Archaeology of Azerbaijan
[2] The remains of the jawbone of human lived 350-450 thousand years ago, which were found in 1962 by Azerbaijani historian Mammadali Huseynov proved it.
[3][4] The Middle Paleolithic period of Azerbaijan was studied on the basis of Taghlar in Karabakh, Damcıli and Dashsalahli caves in Gazakh region.
During the archaeological digs in Boyukdash Mountain, it was determined that the drawings here were covered by the material and cultural remains of the Neolithic and Mesolithic era.
The Paleolithic camp was discovered in Damcılı cave located in Dashsalahli village of Gazakh region by S. N. Zamyatin and Mammadali Huseynov during archaeological investigations in 1953.
Some rough stone tools prepared from gravel in the Azykh Cave were similar with findings in Olduvai (Tanzania), Koobi-Fora (Kenya), Melka Kontura (Ethiopia), Vallona (France), Ubeydiye (Israel) and other monuments.
[1] As a result of surveys and excavations, that began in Mingachevir in 1935, rich archeological evidence from the end of Eneolithic Period to the Late Middle Ages was revealed and more than 20,000 objects have been found.
Ceramic, basalt and obsidian, bone-based labour instruments (awls, needles, axes and hammers), pottery specimens, plant and animal remnants were found from the Neolithic cultural sequence.
Archaeologists revealed clay bins and ovens/hearths mainly in the courtyard of the settlement close to the wing walls or circular constructions in the archaeological site.
The ovens with a diameter around 60–70 cm had also a round or oval shape, nevertheless, their bottoms were covered with river cobbles and enclosed by a clay rim.
[21][22] In 2012-2013, the French-Azerbaijani joint archaeological expedition (named Nabialla) explored the necropolis and burial traditions belong to the Bronze-Iron Age in Lenkaran and Lerik provinces.
[23] In 2018, archaeologist Walter Crist from the American Museum of Natural History announced the discovery of a Bronze Age board game (4000 year - old) named “Hounds and Jackals” or “58 holes” in Gobustan National Park.
The game was popular in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Anatolia at that time and was identified in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenemhat IV.
[24][25][26] In July 2024, discovery of the 3.500 year-old dining room with lots of ceramic remains was announced in Tava Tepe in Agstafa by the archaeologists from the University of Catania and the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.
According to the archaeologists, evidence of burning, along with the remains of bowls and glasses made from black burnished ceramics found throughout the excavation area, suggests that the archaeological site was used for food preparation and consumption.
Notable findings related to Ancient Rome include the rock inscription in Latin at Boyukdash mountain (carved between 81 and 96 AD), which is the easternmost known Roman evidence.
[31] In 1894 a Roman silver plate with a Nereid riding a hippocamp and surrounded by tritons,[32] was unearthed in the Yenikend village of Goychay Rayon.
[32] In 1897, a bronze lamp in the shape of theatrical mask (presumably from the eastern provinces of Roman Empire[31] or from the Hellenistic countries of Near East), dated to 1st–2nd century AD, was found in the village of Zerti.
In 1902, researcher Emil Rösler excavated the remains of an ancient bath near the village of Boyuk Dehne that contained a 2nd-century AD Greek inscription carved on a piece of limestone.
[31] In the 1960s, the content of the Qabala treasures revealed the coins of Emperors Otho, Vespasian, Trajan and Hadrian, as well as drachmas of Alexander the Great and tetradrachms of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom.
[12][33] The remains of the Mousterian culture during the archeological researches in Azerbaijan were discovered in Azykh (III layer), Taghlar, Dashsalahli, Gazma and Buzeyir camps.
This culture, which firstly appeared in the territory of Azerbaijan, covered the area from the North Caucasus to Mesopotamia, from East Anatolia to Central Asia.
Large-scale excavations on the left bank of Shamkirchay, that started in 2007, revealed the remnants of monumental public building, dated to 9th–10th century.
Studies of medieval Azerbaijani fortresses like Chirag Gala, Shindan, Gazankeshki, Ballabur and Gilgilchay defence system have been also conducted.
