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164
Naringala, one o f the two parts, was surrounded by a defensive
wall made o f grizzle. Public buildings o f tribal union and houses o f ric h
tribe members were located there. Poor people lived outside the castle.
Excavations revealed the remains o f the houses made o f wood and cla y
mortar which probably belonged to poor tribe members.
They used w ood and clay plaster mortar to build their houses. T h e
floor was covered w ith clay mortar.
The defensive walls Garakepektepe o f the middle bronze
Stone bonefires and domestic pits could be found inside the
houses. The rem ains o f bum t grains were discovered in the bonefires. A
clay women statuette and various household goods were found in one o f
thehouses.
Many fiagments of grey, black and red clay crockery used for
various domestic purposes were discovered here. M onochromic ceramics
and well polished miniature black and grey vessels were skillfully made.
In Uzerliktepe and Garakepektepe, Middle Bronze Age settlements
non-decorated and painted vessels with grey and black polish, carved or
printed om am ents, tips o f spindles, beads, various stony implements, clay
K A R A B A K H
165
fıgurines were discovered, which proves that various crafts emerged in
ancient Karabakh in 3rd and 2nd millennia BC.
Thick castle w alls and buttresses dem onstrate that the architecture
o f ancient Karabakh in M iddle Bronze A ge was under the influence o f
WestAsia.
Many specific features o f the M iddle Bronze A ge architecture o f
Karabakh were used in constm ction o f cities and castles in Nakhchivan
and West Asia. These similarities testify to the existence o f cultural and
economic links betw een the ancient city centres o f Karabakh and castles
ofNakhchivan and West Asia.
Farming, cattle breeding, gardening and viticulture were
developing in the M iddle Bronze Age in Karabakh.
Use o f the plough, improvements to scythes and threshing
machines (thresh boards, graters, sickles and so on) stimulated an
intensive developm ent o f farming.
Farmers grew species o f w heat such as Triticum Sativum L and
Triticum dum m Dest, non-barbate species o f barley Hordeum laguneuli-
Excavations. Uzerliktepe settlement.
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166
formi Bosh. Grain was stored in speeial pits and large pots.
This period also marked the emergence o f viticulture.
Osteologic remains confırm the existence o f cattle breeding.
In Uzerliktepe city centre in M iddle Bronze Age various crafts
were developed: pottery, metalwork, weaving, stonew ork and bone
carving. Well painted and decorated ceramics, as well as grey and black
polished stamped vessels were made.
Ancient Karabakh tribes o f settled farmers, cattle breeders and
especially craftsmen were familiar with the culture o f West Asia and
Near East, due to the existing links, and borrowed a lot from it, they
played an important role in formation ofearly urban culture in the South
Caucasus.
Tribal unions o f Karabakh reached the level o f early state
formations in the Middle Bronze Age, they established cultural and
economic links with various regions o f the South Caucasus, West Asia
andN earEast.
Garakyopaktapa. Stone statue, clay fıgures.
K A R A B A K H
Uzerliktepe. Middle Bronze Age artefacts.
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168
The closest relations were m aintained with the areas on the lefit
bank o f the Araks, especially w ith ancient Nakhchivan. Connections o f
Mill-Karabakh craft centres and Nakhchivan can be traced in the pottery
o f the two cultural centres. The m utual links between the two regions
resulted in production ofhigh quality pottery and ceramics.
Burials o f the Middle Bronze A ge o f Karabakh (mounds o f
Borsunlu, Karabulag necropolis) contain interesting information both
about the religion o f ancient inhabitants and specifıc features o f pottery
oftheperiod.
The specifıcs o f the M iddle Bronze Age o f Karabakh deserves
special attention. Several independent pottery centres in the Terterchay,
Gargarchay, Guruchay and K endelenchay river basins developed in
close cooperation with each other and Nakhchivan pottery centres.
Thus, painted crockery, specific to Nakhichevan urban culture, can
also be found in the Middle Bronze site in the G uruchay and Ken-
delenchay river basins.
Due to cultural and economic links the production o f painted
crockery spread to the Middle Bronze settlements o f Gargarchay,
Guruchay and Kendelenchay river basins, along the Araks river. Grey
and black polished crockery, especially decorated items, typical for
Karabakh sites, were also wide spread in Nakhchivan. Ancient
Karabakh craftsmen maintained cultural and economic relations not
only with the neighbouring areas but also with the centres o f West Asia
and Near East.
Garabagh. Paitıted ceramics o f the Middle Bronze Era.
K A R A B A K H
169
In the K arabakh settlements o f the M iddle Bronze Age the follo-
wing bronze items w ere found: dagger, awl, earrings, bracelet and so on.
Some o f the im plem ents and weapons o f the M iddle Bronze Age
(mills, m ortars, pestles, replaceable sickle teeth, tips o f maces and stony
threshing boards) w ere made o f stone.
In the M iddle Bronze Age, weaving was well developed in
Karabakh. The high level o f the craft was proved by spindle tips, bone
combs and bone parts o f weaver's looms found in the settlements.
Intensive developm ent o f farming, cattle breeding and crafts in
Karabakh in the M iddle Bronze Age resulted in signifıcant changes in
social, econom ic and com m unity relations. In their tum , the changes
resulted in property inequality, social disparity and formation o f a class
society.
KARABAKH IN THE LATE BRONZE
AND EARLYIRON AGE
r
he 4-th-5th centuries BC signalled a new period o f evolution in
social, econom ic and cultural stm cture o f ancient Karabakh tribes.
Hojali culture w ith the centre in Khojali spread in Karabakh in the
Late Bronze and Early Iron A g e .
Historic and cultural data about the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age
in Karabakh comes from settlements and burials that refer to Hojali
culture.
An archaeological research that provided valuable scientifıc
material w as conducted in the following Khojali sites: Uchtepe
(Agjabedi); Rasultepe, Namazlitepe (Agdam, Hindiristan village);
Saryjali-tayi tepe (Agdam district, outskirts o f Chemenh); Beyuktepe,
Bashirtepe (Agdam); Su-Tepesi, Janavar-Tepesi (Agjabedi, Gaynag
village); Binnagtepe (Agjabedi district, Poladli village); Tomagtepe
(Terter); G ertepe (Agdam, Gektepe village); Shortepe (Barda, Shatirli
village); G aratepe (Agdam, Shihbabali village); M isir-Gishlagi
(Agdam, Papravend village); Zergertepe and Shekerjiktepe (the
Guruchay and Kendelenchay river plains).
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