From February 2022 to December of the current 2023 Aghdam archaeological expedition conducted archaeological excavations at the settlement of the Middle Bronze Age Üzerliktepe (Üzərliktəpə), located near the city of Aghdam (GPS coordinates: 39°59’42.792 “N 46°56’45.3732 “E; approximate dimensions: height 9.8 m, north-south 151 m, east-west – 153 m). In this area, 8 squares were created from north to south, each with an area of 100 square meters (10×10 m), and archaeological research was carried out in each of them to a different geodetic level. During the study, in all areas, 160 utility pits of various sizes and located at different geodetic levels, 50 hearths, 3 remains of pottery kilns and a furnace for smelting metal, 15 remains of buildings of unknown purpose made of a clay mixture, 4 remains of adobe walls, dimples of 21 pillars of large and medium sizes were discovered.

A large number of fragments of black-polished, painted and rough household ceramics, characteristic of the stages of the Üzerliktepe monument and the Uzerliktepe culture as a whole, were recorded in layers created from an artificial clay mixture, which are the stratigraphic basis of the settlement, as well as in some utility pits, the purpose of which has not yet been established, as well as around the remains of pottery kilns. Industrial waste was recorded, indicating pottery and metallurgy, fragments of metal tools (mostly bronze), stone sharpeners, as well as stone grain grinders and mortars, ash pans with sowing seeds, indicating agriculture, spindle whorls, needles and punctures made of stones, metal and bones indicating for weaving and tanning. A large number of osteological remains of large and small horned animals, as well as feature indicating that some household pits were places for keeping lambs and kids (constructive dimples along the perimeter of the upper part of the put for lids), provide complete information about the intensive animal husbandry of the ancient population. The deliberate placement of agricultural implements and carcasses of domestic animals (dogs, bulls and camels?) in pits demonstrates the religious and mythological views of the ancient population.

The discovery of large red carnelian (agate) cores on the territory indicates the production of jewelry by the ancient population.

Discoloration of the soil due to high temperatures around some of dimples originally assessed as the site of pillars suggests that the ancient population carried out test smelting to test the quality of the metal in the rock pieces; there are assumptions on this score in theoretical archaeometallurgy.

Analysis of the stratigraphy of the site’s floors suggests that the ancient population periodically covered the area with clay mortar approximately 30-50 cm thick. The entire hill consists of layers made from clay mortar. During periodic construction, previous buildings were destroyed, and the wells were filled with waste and debris. After the new layer of floor was compacted and dried, new buildings were built, new pits were dug, and new technical equipments (e.g., furnaces) were built.

The ancient population was involved in an intensive trade and exchange system. This is evidenced by imported obsidian tools, agate cores, ocher and bronze remains. According to preliminary assumptions, during temporary migrations the population took with them whole, unbroken tools, weapons, jewelry, ceramics, etc.

Also found in this area are graves from later periods, mainly Late Bronze-Early Iron and Antiquity, agricultural jugs and tandoors from Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

During the research in Üzerliktepe, samples of soil, animal bones, ceramic and metallurgical products were taken from household pits for various purposes for laboratory analysis. At the end of the 50s of the 20th century, radiocarbon analysis of coal from Üzerliktepe, carried out in the Leningrad laboratory, gave a date of the 17th century BC. As a result of our research, radiocarbon dating (University of Tokyo) of charcoal taken from a depth of 2.87 m from structure No. 21 (“channel”) of square D1 (in the opinion of Japanese scientists: the cultural layer III) showed the 17th century BC. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from the same structure by the joint CEPAM unit of the French CNRS and the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS) showed a late 18th century to early 17th century BC date. In the course of ongoing research, in area 2 of square H, the upper level of the household pit (structure No. 18), that is, the floor level is 3.59 m, the bottom level of this pit is 4.41 m.

 Archaeological research in Üzerliktepe, the only monument of the Middle Bronze Age in the South Caucasus in terms of the size of its actual area and the thickness of cultural layers, is a large and at the same time not yet fully studied factual source of information for the region and Southwest Asia as a whole.

Parviz Gasimov, Farhad Guliyev