New Research Initiated for the Study of the Stone Age in Keshikchidagh.
Another significant step has been taken toward studying the ancient history of Azerbaijan within the territory of the “Keshikchidagh” State Historical and Cultural Reserve, which operates under the administration of the State Service of Cultural Heritage Conservation, Development and Restoration under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Specifically, leading research fellows of the ANAS (Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences) Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, PhDs in History Azad Zeynalov and Yaqub Mammadov, have initiated new investigations in the area upon the request and organization of the Reserve. The research is being conducted with the participation of the Reserve’s director, Musa Mursaguliyev, and its staff members.
As is known, during the investigations conducted in this region in 1939, primitive primate remains were discovered. Furthermore, in the 1960s, more than 20 Paleolithic sites were recorded by Mansur Mansurov, a leading research fellow at the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and a PhD in History. For this reason, the region was named the “Udabno hearth” by the prominent Paleolithic scholar V. P. Lyubin. In the 1980s, during research carried out by Mansurov in this geographical district, four new Lower Paleolithic camps were recorded, and the concept of the “Jeyranchel archaeological culture” was introduced to science based on the technological and typological characteristics of the archaeological specimens. However, due to the lack of technical means at that time, the precise coordinates of the territory’s aforementioned monuments were not determined.
The primary objective of the ongoing archaeological research is to determine the exact coordinates of the ancient, previously known monuments in Keshikchidagh and its surrounding territories, and to enrich the collections obtained from these sites with new findings. Additionally, extensive exploration work is planned to uncover new monuments.
