Azerbaijan - Prehistoric sites of the Azykh and Taghlar caves

The Azykh and Taghlar caves are two prehistoric sites of the Khojavend region of the Republic of Azerbaijan bearing exceptional value as places of dwelling of hominins since as early as 1,200,000 years ago and testimony of prehistoric fauna. The archeological excavations of the caves, started in the early 1960s, allowed discovery of a huge diversity of tools, animal fossils, remains testifying to the importance the region of South Caucasus has played in the human migrations in prehistoric times, providing evidence of prehistoric beliefs of hominin species and early use of fireplaces.

The Azykh cave (Azerbaijani: Azıx mağarası) is a prehistoric site located 3 km northeast of the village of Tug and 14 km northwest of the city of Fizuli, near the village of Azykh, on the left bank of the Guruchay River, at an altitude of 1400 meters above sea level. Located in a forest, the Azykh cave is quite sizable. It is the largest limestone cave ever found in the Caucasus and extends through maze-like passageways for nearly 600 meters. The cave comprises a total area of about 8,000 square meters and includes eight large hallways or grottos, some with very high domed ceilings reaching up to 20-25 meters. Stalactite and stalagmite columns can be found throughout the cave.

The first and most important archeological excavations of the Azykh cave were carried out by Azerbaijani paleontologist Mammadali Husseynov (1922-1994) in 1960-1982. Since 1975, Russian scientists have also been involved in the excavations and included paleozoologists, paleogeologists, paleogeomorphologists, paleontologists and specialists of other fields. As early as 1980, the preliminary results of the studies were published in a scientific publication.