PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH AROUND THE TERRITORY OF THE GARABAGH PLAø N (BASED ON 2010 RESEARCH)

Abstract

The Garabakh region is of Azerbaijan with its natural riches, has been a human habitat since most ancient times. Changing during millennia, cultures and states left here the traces of their respective heritage that comprehensively informed us about all vital activities of most ancient settlers. Regretfully, the destruction process of the archeological sites in the Garabakh region witnessed a multifold intensification in connection with the war unleashed by the aggressive neighbor. Because a significant part of Garabakh is currently under the occupation, it seems no possible to protect the sites there. In addition, many sites, which are theonly heights at the Garabakh plains, were used as fortifications during war actions. Trenches and dugouts were arranged at them; the soil of these sites was shifted in order to creat various fortifications. As a result, many sites here have been either seriously damaged or fully destroyed. In the near future, a delay in creation of a brand new database on the region’s sites can lead to their irretrievable loss, to the loss of many carriers of most valuable information that had been preserved for millennia. Archeological research works in the Garabakh region, which were suspended due to the Garabakh war, have been restarted recently. One of the main steps towards intensification of archeological research here was the establishment of a "Garabakh Neolithic-Chalcolithic Expedition” aiming, as its initial step, to create a database of Garabakh region’s archeological sites, primarily, Neolithic and Chalcolithic ones. The creation of the “Geographical Database of Archeological Monuments of Garabakh” is based upon topographic schemes composed using up-todate highprecise geodesic tools with the use of software ArcMap GIS, as well as upon attributive information contained on the sites. First of all, there were carried out field topographic measurements of the fixed sites; based upon the obtained information, in laboratory, there were set up topographic schemes with the application of “Autodesk Map” program. Besides, using “Global Mapper” program and basing on a 3D digital information technology, horizontal relief cut on north-south line and west-east line, as well as 3D images lying northward, southward, westward and eastward were performed for each site. Setting up a topographic layout of each separately taken sites made it possible to become aware of site-related information such as location, relief geometrical configuration and traits, and create a database of each site. The collected information about each site and the image of each site has been included in a chapter of attributive information of the “Geographical Database” above. The exploration of new sites and the observation of the discovered ones covered the entire unoccupied part of the Aghdam region and accessible adjacent territories of the regions of Aghjabedi and Barda. Each site was fixed and electronically mapped using GPS navigator, which collected and subsequently yielded archaeological materials needed for the primary identification of each monument. As a consequence, the Expedition’s activity covered 61 sites in 2010. Some of the sites were discovered and identified for the first time ever.