Azernews.Az

BAKU – Oil giant BP, the operator of major energy projects in Azerbaijan, presented a book in Baku on Monday summing up cultural heritage research carried out along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) routes.

The book, "Past and Future Heritage in the Pipelines Corridor – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey", was published in Azerbaijani, English and Georgian with sponsorship from BP and its co-venturers in the two pipeline projects. It presents 20,000 archaeological discoveries from excavations during the pipelines construction along the BTC/SCP route from the Caspian to the Mediterranean. These discoveries contain some priceless artifacts that have been handed over to museums in the three countries.

The discoveries include historical monuments found on three burial mounds in Azerbaijan’s Ganja-Gazakh region, along with over 200 ancient graves. Researchers established that the graves indicate that culture was present in the region two to three millennia ago, and it was related to Shumer culture.

Rashid Javanshir, BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, told the presentation that the archaeological sites found along the BTC and SCP routes are valuable for the three countries in terms of culture and history.

"Some of them are even of regional importance," Javanshir said. "The publication is a major contribution to the efforts aimed at protection of each country’s national heritage and values."

Javanshir said the part of BP’s cultural heritage sponsorship program which was conducted in Azerbaijan and Georgia was "the first major archaeological excavation program since the fall of the Soviet Union".

"The results are really exciting and we believe the publication that we are presenting today will serve as a valuable scientific reference book enabling readers from all over the world to reach the region’s rich cultural heritage," Javanshir added.

Maisa Rahimova, head of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, said in her remarks that the project mainly covered three areas. From 2002-2005, archaeological excavations were conducted in more than 20 residential areas and tens of thousands of cultural samples were discovered. The excavations were followed by the compilation of reports in 2006-2008. During the third stage, efforts were made to protect and increase awareness about the monuments, and the discovered samples were passed on to the museums.

This story is published by AzerNEWS Weekly under a project funded by the Foundation for State Assistance to the Development of the Media under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.