The joint Azerbaijani-German expedition continues its archaeological research in Karabakh

According to the memorandum concluded between the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and the German Institute of Archaeology, archaeological research is ongoing within the framework of the “Archaeological Research of the Karabakh Plain” (LKREP) project with the participation of archaeologists from both countries.
The head of the joint project, which includes the study of Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlements located in the Karabakh Plain from 2022, is Dr. Mark Iserlis from German side, Ph.D. in history and from the Azerbaijan side is Khagani Almammadov PhD in history.
Archaeological excavations continued in the Janavartepe Chalcolithic settlement located in Taynag village,during the field research season of 2024, Aghjabedi region. Hundreds of material and cultural samples reflecting the cultural-economic and economic life of the period were discovered during excavations.The most interesting examples are cretula. Cretulae were used to ensure recordkeeping and authentication in an increasingly complex pre-writing administrative system, and are the first to be encountered in contemporary monuments of the South Caucasus.
Another aspect that makes the monument interesting is its chronological framework. So, based on the results of C14 analysis, it can be said that the latest phase of Leylatape culture (3920-3430 BC) was recorded here.
It should be noted that joint research within the framework of the project is carried out on two problem topics. As part of the research on “Relative and absolute chronology of the Neolithic monuments of Karabakh”, C14 analyzes of samples taken from 10 monuments were carried out in the relevant laboratories of Israel, Germany and Poland, and the dynamics of settlement of the Neolithic period of Karabakh was modeled based on Bayesian chronology. Palynological studies carried out to monitor the natural processes that took place in the various stages of development of the Neolithic process in B.C. It created an opportunity to understand the local ecological features in the Karabakh territory in the 6th millennium.
The research carried out on the second topic of the project “Leylatape Phenomenon of Karabakh” aims to study the monuments of this culture in the region. Within the framework of the project, two monuments, Leylatepe and Janavartepe Chalcolithic settlements were selected as the main research objects. As preliminary results, based on the samples obtained from the archaeological excavations carried out in previous years, the absolute chronological framework of this culture in Karabakh was determined, pottery was studied from a statistical and technological point of view, paleoanthropological, paleozoological, paleobotanical, etc. studies have been conducted.