A cooperation memorandum was signed between the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of ANAS and the Turkish Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Institute operating under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye.

Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Associate Professor Farhad Guliyev, PhD in History, received Prof. Dr. Şaban Doğan, President of the Turkish Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Institute (Gaziantep), and Burcu Bilir, archaeologist and specialist of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Welcoming the guests, Guliyev expressed appreciation for their visit and provided an overview of the Institute’s activities. Prof. Doğan explained that the newly established Turkish institute aims to conduct archaeological research in Turkic republics outside Türkiye, study monuments of pan-Turkic historical importance, and strengthen cooperation among archaeological research centers of Turkic countries. Joint expeditions are planned this year in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia, with strong support from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. He emphasized that knowledge exchange and inviting young archaeologists from Turkic countries to participate in excavations in Türkiye are among the institute’s core goals.

Guliyev praised the initiative, calling the institute’s creation a strategic project that will strengthen scientific unity among Turkic nations. Burcu Bilir added that the institute was formally established following the adoption of Law No. 7439 on the Turkish Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Foundation.

The discussion then focused on archaeological heritage in Azerbaijan, particularly the destruction of Turkic-Islamic monuments in the liberated territories of Karabakh and East Zangazur and falsifications concerning the cultural attribution of Caucasian Albanian Christian monuments. The sides exchanged views on planned joint research and future cooperation.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Farhad Guliyev and Şaban Doğan signed a memorandum formalizing institutional cooperation.

Following the signing, Associate Professor Bahlul Ibrahimli, PhD in History and department head at the Institute, introduced the guests to unique textile finds discovered during the 2025 excavation season in the crypt of Tomb No. 1 of the Ilkhanid-period Second Memorial Complex at the medieval site of Kharaba Gilan (Ordubad district, Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic).