Keshikchidagh Kurgan Valley

Name: Keshikchidagh Kurgan Valley
Location: Agstafa District, Jeyranchol Plain
Period: Late Bronze – Early Iron Age (Khojaly-Gedebey Culture)
Geographically, Jeyranchol is situated in a highly favorable location, stretching across vast steppes surrounding the Kura and Ganikh Rivers. Since ancient times, these lands have been widely used as winter pastures by nomadic livestock herders. Numerous Turkic tribes migrated to this region from other areas to develop winter pastoralism and established their settlements. This, in turn, led to the formation of open-air habitation sites and the presence of hundreds of kurgans in Jeyranchol.
Starting from the Kesikchi Dag cave complex and extending 20 km southward towards Garayazi, located on the left bank of the Kura River, around 150 kurgans dating from the early 2nd millennium BCE to the late 1st millennium BCE are found in this region. The archaeological monuments within the Kesikchi Dag Kurgan Valley provide valuable insights into the burial traditions and social structures of ancient tribes. Moreover, these sites preserve the historical characteristics of different periods, including the Eneolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages (6th-5th centuries BCE), as exemplified by the Soyuqbulaq and Kesikchi Dag kurgans.
It should be noted that some of these burial sites were destroyed due to economic activities, particularly during the creation of artificial lakes. The diameters of kurgan mounds range from 5-6 meters up to 20-25 meters, with heights varying between 1 and 3 meters. The covering of the kurgans consists of river stones, gravel, and soil.