some of them have existed since the 13th century. (eg Izyaslavl) to the 15th century. But bolts of squat proportions with shortened edges, square and triangular in cross section, are characteristic only of the 15th century. The shapes of crossbow tips from the Crimea have many European and Eastern analogies, which indicates the unity of development military equipment East and West during this period.

In the layer of fire on the second and third floors of the donjon, 32 stone cores for small portable ballistas were found. The cores come in two sizes: from 6 x 6.4 to 8.5 x 9 cm and from 11.2 x 12 to 13.6 x 13.7 cm. They are made of limestone, processed by catfish and have a special cut for installation on the pusher. Stocks of similar cores of different diameters were also found during excavations of other mountain fortresses: in the citadel of the Gurzuf fortress, on the Gasprinsky Isar, on Ai-Todor near the village of Maly Mayak; in the fortification on the town of Krestovaya near Verkhnyaya Oreanda; while exploring the Suiren fortification and on Isar near the Shaitan-Merdven mountain pass. The cores from the donjon differ only in that they were specially made, while in all of the above cases sea or river pellets were collected.

When clearing the fire, fragments of approximately 100 vessels were found, of which 42 were restored. The ceramics found in the donjon can be divided into four types: 1) household containers; 2) ceramic building materials; 3) simple tableware and kitchen utensils; 4) glazed, including art ceramics.

Household containers are represented by four pithoi, two of which were decorated with horizontal molded rollers with finger impressions. In the upper part of the body of one of them, two waves of different heights are drawn with a comb. Both of these vessels belong to the same type, well known from excavations of monuments of the 12th-14th centuries. The other two pithos are of different types. They differ in shape and size.

From ceramic building materials, found in the fire layer, of particular interest are the finds of five hollow tiles without front plates (one was completely glued together). A tile of a truncated conical shape with a straight, undefined rim, the upper edge of which is thickened and horizontally cut. The bottom is round with a diameter of 8.4 cm, the rim is square 14.6 x 14.6 cm; the height of the tiles is 18 cm. Similar products are known in the Old Town (Warsaw) and in Old Orhei (Moldova) in closed complexes of the 15th century.

Simple tableware and kitchen utensils are represented by large and small red clay and gray clay jugs, saucepans, lids, one- and two-handled pots with a spherical body (Fig. 6). An interesting red clay vessel with two horizontal handles. Four mortise horizontal and three wavy lines are drawn along its body. The throat is high, gradually turning into a straight rim, below which there is a molding triangular in cross-section. A vessel similar to this one was found in a closed complex of the 13th century. during the excavations of the Pampuk Kaya fortification in 1980. Simple tableware and kitchenware, as a rule, were not decorated: occasionally stripes of white engobe or incised horizontal and wavy lines were applied.

Glazed ceramics from the fire layer in the donjon are especially numerous. It is represented by glazed vessels of various shapes: dishes, bowls, lids, jugs. A small percentage is made up of imported red earthenware painted with cobalt. Most of the red clay artistic glazed ceramics are of local Crimean production. The surface of the vessels is marked with an incised ornament made in a thin line under a light yellow and green transparent glaze. Sometimes the ornament is enhanced by tinting with light brown streaks. On the inside, four- or eight-petal rosettes and a six-pointed star are most often depicted. The sun is depicted in a stylized manner on two dishes, a large bowl and a lid.

Of particular interest are fragments of four watering bowls (only two were collected), on the inside of which the monogram “ALEXANDER” was carved into the raw clay before firing. At its base there is a Gireev tamga. Bowls with a monogram made up the service, commissioned by the owner of the fortress.

The closest analogies to the ceramic complex from the fire layer in the donjon are finds from excavations in Simeiz, on Ai-Todor (near the village of Maly Mayak), in the Gurzuf fortress and from the Mangup palace, dating back to the 15th century.

The shape and ornamentation of individual vessels that make up a unique ceramic complex from the fire layer of the dungeon are characteristic of ceramics of the 13th-15th and even 16th-17th centuries. But the time of construction of the donjon (1459) gives us the lower starting point for dating the found pottery. The most likely date for the fire in the donjon seems to us to be 1475, when the castle was captured and partially destroyed by the Turks. Thus, the time of this ceramic complex is determined within the range of 1459-1475, i.e. is 16 years old. Having a clear chronological framework, products from the Funa donjon can serve as a reliable standard for determining the “age” of similar archaeological finds from other Crimean monuments.

Candidate of Historical Sciences V.L.Myts

Funa Fortress: a brief history of fortification

The fortress of Funa is the eastern outpost of the Orthodox Principality of Theodoro. Located on the road that came from the steppe part Crimean peninsula towards the southern coast of the Black Sea, it protected the subjects of the Mangup prince from their Genoese neighbors, was a springboard in the event of military operations and probably brought a good income to the state of which it was located. There is a version that trade caravans passing by Funa constantly paid tribute.

Archaeological finds suggest that the Funa fortress was built in 1422-1423, around the time when about two dozen fortifications belonging to the Principality of Theodoro grew up opposite the Genoese defense structures. A settlement with the same name arose near South Demerdzhi much earlier, in the 12th century. The fortress is also remembered in documentary sources of the 80s. XIV century No matter how long Funa existed, at the end of 1423 there was an earthquake that severely damaged the fortress. The Theodorites almost immediately began to rebuild it, but a few years later there was a fire that incinerated a significant part of the buildings. Scientists suggest that the fortification was burned by the Genoese or Turks.

In 1459, another period in the history of the Funa fortress began. It was short-lived, but remarkable. The fortress was reconstructed into a castle, and a three-tiered donjon and the Church of Theodore Stratelates appeared on its territory. There was a military garrison of 30-50 people located there. And in 1475, Funa was captured by the Turks, after which it was no longer restored and quickly lost its former significance.

People still continued to live in the area around the Funa fortress. They left their native places only after the collapse of 1894.

There is a legend among local residents that the body of a Gothic queen rests on the territory of the Funa fortress. She seemed to have been interred with the precious crown. Believing in the legend, the fascists who came to Crimea during World War II searched for the grave for a long time, but never found it.

Features of the architecture of the Funa fortress

The Funa fortress was located on a rocky hill under the South Demerdzhi Mountain. It occupied an area of ​​5200 square meters. m. From south to north, its length reached 106 m, the width of the fortress was only 56 m.

Initially, there were only two fortress walls with parapets. There was a cliff on the western side. There was a rectangular tower in the northern curtain. The entrance gate was located in the east. During the construction of the walls, crosses with relics were placed in them. Ancient architects believed that this would make the fortress strong and bring prosperity to its inhabitants.

After reconstruction in 1425, the thickness of the walls increased, and a semicircular tower appeared around the main entrance.

Since 1459, part of the defensive wall that ran from the cliff to the rectangular tower has disappeared; it was specially dismantled. A 15-meter donjon was built next to the semicircular entrance. It had the shape of a rectangle with sides of 6 and 10 meters. The thickness of the walls of the tower reached 2 m 30 cm. The residence of the heir to the throne of the Mangup principality was located in the donjon. During the latest reconstruction, the semicircular tower turned into the single-nave Church of Theodore Stratelates. It was rebuilt many times, operated until 1778 and existed until the 20s. XX century The temple could be entered from the ground floor or through a passage in the southern part of the Funa fortress. Between the donjon and the Christian shrine, over time, another wall appeared, in which an entrance gate was made.

Crooked streets radiated out from the square of the Funa fortress. The houses were located quite densely. The buildings had one room, less often - two. The walls of the dwellings were built of limestone and clay mortar, their thickness did not exceed one meter. Tiles were used for the roofs. Spring water entered the houses through ceramic pipes. Towards the end of the fortress's existence, construction of a cistern began in the southern part.

Funa Fortress today

The Funa fortress was seriously damaged as a result of the collapses of 1893-1894. The earthquake of 1927 did not spare it either.

On the site where a medieval fortress once stood, today there is a museum under open air.

There you can see samples of ceramics used by the inhabitants of Funa, see a marble slab with images of five coats of arms, a mini-copy of an ancient fortification, the ruins of a church and some mechanisms, including devices for execution.

Where is the Funa fortress located and how to get there?

The Funa fortress stands on the slope of Mount Demerdzhi, near the village of Luchistoye. There are regular trips there from the Alushta bus station regular bus. Two kilometers before Radiant you will have to get out and walk towards the above-mentioned mountain.

Tourists who prefer to travel by car should follow the Alushta-Simferopol highway, and then turn towards Radiant or Lavender.

Funa ( Φουνα )

Funa is a medieval fortress located on a rocky hill at the foot of the South Demerdzhi Mountain. The name means “smoky” in Greek. The archeological and architectural monument “Fortification of Funa” is located 2 kilometers north of the village of Luchistoye at the western foot of the South Demerdzhi Mountain.

The greatest length of the fortress from north to south is 106 m; from west to east - 56 m. Fortification area - 0.52 hectares.

For the first time, the fortress appears in the patriarchal acts of 1377-1379, 1384 and 1390. regarding the bickering over parishes between the Kherson, Gothic and Sugdean metropolitans, as well as in the treasury lists of Kaffa close to them in time.

In the Middle Ages, near the fortress there was a trade route that led from Gorzuvit (Gurzuf) and Aluston (Alushta) to the steppe Crimea.

After being captured by the Genoese Republic Crimean coast from Kafa (Feodosia) to Cembalo (Balaklava), the princes of the Principality of Theodoro built a series of fortresses located higher in the mountains, opposite the main fortresses of the Genoese. These fortresses, on the one hand, controlled and restrained the enemy’s advance deep into the Crimean Peninsula, on the other hand, they were springboards for the capture of coastal cities. Such actions of the Theodorites were caused by the struggle between the principality and the Genoese for possession of the coast.

The Funa fortress in this system served as an eastern border outpost, which not only resisted Genoese fortress, located on the territory of Alushta, but also controlled one of the most important caravan routes from steppe Crimea on the coast.

According to the data of the candidate of historical sciences V. P. Kirilko, who conducted a comprehensive architectural and archaeological study fortification structure of the monument, the fortification was erected no earlier than 1422 and no later than the end of 1423, most likely in the spring-summer of 1423. In October-November 1423, it was destroyed everywhere as a result of a powerful earthquake. Presumably, in 1425 the fortification was restored. Soon the outpost buildings were burned. The exact cause of the fire and its date are unknown. The fortification could have been set on fire either by the Genoese, who in 1434 launched a punitive expedition against the Theodorites led by Carlo Lomellini, or by the Ottomans, who repeatedly plundered the coast in the 1450s. In 1459, the fortress ensemble underwent a thorough reconstruction and was turned into a castle. In 1475 (as a result of the capture of Crimea by the Ottoman Turks) it ceased to exist.

The results of excavations showed that in 1459 the fortress measuring 105 m in length and 52 m in width, damaged as a result of military operations and earthquakes, was completely rebuilt and significantly strengthened. In particular, a 15-meter three-tiered donjon was erected, the internal dimensions of which were approximately 6 × 10 m with a wall thickness of 2.3 m. The donjon, located in the gate area, provided cover for the sally gates and a cross-section of the adjacent area of ​​the citadel. The castle garrison consisted of approximately 30-40 soldiers.

An important place in the architectural ensemble of the Funa fortress is occupied by the Church of St. Theodore Stratelates, the ruins of which can still be seen today. After the destruction of the fortress in 1475 by the Ottoman Turks, it was the church that was best preserved. Church of St. Theodora Stratilata was repeatedly repaired and rebuilt, as a result it was preserved until the beginning of the 20th century.

Not far from the ruins of the fortress there is blocky chaos - a pile of huge boulders and stones. This is the result of the great collapse of 1894 and subsequent collapses. As a result of the collapse local residents left the territory. Subsequently, the Yalta earthquake of 1927 caused significant damage to the structures.

Since October 2015 Archaeological complex "Funa Guard Fort" is an object cultural heritage federal significance.

How to get there by car: from Alushta, follow the Alushta-Simferopol highway until the turn to Luchistoye, which will be on the right side, not far from the Lukoil gas station.

How to get there on your own: There is a regular bus from the Alushta bus station to the "Luchistoe" stop.

Crimea can be considered one of the most tourist-rich territories in the world. This applies to both natural and cultural characteristics a peninsula located at the junction of the eastern and western worlds, disappeared civilizations and successive states. Some of them managed to be here in one time period. An example of a witness to such events is the Funa fortress in Alushta.

What is remarkable about it?

The name "Funa" is translated from Greek as "smoky". It received its name in honor of the Funa Fortress, which was built at the foot of this beautiful peak south coast Crimea. By the way, the legendary “Prisoner of the Caucasus” and other Soviet films were filmed in these places.

In ancient times, the Little Silk Road passed through this place, going from Gorzuvit (Gurzuf now) and Aluston (Alushta in modern times) to Kafa (now Feodosia). It is no coincidence that a fortress appeared on such a popular trade route to guard trade caravans, and at the same time to collect money from them for the opportunity to pass.

The Funa fortress was part of the Orthodox Church, which was in constant conflict with the Genoese and Muslims. The area of ​​the fortification was small - 56 meters wide and 106 meters long. On the western side it entered the rock, and on the rest it was covered by defensive walls 15 meters high. The Funa fortress was first mentioned in 1384. But in most sources, the completion of the construction of the complex is dated 1422.

Long story

A powerful earthquake that occurred immediately after this date led to the fact that the fortress began to be rebuilt again in 1425. But the trials were not over. And the blows of the elements were replaced by repeated fires, each time literally incinerating the Funa fortress. In 1459, the building underwent a significant reconstruction, which transformed the structure into a castle. After this, a donjon was built at the entrance gate in three tiers with a height of 15 meters and a wall thickness of 2.3 meters. It contained the apartments of the heir to the Theodorian throne.

In 1475, the fortress was damaged again, this time by the Ottoman Turks. The most preserved remains the temple dedicated to the holy and great warrior of the time of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine I, nicknamed the Great. Then, in 1475, Crimea was captured by the Turks, who finally destroyed the Funa fortress. And all the local residents left this place after a huge collapse occurred in 1894, which buried the former glory of this complex.

Now an important role in the historical heritage architectural ensemble The Funa fortress is dominated by the ruins of the Church of St. Theodore Stratelates, which was best preserved during the attack of the Ottoman Turks. The church was rebuilt and repaired several times, so it existed until the beginning of the 20th century.

Not far from the ruins there is the so-called blocky chaos in the form of a pile of pieces of rock and stones of various sizes. This is material evidence of both the powerful collapse of 1894 and subsequent smaller cataclysms. Thus, very noticeable damage to the remains of the structure was caused by the Yalta earthquake of 1927.

Archaeological finds

During excavations of the complex, archaeologists discovered amulets in the masonry of the walls. The builders of the fortress walled up crosses with the relics of saints into the masonry, most likely for protection from dark forces. A marble stone was also discovered with the date of construction of the structure and the princely symbolism of Theodoro. A copy of this find is installed in front of the entrance.

After the capture of Crimea by the Nazi occupiers, major excavations were organized in the wake of local legends about the Queen of the Goths and the treasures of the Gothic crown hidden in these places. They did not lead to any significant results, but the legends about the buried crown are still alive.

Current state

Nowadays, the Funa fortress is a ruin, which is a pile of stones on the site of a two-story church, a front courtyard and the entire Funa with merchants' shops, taverns and residential buildings. Only a single fragment of the church apse, hanging over a large garden near the road, reminds of the former greatness of the fortification. Examining the ruins, one can easily imagine the scale of construction and the power of the fortification, the width of the walls in some places reaching two meters.

A semicircular ledge is visible above the ruins - the apse, which once served as the altar of the fortress church. The altar was practically intact until the thirties of the last century. Nearby there were residential buildings, in the place of which there is now only a pile of stones. About three hundred meters north of the ruins are the burials of the inhabitants of the village and the Funa fortress.

Museum work

Today, on the site of the former fortress there is an open-air museum. On its territory, tourists are greeted by a model showing the appearance of the active fortress. Tours are organized here from almost all cities of Crimea. The cost of a tour of the open-air museum is minimal. A walk along the nearby cliffs is free. The museum is open from 8:00 to 17:00.

Funa Fortress: how to get there?

An important advantage of Funa is its accessibility for tourists. Tourists pass by it when traveling from Simferopol to Alushta. Stopping along the way, in just an hour and a half you can explore the ruins that the real medieval fortress of Funa left behind. A souvenir photo against the backdrop of a famous Crimean landmark should definitely remain in your album.

This interesting and medieval architecture is located north of the village of Luchistoye, about two kilometers from it. You can get there from Alushta by regular bus from the city bus station. From the side of Radiant, a little lower than the Kutuzovsky Fountain, it passes. You can also drive there by car. By the way, in Luchistoye itself there is the opportunity to ride horses. A number of companies organize these excursions.

There is another beautiful attraction of Crimea - ancient fortress Funa. Previously, the mountain itself was called “Funa”, which is translated from Greek as “smoky”. Today, only the remains of the fortress at the western foot of South Demerdzhi are called this way. This is where one of the most popular routes through the Valley of Ghosts begins.

You will examine the medieval ruins, walk through the filming locations of the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus” and get directly to hiking trail leading to the top of the mountain. The fortress of Funa was once the southern outpost of the powerful Principality of Theodoro. We hear echoes of the former power of the principality in the name of one of the neighboring cities - Feodosia.


What is now on the site of the fortress? Remains of defensive walls and structures. Above them rises the apse - a semicircular protrusion. Only ruins remained of the residential buildings.
The altar of the fortress church, built at the beginning of the 20th century, has been miraculously preserved. If you walk about 300 meters to the north, you will find a cemetery on the gentle slope of the mountain where the remains of the villagers were buried. A standard set for any medieval complex: fortress, settlement, burial.

Additionally, the ancient road leading up to the mountain leads to another cluster of ancient ruins. It is difficult to say what the purpose of these walls is. Presumably, there were once cattle pens here. The fortress was not large, the total fortification area was 0.52 hectares. The length from west to east does not exceed 56 meters, from south to north it is longer - about 106 meters. In 1459, the Funa ensemble was completely changed and turned into a castle.

Funa Fortress: the beginning of history

The first mention of the Funa fortress dates back to 1384, but new research by archaeologists leads to the conclusion that the settlement was founded earlier, at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century. During that period, Crimea was liberated from the power of the Khazars, land was redistributed, new trade routes emerged and new settlements grew. Part of the Crimean coast was captured by the Genoese, who built a number of fortresses.

The most famous of those now preserved is the fortress in Sudak. In contrast to Genoa, for; To protect his possessions, Prince Theodoro builds a series of fortifications higher in the mountains. This line of defense restrained the enemy's advance deeper into the peninsula. In those days, in the area of ​​​​the present village of Luchistoye, there was a large trade route, starting in modern Alushta and Gurzuf (and then Aluston and Gorzuvit), and running to the steppe regions of the Crimea.

Funa stood on a busy trade road and was an important military support for the interests of the principality. In addition to controlling an important caravan route, the Funa fortress resisted the Genoese fortification, located on the territory of modern Alushta. Apart from these fragmentary and largely theoretical data about the history of the fortress, little is known about Funa. It is mentioned in the patriarchal charters of 1384 as one of the disputed villages. The metropolitans of Gothic (southwest coast), Sugdey (Pike and surrounding lands) and Kherson (Chersonese and surrounding areas) divided spheres of influence. The following entry also belongs to the churchmen.

Information dating back to 1836 states that in the village of Funa there is a church of Theodore the Warrior (otherwise known as Theodore Stratilates). The notes of P.I. turned out to be much more useful for researchers. Köppen, dating back to 1837. In his time the church was still in good condition, fortifications retained their borders.
According to the author's description, the Funa fortress was built to monitor the road through the Angara Gorge. The entrance was protected by a tower located with east side roads. The route “Angarsk Pass - Funa Fortress” is now popular among lovers of hiking and cycling. This is what the fortress looked like, according to scientists. Now a model of the citadel has been installed at the excavation site:



If there is little information on paper, scientists will ask things. Based on the boundaries of the walls and the remains of objects, scientists were able to approximately recreate the appearance of the Funa settlement. There was a central street, from which narrow winding alleys went in all directions. Small one- or two-room houses, built of limestone with clay mortar, were closely stuck to each other. The roofs of the houses were covered with tiles, which archaeologists found in abundance during excavations. The thickness of the walls in the houses is about 1 meter. Outbuildings were built in tiny courtyards.

During the excavations, a variety of dishes were found. To store grain and wine, local residents used pithos vessels, popular in Greece, sometimes reaching two meters in height. To provide stability, such vessels were partially buried in the ground. And patterns were applied to the upper, open part of the vessel. Clay bowls and jugs were also popular dishes.

Description of the area

As already written above, the Funa fortress had a standard set of buildings and structures: a defensive fortification itself, as well as a settlement around it, a burial ground to the side, and pens for livestock. The burial ground of the ancient inhabitants of the fortress was arranged in the same way as in other similar places. The graves were lined on the sides with thin slabs of slate. The ground was covered with thick cloth or felt. In one grave they placed from two to five bodies, placing their heads to the west according to Christian custom, and in most burials no foreign objects were found, which speaks not of pagan, but of Christian rites of the people of the fortress.

In the center of the cemetery there was a miniature cemetery church, not exceeding five meters at its widest part. The church, which existed before the 15th century, was supposedly a one-nave basilica. This type of chapel is popular on Crimean soil. A similar basilica is located in
northwest of Alushta.

The Funa fortress is located in a strategically correct place: protected in the west by powerful rocks, it controls the trade route passing right under the walls. At the highest level the wall thickness is more than 1.8 meters. The full height of the walls surrounding the citadel on three sides is currently unknown. The surviving part today is higher than 4.5 meters. A two-story bastion rose above the wall, which performed another, unusual function - in fact, there was a temple on two floors. It was beautiful, with a barrel vault and lancet windows, the frames of which were decorated with intricate ornaments. There were two entrances to the church: one directly into the room for worship. The second one is on the lower floor, which was not used for its intended purpose. There was a casemate here.


Fall of the fortress

Conducted comprehensive architectural study archaeological site showed that the fortress was built much later than the settlement and other buildings. According to data provided by Candidate of Historical Sciences.P. Kirilko, the estimated date of foundation of the bastion is the summer of 1423.

But already in November of the same year, a fire occurs, the exact date and cause of which are unknown. Perhaps this is the fault of the Genoese, perhaps the Ottomans, who often raided the coast and plundered settlements. In 1459, the fortress was badly damaged by a powerful earthquake, and they began to rebuild it almost anew. This is how a simple fortification takes on the features of a classic castle. The confrontation between the Principality of Theodoro and the Ottoman Empire is approaching its peak. The military victories of the Ottomans led to the destruction and plunder of many fortified cities and the death of the population. Among the fallen fortresses was the small Funa. The Principality of Theodoro was completely destroyed.

In 1475, during the complete capture of Crimea by the Turks, the citadel ceased to exist... Another blow, this time to the ruins, was dealt by the Yalta earthquake of 19927. The monument of archaeological significance is almost completely destroyed.

Residents of Funa

Where to look for the descendants of the fortress defenders? After the Ottomans captured the peninsula, most of the churches and dioceses were abandoned. But the settlement, which later turned into the village of Radiant, survives. True, the temple is seriously reduced in volume during restoration. In the 70s of the eighteenth century, the Russian government attempted to resettle all Christians in Crimea to Little Russia. Those residents who refused to accept the Muslim religion were expelled from their homes and sent to the Azov region.

Christians from Funa and Lusta, being historical neighbors, all stayed together and founded new settlements not far from modern Mariupol. But the vast majority of people died on the road. About 160 men, women and children reached the site. Tatars settled in empty villages. They renamed Luchta to Alushta, and Funa to Demerdzhi. Alushta remained in its original place, but one of the later landowners moved Demerdzhi to a new place. Where the village of Luchistoye is now located. What was left of the beautiful Funa was a pile of stones and a miraculously preserved piece of the church apse.

How to get there:

Monument of archeology and architecture “Fortification of Funa”.
How to get there by car: from Alushta, follow the Alushta-Simferopol highway until the turn to Luchistoye, which will be on the right side, not far from the Lukoil gas station.
How to get there on your own: There is a regular bus from the Alushta bus station to the “Luchistoe” stop.
Coordinates: 44°45′06″ n. w. 34°23′18″ E. d. (or 44.75167; 34.38833).