Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project 2018-2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30546/679523.1.2025.60Keywords:
Late Bronze-Early Iron Age, Khojaly-Gadabay Culture, Cultic Site, Clay Figurines, Textile Tools, Food RemainsAbstract
In June-July 2024, within a month, archaeological excavations were carried out at the Late Bronze-Early Iron Age settlement of Tava Tepe in the Agstafa region within the framework of joint scientific cooperation between the Center for Archaeological Research in the Mediterranean and the Near East (CAMNES) located in Florence, Italy, and the University of Catania and the Institute of Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology of ANAS, in cooperation with European specialists. Based on the research of previous years and the structure uncovered during this year, we concluded that the monument was used as a place of worship in the Late Bronze Age. On the territory, a round structure was discovered, where ritual activities were performed, including a layer of ash in the very centre, up to 1 m thick, as well as household utensils with food remains, animal bones, household items, hearths, and pintaders. Additionally, anthropomorphic clay figures with hands oriented to the sky and other materials were found. You could say it was all done here in a ritual, and people would come here and eat.
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