Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.5 /Trend, I.Isibalayeva/
The preliminary results of archaeological excavations of the ancient settlement discovered during the construction of Gabala International Airport became known.
In the excavations in Galayeri-dash settlement conducted jointly with the Azerbaijan-Korean Cultural Exchange Association it was found that it dates to Leylatepe culture (the last period of Chalcolithic), head of the Sheki-Gakh-Oguz expedition of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Azerbaijani National Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences (ANAS) Nasib Mukhtarov told Trend on Thursday.
The settlement was laid early in the first half of 4th millennium BC. Later, the first Muslims turned this place into a cemetery.
Mukhtarov stressed that earlier the samples of Leylatepe culture were discovered only in Agdam, Tovuz and Gazakh, but they were not found in the north-east and north-west of the country. From this point of view, the new settlement, found in Gabala, is of crucial importance for the study of the Eneolithic Age in the history of Azerbaijan.
Studying of this settlement will solve many problems associated with the study of this period of Azerbaijan's history, Mukhtarov believes.
Thorough archaeological excavations will be held on this territory in 2012, Mukhtarov said.
This ancient settlement was discovered during the construction of the international airport in Gabala in 2011.