Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

New mounds dating back to over 3,000 years ago were discovered in Yardimli region, Azerbaijan, a senior researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (NASA) Anar Agalarzada said.

More than 20 mounds were found at an altitude of 2,100 meters above sea level on Comans plateau on the border with Iran.

The largest mounds have 19 meters diameter, one meter height and 284 square meters area, while the smaller ones have five meters diameter with 40 cm height and 19,5 square meters.

The scientist noted that as a result of lack of control over the border area in the early 1990s, many of these monuments were destroyed. Gold seekers from Iran caused serious damage to these monuments.

"The burial chambers were destroyed by heavy machinery in a few large burial mounds," Agalarzada stressed.

But, that is a fortune for us and an unfortunate case for gold seekers that their operations ended up in failure. That is why the remaining mounds have been well-preserved.

These findings are the indispensable source for studying the ancient history of Azerbaijani people.

Comprehensive study of the Early Bronze Age in the southern regions will provide valuable information about the material culture and lifestyle of the ancient tribes in the III-I millennia BC.

Last time many valuable ancient monuments were found on the territory of Azerbaijan which provided the scientists with a great opportunity to study more about peoples life in the territory of Azerbaijan.

Recently, more than 30 mounds and headstones were found, dating back to the second-first centuries BC in Yardimli region. Another ancient settlement of the South Caucasus, from Neolithic period was also discovered in Tovuz region by Azerbaijani and Japanese archaeologists.