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Cave Towns of Crimea

"Cave towns" is a conventional term for medieval mountain fortified settlements, fortresses, monasteries, and castles in southwestern Crimea (the Inner Ridge of the Crimean Mountains) that combined surface stone structures with complexes of artificial caves carved into limestone cliffs. The term became established among 18th–19th century travelers because the surface buildings decayed over time, whereas the cave churches and tombs on the cliffs survived.

Overview

The cave towns of Crimea are among the most popular tourist attractions of the peninsula and, at the same time, among the least researched cultural and archaeological sites of the region. They stretch in a chain across hard-to-reach locations of the Inner Ridge in southwestern Crimea, forming a kind of tourist "Golden Ring." Contrary to a common misconception, they were not a single unified defense system of Byzantium, but arose at different times and independently of the empire — due to socio-economic and political conditions.

The report by Marcin Broniewski (1578), envoy of Polish King Stephen Báthory to the Crimean Khan, is considered the first thorough description of the cave towns. After the Ottoman conquest, the towns declined, and almost no written records survived; more detailed information was later provided only by Evliya Çelebi (17th century). The first scientific study was conducted by Academician P. S. Pallas (1793–1801). The six-volume description of Crimea and the Caucasus by Swiss traveler Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux, accompanied by an atlas of drawings of the cave towns, is also of major importance.

G. V. Kovalevsky summarized the protective role of these monuments as follows: "...in their isolated nests, they preserved ancient and peculiar relics of the past — fragments of human races, languages, old economic forms, customs, everyday life, and remnants of plant and animal life."

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Three groups of monuments: the cave towns of Crimea are divided into three chronological groups — large fortified settlements, small feudal castles, and late Christian monasteries.
  • First group — fortified settlements: large population centers (several dozen hectares) on heights and rocky capes of the Inner Ridge, protected by cliffs and fortresses; deep inside were spaces for caravans and residents of surrounding villages. The first group includes four towns near Bakhchysarai: Eski-Kermen (near the vanished village of Kripke, formerly Cherkez-Kermen), Mangup (village of Zalisne, formerly Yukhary-Karalez), Kyz-Kermen (village of Kudryne, formerly Shury), and Chufut-Kale. Most of them arose in the Early Middle Ages near the ancient route from Chersonesus to the steppe.
  • Second group — feudal castles: small fortifications (1.5–2 ha) on smaller heights overlooking valleys (Kalamita in Inkerman, Syuyren Fortress, Tepe-Kermen, Bakla, Kyz-Kule castle / Maiden Tower northwest of Eski-Kermen). They had no market squares or caravan stops — in fact, they were feudal castles.
  • Third group — cave monasteries: late Christian monasteries (no earlier than the 9th–10th centuries) with multi-tiered artificial caves on cliffs — Uspensky, Inkerman, Chiltre, Shuldan, Kachi-Kalyon, and others. Similar to monasteries in the Caucasus (Vardzia in Georgia), Cappadocia (Asia Minor), and Sicily; they usually lacked special defensive structures.
  • Origin of the term: the impression of "cities consisting of caves alone" arose because surface buildings collapsed and became overgrown with forest, whereas cave churches, tombs, and vaults on the cliffs survived.
  • Researchers: Marcin Broniewski (1578), Evliya Çelebi (17th century), P. S. Pallas (1793–1801), Dubois de Montpéreux (atlas of drawings), G. V. Kovalevsky (conclusion on the protective role).

Controversies and Open Questions

  • Homogeneity versus different time periods: until recently, cave towns were considered homogeneous and contemporaneous monuments, which led to incorrect historical conclusions; modern science divides them into three different chronological groups.
  • "Byzantine defense system": the source directly refutes the view of cave towns as the realization of a military-strategic plan of Byzantium — they arose independently of the empire.
  • Insufficient study: cave towns remain the least explored sites of Crimea; scientific and technical investigations as well as methods of geomechanics and underground construction have not yet been applied.