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1.9 Sites Noted in Passing

Figure 148

Gahraman Agayev Examining Mammoth Molar at Yenikend

Figure 149

Brooch mould from Yenikend (Albanian Period)

Over the years that the project staff were travelling through Azerbaijan, a number of additional discoveries were made, which, although they were away from the pipeline group, help to give an extra dimension to understanding the history of Azerbaijan.

1.9.1 Gobustan

The pipeline crossed a 200m length of the archaeological reserve and was about 600m away from the nearest group of petroglyphs. During 2002, the project devoted considerable time to surveys of the route in this area and examination of adjacent features in the company of Jafargulu Rustamov. This work is detailed in the 2002 Stage 2 report in the archive (Maynard and Moore 2002)

1.9.2 Reservoir surveys

The Kura River in Shamkir Region is dominated by a series of large reservoirs known as, from the west, Shamkirchai, Yenikend, and Mingachevir. In all these there is an annual change in water level that results in erosion of the shoreline, leading to exposure of archaeological deposits. This zone is approximately 30m wide in Shamkirchai reservoir. The discovery of archaeological and other features has been reported for a number of years. Examples of this include the discovery prior to 2001 of a mammoth skeleton on the shore of Mingachevir.

Local people at Yenikend reservoir had also made discoveries. They had a collection of material including the molar from a mammoth elephant (see figure), a mammoth tusk, complete pottery vessels of the Kura Araz period, a limestone mould for a brooch of Albanian date (see figure) and medieval bronze work.


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