{"id":16958,"date":"2026-08-25T17:03:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T13:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/?p=16958"},"modified":"2026-08-25T18:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T14:06:09","slug":"24-avqust-2026-ci-il-tarixind%c9%99-m%c9%99d%c9%99niyy%c9%99t-nazirliyi-yaninda-m%c9%99d%c9%99ni-irsin-qorunmasi-inkisafi-v%c9%99-b%c9%99rpasi-uzr%c9%99-dovl%c9%99t-xidm%c9%99tinin-idar%c9%99etm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/content\/16958","title":{"rendered":"On August 24, 2026, employees of the \"Keshikchidagh\" State Historical and Cultural Reserve, operating under the State Service for Protection, Development, and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, visited the Goytepe Neolithic settlement located in the Tovuz District."},"content":{"rendered":"

On August 24, 2026, employees of the “Keshikchidagh” State Historical and Cultural Reserve, operating under the State Service for Protection, Development, and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, visited the Goytepe Neolithic settlement located in the Tovuz District.
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\nDuring the visit, the reserve staff familiarized themselves with the ongoing archaeological investigations at Goytepe. They received detailed briefings from the leading scholars and specialists overseeing the excavations regarding the site’s history, archaeological significance, research outcomes, and conservation measures.<\/p>\n

According to the research team, the Goytepe settlement is regarded as one of the most significant prehistoric archaeological sites in the South Caucasus. Located approximately 10 kilometers east of the city of Tovuz, the mound measures roughly 145 meters in diameter, stands 9 meters high, and encompasses an area of nearly 2 hectares. Excavations have uncovered rich architectural remains, utilitarian tools, and evidence of ancient socio-economic activities that have been preserved over millennia.<\/p>\n

Scholars highlighted that the scientific value of Goytepe extends beyond its antiquity. The site constitutes a critical source for examining the established stages of human transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary life, agriculture, and animal husbandry. It was noted that the inhabitants established permanent settlements, constructed mud-brick dwellings, cultivated crops, raised livestock, stored food surpluses, and produced ceramics as well as stone and bone implements.<\/p>\n

Based on the information presented during the visit, radiocarbon analyses of organic samples retrieved from Goytepe indicate that occupation at the site persisted between approximately 5650 and 5460 BCE. These results justify the characterization of Goytepe as a settlement with an approximately 8,000-year-old history.<\/p>\n

During the specialist presentations, it was reported that Goytepe contains an approximately 11-meter-thick Neolithic cultural layer, within which 14 distinct, successive architectural and occupational phases have been identified. The excavations revealed circular mud-brick residential and storage structures, curved and radial walls, courtyard spaces, hearths, ovens, and specialized storage installations.<\/p>\n

The reserve staff were also informed about the material culture artifacts recovered from the site. It was noted that assemblages of ceramics, obsidian and flint tools, polished stone artifacts, bone and antler implements, and clay figurines yield vital scientific data regarding the daily life, economic activities, and technological capabilities of Goytepe’s inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the results of paleobotanical and zooarchaeological analyses were highlighted. According to the researchers, wheat and barley played a central role in local subsistence, while the husbandry of domesticated species\u2014namely sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs\u2014has been definitively established. These findings demonstrate the presence of a fully developed agropastoral economic system among the inhabitants of Goytepe.<\/p>\n

The meeting also covered the historical and contemporary stages of research at the site. It was noted that large-scale archaeological excavations were conducted between 2008 and 2013 with the participation of Azerbaijani, French, and Japanese researchers, and continued under the direction of Azerbaijani specialists until 2019. The findings from these investigations have been published in international peer-reviewed journals, contributing significantly to refining the chronology of early farming communities in the South Caucasus.<\/p>\n

The reserve delegation was informed that a new phase of archaeological research commenced at Goytepe in 2026. Current efforts are focused not only on uncovering new artifactual material, but also on re-verifying scientific documentation from previous excavations, enhancing site preservation, and implementing modern digital documentation techniques.<\/p>\n

Under the leadership of Dr. Valeh Alakbarov, Head of Department at the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of ANAS, archival plans, site drawings, photographs, and spatial data are being systematically benchmarked against the site’s current condition. The excavation grid coordinates are being restored, and the boundaries of architectural phases are being re-delineated. The primary objective of these operations is to integrate past and present research into a unified scientific documentation system, thereby establishing a rigorous scientific foundation for future conservation measures.<\/p>\n

In addition, the reserve staff were presented with recent developments in digital archaeology applied at Goytepe. It was revealed that in August 2026, the excavation area and architectural remains were scanned using LiDAR technology to generate high-resolution three-dimensional digital models. Specialists emphasized the importance of this technology for documenting the site’s present state with high precision, monitoring structural changes, and establishing a spatial database for future reconstruction and conservation projects.<\/p>\n

Finally, special attention was devoted to the long-term preservation of Goytepe. The reserve staff were informed that the 8,000-year-old mud-brick walls are exceptionally vulnerable to subaerial weathering processes. Structural deformations resulting from precipitation, wind, and thermal fluctuations necessitate a rigorously scientific approach to the site’s ongoing conservation. Consequently, the precise documentation and sustainable protection of the surviving archaeological remains represent one of the primary vectors of current research.<\/p>\n

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On August 24, 2026, employees of the “Keshikchidagh” State Historical and Cultural Reserve, operating under the State Service for Protection, Development, and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaija…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16958"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16958"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16971,"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16958\/revisions\/16971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keshikchidagh-heritage.az\/en_US\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}