Azerbaijan National Academy of Science

Last year, a monument of historical significance was discovered in the administrative territory of the Borsunlu village, Goranboy region, in the course of the relevant works carried out for the Shah Deniz Stage-2 and the South Caucasus Pipeline projects.

The monument was revealed by a group headed by the head of the Department of Archaeological Service of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of ANAS, PhD in history Goshgar Goshgarly. Currently, excavations in the territory continue under the head of the field research team, the leading research associate of the Institute, PhD in history Vagif Asadov.

The Kirpichlitepe monument is located about 1.5 km southeast of the village of Borsunlu. Last year, during the excavations, two construction horizons were registered. In the horizon, in the main, were found the remains of walls built from river stones, clay tandirs and heating stoves, two installed tandirs, and a well. In the second horizon, a part of a large building, conventionally called a " castle" is a large furnace intended for making bricks and ceramics, numerous whole and established tandirs, pockets and wells of water and household wells. The walls of the "castle" are built of burnt bricks and river stones and the stove is made of damp brick.

During the excavations, a large number of enamel and un-enameled ceramic dishes and their fragments, copper coins, fragments of glassware and bracelets, clay beads, details of iron and bone products and stone tools of labor were revealed.

Remains of buildings, earthenware and numismatic materials indicate that this monument dates back to the late 10th - early 13th centuries. The architectural styles used in the construction of the monument, the abundance of elegantly made samples of ceramics and the discovery of a large number of coins suggests that the monument was a residential center of its time, with important political significance. There is a possibility that after the invasion of Genghis Khan, life in this residential center was discontinued.

It should be noted that, on December 14, 2017, was signed a memorandum of understanding between BP Company, the technical operator of the South Caucasus Pipeline Company and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan on cooperation in the field of the full study of the Kirpichlitepe monument. According to the memorandum, archaeological excavations covering an area of 500 sq. M will be conducted on the territory. The researches will be able to confirm the assumptions that the monument is a fortress, a castle or a hanagah.

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