II Plovdag necropolis and settlement

Under the leadership of associate professor Bahul Ibrahimli, the archaeological expedition of Ruins of Gilan in the II Plovdag necropolis and residence located in the territory of Ordubad district, a total of 606 sq.m. conducted archaeological excavations in the area. The main purpose of the excavations was to study the cultural layer belonging to the Early Bronze Age settlement, which survived under the Late Bronze Age mounds.
II Plovdag. General view of the excavation site
The archaeological excavations revealed the remains of 4 dwellings belonging to the Early Bronze Age and 3 belonging to the Middle Bronze Age. Building No. 5 and house No. 9 from the Middle Bronze Age, and House No. 8 from the Early Bronze Age can be mentioned among them. Building No. 5 is made of mountain stones in a circular plan. Its walls on the eastern side are kept at a height of 50-55 cm, the diameter is 2.68 cm. No remains of the cultural layer were found inside the building. It is very likely that the building was used as a farm and a warehouse.
II Plovdag. Cultural layer of the Early Bronze Age
Residential house No. 9 is on the same level as the mounds of the Late Bronze Age – the upper floor. Wall stones 65-70 cm. found in depth. In the form of a semi-excavation, in a circular plan, the inner face is decorated with large-sized mountain stones, and the back is filled with stones of different sizes. In the southern wall, three huge stones were used that came from the mountain. The walls of the house are 90-95 cm on the south side, 30-35 cm on the north side, 48-50 cm on the east side, and 40-45 cm on the west side remained intact at the height. Its diameter is about 3 meters. Stone tools, pottery fragments of various purposes, osteological remains and fragments of a flat-walled pink clay mobile hearth were discovered inside.
II Plovdag. Remains of dwelling house No. 9 from the Middle Bronze Age
The walls of residential house No. 8 are made of large stones in the shape of a regular circle. It is similar in size and construction style to Houses No. 1 and No. 2 of the Early Bronze Age and is located on the same horizon. Its diameter is 3.6 meters. The walls were kept at the level of two rows of stones (40-45 cm). The southern wall of the house, the southern sides of the eastern and western walls were destroyed as a result of two barrows built here in the 15th-13th centuries BC. 1.2 sq.m. in the northeast corner of the house. a cultural layer belonging to the Early Bronze Age has been preserved in the area. Fragments of clay pots, coal remains and large-sized stone tools (grain stone, plinth stone) typical for the beginning of the Early Bronze Age are found in this layer. At the same time, three grave monuments and an altar were studied. Mound No. 100, as we mentioned, is inside the dwelling house No. 8 of the Early Bronze Age. The walls of the burial chamber are made of stacked stones. There are no capstones. The entrance is from the southeast. This wall is narrowed on both sides, its width is 62 cm. The length of the eastern wall is 1.31 m, the length of the western wall is 1.39 m, the width of the northern wall is 0.8 m. The chamber of the tomb is surrounded by two cromlechs. The diameter of the cromlech near the grave is 2.31 m, the diameter of the second cromlech is 2.99 m. The interior of the camera was destroyed, and the rest of the pieces were also moved. In the northwest corner of the tomb, no equipment was found except for fragments of a pink clay vessel. Graves No. 102 and 103 are at the northern edge of the central excavation site. The graves were completely destroyed. There are no cover stones, and only one row of wall stones remains. Nevertheless, a gray clay vase was discovered from the chamber of grave No. 102. Remains of decayed bones can be seen around the vase. While cleaning the bone remains, three agate beads were discovered. The chamber of grave No. 103 has a circular plan, its diameter is 1.48 m. The top of the grave is covered with concentrically arranged stones. Although the chamber appeared intact from the top, no equipment or skeletal remains were found inside. The altar of grave No. 103 remained relatively intact, but once the covering stones were removed, the clay pots were rotted and broken due to the influence of natural forces. Two pots of pink clay, with mouths opening slightly to the side, are similar in shape. The walls of the chamber are built with large raft stones, 64 cm wide and 76 cm long. The height of the stones lining the walls (25-35 cm.) has survived. With this, the research of grave monuments in the northern part of Plovdag II necropolis was completed.
II Plovdag. Altar of grave No. 103.
Research confirms that the eastern side of Plovdag II consists of Middle Bronze and Early Bronze Age dwellings. Early Bronze Age large-scale stone-worked dwellings are located at certain intervals on the same horizon. Starting from the Middle Bronze Age, special places for storing food – storehouses – built with stone in a circular shape, appeared inside the houses. The statistical analysis of the archaeological research conducted in Plovdag II Necropolis so far shows that in the Middle Bronze Age there were mounds with earthen graves, and in the Late Bronze Age there were mounds with stone box graves. II Plovdag settlement, grave monuments, and archaeological monuments of religious purpose, the archaeological research leads to the conclusion that Plovdag is a proto-city type monument and the process of urbanization in the Gilan river valley started from here.
Fragment of a Middle Bronze Age painted vessel
The head of the mobile stove
Handle of Early Bronze Age type
A stone tool with a hole in the middle
A stone tool found in an Early Bronze Age house
A river stone with a carved center
A vase found
in grave No. 102
A clay vessel with
a biconical body found
in the altar of grave No. 103
Bahlul Ibrahimli