Lats is an architectural complex of federal significance, comprising family towers, sanctuaries, residential houses and burial sites. Lats is also one of the oldest settlements in the Kurtatin Gorge. Its diversity makes the site interesting to travellers who do not want to reduce historical architecture to a single landmark: residential and defensive buildings, sanctuaries and burial sites all form part of the picture.

An Architectural Complex with a Range of Building Types

The complex includes four residential houses. Residential and defensive towers belonging to the Khadikov and Tebiev families have also been preserved in Lats. Their names reflect both residential and defensive architecture; the four houses form a distinct, clearly numbered group within the complex. Sanctuaries and burial sites are additional components. The description therefore covers not just individual towers, but several building types and cultural functions. For travellers interested in learning about architectural history through the interplay of different building types, this range is a useful starting point.

Sanctuaries and Prayer Practices

Two sanctuaries have their own names: «Khuytsauy dzuar» and «Latsy Uastyrdzhi». «Latsy Uastyrdzhi» is part of the architectural complex of Lats. The «Khuytsauy dzuar» sanctuary consists of an old chapel surrounded by an enclosure and a small 19th-century building. People from Lats gather in this small building to pray. At «Khuytsauy dzuar», the built complex can thus be distinguished from a specific prayer practice: the old chapel and the smaller building are both part of the sanctuary, while people gather to pray in the small building.

Nart Tradition and Special Sites

Local residents associate several places in Lats with the Narts: the Nart Nykhas, Nart burial sites, the House of the Narts, the Nart cemetery, the Nartensimda meadow, the Nart prayer site and the Nart horse tethering post. The Nart Nykhas, also known as the Nart assembly, is an amphitheatre-like structure with stone seats arranged in a circle. As an architectural form, the Nykhas differs from the residential and defensive towers: here, the circular arrangement of the stone seats defines the structure. This specific example shows how a connection to the Narts in Lats is linked to a distinct architectural form.

Cup-Marked Stone and Burial Sites

The famous Lats cup-marked stone is a stone table with depressions distributed across its entire surface. One interpretation is that the stone could represent a projection of the starry sky. The table shape and depressions are tangible features; the projection of the starry sky remains a possible interpretation. Lats also has an old village cemetery with well-preserved earthen crypts. These crypts are a distinctive architectural feature of the cemetery and broaden the picture of the site's burial places.

Further Cultural Context

The wider travel destination, the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is also home to the Dargavs Necropolis Complex in the old village of Dargavs, in the valley of the same name. This cultural monument of federal significance comprises 95 tomb structures of various types, dating from the 14th century to the first third of the 19th century. Thus, alongside Lats's architectural and Nart traditions, the wider destination offers a distinct site of funerary architecture.

For the wider travel overview: Alagirskiy rayon.