Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

A Bronze Age burial site has recently been discovered in Azerbaijan.

Parviz Gasimov, an official at the Archeology and Ethnography Institute of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences confirmed that the “Karabakh” archaeological expedition headed by Hidayet Jafarov uncovered the relic in the Palidli necropolis, located between Mirashelli and Yuzbashili villages of Agdam region.

The excavations in the Palidli necropolis have been ongoing since 2009 and thus far some 36 graves have been found.

Before the excavations in Palidli, similar graves have been never seen in the Karabakh region.

This year, archeologists found a grave that had an iron sword with bronze handle and sheath inside. The scientists claim that the grave belongs to the leader of a rich army.

Earlier this summer, during their research, the scientists came to the conclusion that the graves found in the Palidli necropolis traced back to the XII-XI centuries BC.

One of the graves, which were two meters wide and tall, differed from others in the rich archeological materials found inside.

The corpse in the grave laid curled on its right side. A bronze belt clung to his waist and three swords hung from it, demonstrating that the body belonged to a young knight.

Inside the grave, archeologists also found a figure of a horse's head, a bronze medallion and a cudgel, symbolizing that he hailed from the ruling class. Some eight potteries that were buried under the body’s head, shoulder, knee, and foot were also discovered by the archeologists.

The findings discovered in the necropolis indicate that people of different social strata were buried here. They show that in the late Bronze and early Iron Ages, people in this territory were engaged in a variety of crafts, including pottery, proving that the population of Karabakh used iron.

Agdam, a town in the southwest part of Azerbaijan was the scene of fierce fighting during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Armenians invaded the majority of Aghdam's territory on July 23, 1993. The Armenian aggressors seized 882 sq. km. of the total 1,094 sq. km. of territory, including one city and 80 villages. Some 128,000 people became internally displaced, 17,000 of them were adults

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz